A surprising number of people start thinking about bankruptcy when they fall behind on their credit card payments. Some people who are unfamiliar with our legal system believe they will go to jail if they stop paying. Not true. Furthermore, most creditors, including credit card companies, banks, and medical-care providers, can’t go after your wages, bank account, or home unless they first sue you in court and win.

Suing you takes time and money, and not all creditors are willing to take this step. If a creditor does sue you, you’ll be personally served with a summons and complaint, after which you’ll typically have 30 days to file a simple response that denies the allegations and makes the creditor prove its case at a trial months or even years down the road.

Because of the potential expense involved in bringing a lawsuit, many creditors instead will declare the debt as “uncollectable” and write it off on their taxes. If you don’t own real estate and have few assets that could be seized, or you are unemployed or receiving Social Security, this is likely to happen in your case. In other words, while bankruptcy can get rid of most debts, you may be able to just stop making your payments without any consequences (except lowering your credit score), and save the bankruptcy fees. If a creditor does sue you later and win, and you have assets or income to lose, you would benefit from specific asset protection and wage garnishment prevention techniques offered by FreedomFromCreditors.

If You Just Want to Stop Collections

Probably the most common reason people think of filing for bankruptcy is to put an end to the blizzard of telephone calls that comes your way once you stop paying on your credit card or other installment debts. While a bankruptcy filing provides a quick solution to this problem, so does a federal law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FDCPA (Title 15 U.S.C. Section 1692c) and the laws of many states require creditors and collection agencies to stop calling you at your home or workplace if you ask them to. Or, as one judge of my acquaintance recently told a bankruptcy filer, “If you don’t want your creditors calling you, change your number.”

If You Need Help Deciding

It’s not always easy to weigh the pros and cons of filing for bankruptcy against the consequences of waiting it out and working with Plan B Consultants. Give us a call or leave your questions on this blog and we will happily provide information on your options free of charge.