You Can Buy A Car The Next Day After Your Bankruptcy Discharge

After a bankruptcy discharge you can buy a car the very next day. Many people aren't aware you can buy a car as soon as your bankruptcy is discharged, but in many cases this is a real possibility.

If for some reason, you find yourself without a car after a bankruptcy discharge, you will want to read further.

The need to purchase a car shortly after bankruptcy may be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

If you have gone through a bankruptcy chances are you can relate to what a difficult time in life this can be. It can leave a person feeling ashamed, humiliated and embarrassed. No one likes to feel as if they have failed financially.

This entire process requires a lot of self-examination to discover how you got in over your head with your debts. All this can take a toll on the strongest of people.

The experience can be emotionally exhausting.

Perhaps you lost your set of wheels with the filing or maybe the one you did have just decided to quit running. This can add insult to injury. Most Americans cannot live without a car to get them to their job and around town.

If you can relate to this, let's remove the straw before it does break the camel's back. You could have a chance to purchase a car the day after a bankruptcy discharge.

The first place to start is to find a licensed dealership that works with special financing situations such as this. There are some lenders that may be able to work a deal for you and put you into a car, but you will have to search them out. This is because not all dealerships offer this type of financing.

You can try searching online for subprime lenders. Some websites make it possible to enter all your personal information which they will put out to several lenders at one time. This can be referred to as bidding; lending companies will compete to get a loan for you.

This is sometimes a great way to get a cheaper interest rate for a car loan after bankruptcy.

Another way may be to look for an auto consultant through a licensed dealership. An auto consultant does all the work for you. In addition, they understand that this is a temporary situation for most, and they want to earn your trust and hopefully build a relationship with you. This makes for happy customers and good business sense.

Most consultants will listen to you and work with you to figure out the best deal with the best monthly payment so that you can get back on your feet. These types of dealerships have the means to get you the car you want and a payment you can handle after a bankruptcy discharge.

An Essential Guide To Bankruptcy: What Is It All About

Bankruptcy almost seems like the big black hole of financial debt. But do we really know what it means? What does filing bankruptcy even entail? If you are looking for answers, then here is your source to all you need to know to help clear up some of the questions that you may have about the big bad "B" word.

What Exactly Is Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is a basic legal process that provides a person with immediate financial relief. Bankruptcy comes along in someone's life when they can no longer afford to pay for their bills. Past due debts are now going into collections and you have somehow gotten in way over your head. Bankruptcy can help by actually stopping legal actions by any and all creditors. This can more often than not release an individual from any and all outstanding debts and allows them to get back on their feet so to speak.

Different Bankruptcy Law

There are many different loopholes and versions of this and that when it comes to bankruptcy law. There are a few standard one that you should be aware of though. The process of bankruptcy according to the bankruptcy law requires you to first file an assignment of bankruptcy. Notify all present creditors that you are now starting to file bankruptcy. You will need to settle on some of your assets, meaning you may have to cash in on some of the things that you own to get out of debt. You must file tax returns, and then you are required to attend at least two credit counseling sessions. After that you are put through the discharge process and you now have officially filed for bankruptcy. These laws change all of the time so it may be wise to speak to a legal professional when handling such important financial matters.

Do You Need To File Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is definitely not a decision to be taken lightly. Take some time out and talk to a financial advisor before you decide anything. You can even look at your finances on your own and see if there is anything that you can figure out to do before declaring bankruptcy. This is not a quick fix. It will take not only a financial toll on you but an emotional and physical one too.

Declaring bankruptcy typically stays on your credit report for about seven or eight years. This will make it somewhat hard to make big purchases such as a house or a car. It may even make it difficult to obtain any types of credit card no matter how small. Since you have essentially defaulted on all of your debt, credit card companies and other loan companies will look at you as a high risk borrower. If you really feel like there is no other way for you to get back on your feet then go through with your bankruptcy plans, just tread lightly.

Nowhere Else to Turn

Obviously it is not an ideal situation to be going through bankruptcy proceedings. If you are however in serious financial ruin, bankruptcy may be the only choice you have to consider. Not just to get rid of old debts but to allow you to breathe easy again and not have to worry about a creditor on the phone every time it rings.

Why Pay Some Creditors Back After Filing Bankruptcy?

Since the economic meltdown of 2008, there have been an increasing number of individuals filing for bankruptcy. In the past, many people avoided filing bankruptcy and use it as a last resort because they feel that need to pay back their debts. Although many today don't have that luxury there are many situations that would make it advantageous for the debtor to pay back some of their creditors after the bankruptcy discharge.

Most normal folks don't understand what they can or can't do after a bankruptcy filing. There are many who believe it is illegal to pay someone back after the discharge. Then there are the few that get threatened by a previous creditor that was discharged in bankruptcy and feel the need to continue paying them. The truth is, once the debt is discharged in a bankruptcy filing, the debtor is no longer responsible for any of the debt. A bankruptcy discharge is a permanent statutory injunction that prohibits any creditor from taking action, including a lawsuit, while attempting to collect on a debt that was discharged in a bankruptcy filing. The creditor can be sanctioned by the bankruptcy court for violating the injunction that could include a fine for civil contempt.

Where an individual really needs to do some soul-searching as in the case of the debt from a friend, family member or employer that was discharged in the bankruptcy. They are not required to pay the debt back after filing for bankruptcy, but if they want to have any relationship with a family member or friend, they should work something out.

In the case of a debt that was owed to an employer and discharged in bankruptcy, it also would probably be a good idea. The bankruptcy law is very explicit of any discrimination of debtors by private employers or even government agencies. A private employer or agency cannot discriminate against a person filing for bankruptcy, because the employer's debt was discharged in the debtor's bankruptcy filing. These bankruptcy discrimination laws include, terminating the employee, any kind of discrimination against hiring or promotions, suspending the employee, not allowing the debtor to renew a license, a franchise or anything comparable. These are strong words protecting the debtor filing for bankruptcy that the employer may not discriminate against the employee based solely on the bankruptcy filing. Even though the bankruptcy laws very explicit about discrimination, it would be a good idea to continue paying the employer back the money owed. They could be as simple as the employer needs to lay off three employees if the debtor is more experienced but would probably be the first to go. It would be very hard to prove that this was a case of discrimination and not just economic downsizing.

Filing bankruptcy wields a lot of power and the debtor needs to remember if they want to keep relationships with family members and friends, even though they don't have to pay them back, it would be in their best interest. The debtor should discuss the matter with their bankruptcy attorney to get some feedback. The best thing to do is put yourself in the creditor's shoes and ask yourself, how would you feel if your friend didn't pay you back?

Why Chapter 13 Is Preferred Over Chapter 7

Deciding between which type of bankruptcy to file isn't always an easy task. Further, once you decide you may find yourself ineligible for one type of bankruptcy. In general, there are a few reasons why some people choose to file for Chapter 13 over Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Mortgage Default

Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be more beneficial than Chapter 7 if you have fallen behind on your mortgage payment. First, your home can be protected from foreclosure with greater confidence than a Chapter 7 case. The reason is because you will be making payments towards the missed mortgage payments in a Chapter 13 case. Although bankruptcy exemptions offer protection of the home from seizure during bankruptcy, some state's exemptions rarely cover a house over $200,000. In many states, there is no guarantee the home is protected from seizure during Chapter 7. Second, you will be able to repay your delinquent mortgage amounts (arrears) over a specified period of time in Chapter 13. In many cases, you will be able to repay your missed mortgage payments in a way that you can afford without any additional interest fees or costs.

Asset Protection

The biggest issue with Chapter 7 bankruptcy is that some assets are vulnerable for seizure and liquidation. Bankruptcy exemptions can offer protection of some of your property, but each state's exemption laws vary. With so much variability in exemption laws, and the federal laws only offering basic protection, this puts assets such as your house, car and personal property at risk during Chapter 7. There is far less risk of asset liquidation in Chapter 13, mainly due to the fact that the debts are being repaid. As long as you continue to make your payments through the Chapter 13 plan creditors are not allowed to seize and liquidate assets.

Income Standards

Qualifying for Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be easier for many people than qualifying for Chapter 7. The eligibility standards for Chapter 7 are strict in order to weed out those who could afford to repay their debts. Many married couples filing jointly find it difficult to qualify for Chapter 7 because their combined income exceeds the eligibility standards. In general, if your income is greater than the median income of your state, you will be eligible for Chapter 13, but not Chapter 7.

Non-Dischargeable Debts

Some debts are not eligible for discharge under a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but could be repaid through Chapter 13. Many people make the mistake of filing for Chapter 7 without knowing whether or not their debts qualify for discharge, leaving them with a case dismissal and no debt relief. The main debts that are not dischargeable through Chapter 7 are taxes, student loan debts, spousal/domestic support payments or debts incurred by fraud.

Bankruptcy Automatic Stay - Why It Is Important To You

One of the most important and beneficial aspects of the bankruptcy process is the bankruptcy automatic stay. Essentially, the second that you file with the court, a bankruptcy automatic stay is issued. What this means is that wage garnishments, repossessions and foreclosures are all stopped. In addition, your creditors are now no longer permitted to contact you and if they do so, they face a potential fine for defying the terms of the bankruptcy automatic stay.

One common question is whether or not you should personally notify your creditors of your bankruptcy automatic stay. I would recommend that you do so if, for example, you have a repossession pending immediately. If a company does unwittingly repossess your vehicle, for example, while you are under protection of the bankruptcy automatic stay, you will be able to get it back in all likelihood, but this creates more work for yourself and your lawyer and thus is better avoided.

As such, I would recommend that you do notify, after filing, any car finance companies attempting to repossess vehicles and also your employer if you are currently experiencing wage garnishments. By federal law, your employer should not discriminate against you because you have filed for bankruptcy, so you should technically not have to worry about this or even consider it when notifying your employer. Though, of course, these things do happen sometimes anyway.

One thing to bear in mind is that it is probably not a good idea to notify any finance company trying to repossess your vehicle of your intention to file bankruptcy before you actually do file. This may simply make them go ahead and complete the repossession more quickly, while they still have the legal right to do and before you actually file. As such, I would recommend waiting until your bankruptcy automatic stay is in place.

Should You File For Bankruptcy Without An Attorney?

If you are one of the unfortunate many who are struggling to pay debts and simply cannot afford to do so, then you are probably considering bankruptcy. And let's face it; if you are already in this situation then you probably want to make it so you have fewer bills - not more. It is for this reason that so many seek to file for bankruptcy without an attorney, to save money

However, if you file for bankruptcy without an attorney, you really do set yourself up to fail. Yes, you have probably heard loads of people telling you about how you can file for bankruptcy without an attorney, how they did it themselves etc. But I would hazard a guess that this was prior to 2005.

Back in 2005 and after extensive campaigning by credit companies, Congress made a huge set of reforms to bankruptcy laws in order to prevent those who do not really need to declare bankruptcy from doing so just because they are unwilling to repay debts. This was known as the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. If you think the name of that law is complicated, then you should take a look at the laws themselves! Essentially, these changes made the bankruptcy code hugely difficult to understand, even by the standards of the professionals. So going it alone simply is not an option now.

In fact, so complicated were the reforms, that a number of institution professionals refer to it as the Bankruptcy Abuse Reform Fiasco, 'lovingly' shortened to 'BARF'.

So with the new added complications, avoiding attorneys is a bad idea. If you want to be successful in filing then you really need to accept legal fees will be a part of it and chalk them up as essentials that you will just have to pay!