Hartselle Bankruptcy Lawyers & Attorneys

Debt can quickly become an insurmountable issue for many Americans and our Hartselle bankruptcy lawyer can help. Fortunately, even if you are drowning in debt there are still options for those who have been outpaced by their credit lines and payment amounts. For those seeking bankruptcy in Hartselle, Alabama, we are currently charging a flat attorney fee for most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases in the area. Need a bankruptcy lawyer in Hartselle, Athens or the surrounding areas of Morgan County?

You’ll likely be filing for bankruptcy in the United States District Court, Northern District of Alabama, Northern Division. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you will have a hearing called a Meeting of the Creditors. During this hearing, our experienced Hartselle bankruptcy lawyer will be there with you to ensure that the process is handled properly and to guide you.

If you get in contact with our Hartselle bankruptcy lawyer today, we can review your unique situation and help you decide if bankruptcy is the best option or not. We will review the process of filing for debt relief with you, ask you for specific documentation and lay out what your options are based on this. The two most common types of bankruptcy filed are either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.

The majority of, or all of your unsecured debts, except specific, un-exempt debts such as child support and most student loans, will be discharged or eliminated relatively quickly and easily in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This type of bankruptcy is usually fast – lasting around three months from filing to discharge. Our Birmingham & Montgomery bankruptcy lawyer can help you decide which bankruptcy is right for you.

After filing a Chapter 7, there will be a Meeting of the Creditors about a month later. Even though it’s called a Meeting of Creditors, typically, no creditors actually show up and the meeting consists of a Trustee that will administer your case by asking you several questions under oath. No judge is involved and the questions are normally pretty simple, such as things like your phone number and whether you listed all your property in the filings.

When it comes to a Chapter 7, you have to qualify to file and our Hartselle bankruptcy lawyer can figure this out for you. The average gross monthly income in your household for the previous six months must be below a number on an IRS chart for a family of your size in Alabama to qualify. The numbers on the charts change based on census data. Your spouse’s income is included in the household income if they live with you. S

hould they not be filing, then your spouse is not a party to the bankruptcy and it should not affect their credit or debts when our Hartselle bankruptcy lawyer files your case without them. However, it is assumed that their income is commingled with yours and can be used to pay your debts since they are part of your household, which is why their income counts for purposes of qualifying. Our bankruptcy attorneys in Athens can help by providing a quick consultation today.

Should your household income surpass the number on the chart, then you have to pass something called the means test, which is a budget based test. This test can be run for you by our Hartselle bankruptcy lawyer either in person or by you getting everything to us by email or fax.  To complete this, we would need a questionnaire filled out by you and your pay stubs or other proof of income (and proof of spouse’s income) for the previous six months.

Chapter 13 is basically a payment plan. Our Hartselle bankruptcy lawyer will run the means test, do a budget, and look at your debts and other factors to come up with a payment plan that the judge will approve. Give our Hartselle bankruptcy lawyer a call today to see which bankruptcy is right for you and your family. Whether you need a bankruptcy attorney in Hartselle, we can help you.

To get started with your bankruptcy process just contact our Hartselle bankruptcy lawyer to set up an appointment or speak to them over the phone. We can counsel you over the phone and determine your options fairly quickly without you having to come into the office. If after speaking to our attorney, if you decide to proceed with filing bankruptcy then we will coordinate an appointment in the Hartselle office.

Upon setting up the appointment, we will send you a questionnaire to bring with you to the appointment along with all the necessary paperwork required to file. Certain documents will be needed, such as your tax returns for the prior two years, bank statements, and pay stubs. We will inform you what to bring when setting up the appointment.

Our Hartselle bankruptcy lawyer charges a flat fee for the attorney fees in a Chapter 7. There are additional costs such as the fee for pulling your credit report, tax returns, and the fees for two online courses (each one takes about an hour to complete online or over the phone). Call our local bankruptcy attorney today for the total costs for filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy with us in Alabama.

The up front costs for Chapter 13 can be much cheaper. There is sometimes a flat fee to be paid up front to get it filed, but then you have to start making your payments shortly after that. So it is cheaper up front to file, but the monthly payments begin immediately. If you call our Hartselle bankruptcy lawyer then we can file your Chapter 7 bankruptcy today.

Call us today and let our bankruptcy attorneys in Hartselle discuss your financial options over the phone. The Harris Firm office in Decatur serves all of Morgan County and Limestone County areas. If you need a bankruptcy lawyer in Cullman, Hartselle, Decatur or the surrounding areas of Ardmore, Moulton, Cullman, and Madison, your bankruptcy will be filed in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama Northern Division.

Chapter 13 can stop a foreclosure and help you keep your property by taking the back payments you are behind and spreading them out over five years, allowing you to get caught up over those years. It can also help reorganize some indebtedness such as student loans or vehicle loans. Chapter 7 is a fairly quick and fast bankruptcy. As long as you qualify to file and do not have any property that will be liquidated by the Trustee, then it is usually a good option to get a fresh start.

We are a member of the local Morgan County Chamber of Commerce and the North and Central Alabama Better Business Bureau, so please check us out there for reviews from former clients. If you are drowning in debt and need some relief, then giver our Hartselle bankruptcy attorney a call today for a quick phone consultation.