All About Chapter 7 Salt Lake City Utah

By Donald Sullivan


When you find yourself with unmanageable levels of debt, it is crucial you seek a legal solution to your problem. Declaring bankruptcy, for instance, will ensure that a large portion of your bad debts are written off. However, you should not seek bankruptcy before seeking legal advise first. This is because there are serious consequences that come with bankruptcy. When looking to file a chapter 7 Salt Lake City Utah residents should first hire a competent lawyer to advise and guide them.

Anyone can file for this type of bankruptcy. This includes; businesses and individuals that have unmanageable levels of debt and some assets that have a decent market value. To get debt forgiveness under this option, your assets will be auctioned and the proceeds used to pay a fraction of your debt. Any outstanding debt will then be forgiven.

Chapter 7 basically entails liquidation. The assets of the debtor are auctioned off and the proceeds distributed to all the creditors according to the percentage of their total debt. It is important to note that every debtor is entitled to certain exemptions. Therefore, the trustee cannot touch any asset that is exempted from the sale.

When you are eventually declared bankrupt, the bankruptcy will be added to your credit report. This means that lenders will blacklist you. Getting a better job, renting a house or car, or even qualifying for a low interest credit card will become next to impossible. This is because nobody wants to be associated with individuals who have proven to be financially irresponsible in the past.

There are some debts that can never be written off through bankruptcy. For instance, student loans must be settled regardless of the financial position of the debtor. Child and spousal support payments, on the other hand, can only be amended by a divorce court. Therefore, you should know that you will still be left with some debts after the bankruptcy proceedings.

The main reason why it is a good idea to hire a competent bankruptcy lawyer to advise and guide you throughout the process is the fact that the trustee may reject your application by claiming that a chapter 13 is best suited for your financial situation. The trustee might also sell items that are exempted from bankruptcy proceedings, so you need to have a competent lawyer by your side to ensure this never happens.

When choosing a bankruptcy lawyer, you should never make a decision before checking the amount of experience the lawyer has. The ideal lawyer must have handled many bankruptcy cases in the recent years. The reputation of the lawyer, the fees they charged and their availability must also be checked. This is because you want to hire the most qualified lawyer who charges the lowest rates. They should also be available to handle the job.

Your friends, neighbors, relatives and colleagues, or anyone who may want to know about your financial situation, can easily find out by running a credit check. This means that you may be treated differently by the people close to you due to your financial problems. This is one of the shortcomings of bankruptcy.




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