Best Bankruptcy Lawyers in Napa, CA

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy takes 3-1/2 months from the date your case is filed to the case closing. However, there are only two simple things you are required to do during that time - attend one meeting (there is no court appearance required in Chapter 7), and complete a 2-hour online financial management course. The Chapter 7 process is simple and quick. Your only costs are the attorney fee and the Court filing fee. Your property is protected and your debt is discharged. The majority of bankruptcy cases are simple Chapter 7s.

You can think of bankruptcy as the doorway out of a hopeless situation. While contemplating bankruptcy may at first feel awful, it is actually the bankruptcy that gets you out of awful financial circumstances that have likely been developing for years. You will be able to get a credit card and car loans just months after your case is done. You can qualify for a government-sponsored (FHA) home loan after just one year after the discharge of your debt. Your credit will be good for the consumer loans most of us need.

Tax-deferred retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, are safe in bankruptcy because they are not included in the bankruptcy estate; Congress recognizes that retirement accounts are so critical to the future financial health of the debtor that they are protected without limit. Consequently, clients who have a 401(k), IRA, PERS, STRS, or equivalent account who file bankruptcy get rid of all their debt and still have tens or sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars in their retirement accounts after the case closes.

A Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy filing triggers the ``automatic stay.`` Your creditors must stop garnishing your wages immediately, and during the entire bankruptcy process, or face legal action. When you are granted your discharge and begin your life after bankruptcy, garnishment efforts stop forever.

If a lender wins a judgment to levy your bank account, your bank must cooperate and provide access to account funds. Most often, the only way to prevent the loss of assets through a bank levy is to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.