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Georgia Bankruptcy If you are currently experiencing financial difficulties due to a job loss, layoff, illness or injury which is preventing you from paying your bills and those bills are starting to accumulate, then bankruptcy may be an option for you to consider. The first thing that I ask all of my clients before considering filing for bankruptcy is have you tried to get your debts under control by using a credit counseling service. If not, you may want to try that route before going to Bankruptcy Court. Bankruptcy should be a last resort plan of action as it affects your credit for a number of years. However, if you have already tried this plan and it has not provided you with the relief that you were seeking, then by all means, give me a call at (770) 396-4323 or e-mail me. Just to give you an idea that you are not alone, over the past few years, total bankruptcy filings just in the Northern District of Georgia alone has experienced an increase from 31,109 in 1996 to 46,756 in 2003. Across the country the numbers for total bankruptcy filings increased from 1,178,555 in 1996 to 1,660,245 for 2003. This represents a 50% increase for the Northern District of Georgia and for the country overall an increase of 41 percent over the past 8 years. The reasons for this large increase in Georgia bankruptcy as well as across the country may be attributable to any of a number of reasons, some of which may be the loss of a job, a marriage breakup, overextended credit card debt, a failed business venture or any number of other similar reasons. There are two ways a consumer can file for bankruptcy protection, one is a debt consolidation type of bankruptcy filed under Chapter 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Under this type of bankruptcy, a debtor can group all of his debts and make one payment to a Chapter 13 Trustee who then pays out the creditors based on a plan the debtor files with the Court. A typical debtor under this type will be someone who has fallen behind on his mortgage or car payments but does not want to lose them to either foreclosure or repossession. Or a debtor who has tax problems whose wages have been garnished by the IRS. These are just two basic situations where a Chapter 13 case may help to get the debtor’s financial affairs under control. The other type of bankruptcy that a consumer can file is a total liquidation type of bankruptcy filed under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. A Chapter 7 is generally for those debtors who have amassed a large amount of debt that is out of control and who does not have the funds available to pay these debts, even under a Chapter 13 scenario. A typical Chapter 7 case may involve a repossessed vehicle or vehicles, a home that has been foreclosed or about to be foreclosed and the debtor has decided to give up, and/or extensive credit card debt. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy will allow the debtor to legally discharge all of his unsecured debt (i.e. credit card debt, signature loans, repossession deficiency charges, or old medical bills) and get a fresh start. The above is just a very short overview of bankruptcy. For a more detailed look at what bankruptcy is, please visit my bankruptcy web site at www.4georgiabankruptcy.com or feel free to use my short information request form by clicking here. As always, I offer a free case evaluation, please complete a short information form by clicking here. Or you can call me at (770) 396-4323 or e-mail me. I would be happy to discuss further with you the facts of your case and how we would deal with your situation. Georgia Bankruptcy Lawyer, Bernd G. Stittleburg, Esq. Call me at (770) 396-4323 All text and images contained herein are owned by and are copyright © 2004,2005, 2006, 2007 Stittleburg Law Offices, LLC. None of the contents of this site may be reproduced or republished without the express written permission of the copyright owner.
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