Stop Creditor Harassment

Seattle bankruptcy lawyer, Erin M. Lane and her team can help stop all creditor harassment immediately.

You may wonder if it’s possible to stop all creditor harassment immediately with a Washington State bankruptcy. The answer is, yes. As soon as it is filed with the help from our Seattle bankruptcy lawyers, the court immediately issues an “automatic stay” of all attempts to collect a debt. This stay covers:

• Foreclosures
• Repossessions
• Garnishments
• Phone calls
• Letters
• Lawsuits (whether they have gone to judgment or not)
• Automatic payments (any kind of debt collection)

The automatic stay is broader than the discharge, which is the final court order canceling debt in a bankruptcy. Even if a debt, such as student loans, cannot be discharged, the automatic stay prevents collection while you go through the bankruptcy process. Fines, such as parking tickets or speeding tickets, are not seen as debts but punishment, and the automatic stay may not apply to them.

A creditor can ask the court to modify the automatic stay if Washington State bankruptcy laws allow it. A mortgage company or car finance company may modify the automatic stay if you are behind on payments. In a Chapter 7, they will get relief from the stay and permission to continue a foreclosure or repossession if you are behind on payments.

You also have to have the property in question insured. In a Chapter 13, you are given a chance to get caught up with the payments in a payment plan. As long as the payment plan complies with Washington State bankruptcy laws and you are current with your payments, they creditor can not modify the automatic stay.

If a creditor violates the automatic stay, you can ask the court to order them to pay sanctions, attorney’s fees and damages. To succeed with this kind of action, you have to show that the creditor got notice of the bankruptcy and continued to collect. Our Seattle bankruptcy attorneys can help ensure that your creditors stay off your back.

Washington State bankruptcy laws – the automatic stay make bankruptcy a powerful weapon.

Many bankruptcy judges will not order the creditor to pay anything if there is no real harm, but if money is seized and that causes real hardship – or real harm results from any post bankruptcy attempt to collect a debt – the court will order the creditor to pay something. Because of the risk of violating the automatic stay, creditors take a bankruptcy filing very seriously.

The automatic stay makes bankruptcy a powerful weapon in the pursuit of a legal, financial fresh start. Learn more and have your questions answered by our Seattle creditor harassment attorneys today. The Seattle bankruptcy lawyers from our firm offer a free initial phone consultation to make getting legal guidance easy.

Give our Seattle bankruptcy lawyers a call today!

Our bankruptcy attorneys in Seattle, WA are here to help you get a fresh start. With inexpensive low flat fees, we make it easy for anyone’s budget. Call today for your free consultation:

(206) 686-6399