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A married couple in their early 40s came in for their free consultation to see if there was any way force their creditors to stop harassing them. The household consisted of the two of them along with their two school-age children. They had a little over $40,000 in credit card bills and signature loans. Both were recently unemployed and had no way to make regular monthly payments on the debt. Even though they had advised their creditors of their financial position, the creditors were pursuing them ruthlessly. We looked at options for controlling the creditors through bankruptcy.

There are six different chapters of bankruptcy written into United States bankruptcy law. Each chapter has advantages and disadvantages. You should conduct research and hire an experienced bankruptcy professional, like those at Kirkpatrick & Associates, to help you determine which type of filing is right for you. If you are exploring your bankruptcy options, you might be looking for some general information regarding the most common types. We offer help for Chapter 7, 11, and 13.

Late 30s male with two children who resides in New Orleans, Louisiana came in in order to find out what bankruptcy related options may be available to help him save his 18 Wheeler that he uses as his sole means of income. In addition to the 18 Wheeler he has some federal and state tax liabilities along with several thousand dollars of credit card debt. Because he is behind on his 18 Wheeler, the filing of a chapter 7 would in all likelihood result in the loss of the 18 Wheeler back to the creditor.

Early 30s female with two young children who reside in New Orleans, Louisiana came in as result of having received a lawsuit from a creditor that was suing her for a deficiency balance from a car loan. The car had been repossessed and sold at auction for less than the entire amount owed. As a result, she still owed the amount not covered by the creditor in the auction. Since the earlier repossession, she had obtained a new vehicle and had remained current on that car note.

Mid 30's mother of one who lives in Metairie, Jefferson Parish Louisiana came in for a bankruptcy consultation after receiving a notice of wage garnishment. She is currently paying on her home and is current on the first mortgage but approximately one year behind on the second mortgage. She has approximately $30,000 of dischargeable unsecured debt (medical bills credit cards etc.) and $5000 of IRS taxes. As well, she has almost $100,000 in student loans. She owns her vehicle outright with a value well above the amount able to protect through the exemption under Louisiana law.

Early 70s male has a home that has a pending Foreclosure/Sheriff Sale in New Orleans, Louisiana came in to the Gretna, Louisiana office to look at bankruptcy options.. He has tried to modify the loan several times but the mortgage company has refused to qualify him. Accordingly, today is approximately 3 years behind with the mortgage. He has limited income, retirement and Social Security benefits.  He also has approximately $30,000 of unsecured debt and a vehicle loan that is up-to-date.

In Louisiana real estate foreclosures are conducted by the local sheriff. Under most circumstances, the filing of a bankruptcy, either chapter 7 or chapter 13, will stop the state court foreclosure proceeding. The case must be filed before the auction actually takes place. The New Orleans bankruptcy attorneys at Kirkpatrick and Associates, on a regular basis, stop Sheriff sales for clients living in New Orleans, Jefferson Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Washington Parish, Terrebonne Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, Assumption Parish, and Lafourche Parish.

I recently met with a lady who owns a home in New Orleans that was set to go through sheriff sale the following day. Within the same day, we were able to file a chapter 13 reorganization bankruptcy that forced the mortgage company to stop the sheriff sale. This allowed our client to resume making regular monthly mortgage payments and make a small bankruptcy court payment to catch up her mortgage arrearages over a five-year period.