On the list of questions many people ask is “how do I pay for this because I don’t have any money?” As usual, “it depends” is the primary answer. It depends on if you are filing chapter 13 or chapter 7. Let me explain….
In Chapter 13, our court allows you to pay ZERO DOWN on your bankruptcy filing, and you just pay the Chapter 13 Trustee your first month’s plan payment within the first 30 days. So there’s no money down for a Chapter 13 filing! With a Chapter 13 you do pay monthly payments to the Chapter 13 trustee for the secured items you want to keep like your house and car. You can pay that monthly payment out of your paycheck, your unemployment check, your social security check, or get help from friends and family. Also, the trustee has a fairly new option that allows the regular payments to the trustee to be automatically drafted out of your bank account if you’d like. Many people really like this option because it’s one less thing you have to do. And we all need one less thing to do these days.
In a Chapter 7, you can either pay the filing and attorneys fees before we file the case, or you can actually now finance the cost of filing. You just pay it over a period of 12 months with an auto draft from your bank account or debit card. It even works with social security debit cards. Again, this allows for NO MONEY DOWN bankruptcy filing. If that’s something you’re interested in, I can give you all of the details personally.
So you see, either way you go you have options for a no money down payment structure. Don’t let fear of the unknown stop you from reaching your financial goals. If you are in a rut and need a way out, or see that you are about to get into a rut, go ahead and contact us for a free conversation about how we might be able to help you. I look forward to working with you to achieve your dreams!
Attorney Alissa Gay 