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Bellevue Bankruptcy Attorneys

All Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Cases

Stop all harassing calls immediately!

Serving all of King County, WA

(425) 278-1137

Let us help you get a fresh financial start today.

Stop struggling just to survive every month!

Bellevue Debt Relief Lawyer Erin Lane

Is filing a Washington State bankruptcy the right choice for me and my family?

Are you and your family facing crushing debt?  Do you feel like you are drowning every month?  Are you struggling just to keep a roof over your head and pay for basic necessities?  If so, filing for bankruptcy may be your best option.  Our Bellevue bankruptcy attorneys want you to understand your legal rights and options.

Despite what your creditors and those nasty bill collectors would have you believe, filing for bankruptcy is NOT a financial failure!  It does NOT mean that you are a bad person or have done anything wrong in life.  Bad things happen to good people all the time. 

Believe me, we understand.  We see it all the time, especially in this economy.  Whether it is through loss of employment, an unexpected medical emergency, divorce, falling prey to the predatory lending tactics of credit card companies, or some other financial disaster, our bankruptcy lawyers know that many of our clients find themselves struggling through no fault of their own.

Your creditors and those incredibly nasty debt collectors that do their dirty work want you to believe that you have no choice but to pay them back, often with astronomical fees and interest.  It's ridiculous. 

They will scare you, lie to you, and do everything they can to make you feel guilty and bad.  They want you to believe that you have no other option but to continue to suffer and pay them as much as you possibly can every month. 

They want you to believe that even thinking about filing for bankruptcy means that you are a complete loser.  Again, this is completely ridiculous.  In fact, it's absurd.  Our Bellevue bankruptcy lawyers want you to know the truth.  In reality, the bankruptcy laws are here to protect honest and hard working people who have fallen on difficult financial times, frequently through no fault of their own.

Our Bellevue bankruptcy lawyers are experienced and aggressive debt relief attorneys who file fight to maximize your protection and relief under the Bankruptcy Code.  If you qualify, bankruptcy is really like a kind of magic reset button when it comes to your finances.  It can do many things that will immediately free up much needed monthly cash flow.

Get the fresh financial start you deserve!

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Inexpensive payment plans.

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(425) 278-1137

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A Washington State bankruptcy can help with all of the following:

• Stop all creditor harassment and harassing phone call today!
• Stop your Bellevue home foreclosure auction immediately!
• Wipe out or "discharge" all credit card debts and bills.
• Stop and eliminate all lawsuits and legal judgments.
• Stop all car repossession actions immediately!
• Wipe out and eliminate all medical bills.
• Stop all wage garnishment actions.
  

Our Bellevue bankruptcy attorneys are here to help you understand your legal rights under the Federal and Washington State bankruptcy laws. 

Call now for a free financial analysis! 

Talk to a a bankruptcy lawyer now!

(425) 278-1137

The bankruptcy laws are here to protect you!

If you are able to file for bankruptcy here in Washington State based, all qualifying debts will be completely wiped out.  After your debts are eliminated or "discharged", you will be given a chance to start over without the overwhelming stress and psychological strain that comes from not being able to pay your bills every month.  If you qualify, bankruptcy can also help you stop your King County or Bellevue home foreclosure auction immediately.

When someone is facing a debt load that can never be paid back in a realistic time frame, bankruptcy allows them to shed the debt, keep property and get back on their feet so they can continue a productive life as a worker and consumer.  Our bankruptcy laws have been around for hundreds of years. 

Our Bellevue bankruptcy lawyers understand that anyone can get caught in the gears of our current economy and suddenly be facing a financial crisis.  We're here to help you understand that you have very important legal rights under the Bankruptcy Code.  The right protect you and your family if you are unable to pay your bills and meet your financial obligations.

It is well recognized that it is much better to allow someone to have a fresh financial start, free from oppressive debt, than to force that person to wallow in debt indefinitely.  If that were the case, in order to survive many people would leave the formal workforce, work for cash and hide from creditors who would never be paid anyway. 

Our Bellevue bankruptcy attorneys are here to help!

Call now for a free financial and case analysis.

Talk to a bankruptcy lawyer today?

(425) 278-1137

If you qualify, filing for bankruptcy is your legal right!

These people would stop stimulating the economy as borrowers and consumers and as a whole put a drag on the economy.   Nobody wants to break a promise to repay a loan but our risky, free market economy is hard to predict.  Financial crisis can happen to anyone and the bankruptcy laws are there to help when unforeseen problems make it impossible to pay back a loan.

Bankruptcy laws allow debtors to keep their necessary property such as retirement accounts, most cars, equity in homes, household goods and proceeds from injury lawsuits just to name a few classes of property.  Bankruptcy would not offer much of a fresh financial start if you had to give up your important property to get rid of debt.

The legal protections for property are known as exemptions.  In Washington we are fortunate to be able to choose between state and federal exemptions.  This choice usually allows for quite a generous amount of property to be saved in a typical bankruptcy case. 

If you have questions about what property you would be able to keep if you file, one of our Bellevue bankruptcy attorneys would be happy to review your assets and provide you an analysis of what we can protect under either the Federal or Washington State bankruptcy laws.

Bankruptcy starts by filing a petition for relief with the U.S. Bankruptcy court.  As soon as the petition is filed, all collections must stop.  This includes utility cut offs, evictions, foreclosures, repossessions, law suits, garnishments and nasty phone calls – all attempts to collect a debt.  A trustee is appointed to administer the case. All final decisions are made by a bankruptcy judge.

Most debtors only have to attend one hearing called a meeting of creditors a month after they file.  Creditors rarely attend this hearing.  Usually only the debtor and their attorney appear before a trustee who asks a series of questions under oath.  The end result of a bankruptcy is a discharge. 

The discharge eliminates debt forever by forbidding creditors from collecting the debt.  Some debt is not included in the discharge such as student loans, back taxes, domestic support obligations and court fines.  Many clients have questions about how much of their debt can be discharged in a Washington State bankruptcy. 

If you have questions about your debts and legal rights, the best thing to do is to call our offices and consult with one of our Bellevue bankruptcy attorneys about your legal rights and options. 

What are my bankruptcy options in Washington State?

There are two kinds of bankruptcy for most consumers: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. A Chapter 7 is the cheaper, quicker and simpler form of bankruptcy.  If creditors are paid anything in a Chapter 7, it is from selling the debtor’s property and dividing the proceeds fairly between creditors. 

In most cases, if you can qualify, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and relief is your best option.  This is because the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process is relatively brief.  We are often able to process Chapter 7 cases from start to finish within four to six months of being retained.

Chapter 13 cases, by contrast, take a minimum of three to five years.  They also require you to make monthly payments to a trustee for the duration of your "bankruptcy plan".  Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases also cost less and are highly effective at wiping out 100% of many of our clients' outstanding debts. 

For example, in almost every Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, we are able to completely eliminate or wipe out 100% of all credit card debts, medical bills, repossession debts, rental agreement debts, lawsuits, judgments, and most other unsecured debts.  The few exceptions include things like student loans, spousal support and child support, and some taxes.  Though, in certain circumstances, some past taxes can be wiped out too if you meet certain qualifications.

If you have questions about whether or not you can qualify for bankruptcy protection either under either the Chapter 7 or the Chapter 13 laws, we encourage you to call and speak with one of our Bellevue bankruptcy lawyers today.  We offer a free initial consultation and financial analysis.  In most cases, we can determine whether or not you can qualify for bankruptcy relief during your initial consultation.

Bellevue Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorneys

As discusses above, most debtors do not lose any property in a Chapter 7 because the bankruptcy exemptions are fairly generous.  Chapter 7 is intended to help debtors who do not have enough income to pay any of their unsecured debt, not even pennies on the dollar.  Debtors can keep property like homes and cars by paying the secured debt (mortgages, car loans, etc) on this property.

When filing a consumer bankruptcy, a debtor has to submit to a means test.  The means test measures the debtors household income to determine whether they have the income to pay some percentage of unsecured debt.  If the debtors household income is over the median, then the means test deducts monthly expenses from the income to see if any disposable income is left for unsecured debt repayment.

Some expenses are the debtors actual monthly expenses, such as mortgages, car loans, taxes, health insurance and day care.  Some are set by the IRS tax debt repayment regulations, such as food, clothes, rent and transportation.  If you have questions about how your monthly expenses will affect your ability to qualify for bankruptcy relief and protection, we encourage you to call our offices. 

One of our Bellevue bankruptcy lawyers will be happy to review your finances and explain how the bankruptcy process works here in Washington State.  In most cases, our bankruptcy lawyers are able to determine whether or not you can qualify based on your monthly expenses and income.  This process usually takes less than an hour.

If a debtor files a Chapter 7 and has disposable income in the means test, there is a presumption they are abusing the bankruptcy system and their case can be dismissed or converted to Chapter 13.  Sometimes a debtor can rebut the presumption of abuse by claiming special circumstances like a sudden drop in income or the addition of a household member.

Bellevue Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorneys

A Chapter 13 is a debt consolidation and repayment plan. In this plan, the debtor must include all their debt.  They can get caught up on a mortgage, pay a car loan, pay back taxes and back child support – all kinds of debt.  The debtor makes monthly payments to the trustee who divides the payments among the creditors.  The debtor proposes a plan and the trustee or creditors can object to the plan. 

A bankruptcy judge makes the final decision whether to approve the plan.  Very few people who try to file a Chapter 13 by themselves are able to get court approval of their plan because Chapter 13 is fairly complicated.  Most people would rather file a Chapter 7 because they are able to get a fresh start much more quickly than in a Chapter 13 but higher income people often must stay in Chapter 13. 

A Chapter 13 can be the best kind of bankruptcy for some people because it can do things like offer long term protection from foreclosure or allow debtors to keep property that would otherwise be sold in a Chapter 7.  Determining which bankruptcy option is best for you and your family can be complicated.

Our Bellevue bankruptcy lawyers are experienced and knowledgeable debt relief lawyers who will fight to maximize your relief and protection under the Bankruptcy Code.  The laws regarding discharging debts and retaining property are complicated.  And, while you can try to file for bankruptcy on your own, we do not recommend it.

Over the last ten years, the bankruptcy lawyers at our firm have helped thousands of good people wipe out millions of dollars of debts.  We have also helped hundreds of people stop their home foreclosure auction and keep their property.  Ever person's situation is unique, however, and we urge you to contact us as soon as possible if you find yourself in financial crisis.

One of our Bellevue bankruptcy lawyers can help you determine if bankruptcy is even an option you given your current financial situation.  If you can qualify, however, it is usually your best option.  In our experience, few people who are drowning in debt and struggling every month just to survive are able to suddenly turn things around.  Instead, they try to hang on for as long as possible and often just end up making things worse.

We are experienced Bellevue bankruptcy attorneys who assist people seeking debt relief by filing either a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  Our Washington State bankruptcy attorneys serve clients throughout the Greater Eastside, including Kirkland, Bellevue, Woodinville, Juanita, Mercer Island, Redmond, Issaquah, Sammamish, and North Bend.  We serve all of King County and Bellevue, WA.

Is pursuing a Bellevue bankruptcy my best option?  Let our experienced debt relief lawyers walk you through the qualification process step by step.  This is really the only way to know for sure what options are available to your.  Our Bellevue bankruptcy attorneys handle all types of personal bankruptcy matters throughout the greater Puget Sound region.  If you are in need of debt relief assistance, we have the resources and the experience to assist you.

Erin M. Lane is an experienced and aggressive Bellevue bankruptcy lawyer who serves the entire Eastside of King County, WA.  Erinand the attorneys who work with her provide debt relief services to clients in Kirkland, Woodinville, Redmond, Fall City, Bellevue, Kenmore, Juanita, Mercer Island, Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, and Carnation.

Our Eastside bankruptcy offices are conveniently located in downtown Bellevue right across from the Bravern on NE 8th Street.

Our Bellevue Bankruptcy Legal Services Offices:

The Plaza Center

10900 NE 8th Street. Ste 1000

Bellevue, WA 98004

Bellevue bankruptcy lawyers fighting for you!

Call now for a free case evaluation.

(425) 278-1137