Stage 4 - Financial Emergencies
The typical Emergency Chapter 13 candidate has a pending trustee sale date on his/her home and was recently rejected for a loan modification. Filing a chapter 13, will stop the sale date and give you an opportunity to restructure the arrearage payments and reapply for your loan modification.
As a rule of thumb, anyone with a deadline of less than 14 days is in an emergency situation.
In cases where a bankruptcy petition must be filed quickly in order to prevent some particular action against a debtor, like the sale of a house or car, the bankruptcy courts may allow a petition to be filed without all of the documents generally required when initially a filing a case. Such emergency filings are generally called “skeletal” or “bare-bones” filings by the bankruptcy court. Once a debtor files an emergency petition, the court will give him a set period of time, generally either two or fifteen days depending on the documents needed and the circumstances of the case, to file the remaining required documents with the court. The benefit of being able to file an emergency petition is that it allows a debtor to commence a bankruptcy case and invoke the protections provided by the automatic stay even if the filer does not have time to gather all of the necessary documents. The automatic stay generally stops any collection action against the debtor, including repossessions and foreclosures, so filing an emergency bankruptcy petition may allow you to retake possession of your vehicle while you are working with your attorney to resolve your debts through a bankruptcy filing
Key Issues to Consider in Stage Four:
1. Can you provide our firm with your background information quickly?
2. Have you completed your Pre-Bankruptcy Credit Counseling Course?
3. Can you afford Chapter 13 payments?
4. Will Filing Bankruptcy fix your situation?
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