Instant Relief – Riverside Chapter 13 

When you file for bankruptcy relief under Chapter 13, an Automatic Stay is put into place on your behalf. This prevents creditors from contacting you with the intent to try to collect on any debts, and it also puts a stop to many other types of collection activities such as foreclosures, judgments, liens and wage garnishment. As an additional benefit of a Riverside Chapter 13 bankruptcy that is not offered in Chapter 7, if you have co-debtors on your financial obligations, the automatic stay applies to them as well, even if they are not filing for a Riverside bankruptcy at the time. This means that cosigners on your loans, or persons who share an account with you do not have to worry that creditors will be hounding them about your past due debts.

The automatic stay puts a halt to the following types of activity:

·         Collection calls

·         Collection notices

·         Foreclosures

·         Repossessions

·         New and Pending Lawsuits

·         Wage Garnishment

In order to resume collection activities, the creditor must successfully convince the judge to lift the stay in their particular case. In most instances, however, the automatic stay remains in place throughout the Riverside bankruptcy process, after which a permanent injunction is put into place, barring your creditors from contacting you about the debt ever again. This, along with a discharge of debt once your Chapter 13 repayment plan is complete, will allow you to make a fresh start.

Riverside Chapter 13 bankruptcy has the added benefit of your being able to extend/revise payment plans on some types of debt that cannot be discharged on a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This includes back taxes and child support, as well as your mortgage payments. This oftentimes allows you to get your debts current, without the stress of continual collection calls, notices, and other harassment.

Unfortunately, there are a few situations where the automatic stay will not apply. If you have had any prior bankruptcies dismissed in the past year, you will not be eligible for the full protection of the automatic stay. If you’ve had one bankruptcy dismissed in the past year, your automatic stay will last for 30 days, if your lawyer requests the automatic stay from the court – it does not go into effect if it is not requested. If you’ve had two or more bankruptcies dismissed within the last year, you are not provided with any automatic stay, unless you or your lawyer can successfully convince the courts otherwise. Unless you have had some very unique circumstances to which the courts can be sympathetic, it is unlikely that your case will have the benefit of an automatic stay.

Our team of experienced Riverside County Bankruptcy Lawyers can help you to fully take advantage of the Automatic Stay and assist you with handling any creditors that do not comply. We have worked with individuals throughout Riverside County when it comes to debt relief and Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and we are prepared to fully assist you with your case. Contact us today and arrange for your free initial case evaluation and take advantage of the protections a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can provide you, and your co-debtors.