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The Emotions of Filing for Bankruptcy

If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, you are most likely under an enormous amount of stress. If your situation feels hopeless, try to understand that you’re not alone. At Behm Law Group LTD, we work with people in your situation every day. Although this can be a traumatic and depressing situation, we see the difference that filing bankruptcy can make for people, not only with their finances, but also with their emotional health and well-being.

Before you file

You might be wondering how you will pay the heating bill, pay rent, make a mortgage payment, or put food on the table. Creditors are most likely making harassing phone calls from the moment you wake until you go to bed. When you do go to bed, you can’t sleep because your mind won’t quit churning in turmoil due to your financial stress.

When you file

Immediately after starting the process with a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer, the harassing phone calls end. You can pick up the phone with the confidence that the call is from a friend or family member. This is because when you file for bankruptcy, it is illegal for debt collectors to continue demanding money from you. Not only do the harassing phone calls stop, so do the demanding letters in the mail. That source of stress disappears immediately. Life begins to look and feel normal again.

After you file

After filing for bankruptcy, most people feel a tremendous amount of relief. They know that their financial nightmare is behind them. They also feel hope. Bankruptcy law exists in order to give people just like you a second chance. At Behm Law Group LTD, we know the relief and hope that bankruptcy can bring. If you’re feeling hopeless, call Behm Law Group LTD and allow us to help assess your needs and show you how bankruptcy can help you.

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From Bondage to Hope

From ancient times forward, societies have had different ways of dealing with debtors. Usually they were quite punitive and based on the faulty presumption that people acquire debts from some sort of moral failing. Fortunately, modern bankruptcy law has done away with these cruelties and provided bankruptcy as a means to start over.

Debt bondage

In ancient times, a debtor or the debtor’s children could be put into slavery to pay for a defaulted loan. Sometimes this servitude was indefinite and lasted for several generations. Once in servitude, the debtor, his family, and the generations who followed were subject to abuse and humiliation until the debt was repaid or satisfied.

Debtors prison

In the middle ages, many European countries developed a system of debtor’s prisons. The length of the prison sentence depended on how much was owed. While this system was more humane than slavery, it still resorted to removing a debtor’s freedom as result of the debt. Under some systems, the debtor was still obliged to repay the debt even though they were imprisoned. They either repaid this debt through forced labor or, when possible, by attaining the amount to satisfy the debt by selling their belongings or obtaining money from friends and/or relatives who wanted them out of prison.

Modern bankruptcy law

Bankruptcy laws were first written in the United States in the early 1800s. Bankruptcy laws stopped treating debtors as criminals and started providing a means for people to start over. Bankruptcy laws in the United States have been rewritten several times, resulting in the modern bankruptcy system we have now.

A way to get hope

While we no longer have debt bondage or debtor’s prison, being in debt can still feel like bondage. As the big credit card companies drain your finances, it feels they have you in a financial prison. Fortunately, bankruptcy law provides a way to freedom. There are consequences to bankruptcy. It is not something to enter into lightly. That’s why you need a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney to help you find out if bankruptcy is best for you. If you feel imprisoned by your debts, call the Mankato bankruptcy lawyers at Behm Law Group LTD.

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Chapter 7, Chapter 12, and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

The three types of bankruptcy that people can file for are Chapter 7, Chapter 12, and Chapter 13. A Minnesota personal bankruptcy attorney can evaluate your financial situation and advise you which type of bankruptcy best fits your circumstances.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is sometimes referred to as liquidation bankruptcy. However, it isn’t as scary as it sounds. Chapter 7 is a good option for people who rent, have little or no equity in their homes, or have few possessions. When you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, most of your unsecured debts can be discharged. If you have qualified under the means test and have completed a pre-filing education session with a credit counselor, you can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Chapter 12 bankruptcy

Chapter 12 is for family farmers who are financially distressed. To qualify, the family farmer must have a regular annual income more than 50% of which must be from farming activities. If you file for Chapter 12 bankruptcy, you have 3 to 5 years to make payments to your creditors.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a good option for home owners with steady incomes and equity in their home. When you file Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you will have 3 to 5 years to make payments on your delinquent accounts. If your unsecured debts are less than $360,475 and your secured debts are less than $1,081,400, you can file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

No substitute for a bankruptcy law

You need a qualified Minnesota bankruptcy attorney to help you choose among Chapter 7, Chapter 12, or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. At Behm Law Group LTD, we limit our practice to bankruptcy law. Our bankruptcy lawyers have helped scores of people in your position. Whether you file for Chapter 7, Chapter 12, or Chapter 13, we will work to get you the freedom you deserve.