Kentucky Bankruptcy Lawyers

Your Experienced Kentucky Bankruptcy Lawyers Located in Radcliff, Serving Elizabethtown Plus Hardin and Surrounding Counties

Getting into debt is rarely intentional, but damages and further debt will quickly multiply without the help of an experienced Bankruptcy lawyer. Too many people avoid the claim of bankruptcy while they get further and further into debt and legal issues. Bankruptcy is a legal tool that empowers you to retake control of your finances, and it entitles you to significant benefits and protections. Filing bankruptcy can potentially shield you from collection actions, enable you to discharge unsecured debts, and even save your home. Our Radcliff and Elizabethtown bankruptcy lawyers at Musselwhite Staples Hafley & Johnson can let you know if bankruptcy makes sense for your situation, determine which type of bankruptcy claim you are eligible for, and represent you in each stage of your filing.

Benefits of Filing Bankruptcy in Kentucky

Filing for bankruptcy confers numerous benefits (below), some of which take effect immediately. Other forms of relief only become available once your filing has been successfully completed.

The automatic stay is a court order issued shortly after you file for any type of consumer bankruptcy.
This stay prevents any lenders or debt collectors from pursuing any collection actions against you. In other words, you will no longer receive letters or calls demanding payment, and in most cases you will be unable to lose any of your property – including your home – to repossession or foreclosure. The freeze on collection actions will generally persist until your bankruptcy is complete, meaning that in some cases, you will have multiple years of protection.
Completing a bankruptcy will usually result in the court allowing you to discharge your unsecured debts. Unsecured debt encompasses any type of debt that lacks collateral, such as credit card debt, medical bills, unpaid utility bills, and personal loans. The ability to discharge unsecured debts can represent monumental relief for many.
In general, bankruptcy gives you time to come up for air. If you have been drowning in debt, it can be overwhelmingly stressful trying to keep track of who you owe and how behind in payments you are. Bankruptcy allows you to take stock of your obligations and determine how best to manage them going forward. The goal is to ultimately build a better, more sustainable financial future free of crushing debt.

Bankruptcy Services We Offer for Radcliff, Elizabethtown, Hardin County

There are multiple types of consumer-oriented bankruptcy, and the practice can be used to help combat several consequences of accumulated debt. Our team is familiar with all areas of the Bankruptcy Code as well as relevant federal and state laws. We can leverage our knowledge to maximize the benefits of bankruptcy while limiting its impact on your estate.

Our bankruptcy attorneys offer services in the following areas:

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. This form of consumer bankruptcy is intended for persons without sufficient means of paying any portion of their outstanding debts. Your nonexempt assets will be subject to the liquidation process, in which property is sold by a trustee assigned to your case in order to partially compensate creditors. This can sound frightening, but you are permitted to exempt many assets, including value in your home, car, and other practical and sentimental property, and protect them from liquidation. We can help determine if you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy under the state’s Means Test and work to limit what is subject to the liquidation process.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. The other type of consumer bankruptcy focuses on a restructuring of debt and is meant for those who can afford to pay back some of what they owe. A bankruptcy court will reorganize your debt into a single payment you will be expected to make monthly for a period of 3 to 5 years. The amount of your payment will be in most cases derived from your current level of disposable income – your ability to reasonably pay – and not the total size of your debt. We can help you assess your level of disposable income and fight to get you a repayment plan that is viable and fair.
Creditor Harassment Defense. If you have missed multiple payments on one or more loans, there is a good chance your lender or a collection agent representing them will attempt to contact you about settling up. These communications can quickly snowball into various forms of creditor harassment, especially if you are unable to immediately repay. You have federally protected rights protecting you from especially intrusive creditor strategies, but you can also put a complete stop to collection calls by filing for bankruptcy. The automatic stay prevents any creditor from attempting to contact you directly until your bankruptcy has been completed. Retaining legal representation can put a quick stop to creditor harassment, and we can determine if any debt collectors broke the law when contacting you.
Foreclosure Defense. Losing a home due to foreclosure can be devastating, but there are ways to stop the process and save your home. Your lending institution must wait a minimum of 120 days before filing a foreclosure lawsuit, giving you some time to explore relief options. Once a foreclosure is in motion, you will have to act quickly and should immediately contact qualified legal representation. We can leverage bankruptcy’s automatic stay to halt foreclosure proceedings if the property has not yet been sold at auction. Given the urgency of these matters, our team is available for same-day appointments and even same-day bankruptcy filings.
Wage Garnishment Defense. If a lender becomes frustrated by your inability to repay debts, they may attempt to file a lawsuit to obtain a money judgment, which authorizes them to siphon away a portion of your paycheck. Wage garnishment can make a bad situation worse but can be avoided through bankruptcy’s automatic stay. Note that some forms of debt do not need court orders to enact garnishment, meaning you may need to act fast to avoid losing part of your take-home pay. We can evaluate your vulnerability to wage garnishment and help you explore relief options, including filing for bankruptcy.