Hey, this is Bryan from unmakingdebt.com.
You're probably watching this video because you may be facing bankruptcy
and you're curious about how the process unfolds.
Maybe you have feelings of uncertainty,
or you're just looking
for some straight forward factual information.
This video is for you.
I'm making this video for you to help clarify
and give you some insight into the bankruptcy process
and what I learned when filing for debt relief under Chapter 7.
So it's some first-hand insights
and just a general overview of how the debt market,
which the bankruptcy system is ultimately a part of,
how it unfolds.
From defaulting on your debts all the way through
to having them discharged
if you do decide to go ahead and file.
If you're not aware, bankruptcy is a federal law
and what it provides is just protection for debtors,
from creditors, lawsuits, wage garnishment,
bank accounts seized or attached to the debt
and various other---
just really ruthless methods that banks will ultimately use
to try to reclaim as much money as possible from the debt.
That's basically what's bankruptcy is for.
When you're filing for bankruptcy, that's what you're filing for.
You're petitioning for the government to intervene on your behalf
as a debtor who cannot afford to maintain their debt,
cannot manage to continue paying the bills
and you have financial circumstances with either credit card debt,
personal lines of credit, behind on the mortgage,
what have you, medical bills,
where you go ahead and file for bankruptcy.
So, to be clear about that, it's a financial choice,
and it can work out very well if you prepare in advance.
It's a lot of what this video is about
and what I offer is just send some oversight into the process
and again just straightforward reliable information.
I'm going to base this talk on my own personal experience
when I filed for debt relief under Chapter 7.
And I'm going to explain the system based on how I went through it
and to give you a general overview of the options
and the decisions that you can make at each step in the process.
Your financial situation is gonna be specific to you.
What I did pertains to me, those are decisions that I made,
but I'm gonna explain them in such a way that gives you
a more of an overview.
So I think that what would be helpful,
so you can best make decisions going forward.
When I filed for Chapter 7, I prepared in advance.
I was unable to maintain my debt,
it was debt that I was burdened with for about 5, 6 years.
I accumulated the debt due to various reasons,
which I won't get into but in any case,
I had a loss of income, unexpected.
I plummeted right back into debt and decided just
to look into bankruptcy
to be done with it once and for all.
Frankly, I wasn't gonna be able to afford
and manage the debt going forward anyway without income.
That period in my life led up to the bankruptcy.
I saw it coming
and your best to know as much information
as possible in advance
so you can anticipate what's happening next
and again, that's what this video is about.
In my case, I could see,
"Oh, I won't be able to continue making payments on these credit cards.
I will ultimately probably default on them
and then what's gonna happen next?
What are my options?
Debt negotiations, debt settlement, bankruptcy, etc."
I retained an attorney
and I went ahead with the bankruptcy option.
And it really worked out for me.
I'm in a much better place now, emotionally, financially,
and it was actually a really good move.
I'm not trying to sell bankruptcy
but I'm just saying for myself it was ultimately
a great financial move for me just to get out
of that just crazy debt.
And I reclaimed my future?
I planned with my attorney to stop making payments on my debts
and allowed the debts to go into default.
And I remember immediately, when I did it,
I was able to start saving more money
and depending on what's state you live in
there are different amounts of money that you're able to keep
when going through bankruptcy.
So it's not like you have to turn over every last penny.
There are exceptions for a certain amount of assets, etc.
And again, if you do work with a lawyer,
it can be a pretty smooth process again when prepared for in advance.
I scheduled with my attorney just stop making payments on the debts.
The debts went into default.
If you're unaware, your credit cards,
personal lines of credit, medical bills,
they have to be in default before you're eligible
to begin filing the bankruptcy petition.
So when you submit your petition, your debts already have
to be in default
and written off as bad debts,
and listed as such before you're eligible to continue
with the bankruptcy process.
You can't just decide that you wanna go bankrupt
and then bankrupt the debts before the accounts
have gone into default.
My accounts went into default.
During that period, I was basically preparing my paperwork,
you have to submit income from past six months,
a list of financial affairs, various assets
if you have any property, etc
But while I was preparing for my petition-- okay
so my accounts were going into default,
and then I just wanna share a little bit of what to expect
when you stop making payments on your credit card bills
or otherwise accounts will go into default
and this it's typically how it unfolds.
When you stop making payments on your credit cards,
personal lines of credit, medical bills,
after a certain period of time, the creditor will just assume
that you're not going to make a payment
and the debts will be written off as bad debts
This is typically within a certain period of time,
depending on your creditors.
When the debts are written off as bad debts,
they're sold off into another sector of the debt market,
which is the collection sector.
This consists of collection agencies,
agents who may be commissioned directly from the bank,
who can act more aggressively than the bank can
in an effort to reclaim the debt.
When the debts go into default, this is when they will be sold off
into collection and this is when
the notorious collection actions will go into progress.
This entails phone calls, letters, etc.,
whatever means they can get in touch with you,
harass you, intimidate you.
Basically, debt collection works like this:
Your debts are sold off for a fraction of the original value.
So if you own X amount of money,
it's typically written off by the creditor or the bank,
and then sold to collection agencies at a fraction of the original,
again, value.
And then they then own the debt and so they have the right
to go and collect the debt from you.
This can happen numerous times.
The debt can be resold numerous times.
In fact, I learned that going through my bankruptcy case.
It was very strange to see that.
There's a verification of creditor matrix and in any case--
that's what the debt collection agencies
are working towards and that's their approach.
They now own the debt or they're being
commissioned directly by the banks to reclaim the debt.
And so, that's their job, that's their industry
and you're another person on the list
who they are trying to get money for this debt.
That goes on for period of time.
That's generally the most stressful time
because that's when people, again, are contacting you
and just the tone, the approach, they're really working out
of a lot of fear. They're trying to intimidate you
and scare you and stuff so know that you have options.
But also know that you will have to make choices and do something.
If you stop paying your debts, doing nothing about that
isn't going to work.
And it's still doing something, it's actually doing the worst thing.
You're going to have to do something because the debts will go into default
and then collection attempts will happen.
Again, depending on how much debt, etc.,
this can include law suit, having your bank accounts seized etc.
So there are technicalities, try not to get too overwhelmed
or freaked out, but know that that's how
it's going to play out and they're not just--
it's just not going to go away
And in fact actually when you first receive a letter about the debt
from the collections agency, when you don't reply
it's legally automatically then you're just admitting
that the debt-- that's the laws are structured.
So no replies are default into you admitting that the debt is yours
and that you're responsible for it etc.
You have 30 days to contest the debt,
that's a different whole different approach.
Again, why this video is important, you want to have information in advance.
That's the knowledge, that's the power,
that's going to enable you to anticipate
what's happening next, the time frame, and what to do.
Like I said, during this time I was preparing my petition.
Another insight: if you're unaware your income tax returns
for the past 2 years need to be complete
before again you can proceed into bankruptcy.
Income tax, debt, anything that you-- any money that you owe to the IRS,
that would need to be sorted in advance of going ahead
into bankruptcy.
Your income tax returns for the past two years
are also required as a mandatory part of your petition.
So, again, know that you need to have that sorted to go ahead
and go into bankruptcy.
The accounts are in default, you're preparing
your bankruptcy petition,
ideally, with your attorney.
If you're deciding to go ahead without an attorney know this
I wouldn't advise it, but know this,
another technical insight, if you do do that,
when you appear before the federal trustees,
so when you're assigned your court date,
which you are when you submit your petition
when you file it, I will get into it in a second.
But for anyone out there whose going to try to
file on their own,
the address on your driver's license must match the address submitted
on your petition. So the mailing addresses
on both your driver's license
and your petition must match.
The federal trustee is a technicality,
it's what they use to confirm your identity
and that you are who you say you are.
Your petition and your driver's license
and you appearing before the federal trustees
are all congruent and everything
is just a part of the technical filing process.
So know that.
When your ready and you think the timing is right,
again you have that control when your working with your attorney,
then you go ahead and you file.
Now when you file, I think within the day
you're assigned a case number and your bankruptcy
is then filed into the system
to be assigned to a federal trustee for a review.
So you receive your case number after you file.
You file the petition, it's done electronically,
it goes into the system, you get a case number back.
And at that point, you've legally then entered into
the bankruptcy process or system.
Now you've actually filed and you're actually--
once you have that case number you are afforded the protection
by the government on your behalf from creditors.
Any wage garnishment will stop.
Debt collectors have to stop calling.
Any other measures, any other drastic or extreme measures will have to seize.
You now have federal protection from the creditors
Basically at that point, you're just waiting to meet
before the federal trustees.
So my court date, I received it I think a week later,
and then it was about a month later.
So the bankruptcy process itself-- I mean the filing process,
which is a lot like doing an income tax return
just much more extensive version.
The filing process is like the majority of the work,
getting all your records together, all your financial information.
And then when you actually submitted it,
it's-- If everything's accurate,
all the information is correct and honest and truthful
then it's pretty straight forward process at that point.
So now the phone has stopped ringing.
You're not receiving any more harassments from debt collectors
and you're just waiting to appear before
the federal trustee to review your bankruptcy case.
My court date was in the morning.
Yes, I went in.
The federal trustee just--
basically there's just a stack of bankruptcy cases.
It is a high volume industry, unfortunately.
And the court room's nothing special,
it's just very straight forward nondescript stack of bankruptcy cases
and the federal trustee he or she's just going through it.
So they get to your case, they call your name you go up,
you sit at the table just across from the federal trustee.
Yes, they basically just document and record your statements
and that you are who you say you are.
Again, you have to confirm your identity.
Then the trustee is basically just going through the petition
looking at everything to make sure everything is correct,
accurate, complete and that you are not trying
to hide anything.
Again, if everything is complete and accurate
then it's very straight forward the bankruptcy--
The federal trustee just then goes through it, approves it
and then you're basically done.
Signs it, you're done.
You leave the court room.
Just FYI, I'm going to throw this in here really fast,
you're only eligible to file for bankruptcy
once every eight years.
So I don't plan on going through it again.
If you're facing it, I don't think anyone's going
to plan on going though it ever again,
but just also know that you can only file for bankruptcy
once every eight years.
So yes, I remember leaving the court room,
I was just so-- I was ecstatic as ever.
I can't really explain it ultimately.
There was a sense a deep sense of relief psychologically like,
"Oh my God the debts are gone."
The debts aren't actually technically discharged
till a little while later when the bankruptcy case
is submitted back into the system
and at that point the debts are legally discharged.
I received my official notice of discharge,
I think then a couple months after the court days.
The whole bankruptcy process, actually after filing,
was only about three months.
It's the default process,
which it can get pretty tenuous and potentially nasty.
That was it, I was just so relieved to be debt free,
although it sounds cliche it's so true.
I don't think we acknowledge enough how stressful and traumatic,
really intense heavy debt can be
It really affects your thinking.
My thinking about my future was just totally cut off.
It was just survival, paying the debt, making payments.
It was a really good decision for me, ultimately.
I've really taken advantage of it and really moved forward with my life.
I'm really happy about it ultimately.
That's kind of the general overview of how the bankruptcy process works.
And those are some first hand filing insights.
Again, I really can't stress this enough:
prepare for bankruptcy in advance.
You don't have to do anything, but know what's coming.
Know what's coming.
I have a couple links below, which if you are facing default,
you need to check out.
And if you've already, or you're planning on defaulting,
or you've already defaulted on your debts, look at that link.
Then I have another link, which again,
if you're nervous, apprehensive, scared,
you just want kind of an overview of the whole thing.
Like what to do to minimize the stress during
the collection process.
How to avoid technicality. How to avoid your bank account
from being attached to your debt,
which is kind of insane to think that can actually happen, and does.
How to look for an attorney.
How to afford your attorney. I learned a lot
of really helpful stuff.
That's in the other link.
Check that out if you're going through this.
You're going to want to do this.
You're going to want to know in advance all the information
so you can kind of be prepared.
The biggest thing that I can impart and say is that,
if you have a lot of debt and you're feeling a lot of shame,
and you're just really eaten up by it, I get it.
I lived it. I know what it's like.
I know what it's like. I had a lot of shame about my debt,
and I just want to say that those feelings,
those really intense negative emotional kind of feelings
that you have about it, aren't going to be useful
going forward.
You're going to have to set those aside
and start looking at this thing from a really objective
financial perspective.
That is the best thing that I did for myself entering into this process.
So try to lean into it a little bit.
Again, check those links out.
They're going to be really useful for you.
Especially if you've thought this video is helpful,
go check those out.
Get into a lot of detailed, critical information,
and again first-hand filing insights.
That's it. I trust this was helpful.
Again, if you are facing bankruptcy, good luck to you
and thank you for watching.
This is Bryan from unmakingdebt.com.
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