Stop Creditor Harassment
Yakima Bankruptcy Lawyer
When you file a bankruptcy petition, an automatic stay is issued requiring your creditors to stop any efforts to collect on the money they are owed. They are also prevented from:
- Try to enforce a judgment against you
- Try to bring a claim against you
- Try to gain property from you
- Try to create, protect or enforce any sort of lien against you
- Try to collect debts from you
In short, while you are protected by the automatic stay, you are safe from creditor harassment. If a creditor violates this order, then they are required to pay you for damages and can also be required to pay for any extra attorney fees their violation causes. It is important to give your creditors notice that you have filed as quickly as possible to prevent them from harassing you.
Unfortunately, the stay does not protect you from everything, including criminal proceedings, family support obligations, losing a license, collecting from property that is not part of your estate, the interception of a tax refund, tax audits, being given notice of tax deficiency, demands for tax returns, or demands for payment of taxes that are not discharged. If you are considering bankruptcy, contact an Yakima bankruptcy attorney to discuss your financial situation and additional information on how to stop creditor harassment.
Preventing Harassment with an Automatic Stay
You will be protected by an automatic stay until one of the following occurs: the case is closed or dismissed, discharge is granted or denied under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the property with a claim on it is no longer part of the estate, or the court acknowledges a request from a creditor to release the stay. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the stay is replaced by a permanent injunction when the case is discharged as part of the total discharge of debt. This means that if the court grants a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, once it is finalized and your debt is discharged, your creditors can no longer seek payment on the money they were previously owed. In a
Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the stay remains until the completion of the Chapter 13 plan. There are some limitations on stays, especially if you've had multiple stays in the same year. If you had filed once already this year and had it dismissed, then the stay is limited to 30 days. If you have filed at least twice this year and they were both dismissed, then you do not get the stay.
Eastwood Law provides comprehensive bankruptcy services to help you eliminate your debts. We will make sure you have a complete understanding of the bankruptcy process and what life will be like after your bankruptcy case has concluded. You will be treated with the care and respect you deserve, and have access to attorney Eastwood when you need it.
Contact an Yakima bankruptcy lawyer
for dedicated representation if you are looking for a solution to your financial difficulties.