Chapter 7 bankruptcy and Chapter 13 bankruptcy are significant life events. Don’t wait until the last minute before contacting an Arizona bankruptcy lawyer to learn about your options. There are many steps to help you prepare for the process. My goal is to make your bankruptcy as smooth as possible so long as you do the necessary work prior to filing bankruptcy.
Most debtors filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy want to be able to keep their vehicles. An Arizona bankruptcy lawyer may advise the debtor to pay the lender only the current retail value of the vehicle in lieu of the entire loan balance. However, redeeming a vehicle loan has its drawbacks.
One common asset many debtors own is some type of life insurance policy. One of my tasks as an Arizona bankruptcy lawyer is to determine whether a debtor’s life insurance policy has a cash surrender value and whether such money will have to be surrendered to the bankruptcy trustee. Recent case law has made this analysis much more complex.
If a debtor files bankruptcy before receiving a tax refund, the money may have to be surrendered to the bankruptcy trustee. Therefore, a competent Arizona bankruptcy lawyer will help avoid a premature bankruptcy filing that may cost the debtor thousands of dollars.
When you stop making mortgage payments, an experienced Arizona foreclosure lawyer or Arizona real estate lawyer will advise that you will still be able to live in your house for at least 90 days after a foreclosure notice is filed and delivered to you. And depending on how aggressive the lender is, a foreclosure notice may not be filed for quite some time after you stop making payments.