Chapter 7 - Bankruptcy

For personal, otherwise known as consumer bankruptcies, there are basically two choices:  Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.  In Chapter 7, the objective is to discharge or eliminate a person's debt.  This includes medical bills, judgments, credit card debt, liens, DMV surcharges and even personal loans. Filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition also stops collection efforts by your creditors.  Seized personal property, bank levies, garnishments and even utility shutoffs are also stopped.  Your driver's license will be restored upon filing the Chapter 7 petition if it was suspended due to DMV surcharges. 

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If you choose to give back or surrender a secured asset such as your car or home, you no longer are responsible if there is a deficiency.  This means that if the sale of the home or car did not generate enough to take care of what you owe on the home or car, you do not have to make up the balance due.   For example, if you owe $10,000 on a car and they sold it for only $8000, you do not have to make up the difference.   Thus, by  filing a Chapter 7, you gain the discharge of any deficiency (balance due) you leave when your asset is  liquidated and sold off.  This is very powerful for someone who wants to just surrender the asset and be done with it. 
 

There are several things that you can not  get discharged in bankruptcy. These include various court ordered debts like alimony and support for spouses and children.   Student loans, although difficult,  can also be discharged if certain conditions  are met.   Taxes due to the IRS or the State of New Jersey  can also  be discharged in some instances if  you follow the specific bankruptcy rules in order to qualify. 
 

Upon contacting our office, we will schedule a consultation for you with your NJ Bankruptcy attorney to explain the process and answer any questions you may have.  After that, your NJ Bankruptcy lawyer will give you an intake interview to gather all necessary  information to complete your bankruptcy petition.  Our office takes care of all the details in filing and representing you.  We will accompany and represent you at the required meeting of creditors and make sure you are more than prepared.   The whole process takes approximately three to four months from the date we file your petition to the time we get your bankruptcy discharge.  

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