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When I created Atlas Law Firm, I wanted to be completely transparent about our rates. I think there is a lot of skepticism on what lawyers charge.

Before you actually file, you need to educate yourself on bankruptcy, and the best way to do that is to meet with an experienced bankruptcy attorney. Many bankruptcy attorneys provide free consultations.

Once your case is filed, an automatic stay goes into effect. The automatic stay is a court order mandating that none of your creditors can continue collection actions while your bankruptcy is pending.

In general, you have 4 options in order to delay the date of the foreclosure sale and which one you choose depends on what you wish to accomplish, the first 3 I’ll mention assume you wish to keep the house, the last option assumes you wish to let the house go, but stay in it as long as possible:

The chapter 7 trustee pays the creditors through a notification procedure. In a chapter 7, 98% of the time we’re able to protect all of our clients’ assets.

A reaffirmation is an official way to “reobligate” yourself on the loan. This involves the lender sending us a reaffirmation contract to be signed by you.

“Heads in beds” refers to a method of how to calculate the size of the household for means test purposes. The first obvious household determinant would be, how many dependents you are claiming on your tax returns.

Mortgage modification is not part of bankruptcy. When we talk about mortgage modification, this is something that is relatively new. In general a mortgage modification is when your lender determines whether they will allow you to change the terms of your mortgage and modify it.

A chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee is a lawyer hired by the court and appointed to chapter 7 bankruptcy cases that are filed in a particular county or jurisdictions. The role of the chapter 7 trustee is to review the documents filed by the debtor and in chapter 7 to make sure that the assets are properly listed and that the exemptions claims are appropriate under the circumstances.

When credit became readily available, in the 1950s and 60s, it was really a badge of honor. It was something you had to earn. Credit was not extended to everyone it was not prevalent so you really had to control your expenses and have a good income.