What To Know Before Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Vero Beach

by | May 8, 2013 | Law

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Deciding whether or not to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy Vero beach, can be a very hard decision. There are definitely steps that need to be completed prior to making this huge decision. They include creating a realistic budget for your monthly expenses, including your mortgage and or rent, your utilities and your car payment. Calculate what monies are remaining and what debt is remaining. Using some of the available online tools, calculate and see if you can realistically payoff the remaining debt in three years, using the money that is remaining. Look for ways to reduce expenses and or ways to increase income. Determine if there is anything that can be sold to create available monies? Do not consider raiding IRA’s or retirement accounts if at all possible. Many times the penalty that is generated by these will outweigh their advantage. More importantly depending on how close you are to retirement, these original funds may be impossible to replace.

Get legal advice on filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy Vero beach. While there are tools that allow you to perform this task alone, why bother? With the changes in the bankruptcy law it is harder to qualify than it used to be, but a good attorney will be able to quickly apply a means test the your individualized situation to determine whether you qualify for filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. Prior to meeting with the attorney, you will need to collect copies of all your documentation showing your streams of income, as well as your debt. You will also need to list any property, and a detailed list of your living expenses. These include food, shelter, clothing, utilities, medicines, transportation, etc. This documentation will be required to be filed with the court.

If you choose to proceed with filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy Vero beach, this will automatically stop almost all collection action that is against you at least until the case is heard. This can help to hold off wage garnishments and even the harassing telephone calls. Within 45 days of filing the original petition, a meeting will be held to determine whether or not you will be approved. Although, this is a big decision, once you have taken the proper steps, you will know what your options really are.

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