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Are your wages about to be garnished?
Did you recently get served a lawsuit by someone you owe money to?
Are you facing foreclosure or having your car repossessed due to missed payments?
Have creditors or collection agencies been harassing you via telephone, letter, or e-mail?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may be in a financial crisis. It’s important to understand that financial relief is available. Fortunately, the fact that you’re reading this website means you’ve already taken the first small step toward debt relief. There is no shame in seeking help for debt relief.
Our Colorado bankruptcy attorneys have helped thousands of clients climb out of debt and get the fresh financial start they deserve. We understand these are challenging times for our clients with poor credit scores and mounting credit card bills, but we are here to help with your bankruptcy case.
Filing for bankruptcy in Colorado is a valid financial opportunity for those who have come upon hard times and are in financial distress. A Denver County bankruptcy attorney can help provide protection and help restore control of your financial future.
To help you get started, we have assembled this website, which has some general information about bankruptcy and debt that’s relevant to Coloradans throughout Denver County. Please take a moment and read through the provided information. Afterwards, we urge you to contact our firm for a no-cost case evaluation. You will speak to one of our experienced legal professionals, so you can get the legal advice you need for your debt issues today!
A delay in getting legal advice and retaining an experienced Denver County bankruptcy attorney can result in costly financial expenses that could have been avoided by getting our professional help early. Don’t hesitate to contact us today.
Bankruptcy is not the end of the world. Rather, it’s a chance to wipe the slate clean and start over. Every year, countless Amercians enjoy a fresh financial start by filing for bankruptcy, many of which are able to keep their homes and prevent their vehicle from being repossessed.
However, filing for bankruptcy is a complex process that requires the attention of a skilled Colorado Bankruptcy lawyer.
The Federal Bankruptcy Code can be a confusing, legal quagmire. While a Denver bankruptcy attorney can help you navigate and understand the ins and outs of personal bankruptcy in Colorado, having a starting point may help you understand your situation a little better. To that end, the following information explains the premise of the two most popular personal bankruptcy chapters that get filed in Denver County – Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy – Often referred to as “simple,” “clean slate,” or “liquidation” bankruptcy, Chapter 7 is the simplest, fastest, and least expensive kind of bankruptcy. If your goal in filing for bankruptcy is to emerge out of a financial crisis and start fresh relatively quickly, Chapter 7 bankruptcy may be the option for you. Once you file a chapter 7 bankruptcy in Colorado, a trustee is appointed who has a right to sell any of your property which is not exempt, to get money to pay your creditors.
Thankfully, Colorado is fairly generous when it comes to exemptions when filing for bankruptcy. If you’re looking to hold on to as much of your possessions as possible, it’s a good idea to work with an experienced Denver County bankruptcy attorney.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy- Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, also commonly referred to as reorganization bankruptcy, is a form of bankruptcy where your finances are reorganized and a plan is developed for you to repay your loans in a set period of time. When you file for Chapter 13 in Colorado, you will be required to comply with a court-supervised payment plan. The payment plan outlines how your disposable income will be used to pay the debts included in the bankruptcy. Your disposable income is calculated by deducting your expenses and cost of living from the income you receive. The payment plan will usually require the borrower to pay all of your disposable income for the next 3 to 5 years toward the debts included in the bankruptcy.
This is just a simple overview of the types of personal bankruptcy cases our experienced Denver bankruptcy attorneys routinely handle. Contact our firm today, and one of our experienced legal professionals can expound further on the differences between these types of bankruptcy and help you determine which type is the best course of action in your situation.
If you’re here reading about bankruptcy, chances are good that you’re reaching your wit’s end. Each day that passes is another day for interest to accrue and predatory collection agencies to harass you with spam phone calls and emails.
Unless you studied law, there’s a chance you’ve never heard some of the terms being thrown around on the internet or in television commercials. Automatic Stay, 314(a) meeting, exemptions; even terms you may have heard before, like schedules, can take on a whole new meaning under Federal bankruptcy law. Listed below are just a few of the terms you may hear during your bankruptcy case.
Adversary Proceeding- An adversary proceeding is a tool that a creditor, debtor, bankruptcy trustee, or third party can use to determine the dischargeability of a debt after a debtor files a bankruptcy petition. To simplify, an adversary proceeding is a civil lawsuit within a bankruptcy.
Automatic Stay- This term is one of the most important aspects of debt relief that you can obtain by filing for bankruptcy. The automatic stay granted by the Bankruptcy Code is an important protection that you receive when filing for bankruptcy. It begins at precisely the moment you file your case, and what it means for creditors is that they must stop their collection efforts, including calls, wage garnishments, and foreclosure proceedings.
Discharge- The discharge of debt releases the debtor from all personal liability to the debt. This means that the person or business you owe the debt to can never collect that debt from you. When a debt is discharged in bankruptcy, the creditor you owe is prohibited by the bankruptcy discharge from phoning you, writing to you, suing you, or taking any other step to collect the discharged debt from you. When the court grants a discharge, the discharge prohibits any attempt to collect from the debtor.
Exemptions– Bankruptcy exemptions are laws that allow bankruptcy debtors to protect property from creditors. Although Bankruptcy is a federal law, every state has different exemption limits, therefore it’s in your best interest to contact an experienced Colorado bankruptcy attorney to figure out which of your assets may be exempt under Colorado law.
If you filed Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, the next steps are only slightly different from the Chapter 7 timeline-
Garnishment- Also known as wage garnishment, this term is for the act of requiring a debtor’s employer to withhold a portion of the debtor’s wages to pay a creditor that has obtained a court order.
Means Test- To be eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you must first qualify via what is known as the “means test.” This “test” calculates whether you have the “means” to pay back a portion of what you owe to your creditors, and is used to prevent people with high incomes from wiping out the debt they can afford to pay, via filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. For a more in-depth explanation of the means test and an up-to-date list of every state’s median income, visit the Department of Justice- Means Test website.
Meeting of Creditors- Also known as a 314 or 314(a) meeting, the meeting of the creditors is generally the first and only meeting that a person filing for bankruptcy in Denver County must attend. The meeting is intended to allow creditors to ask you questions about the circumstances related to your bankruptcy. In most bankruptcy cases, your Colorado bankruptcy lawyer is permitted to attend the meeting in your place. Additionally, creditors will sometimes not even bother to attend the meeting.
Predatory Loan/Lender- For fans of old mob movies, the cliched “loan shark” character is a perfect example of a predatory lender. Predatory lending is a term commonly used to describe certain unfair and deceptive practices engaged in by unscrupulous merchants that have unfair, misleading, or unaffordable terms that generally benefit the lender at the expense of the borrower.
The most common predatory loan in today’s society is Payday loans. Payday loans may go by different names — cash advance loans, deferred deposit loans, check advance loans, or online payday loans — but they typically work in the same way.
These loans provide quick infusions of cash that can help you make it to the next paycheck. However, they also come with high fees and interest rates, which could lead to “debt traps” for borrowers. Many states around the country have adopted laws and regulations for these companies, but unfortunately, Colorado isn’t one of them. If you have fallen victim to a predatory payday loan, contact our Denver County bankruptcy attorneys for help with your case.
Schedules- Bankruptcy schedules are the documents submitted to the court that include all relevant personal and financial information of the person filing. These forms may be submitted online or at the Federal Bankruptcy Court- District of Colorado, which is located in Denver.
Secure Debt- There are two types of debt – secured and unsecured. If you have pledged property as collateral for a loan, the loan is called a secured debt. Examples of secured debt include mortgages and car loans because the loan is “secured” by the car or home, which means that the person you owe the debt to can repossess the car or foreclose on the home if you fail to pay the debt.
Trustee- The trustee is one of the most important persons in any bankruptcy case. Appointed by the bankruptcy court, their primary responsibility is to evaluate the debtor’s circumstances and make sure that the creditors in a bankruptcy case get paid whatever assets are being liquidated if any.
Unsecured Debt- These are debts for which collateral has not been pledged. Unsecured debts include medical bills, predatory loans like payday loans, and most credit card debts. Unsecured debt is generally wiped out by a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
This glossary touches on just a few of the important bankruptcy terms you may encounter and should not be relied on as legal advice. Specific questions should be directed to a knowledgeable Colorado bankruptcy attorney.
It’s easy to assume that someone is deep in debt because they spent recklessly or never learned how to budget. But most Coloradans who file bankruptcy often get into debt for reasons beyond their control. Medical bills are one of the leading causes of bankruptcy. Other common reasons include debt related to divorce, sudden job loss, or an emergency.
Many people mistakenly think that filing for bankruptcy is admitting failure and defeat. If you are avoiding pursuing bankruptcy solely out of pride or shame, you may be robbing yourself of an opportunity to turn your financial life around.
If you’re hesitant to file for bankruptcy in Denver County because of the stigma associated with it or because you are worried about what people might think, the following are some reasons why you should not worry about it.
Approximately 80% of Americans have personal debt.
Some famous people who have filed for bankruptcy include:
Colorado’s average consumer debt jumped from $131,995 in 2020 to $140,327 in 2021. (That’s over a 6% increase, which is one of the highest averages in the country)
Colorado private and federal student loan borrowers owe an average balance of $34,497
The median amount of debt in collections for Colorado is approximately $1600.
Over 10,000 Colorado residents filed for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2021.
The average amount of debt by generation in 2021:
Although the stigma of bankruptcy varies greatly and there may be some truth to it, you shouldn’t dismiss the possibility and the potential positives of filing bankruptcy without careful thought. If you consider the above statistics before filing for bankruptcy, you’ll discover that you aren’t alone, and it isn’t shameful. If you’d like to do more research on debt statistics in the United States, visit the following websites
Hopefully, the truths we share on this page will help you feel comfortable enough to at least discuss your debt relief options with one of our experienced Denver County bankruptcy attorneys.
Located almost directly in the middle of Colorado, Denver County is the second-most populous county in Colorado, with El Paso County coming in first. Denver got its start as a mining town during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. It was founded in 1898 and today, the city of Denver is the 22nd most populous city in the country, boasting more than 715,000 residents.
Because the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains runs through Denver County, outdoor activities are very popular for both residents and visitors of the area. Another popular outdoor spot in Denver County is Bear Creek Park, which is conveniently located in the city of Denver.
While most outdoor activities in Denver County are either free or cheap, if you’ve been leaving with heavy debt, even a nominal park entrance fee may seem insurmountable.
When you’re dealing with one of the most difficult times of your life, it helps to have a highly experienced team of Denver County bankruptcy attorneys on your side. With so many bankruptcy law firms in Colorado, it can be hard to know which to choose.
You deserve a team of legal professionals that treat you as more than just a cog in the bankruptcy assembly line. With over 20 combined years of experience practicing Bankruptcy law, we understand what you are up against. We will put you at ease, guide you through the process based on your unique needs, and help you overcome this difficult time.
The bottom line is, if you’re considering filing for bankruptcy, you are already stressed out about money. Seeking legal representation should not add to your burden. If you want to discuss your finances and discover how filing bankruptcy can help, contact our Denver County Bankruptcy attorneys today for a no-cost case consultation. Getting started on the road to financial freedom is just a phone call or email away.