Many New Jersey residents find themselves in financial distress for a variety of reasons. Regardless of what caused them to be unable to pay their bills, creditors’ responses are often similar. Filing for bankruptcy can stop creditor actions since an “automatic stay” goes into effect that restricts creditors from attempting to collect a debt.
Once the petition is filed and creditors receive notice of the filing, wage garnishments are put on hold, along with bank levies. If your mortgage lender has initiated foreclosure proceedings, that court case will stop during the bankruptcy, unless the lender receives permission from the court to continue. New Jersey residents who are in jeopardy of losing their vehicles — or other personal property that secures a debt — can keep the property from being repossessed as well.
One of the biggest complaints that many consumers have when they are behind on their bills is the harassing calls they receive from creditors. You do not have to put up with these intrusions. In addition to filing for bankruptcy, there are other ways to stop those calls. An attorney can inform you of your rights, review your situation and make recommendations regarding how to deal with this and other creditor actions.
Filing for bankruptcy gives you time to deal with your financial issues while keeping creditors at bay. Not being able to pay your debts can be overwhelming and stressful enough without creditors adding to the problem through harassing phone calls and threats of litigation. Sometimes, you just need to wipe the slate clean and start over, free from everything that goes along with a difficult financial situation. The bankruptcy process can be frustrating and complex; however, so it would be inadvisable to try to go it alone.
