1520 Highway 37 East
Toms River, NJ 08753
Phone 732-288-2667 · Fax 732-288-2661

Can I keep my home and property? Yes. You are allowed to claim different kinds of property as exempt. Will my employer find out I filed Bankruptcy? No. Only your creditors are notified. And they must stop contacting you. What about car loans? It's your choice. Keep paying, and keep the car, or surrender it and owe nothing. How will Bankruptcy affect my credit? It'll be on your credit report for 10 years. You can re-establish credit within two. How about buying a house? I've done house closings for people a year after their Bankruptcies, at normal interest rates. Must I list all my debts? Yes, except for accounts with zero balances, which these card issuers will very often find out about your Bankruptcy and cancel your privileges. When should I stop using my credit cards? Immediately. Your creditors may successfully challenge your Bankruptcy if you don't. Can my Bankruptcy be denied? No, not if your situation isn't your fault, and you haven't run up your credit.

William A. Ward, Esquire Bankruptcy Law The Bankruptcy Process
There are two types of Bankruptcy proceedings most used by couples and individuals-- Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.
Chapter 7 is often called straight Bankruptcy, and is the more common of the two. It is designed to completely eliminate unsecured debts such as credit cards, personal loans, medical bills and the like.
Chapter 13 is useful if you are behind on your mortgage, are prepared to begin catching up, but the mortgage company won't work with you.
In either form of personal Bankruptcy, all collection activity must stop the instant the Bankruptcy papers are filed with the Court. As a practical matter, your creditors are not formally notified of the Bankruptcy proceedings for about 2 weeks after filing. If, however, you decide to file either form of Bankruptcy and would like me to represent you, you are welcome to refer your creditors' calls to me. I can usually stop them from continuing to bother you.