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Baltimore Bankruptcy Attorneys

Bankruptcy in Baltimore


Bankruptcy rates in Baltimore have been on the rise. If you’ve filed or are filing for bankruptcy you know how stressful of a situation it is. Claiming bankruptcy is a serious and important decision to make. It’s an act that can have lasting effects on you for many years to come. Buying a house or a car will become very difficult, because the only people willing to give you credit after a bankruptcy case will offer it at very high interest rates. Here are a couple of options when it comes to filing bankruptcy in Baltimore.

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the most common form. This is basically a personal bankruptcy. Chapter 7 is used to wipe away consumer debts, yet keep any debts you want, such as a mortgage or a car payment. When you file a Chapter 7, the court will appoint you a trustee. It’s the trustee’s job to oversee your possessions, which the court obtains legal control over. In some cases, they may sell some of them to help pay creditors, but this isn’t usually the case. During a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, there is a “meeting of creditors” that you must attend, in which your trustee and the creditors themselves will ask you a series of questions. At the end of the case, you’re granted a discharge from paying your debts. There are some debts that are unable to be discharged, however. For these, the court and your Baltimore bankruptcy attorney will help you set up a timeline for repayment. After the filing of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may not file another one for eight years.

In a Chapter 13, your debts are consolidated. Your Baltimore bankruptcy attorney will sit down with you and help you come up with a 3 to 5 year monthly payment plan, based on the amount of your debts, your current income, and your monthly expenses. Often, a Chapter 13 is used to stop foreclosure upon a house so that the owner can catch up with the payments again. It’s sometimes used to stop repossessions too. You must wait two years before filing another Chapter 13.

A Baltimore bankruptcy attorney will be able to help you through the process of filing either of these types of bankruptcy. There are other types of bankruptcy, of course. Generally, these other types only apply to specific situations, such as the Chapter 9, which is municipal bankruptcy, or the Chapter 15, which is for international and ancillary cases. Your bankruptcy attorney will be able to go over all of these situations and options with you, and they’ll help you decide which route is best.