Jumpstart your dreams again

1. Costs – Jumpstart charges a flat fee of $1,500 (including the $335 filing fee for the Bankruptcy Court). This is considerably less than most bankruptcy lawyers who charge $2,000 or more.
2. Education – Jumpstart educates you on your rights in bankruptcy using plain language and walks you through the entire process. Most bankruptcy lawyers talk in Legalese and don’t take the time to explain bankruptcy in any meaningful way.
3. Empowerment – Jumpstart empowers you to take control of your financial future so you can move forward with your dreams again.

In most cases, you can get rid of credit card debt in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Most folks file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to wipe out credit card debt. In most situations, your obligation to pay the balance will go away at the end of your bankruptcy case, when the court grants a “discharge”.

Student loans are difficult, but not impossible, to discharge in bankruptcy. To do so, you must show that payment of the debt “will impose an undue hardship on you and your dependents.” If you can successfully prove undue hardship, your student loan can be completely or partially canceled.

If your wages are being garnished, this means that a creditor has a judgment against you is diverting your wages to satisfy the judgment. If your wages are being garnished, or you fear they soon will be, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy will stop the garnishment in most cases. This happens because bankruptcy’s “automatic stay” prohibits most creditors from continuing collection actions during your bankruptcy case.

Many people choose to file for bankruptcy after being served with a lawsuit because an order called “automatic stay” prevents your creditors from continuing with their collection efforts, including lawsuits. Essentially, this stops creditors dead in their tracks.

A residential landlord in California must almost always use the court eviction process (called an “unlawful detainer” in California) to evict a tenant, the landlord cannot simply physically kick out of lock out a tenant – that is illegal. Filing bankruptcy will generally stop the court eviction process in California because the “automatic stay” stops the landlord from taking away your possession or control of the leased property.

Once you file bankruptcy, including an emergency petitio, the automatic stay goes into effect that prohibits your lender from going forward with the foreclosure sale. This means that bankruptcy can delay or stop the foreclosure process as long as the home has not been sold yet.

Your employer may not fire you solely because you filed for bankruptcy, nor may your employer use bankruptcy as a reason to change other terms or conditions of your employment. For instance, your employer can’t reduce your salary, demote you, or take away responsibilities just because you filed bankruptcy.

If you’re fired shortly after your employer learns of your bankruptcy — and no other justifications exist — you might have a case against the employer for illegal discrimination.

It’s helpful to gather the following documents, if applicable to you:

• DRIVER’S LICENSE AND SOCIAL SECURITY CARD
• INCOME – all pay stubs and any other source of income (i.e. pension, unemployment, social security, child support, etc.) for the sixmonths preceding the filing of your bankruptcy case. NOTE: you must include your spouse’s income even if he/she is not filing the bankruptcy. If you are a business, you will need to provide a profit/loss statement for the last six months.
• FEDERAL AND STATE TAX RETURNS – Chapter 7 Clients: last two years of the most recent returns; Chapter 13 Clients: last 4 years of returns (5 years for chapter 13 clients who operate a business). NOTE: we need every page of the tax return.
• BANK STATEMENTS –last three months of bank statements (six months if you operate a business)
• BILLING STATEMENTS – most recent billing statements from creditors, including your most recent credit card statements, collection notices, medical bills, department store/gas cards and ALL lawsuit documents filed in the last two years, including wage garnishment notices, bank levies and liens (abstracts of judgment). NOTE: only provide one statement per account.
• SECURED LOAN DOCUMENTS – most recent mortgage and vehicle loan statements with proof of insurance for each (the declaration page of your policy). We also need a copy of your vehicle purchase contract. If you are in a lease we need a copy of the lease.
• CHILD SUPPORT/DISSOLUTION DOCUMENTS – If you are currently paying, or are supposed to be paying child support, provide a copy of the child support order. It should include the case number and the name of the person and the address of where the child support payments are to be sent.
• 401(k) STATEMENTS – Retirement account statements and retirement loan statements.

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy usually stays on your credit report for ten years from the date that your bankruptcy case was filed (not the date of discharge), while a Chapter 13 bankruptcy should drop off your report seven years from the date you filed your case. The impact of the bankruptcy on your credit rating will diminish over time, even while it is still on your credit report, as long as you work on rebuilding your credit. I’ve known folks who purchased homes only a few years after they filed for bankruptcy.

Rebuilding Credit
You can obtain a secured credit card after you receive your bankruptcy discharge to start rebuilding your credit . A secured credit card uses money deposited in a bank account as collateral for the credit card.

It is important to use no more than 20% of your available credit on your secured card (or any credit card). Thus, if you have a limit of $500, avoid carrying a balance of more than $100 on the card at any one time. The purpose of this card is to rebuild your credit, so responsible use is essential. If you are a couple, it is a good idea to have a separate card for each of you.

It is important to use no more than 20% of your available credit on your secured card (or any credit card). Thus, if you have a limit of $500, avoid carrying a balance of more than $100 on the card at any one time. The purpose of this card is to rebuild your credit, so responsible use is essential. If you are a couple, it is a good idea to have a separate card for each of you.