West Virginia Bankruptcy Lawyer
Overwhelming debt does not have to mean that you will lose your home or your car. There are ways to get a fresh start that can allow you to keep your property and remove the burden of difficult debt.
Too often, people who are living with difficult debt fail to take the necessary steps to resolve their situation until it is too late. Many see continuing to struggle to pay their debts as the responsible thing to do. Some are afraid of being labeled as irresponsible.
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In reality, the most responsible thing you can do when faced with overwhelming debt is to seek out the advice of experienced counsel, so that you can understand what options are available to help you get the fresh start you deserve.
Common Causes of Bankruptcy
Credit Card Debt
One of the main forms of debt that can accumulate catastrophically is credit card debt. As the debt on a credit card increases, the company issuing the card often increases the interest rate to near the legally allowable maximum, often approaching 30 percent. Having that level of interest rate applied to a large debt can cause the debt to grow at such a rate that the average consumer will never be able to pay down the debt.
Once the pattern of high debt and high interest rates has been set, it can be almost impossible for a consumer to get out from under that debt without some sort of experienced guidance. Late fees and other fees can add to the difficulty credit card users have in even being able to meet their minimum monthly obligations.
Divorce
Divorce is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy. Many couples who file for divorce end up with more debts than assets to divide with their spouse, and the stress of dealing with that debt can make it hard to move on. Our lawyers can help.
We offer a free initial consultation to discuss your divorce debt problems and help you find a solution. If bankruptcy is necessary to discharge debt, we can advise you whether it would be best to file before, during or after your divorce. Some debts, such as credit card and medical bills, can be discharged, while support obligations cannot.
Job Loss
Job loss can put your family in a financial bind. While you are seeking a new job, bills can pile up and you could find yourself in a position of deciding which bills to pay and which to kick down the road. This is a time when you could benefit from the advice of a skilled bankruptcy attorney. If you are struggling with debt following a job loss, our lawyers can help you get the fresh financial start you need.
Medical Debt
While most debt in life is avoidable by taking certain precautions and making smart financial choices, medical debt is one that can strike anyone. When a medical emergency or the need for care arises, there are no options but to turn to doctors and hospitals for care.
When medical debt strikes, it is often catastrophic. A person can go from being debt free to being several hundred thousand dollars in debt in the instant it takes for a car to run a red light.
Medical debt can arise both from emergency procedures and ongoing care. The cost of medical care continues to rise which only exacerbates the risk of financial ruin for those who have required medical care when they lacked sufficient insurance coverage to pay their bills.
Medical bills do not have to be the end of your financial stability. There are ways to deal with medical debt. The Bankruptcy Code is built to protect individuals and families from just such difficult financial situations. Chapter 7 bankruptcy and Chapter 13 bankruptcy give people the fresh start they need.
Qualifications for Filing for Bankruptcy
Many people allow concerns about whether or not they will qualify for bankruptcy protection to prevent them from educating themselves about bankruptcy and what it can do for them. Even if you are concerned that you will not qualify for bankruptcy protection, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of our free initial consultation. Our attorneys are more than happy to take the time necessary to make sure you understand all of the benefits of bankruptcy.
While there are specific tests required to qualify for bankruptcy protection, the reality is that most people who are living under overwhelming debt do qualify. The main qualification that most people have heard of is the means test. The means test does look at your ability to pay off your debts. However, it is rarely an obstacle to our being able to offer real help to our clients.
Consulting with an experienced bankruptcy attorney is the only way to know with certainty what help is available to you through the Bankruptcy Code.
Do I Need to File For Bankruptcy?
If you are being harassed by creditors and are living in fear of losing your home and car, bankruptcy may provide you the relief you need. Filing bankruptcy will put an immediate stop to a home foreclosure, car repossession and any other attempts by a creditor to collect a debt. Filing bankruptcy will also allow you to discharge debts, such as credit card bills, while protecting assets you want to keep, including:
- 401(k) and IRA accounts
- Equity in your home
- A car up to a certain value
- Household belongings up to a certain value
Bankruptcy is just one of the ways our attorneys can help you solve debt problems. If a creditor has violated your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, our lawyers may be able to provide you with debt relief by suing the creditor who is harassing you.
Asset Protection
When overwhelming debt strikes, one of the key reasons that many people do not consider the option of bankruptcy is fear that assets, such as their homes or cars, will be taken. What many people do not realize is that filing for bankruptcy protection is often the most effective means of asset protection.
Filing for bankruptcy protection puts in place something called the automatic stay. The automatic stay puts a halt to all collection activities, including:
- Foreclosure
- Repossession
- Wage garnishments
- Bank garnishments
Creditors are also barred by the automatic stay from contacting you further by phone, mail or any other method. If further collection activities continue, the creditor may be liable for those activities.
At Broadwater Law Group, we understand that for many of our clients, the protection of their assets is the primary concern, even more so than ridding themselves of overwhelming debt in many cases. We help our clients preserve the assets they have worked so hard for while helping them get the fresh start they need financially. We can help you maximize the benefits of the bankruptcy process to get rid of unsecured debts such as:
- Credit card debt
- Medical bills
- Personal loans
Guiding You to Calmer Waters
At Broadwater Law Group, we offer free initial consultations where we take the time to educate our clients about their rights and their options for overcoming their difficult debt. We have more than a decade of experience working to help our clients maximize the benefits of bankruptcy. Let us help you get on the path to a more financially stable tomorrow.
More on debt-related issues
Practice Areas
Our firm offers its superior representation to those in need of legal representation for debt-related issues such as:
Contact the Bankruptcy Lawyers of Broadwater Law Group
When you realize that you want to do something about the overwhelming debt you are living with, turn to the highly skilled and experienced West Virginia Chapter 7 lawyers of Broadwater Law Group. To schedule a free initial consultation, contact us online.
This website contains legal information and is not intended to give legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. Viewing this website does not create an attorney-client relationship with Broadwater Law Group.
