As a respected San Diego and Central District of California Bankruptcy Attorney, I can advise you of all your legal options and help you decide if bankruptcy is the best choice for you. I will help you to determine the best course of action possible in the following areas:

• New Bankruptcy Laws
• Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
  
• Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
  
• Adversary Proceedings
• Credit Counseling
• Foreclosure
• Bankruptcy Fraud
• Debt Consolidation
• Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
• Petitions

When you're filing for bankruptcy, it is critical to understand your legal rights. Bankruptcy laws protect consumers from financial ruin and the potential to be abused by creditors. By allowing consumers to have their qualifying debts eliminated, bankruptcy offers all Americans a second chance at controlling their debt.

I have helped hundreds of clients reorganize and eliminate debt, saving homes, cars and wages from overly aggressive creditors. I am highly qualified, experienced and have the know-how complex new bankruptcy laws demand.

Bankruptcy law is a unique type of law based on forgiveness rather than punishment. As of October 17, 2005, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act took effect, enforcing tougher restrictions on consumers trying to file under Chapter 7 bankruptcy. My Firm has the necessary expertise to determine the qualifications you must meet in order to file for bankruptcy. I founded Legal Objective in 2004, with the primary focus of providing quality bankruptcy services to the local communities. We provide exceptional legal counsel that reflects the extensive experience, proven capabilities and industry expertise for which our staff is known. We specialize in all areas of bankruptcy, and provide quality legal services for both small businesses and consumers in Chapter 7, 11, 13 and adversarial bankruptcy proceedings. In an effort to better serve our clients, we will establish payment plans for qualifying clients.

Bankruptcy has been around since biblical times, and has long been recognized as an important component of the capitalist economy in that it restores debtors to the consumer marketplace. Specifically, bankruptcy gets rid of credit card and most other kinds of debt (exceptions are alimony and child support; most student loans; recent taxes; and debts caused by fraudulent or willful and malicious actions). Most people are solvent for the first time in years when they emerge from bankruptcy, and once again are able purchase goods and services without going into more debt.

How Bankruptcy Can Help With Foreclosure
If you get behind on your mortgage payments, a lender may take steps to foreclose; that is, enforce the terms of the loan by selling the house at a public auction and taking payment of your loan out of the auction.

The foreclosure process typically starts after you fall three or four months behind on your payments. If you are able to act early one might try some alternate measures to bankruptcy, such as loan forbearance, a short sale, or a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

But if you've already tried and failed with these measures, now is a good time to consider bankruptcy as a possibility for avoiding or stalling foreclosure. As an experienced San Diego and Central District of California Bankruptcy Attorney, I can help you with this process.

How Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Can Help
It may be that you’ll have to give up your home no matter what. In that case, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy will at least stall the sale and give you two or three more months to work things out with your lender, or help you save up some money during the process and then cancel the debt secured by your home.

Even if Chapter 7 bankruptcy would work for you, you may not be eligible. Under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, you are not eligible if your average gross income for the six-month period preceding the bankruptcy filing exceeds the state median income for the same size household. Nor are you eligible if your current income provides enough excess over your living expenses to fund a reasonable Chapter 13 repayment plan.
   
How Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Can Help
Chapter 13 bankruptcy lets you pay off the “arrearage” (late, unpaid payments) over the length of a repayment plan you propose — five years in most cases. But you’ll need enough income to at least meet your current mortgage payment at the same time you’re paying off the arrearage. Assuming you make all the required payments up to the end of the repayment plan, you’ll avoid foreclosure and keep your home.

Important New Tax Law
Thanks to a new law, you MAY no longer face tax liability for losses your mortgage or home-improvement lender incurs as a result of your default, whether you file for bankruptcy or not. This new law applies to the 2007 tax year and will end December 31, 2009 (See H.R. 3648 - Public Law 110-142).

If you or someone you know in Southern California needs the assistance of an experienced San Diego and Central District of California Bankruptcy Attorney, call Christian McLaughlin today at 866-266-9523, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.