Tired of receiving a near-constant barrage of communications from creditors looking to collect what you owe them? You are not alone. Many people across Michigan are struggling to stay on top of their finances, and some of those people find that filing for bankruptcy gives them an opportunity to start over. While filing for bankruptcy may help you regain control over your finances, it also has the potential to put an end to some of those creditor calls and communications, at least temporarily.
How? According to LendingTree, once you file for bankruptcy, something called the automatic stay takes effect, and while you are in the automatic stay period, many of your creditors may no longer contact you while your bankruptcy case is ongoing. For example, if you are facing the threat of foreclosure on your home, or conversely, if your landlord is looking to evict you, bankruptcy’s automatic stay may give you temporary relief in these areas.
Similarly, bankruptcy’s automatic stay may help if you are losing a percentage of your wages at work to wage garnishment. If, before filing for bankruptcy, you were losing a portion of your paychecks to one of your creditors, this will stop while your bankruptcy case is ongoing. Thus, as long as the automatic stay remains in effect, you should be able to receive your paycheck in its entirety.
If you are receiving notices on your door or other communications from utility companies that are making threats to disconnect your services, they are also unable to do so while your bankruptcy case remains active. In some cases, your creditors may go to court to request a lift of the automatic stay. Under these circumstances, you may need to pay that particular creditor while your case is ongoing.
This copy is educational in nature and not a replacement for legal advice.
