BANKRUPTCY & GARNISHMENTS

OUR OFFICE CAN STOP WAGE GARNISHMENTS. CALL 513-752-3900 TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE CONSULTATION

Once a creditor obtains a judgement against you they can garnish your wages. In the state of Ohio a garnishment can take 25% of your pay BEFORE TAXES.

You can stop a garnishment by filing bankruptcy.  Once you file for bankruptcy an “automatic stay” goes into effect which prohibits further and stops all current collection efforts by creditors.  If the garnishment continues after the case is filed all funds must be returned to you.  Once you receive your bankruptcy discharge the debt is wiped clean and cannot be collected upon.

The “automatic stay” does not apply to domestic support obligations, such as child support or alimony.  These are considered priority debts that are unaffected by the automatic stay and cannot be discharged through bankruptcy.

When you file bankruptcy you are required to list all your creditors so they can be notified of the bankruptcy.  However, there is a chance that creditors may not be alerted in time to put a stop on the garnishment after they case is filed. In this case, any funds that are garnished after the bankruptcy filing will be returned to you.

If you are struggling with debt or a wage garnishment you should immediately contact our office for a free consultation.  At Keegan & Company, you meet with an experienced attorney (not a paralegal or secretary) to discuss your individual situation.  We have free consultations, fair fees and monthly payment plans.

Contact Keegan & Company Attorneys for help today.

BANKRUPTCY IS YOUR RIGHT AND PROTECTED BY THE CONSITUTION

The office of Keegan & Company Attorneys has been in practice for over 30 years.

Bankruptcy is specifically set forth in the United States Constitution.  The United States Constitution states “The Congress shall have Power to establish….uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies through out the United States.”  Bankruptcy is a constitutional right.

Our founders wanted to ensure that there would be a uniform system of bankruptcy so that one state would not put someone in debtor’s prison for a debt that was discharged in another state. James Madison, in Federalist Paper No. 42, wrote about how important uniform bankruptcy laws would be for the regulation of commerce in the United States.  In this article the power to pass and regulate bankruptcy was mentioned in the same paragraph as the power to issue currency and regulate the use of foreign currency.

The United States Congress passed the first bankruptcy law in 1800. That law lasted until 1803.  The next bankruptcy law was not passed until 1841, which also had a short life, lasting only until 1843.  After the civil war, Congress passed a bankruptcy act with a little more longevity, lasting from 1867 to 1878.  Congress finally passed a permanent bankruptcy law in 1898, which remained in place for the next eighty years.  The current structure of bankruptcy laws was enacted in 1978. In 1984, 1986, 1994 and 2005, the bankruptcy act was revised, but the basic structure remained in effect.  The 2005 act added the means test, limits on restructuring vehicle loans and a credit counseling requirement.

Bankruptcy can help you get a fresh financial start.  It is designed to discharge all of your unsecured debts.

At our office we offer a free consultation  with one of our attorneys to discuss your individual situation.

Call us at 513-752-3900 to schedule your free consultation. We offer 2 convenient locations: Eastgate & Middletown. Easy Parking. Fair Fees. Caring and Knowledgeable Attorneys.

Bankruptcy and the Senior Citizen

Bankruptcy is designed to help people overly burdened with debt gain a fresh start. Often the person needing relief is a senior citizen. We have a rapidly growing senior population and while many have been able to plan for the future with quality pensions and health insurance plans, many rely solely on social security.  Problems develop when these individuals are hit with demands from creditors on debts they have co-signed on, often for their children and grandchildren.

In most cases, if you are senior citizen collecting social security, you will likely travel through the bankruptcy process problem free. Even if you own your home or car outright the asset exemptions for Ohio residents is high enough that it will likely protect your home and your vehicle.  If you are elderly, you may qualify to have the filing fee waived by the court.

Social security and pension plan payments are exempt in bankruptcy. In other words, they will not be touched by the bankruptcy court.

Many seniors place undue pressure on themselves to pay debts when they are struggling to pay for food and medication. Many were raised with the view that bankruptcy is not an option and see it as indicator of failure. In reality bankruptcy is a legal option that allows seniors to focus on their own needs and not their creditors.

Contact our office today to see if bankruptcy will be able to help you or your aging parents get a fresh financial start.

Call 513-752-3900 to schedule your free consultation with an experienced attorney.  We offer a free consultation, fair fees and monthly payment plans. We are caring and knowledgeable attorneys.

BANKRUPTCY- SHOULD YOU FILE BEFORE OR AFTER DIVORCE?

We are attorneys located in Eastgate and Middletown, Ohio. Since 1992, Bankruptcy has been the main focus of our practice.

If you are considering bankruptcy contact our office for a free consultation.  At this consultation our attorneys will analyze your individual situation.

Your spouse does not have to file bankruptcy.  You can file bankruptcy without your spouse, but whether they should file with you depends on the circumstances. Here are some of the most common situations in determining whether to file with your spouse.

All (or Most) Debts are in One Spouse’s Name

This happens often either in a relatively new marriage, or one in which one of the spouses had operated a failing business. The person with little or no debt doesn’t want to participate in filing bankruptcy if it’s not necessary to do so.

In a newer marriage, the couple may realize that the debts of one spouse is hurting their joint financial lives. Possibly the financial stress is jeopardizing the marriage itself. That is especially true if the spouse with the debts either was not candid about the amount of debts he or she was bringing into the marriage, or has continued to use credit within the marriage without the full knowledge of the other spouse.

Whatever the context, determining whether to file bankruptcy for just one spouse requires a thorough analysis as to who is liable on each of the debts.  If there is joint liability, the creditor can pursue the non-filing spouse for the full amount.

It takes some analyses to determine whether a spouse is or is not liable on a debt.  Being an authorized user sometimes creates liability, and sometimes doesn’t. You can discuss this at your free consultation.

Preserving the Other Spouse’s Credit Record

A common reason given for one spouse not wanting to file is to protect his or her credit record. That’s a sensible enough goal. And not only for the non-filing spouse. The couple could benefit from the non-filing spouse’s access to credit on behalf of their household. That non-filing spouse may help the filing spouse re-establish his or her good credit through co-signing of new debts , for example.  Many times when one spouse has a small amount of debt, we may advise not to join the bankruptcy.

But be careful with assumptions about keeping the fling spouse’s case out of the non-filer’s credit record. This is especially if you have a joint debt or two, including ones that you intend to continue to pay and keep “outside the bankruptcy” case, such as a home mortgage or vehicle loan. Although credit reporting agencies are not supposed to refer to a co-debtor’s bankruptcy filing in the non-filer’s credit reports, don’t simply assume that will happen appropriately.

So it’s all the more important for the non-filing spouse to review his or her credit report before the other spouse’s bankruptcy is filed and then very regularly thereafter to make sure there’s no reference, directly or indirectly, to the bankruptcy case.

THINKING OF DIVORCE

Bankruptcy can be good financial planning when anticipating divorce.  If it’s clear, both that you will be getting divorced, and that you need the financial relief of a bankruptcy, then which should come first?  If the bankruptcy is first, should you file with your spouse or not?  Most of the you should file together.  You save on filing and attorney fees, and you have less to argue about (so you spend less on legal fees) in the divorce.  But, this isn’t always true.

The overly simplified answer is as follows:

  • Do not file a joint Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” case with your spouse in anticipation of a divorce without BOTH of you getting independent legal advice from separate attorneys.
  • In some situations, it is not in one or the other’s interests to file jointly.
  • In virtually NO circumstances would it make sense to file a joint Chapter 13 case in contemplation of a divorce—a Chapter 13 take three to five years to complete, and at the time of your divorce we would have to turn that case into two separate Chapter 13 cases, or into two Chapter 7 cases.

MORE INFORMATION

Contact Keegan & Co Attorneys today for your free consultation 513-752-3900 at one of our office closest to you: Eastgate or Middletown. Free parking. Convienent appointment times. Fair fees. Our office has been helping the people of Greater Cincinnati since 1992. Caring and knowledgeable lawyers.