Chapter 7
| Chapter 13 | Chapter 7|
TO GET A FRESH START Chapter 7 allows you to walk away from a mortgage you cannot afford. Chapter 7 will also stop a foreclosure and give you time to find a new place to live.
Chapter 7 is a liquidation type of bankruptcy rather than a reorganization. There is no payment plan and there is no payment plan to catch up and repay missed mortgage payments. In other words, if you are behind on your mortgage and you file Chapter 7, you will most likely need to surrender your home.
When you file a Chapter 7 debt liquidation, you can stop a pending foreclosure, most likely for a few weeks to a few months. After you file, the mortgage company will file a motion in bankruptcy court called a motion for relief from stay. In this motion, the lender will ask the judge to lift bankruptcy protection as to your mortgage so it can restart the foreclosure process.
The motion for relief process will likely take about 3 to 4 weeks to complete. Then the lender has to start the Tennesse foreclosure process all over. This means that in most cases, you will have between 4 to 8 weeks to prepare to move and to find a new place to live. Chapter 7, therefore, will not solve your current mortgage delinquency but it will give you breathing room and a chance to move on your terms.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Costs:
For a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, there is not cost to begin filing. A credit counseling certificate is required to file, $40.00 (this fee includes both the pre and post filing courses). The Pre filing course may be done at our office while we are opening your file. The post can also be done at our office after you file. Both can be done online at any time.
We can also obtain your 3 bureau credit report for $30.00 Individual, $50 for a joint report. This is not mandatory but we find it to be very helpful if you don’t have a complete and accurate list of creditors.
We also offer a package price ($55 for Individual / $70 Joint) that includes:
- Credit Report from all 3 bureaus. It’s important to have a very accurate report from all 3 bureaus. The court charges a mandatory fee for adding additional creditors after you file.
- Pre and Post Mandatory Credit Counseling.
- 8 Year Lien report
- 24/7 Online Access to all of the above documents
Additionally we can retrieve your tax returns in case you don’t have them for $10 per person.
Attorneys fees
Clark & Washington charges $1,250.00 for attorneys fees in a routine Chapter 7 case. We do offer flexible payment options.
You may pay attorney’s fees and costs by cash, personal check, debit card, money order or checks from a third-party. We can also open a file and hold it open until all the fees and costs are paid; at which time we will file your case.
Although our standard fee of $1,250.00 applies in 90% of our cases, this fee can vary (both up and down) depending on a number of factors such as:
- the total amount of debt
- the type of debt (secured debt, judgments, credit cards, taxes, student loans etc.)
- the amount and type of assets
- whether you owe either priority or stale taxes
- the number of pieces of real estate owned
You may pay attorney?s fees and costs by cash, personal check, debit card, money order. We can also open a file and hold it open until all the fees and costs are paid; at which time we will file your case.
