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, the mandatory federal filing fee is $299.00. A mandatory credit counseling certificate is required to file. This counseling may be done at our office while we are opening the file. This fee can vary on the source but will not cost more than $50. Please note that regardless of which , if any, law firm you hire the mandatory fees mentioned above will apply

We can also obtain your credit report at cost for $20.00 - single report, $40.00 for a joint report. This is not mandatory but we find it very helpful if you don't have a complete and accurate list of creditors.

Attorneys' fees:

Our fees are based on your unique situation. Since each case is different it would be misleading to throw numbers at you before your free consultation. After factoring in the following considerations the attorney will present you with a fair and balanced qoute. We've been doing this a long time so our fees are very competitve if not lower than most firms in the area.

Major determiming factors for a routine Chapter 7 case:

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?

and the number of pieces of real estate owned?

Once again Your free evaluation will determine your total cost:

To sum it up, the cost to file a Chapter 7 consists of the Filing fee of $299.00, the credit counseling fee (No more than $50.00), Credit Report fee $20-$40 if you choose and our attorneys' fees.

Once determined You may pay attorneys' fees and costs by cash, personal check, debit card or money order. We also offer a payment plan via third party checks.

Similar to a layaway plan 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.