Indiana Bankruptcy

Find a Bankruptcy Lawyer in Indiana with our debt relief directory and get a free BK evalution for a loan modification, chapter 7, 11, 13 or debt settlement that could lead to a fresh start. Find out from a local attorney if bankruptcy is the best for your situation. In Indiana, bankruptcy provides offers debtors a fresh start because bankruptcy protects consumers against lawsuit from creditors because filing your bankruptcy petition results in an automatic court order called an "automatic stay." This Bankruptcy Court Order prevents any lawsuits from being filed or judgments entered against you, and it also protects you from garnishment, seizure of assets, harassment, phone calls, threats and collection action. The protection starts after you attend the mandatory pre-bankruptcy counseling session and file your case with the Court. Until that time, creditors can still try to collect on your credit card debt. And, you are not protected from Indiana foreclosure proceedings.

What happens to my home and car?
ccording to Robert D. Cheeseborough, Indiana Bankruptcy Lawyer, if you are current on your mortgage or vehicle payments, you will not lose your house and car if you file for Chapter 13 as long as you continue to make your payments. In Chapter 7, whether or not you will lose your house and car depends on the amount of equity you have in the property and the amount of exemption that you are entitled to. If the total amount of debt against your house or car is less than the market value, you may lose the property unless an exemption entitles you to all or most of the equity.

Indiana is leading the nation in the number of foreclosures, so you're not alone. While chapter 7 offers a temporary automatic stay, it won't protect your house from an Indiana foreclosure. Your best bet would be to file a Chapter 13 before the sheriff sale. That will stop the foreclosure. Plus, there is a little known provision in chapter 13 that could potentially remove any junior liens that are on your house (e.g., second mortgage , etc.).

Under chapter 13, you may be able to "cram down" your vehicle. This means that you can keep the vehicle and pay to your creditor the fair market value of the car not how much you owe on the vehicle. For example if you owe $15,000 but your vehicle is only worth $7000, you would only pay $7000. You may even be able to lower the interest rates on your loan, as well.

Avoiding Bankruptcy
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law in October 2005, made significant changes to Indiana chapter 7 bankruptcy laws and Indiana chapter 13 bankruptcy laws. It is now more complicated and expensive to file for chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy. But, there are two aggressive, but effective ways of avoiding bankruptcy: loan modification and debt settlement. A debt settlement involves getting your creditors to agree to take less than what you owe as full payment for the debt. A loan modification involves negotiating with your mortgage lender for rates and terms that allow you to stay in the loan. Indianapolis bankruptcy lawyers and other Indiana bankruptcy attorneys can explain your options and help you choose the best one for your situation.