BANKRUPTCY

There can be times when people find themselves buried so high in debt that there is absolutely no way that they will ever be able to pay it down, much less pay it off. This can happen for any reason when any one unexpected event throws us off. An individual or married person’s bankruptcy options are usually Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is a complete wipe-out of most all credit obligations that can be incurred by individuals. Once the petition is filed, creditors may no longer garnish your paycheck, contact you or otherwise attempt to collect money from you. Once the bankruptcy is discharged, the individual no longer owes that money and can begin fresh, however, the fact that the individual declared a Chapter 7 bankruptcy will remain on their credit report for about ten years and could make getting credit in the immediate future a bit more difficult.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is similar to a consolidation loan in several ways. Chapter 13 is appropriate when there is money leftover each month after living expenses are paid, but not enough to pay an amount that is satisfactory to each creditor. In a Chapter 13, the debtor makes one payment a month to the Trustee and the Trustee then distributes payment to the creditors of the debtor. Again, creditors may not contact the debtor to collect on the obligation once the petition is filed with the Court.

DIVORCE

Uncontested - For whatever reason, either or both of you do not wish to continue being married. You both agree on how property and debt should be divided. If you have children, you also both agree about the parenting schedules, visitation and child support arrangements. When both parties agree on what is to be done with the property, debt and children, they have the less expensive option of keeping their divorce uncontested. Contested - Unfortunately, not everyone is going to agree on all issues necessary for their divorce to remain uncontested. The goal is then to negotiate a settlement or prepare the issues for trial before the judge. Contested divorces are always more involved than uncontested divorces, take longer to complete and are more expensive.

PATERNITY ISSUES

More and more unmarried people are having children and then face similar issues as married parents when they separate, but there is no divorce to resolve these issues. The court action we use in this situation to address these issues is called “Paternity”. Issues addressed in a paternity action are limited to issues regarding your child, such as custody, visitation and child support.

POST-DECREE ISSUES

Sometimes, especially with growing children, parties outgrow the arrangements set out in their divorce settlement agreements. Things change. There are any number of reasons why arrangements made before might now need adjusting. If the parties agree, it is usually a simple matter of redrafting the adjustments and filing the new agreement with the Court. Other times, a hearing before the Court may be necessary.

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