Nancy Neal Joyce focuses her practice on the legal options available to distressed debtors. The three main areas of relief for individual debtors are Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Chapter 13 bankruptcy and debt restructuring. Under certain circumstances you can even use a combination of bankruptcy and debt restructuring to deal with your debt burden.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Chapter 7 bankruptcy might be the solution for you if your financial situation is so dire that you find yourself unable to pay even a significant portion of your debts. As soon as the court accepts your bankruptcy petition, it will issue an order preventing your creditors from foreclosing, seizing your property, garnishing your wages, harassing you, or initiating other forms of collection activity.
In Chapter 7 you are required to liquidate all of your non-exempt assets to pay your creditors. Once this is done, you will receive a full discharge of all debts that are included in the bankruptcy, even if your creditors have only been paid pennies on the dollar. This means that your creditors can never come after you again for these debts, and cannot call or harass you about them. Further, some of your assets will be exempt – they cannot be liquidated even to pay your creditors. Exempt debts include equity in your home and your car. In some cases, all of a debtor’s property is exempt from liquidation, meaning that creditors take nothing.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is for debtors that retain at least some ability to pay their debts. To qualify, you must have a regular disposable income, and be capable of repaying a significant portion of your debts within three to five years. You and your attorney will prepare a debt repayment plan and submit it to the bankruptcy court. Although the court must approve the plan, your creditors cannot unilaterally veto it.
Once you finish paying your installments under your debt repayment plan, the court will discharge you from all further debt obligations to these creditors, even they haven’t been fully paid yet.
Debt Restructuring
Bankruptcy might not be the answer for you. You might hesitate to allow a bankruptcy on your credit record, you might be ineligible for bankruptcy because of past bankruptcy proceedings, or your debts might not be eligible for discharge in bankruptcy.
Debt restructuring encompasses a variety of means of managing your debt load without resorting to bankruptcy. Nancy Neal Joyce can negotiate with your creditors on your behalf to secure better repayment terms – lower interest rates and longer installment periods, for example. In some cases a creditor may agree to completely forgive part of a debt that you owe. Negotiation can even take place while a lawsuit against you is pending. If you are concerned about losing your home, Ms. Joyce can help you refinance your mortgage on more favorable terms.
Ms. Joyce can also help you enforce debt collection laws to fight back against creditor abuse. If your creditors have already violated debt collection laws, you have a potential claim against them, and this can be used as negotiating leverage to press for better terms of indebtedness.
Contact Attorney Nancy Neal Joyce Now to Attain the Financial Freedom You Deserve
If you are tired of being in bondage to debt and are ready to make a fresh start, call Nancy Neal Joyce at (734) 427-7772 for a free consultation. You will be able to speak directly with Nancy, not a paralegal or legal assistant. She serves debtors throughout the Detroit area from her Livonia, Michigan office.
