Homewood Bankruptcy Lawyers & Attorneys

When your debt has reached a fever pitch and you are feeling overwhelmed, there are options that can provide you peace of mind and debt relief. Our Homewood bankruptcy attorneys are specialists in dealing with bankruptcy. We currently charge a flat fee to file most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases in and around Jefferson County, including the area of Homewood.

Our experienced Homewood bankruptcy lawyer can help you get financial relief, guiding you through the entire bankruptcy process. If you find yourself losing your battle with an unsustainable amount of debt, these options can help lighten the load in a way that can eventually get you back on track.

Speak to a knowledgeable Homewood based bankruptcy lawyer over the phone. We will provide a quick phone consultation the same day, asking you questions to help us understand the scope of your financial situation and briefing you on the process and the documentation that will be required. We can do remote, over the consultations or at our Homewood office, if need be. If there is a follow-up, in-person meeting required, we’ll gladly set one up.

If you choose to file for bankruptcy, certain documentation will be needed, depending on your unique situation. Normally, the last two years of tax returns, your last six months of income information such as pay stubs, bank statements, and a questionnaire filled out is what we’ll need to properly analyze your situation. Once our local Homewood bankruptcy lawyer has reviewed your situation, we can help you zero in on the right course of action, determining if bankruptcy is the right option. If it is, we can move forward with the filing.

You will normally be either filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is basically a three to five-year payment plan where you pay your creditors off over time. It can sometimes allow you to keep a home or vehicle that you are behind on since you may be able to take the arrears and spread them out over the length of the plan and avoid foreclosure or repossession as long as you make the small payment.  However, when most people think of filing bankruptcy they are thinking of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which is usually much quicker and simpler. Either way our Homewood bankruptcy lawyer can help advise you on the best type of bankruptcy for you and your family.

Filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy eliminates your unsecured debts in a very short amount of time. It does not eliminate all of such debts since some specific types of debt are protected from discharge in a Chapter 7 such as child support, certain student loans, or certain tax debts.  There are sometimes options available for even these types of debts but you would need to speak with our Homewood bankruptcy lawyer for more information since it is a little more complex.

For our Homewood bankruptcy attorney to file your Chapter 7 bankruptcy you must qualify, and this is based on your household income. If your household income for the last six months prior to filing is less than a number on an IRS chart for a family of your size in your state, then you qualify. If it is above that number, then you have to take something called the means test, which we can run for you to see if you do or not. To make these determinations, our bankruptcy attorney will need your last six months income information such as pay stubs for you and your spouse if they live with you to get started.

If you qualify for Chapter 7 and we get it filed for you, then you will have to go to one hearing called a Meeting of the Creditors or 341 Hearing.  Creditors do not usually show up for this meeting and it is usually an opportunity for the Trustee in your case to ask a few questions under oath.  One of our Birmingham bankruptcy lawyers will be there with you for this meeting, and it is usually held about a month after you file the case.

If you need a bankruptcy lawyer in Hoover, Homewood, Bessemer, Hueytown, Birmingham, Sumiton, Jasper, or Vestavia, then we will likely be filing your bankruptcy in the United States District Court, Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division. If you live in the City of Homewood or anywhere else in Jefferson County, then your bankruptcy hearing will be at the Federal Building in downtown Birmingham. No matter where you live in Jefferson County our bankruptcy attorneys in Homewood can help get you the debt relief you need.

Our Homewood bankruptcy lawyer is currently charging flat fees for most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. Most Chapter 7 filings are included in this, but there may be additional costs if there are complex legal issues like divorce, corporate or other such issues that entail much more time to handle or are likely to involve hearings. However, there is always a filing fee that the court charges as well. Give our bankruptcy attorneys a call for more information on the total cost of filing for bankruptcy.

Although a Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be beneficial to you in potentially discharging your unsecured debts, sometimes another type of bankruptcy called a Chapter 13 is preferable.  A Chapter 13 case is much less expensive to get filed, since most of the attorney fees get paid in the 5-year payment plan, so there are less cost up front.  When you call our bankruptcy lawyers in Homewood and set up a consultation, we will go over your situation and help you figure out the best option for you.

The Harris Firm regularly files bankruptcy cases in the Jefferson County area and are familiar with the local requirements in the U.S. Courts there.  Our attorney is a member of the Central Alabama Better Business Bureau and the local Birmingham Bar Association.  If you need a bankruptcy attorney in Homewood or anywhere else in Jefferson County, then give our Homewood bankruptcy attorneys a call today for a quick consultation.