How to Prepare for Bankruptcy

Filing under the bankruptcy code is much like having surgery for a serious medical problem, it is not your first choice but it you have a serious enough issue it may be the best cure for your problem.

If you feel you are ready for to file you should review the list below and consult with an attorney. An attorney can help you plan for the bankruptcy, decide when to file a bankruptcy petition, or even avoid filing for bankruptcy.

1. If you intend to file bankruptcy you should stop using your credit cards. If you borrow money with the specific intent of discharging the debt in bankruptcy instead of paying it back, the debt is not dischargeable. In addition, three specific circumstances are worth mentioning: (a) certain luxury purchases over $1000 within 60 days of the bankruptcy filing are presumed non-dischargeable; (b) cash advances aggregating $1000 within 60 days of the bankruptcy filing are presumed non-dischargeable; and, (c) debts involving materially false financial statements are non-dischargeable under certain circumstances.

2. Don't transfer your assets to friends, family and business associates to protect the assets from your creditors. The transfer may be considered a fraudulent conveyance. If it is, you may lose both the property and your right to a bankruptcy discharge.

3. Don't destroy any business or financial records. You can lose your right to a bankruptcy discharge as a result.

4. Carefully choose the creditors you pay. Some creditors, such as landlords, secured creditors, and some utilities should be paid under most circumstances. If you pay a credit card debt that eventually will be discharged, you may be throwing money away. Your attorney should advise you on what debts should and should not be paid while you prepare to file a bankruptcy petition.

If you live in the Atlanta Georgia area please visit our website and set up a free consultation with one of the attorneys at Galler Law Firm.

Georgia Free Credit Report

How to Obtain a Copy of Your Credit Report

Free credit reports

Due to the passage of the 2003 Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA), all Americans are entitled to one free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- upon request every 12 months. There are several ways you can request your free credit report:

• Online: Visit AnnualCreditReport.com
• Telephone: (877)-322-8228
• Mail: Complete the Annual Credit Report Request form and mail it to the following address:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Residents of Georgia are entitled to one free copy of their credit report each 12 months from each of the three main credit agencies per federal law and one free copy of their credit report each 12 months from each of the three main credit agencies to satisfy their state's law.

The second free report can be obtained by directly calling each credit bureau:

• Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 www.equifax.com
• Experian: 1-888-397-3742 www.ExperianDirect.com
• TransUnion: 1-800-916-8800 www.transunion.com

January Bills & Bankruptcy

2008 will prove to be the worst financial year in history for many people. As families settle down after a joyous holiday season of togetherness, tensions begin to mount as the merchants cheerfully send out their post-seasonal bills. They’ve made their money. Now it’s time for you to pay up.

“Wait just a minute,” you may be thinking. “How is this year any different than the rest?” Great question. In short, there are a number of factors that individually would not be of much significance, but this year they may all come into alignment to create financial hardships for millions of hardworking Americans.

If it happens to you, the pressure and stress of a financial burden can feel like the weight of the world is upon you. If you find yourself in such a dire financial situation, you must know that there are resources and legal ways that you can recover, without losing your home, your car, or other assets that you worked so hard to attain.

You may recall that many credit card companies changed their minimum payment policies last year. If you normally pay your bill in full but spent a little extra for gifts this past season, the higher required payment might take you by surprise.

If you took advantage of the subprime lending rates on your home and either refinanced or borrowed against your equity, the added payments from adjustable rates mortgages might be creating an additional financial pinch in the coming months.

Complicating matters further, bankruptcy laws changed significantly in 2005, making it harder to qualify for debt forgiveness due to newly imposed income tests to prove eligibility for filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.

The icing on the cake, if your (former) employer was kind-hearted enough to keep you on their payroll through the holidays, but unexpectedly slipped you the bad news that your services were no longer needed after the New Year, the combination of all of the above means that your walls are closing in on you, and it can sometimes be difficult (or impossible) to maintain your objectivity.

Help is nearby.

No responsible citizen wants to throw in the towel and fail to meet their financial obligations. But clearly there has been a growing pattern of commercial pressure to lure you into what seems like an unrecoverable situation. Was it a conspiracy? No. There is no need to be paranoid about it. But as oil companies, utility companies, banks, and merchants are reporting record profits, the greed of corporate America has led to an all-time high consumer debt.

The worst part about this depressing picture is that you, the consumer who supports the economy with your hard-earned dollars, is more often a victim of commercial advertising strategies designed to part you from your money. Face it, companies sink millions of dollars into marketing, advertising, and conducting studies to learn how to target you, their valued patron. Unfortunately, you weren’t privy to the results of their research which told them exactly how to hit your hot buttons. On top of that, circumstances beyond your control like increasing mortgage rates, loss of a job, and so on can mount up to devastation.

There are laws in place and tools available to protect your interests if this has happened to you, so do yourself a favor: take a deep breath, pick up the telephone, and make a simple phone call to a qualified financial attorney. Ask for a consultation, and learn what you can do to preserve your livelihood, your assets, your family, and your peace of mind.

To schedule a free consultation visit our website at http://www.gallerlaw.com/galler_bankruptcy.html