Do you have a judgment or HOA lien on your home, or are behind on child or spousal support? Chapter 13 may be much better than Chapter 7. You may need the extra help of Chapter 13 if you have any of the following liens against your home: Judgment lien Homeowner association lien Unpaid child or spousal support Or … Read More
Prevent Judgment Liens against Your Home with Chapter 7
Filing a Chapter 7 case buys you time and can permanently stop judgment liens from hitting your home. Recently we went through a list of ways Chapter 7 buys you time when dealing with debts affecting your home. Included was that filing a Chapter 7 case can “stop a lawsuit from turning into a judgment lien.” That judgment lien … Read More
A Debtor’s Adversary Proceeding
Sometimes it’s in your best interest to force an issue in bankruptcy court by, in effect, suing a creditor in an adversary proceeding.
Addressing Statutory Liens through Chapter 7
Statutory liens survive bankruptcy. Chapter 7 may still be able to help in various ways and be your best solution.
The Undoing of a Judgment Lien
Here’s an example showing why a judgment lien on your home is dangerous, and how bankruptcy can solve this problem.
Release a Judgment Lien from Your Home
Bankruptcy can do more than forever discharge your debts. It can undo some bad creditor actions, like a recorded judgment lien on your home.
A Judgment Lien is Dangerous
A judgment lien effectively converts a debt that was secured by nothing into one secured by your home.
Debts from Unlawfully Driving while Intoxicated
If you injured someone by unlawfully driving while intoxicated, the resulting obligation can’t be discharged in bankruptcy.
Undoing a Judgment Lien
A judgment lien turns an unsecured debt into one secured by a lien on your home. Bankruptcy can undo that, and write off the debt.
Stop a Creditor from Turning its Unsecured Debt into a Secured One
Because of Chapter 13’s much more powerful automatic stay, its ability to prevent judgment liens and tax liens is extremely valuable.
Secured Debts
Creditors with secured debts often have much more leverage against you than with unsecured debts.
Stopping a Judgment Lien from Hitting Your Home
Letting a creditor get a judgment against you is dangerous, for a lot of reasons. One of the biggest dangers is a judgment lien on your home.
Judgment Liens that Can Be “Avoided”
Bankruptcy can’t get rid of most creditor liens on what you own. But judgment liens that can be “avoided” on your home are an exception. Our last blog post was about judgment liens, why they are so dangerous, and how both Chapter 7 and 13 types of bankruptcy can deal with them. Today’s blog post explains what determines whether a … Read More
Crucial Question: How Quickly Will the Creditors Stop Calling, Suing, Garnishing?
Two steps: 1) Hiring an attorney stops collection calls and some other creditor actions. 2) Filing bankruptcy stops everything else.
The Extraordinary Tools of Bankruptcy: Cancelling All (or Almost All) Garnishments
Most garnishments are stopped immediately if you file bankruptcy. But you don’t want to file too late.
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