Welcome to the first radio show with Jeff Kelly featuring guest Patrick Matson. Today we debunk the fears surrounding bankruptcy and ensuring that your bankruptcy experience is one that goes smoothly.
Hello, this is Jeff Kelly. And in this podcast today, I’m going to talk about what happens to your credit score after bankruptcy. Am I doomed? For many years. What does my future look like? Will I ever be able to buy a new car at a decent interest rate? Will I ever be able to buy that house that I’ve always dreamed of? Is my financial future ruined forever as a bankruptcy attorney who has practiced in this area since 1998? I have heard questions like these hundreds of times. And the answer might shock you. The answer is this. Most people do recover within about two years, one to two years of filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy. How can that possibly be? You may say, well, first of all, usually by the time the clients come meet with me, the damage has already been done. Most potential clients have stopped paying credit cards. Many months ago, had cars repossessed. Been sued by creditors. Had wages garnished or had their house foreclosed. Any of these will put a major hit to your credit rating. For most people considering bankruptcy, like I said, the damage is already there. So the question is, what do we want to do going forward? Do you ever get a knot in your stomach when you think about your credit score? David, just feel sick to your stomach thinking about all that debt and the interest and late fees and just mess that’s hanging over you and it’s not going anywhere. Well, Chapter 7 might help make that pain ...
Hello, this is Jeff Kelly and Today is June the 15th 2020. And today I want to talk about how to protect yourself from theft in a chapter 13 with NDC.org. Every active chapter 13 debtor should open an account with NDC.org, the cost is free, but the information you see could be worth a lot of money and save you from theft. Having an account with NDC.org will allow you to see every single proof of claim that has been filed in your bankruptcy case and it will also allow you to verify that your chapter 13 payments are being received by the trustee. Years ago I had a client whose employer took money from her paycheck, but never sent it into the trustee. We caught the error and had to sue the employer to get the money paid. Having an account with NDC.org allows you to catch stuff like this. Proof of claim is a form signed under oath, with supporting documentation that a creditor must file in a bankruptcy case in order to get paid. The proof of claim will tell the trustee the type of claim and the amount owed. If a creditor fails to file before the deadline in your case, they won’t get paid anything. For example, let’s say you had a car repossessed a few years ago, and owe the car creditor $10,000. If they fail to file a proof of claim on time, you will not have to pay that $10,000. Let’s change up the facts ...
Hello, this is Jeff Kelly, and today is June the 8th, 2020 and today we’re going to talk about, can I buy a car while I’m in an active Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. Short answer? Yes, you can, but buying a car while you’re in an active Chapter 13, while it’s possible, it’s extremely difficult because most lenders are not willing to go through the process of waiting for the court to approve a post-petition car loan. Finding a lender who’s willing to work with you while you’re in an active Chapter 13 case is the biggest challenge. However, I have seen some clients pull it off successfully. It’s important to note, no one can incur any new debt in an active Chapter 13 case without permission from the court. Now, of course, emergency medical debt, that’s an exception to this rule, but as a general rule, no new debt without permission from the bankruptcy court, or you can get in a lot of trouble. To obtain permission from the court, we had to set it down for a hearing. We have to notify all the creditors in your case what our intentions are, that we want to buy a new car. At the hearing, the trustee is going to have some questions and may or may not oppose your request to purchase a new car. Your bankruptcy attorney will present your case and then the bankruptcy judge will decide whether or not she wants to sign an order allowing it. Typically, this process takes anywhere between 30 to 45 days. It is a slow process. It is not overnight. If you truly don’t have ...
