Bruce A. Ralston

Bruce A. Ralston


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Things to Consider Before Filing Bankruptcy

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What is Bankruptcy?

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What is the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13?

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Should I file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13?

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How much does Bankruptcy cost, and how am I supposed to pay for it? (Updated 12/2/05)

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What are Chapter 11 and Chapter 12?

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What kinds of collection actions does bankruptcy stop?

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Should I go to a credit counselor, or to a debt consolidation service?

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What other options should I consider before filing bankruptcy?

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Will I lose my home?

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Will I lose all of my things?

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I have a car (or a house, or furniture, electronics or appliances)
that I do not want to keep. What can I do about that?

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I still owe some money to a certain creditor, but I don’t have that
car (or furniture, appliance, etc.) any more. What happens now?

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Somebody claims that I owe them money, but it is not true. What can I do about that?

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How long does a bankruptcy stay on my credit report?

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Who or what is the Trustee?

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I have filed bankruptcy before (or my spouse has filed before). Can I file again?

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Do I have to have an attorney to file a bankruptcy case?

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What is the difference between a secured claim (or debt) and an unsecured claim (or debt)?

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What is a priority (or "unsecured priority") claim?

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I owe a lot of income taxes. Can you really stop the IRS from coming after me?

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There is one unsecured claim that I want to pay in full. Why can't I do that?

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I own my own business, and that is a major source of my (or our) income. Will I lose my business?

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Do I really have to list all of my creditors? I owe money
to a lot of different people and companies, but all I want to do
right now is to stop a foreclosure, or keep the repo man away from my car.

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The finance company just repossessed my car. Can I get it back?

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I owe some government-backed student loans, or criminal fines. What can I do about that?

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What about my traffic tickets?

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My house is scheduled for foreclosure tomorrow. Can we stop the foreclosure?

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I have heard that a quit claim deed will stop a foreclosure. Is that true?

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I don’t want my employer to know that I am filing. Do I have to tell him?

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Will my friends and family find out that I have filed?

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What is debt consolidation? Will it work for me?

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I have heard that bankruptcy law is about to change. What’s up with that?

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Someone has filed a lawsuit against me, or has taken a judgment against me. What can I do?

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I have been injured, or for some other reason I am filing an insurance claim or a
lawsuit against someone else. How will that be affected by my filing bankruptcy?

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I cannot pay my bills right now, but I have a lot of money coming to me soon from a
lawsuit, or a personal injury or workers compensation settlement, or a disability
payment, etc. Do I still need to file bankruptcy?

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I am married. Does my wife/husband have to file along with me?

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How will bankruptcy affect my credit?

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I am going through a divorce, or have recently been divorced. Will that affect my bankruptcy case, or will
bankruptcy change anything about my divorce?

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IF YOU HAVE AN ACTIVE BANKRUPTCY CASE

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I am supposed to go to Bankruptcy Court. How do I get there, and exactly where do I need to go?

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What is the difference between a case being "discharged" and being "dismissed?"

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I have already filed a case, but I still need to pay the filing fee. Where do I send it?