We all understand the unfortunate life events that can financially wreck a person and family: an unexpected job loss, a devastating medical problem, and even the dissolution of a marriage. Let’s face it, these past four years have been tough on all of us in this country. If you have reached the point in your life where you just cannot keep up with your creditors demanding payments from you and even filing lawsuits against you in court, then it’s time to consult with a Virginia bankruptcy attorney.

In the simplest terms, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows you to eliminate (discharge) all eligible debts so that you can get a fresh start. “Fresh start” is the actual language in the voluminous (and difficult to read) Federal Bankruptcy Law. Our lawmakers in Washington understood that sometimes life can just get in the way and cause a person or family to reach a point where they are unable to pay back money to creditors that you borrowed in good faith at the time. Indeed the US Constitution authorized Congress to enact bankruptcy laws. (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4).

Here’s a real world example that we see so often: when you bought that new car to replace your 8 year old jalopy, you had a good paying job with benefits and no problem meeting the monthly car note as it came due. Then the unthinkable but now so common thing happened – you got laid off from your good job. Now you’ve struggled to find another job comparable to the one you lost, and after months of looking you had to settle for a similar job but that paid less and without benefits. It’s not so easy to make those car payments now with your lower paying job. The finance company will no longer work with you to reduce your payments, and you’ve fallen five months behind and the repo man is in the driveway and the finance company has filed a lawsuit against you for the amount still owed on your now repossessed car.  What do you do?

Of course it would have been ideal to consult with one of our Virginia or Maryland bankruptcy attorneys before your situation got to the point of repossession and lawsuits, but we understand that isn’t always possible. But now it’s time to do so because a Chapter 7 bankruptcy may be the answer to this problem. And, in this scenario, it’s likely that the car is not the only debt you were unable to make payments on while unemployed or now underemployed so your telephone is probably ringing with annoying calls from other debt collectors. It’s time to take control of this situation and a free consultation with a Virginia bankruptcy attorney is step one.

In this situation, you won’t get your car back with a chapter 7 bankruptcy, but you will be free of the debt owed and someday soon you will be able to buy another car that fits into your new budget based on your new job status. In fact some folks are able to get a loan for a car a day after the bankruptcy is completed. You will have also discharged all of your other eligible debt so no more collection calls from credit card companies and other creditors. We know it’s rough out there in this economy and we’re here to help you get a fresh start with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.