Overview of Arizona Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Arizona Chapter 7 bankruptcy is also known as a “liquidation” bankruptcy. In chapter 7, most of your debt is discharged or canceled. While most people filing Arizona chapter 7 bankruptcy in Phoenix keep all their property, your non-exempt property could be taken from you by the bankruptcy trustee and sold to pay your creditors.

Don’t panic, very few people lose their property in Arizona chapter 7 bankruptcy but having the right Phoenix chapter 7 bankruptcy attorney can make a big difference. Our Phoenix bankruptcy attorneys are among the most experienced in Arizona. Give us a call if you have concerns about filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy in Phoenix. We will take the time to answer all your questions and discuss your options in bankruptcy.

Pre-Filing Debtor Bankruptcy Education in Arizona

Before filing for bankruptcy, your Arizona bankruptcy attorney will instruct you on how to take the required pre-filing debtor education class in Arizona. Usually, this is done online or in your Arizona bankruptcy attorney’s law office. Upon completion of the course, you will receive a certificate that must be filed with your bankruptcy petition in Arizona. This class is generally quite short and is easy to complete.

Filing Bankruptcy Petition in Arizona

In a chapter 7 case, your case starts by filing a package of schedules and forms including the petition for chapter 7 bankruptcy in Arizona. You will typically file your bankruptcy papers in Arizona near where you live. Included with your bankruptcy petition is a list of your creditors. Soon after you have filed, the bankruptcy court in Arizona will send out a notice of bankruptcy filing to your creditors. Along with the notice of filing for bankruptcy in Arizona, the court will send a notice of meeting of creditors pursuant to section 341 of the bankruptcy code. You can find more information about the meeting of creditors on our website.

If you did not file all the required documents with your petition for chapter 7 bankruptcy in Arizona, you will receive a deficiency notice from the bankruptcy court. In most cases, you will only have 15 days to file the missing bankruptcy documents or risk your bankruptcy case being dismissed.

The Automatic Stay in Phoenix AZ

As soon as you file your bankruptcy petition in Arizona, the court issues an automatic stay. This is a special order of the court that tells creditors to back off and stop all collection actions against you. Creditors who ignore the automatic stay can face serious consequences. However, creditors in Arizona can ask the bankruptcy court to lift the automatic stay so that they can proceed with collection. The creditor would need to file a special motion with the bankruptcy court and it can take a few weeks before the court rules on the motion. In most cases, you don’t need to be concerned with a creditor filing a motion to lift the automatic stay in Arizona. Your Arizona bankruptcy attorney will usually let you know if you should be concerned about it.

What About Your Property

You must tell the bankruptcy court in Arizona about all your property, both personal and real property must be disclosed. Bankruptcy exemptions in Arizona are very generous. Almost everyone will keep their property in bankruptcy in Arizona. Your Arizona bankruptcy lawyer will help you to choose and apply the right exemptions for your situation. You can find more information about how bankruptcy exemptions in Arizona work on our website.

Secured Debts in Arizona Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cases

Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Arizona deals primarily with unsecured debt, but bankruptcy law does provide for some secured debt to be dealt with in chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. Secured debt is debt that is collateralized by a physical asset like a house or a car. In some cases, you will need to either redeem or reaffirm the asset if you want to keep it. Reaffirmation agreements are often used to permit you to keep your car. Basically. In Arizona, a reaffirmation agreement allows you to keep making payments on your loan. You can find more information about reaffirmation agreements and redemption in bankruptcy on our website.

Arizona Bankruptcy Discharge

It can take about six months for a chapter 7 bankruptcy in Arizona to be discharged. A bankruptcy discharge is ultimately what you want. When your case is complete, you will receive a notice of discharge from the bankruptcy court in Arizona. This generally means that all your unsecured debt has been discharged in bankruptcy, or in other words, wiped out to give you a fresh start. In some cases, not all debts are discharged in bankruptcy. Your Arizona bankruptcy attorney will discuss which debts were discharged and which debts were not, but generally, debts like child support, taxes, student loans and debts that arose from fraud will not be discharged.

Contact Us

Like all legal matters, you should seek the help of an experienced Arizona bankruptcy lawyer if you are contemplating bankruptcy in Arizona. We make it easy and affordable for anyone to hire a great bankruptcy attorney in Arizona. Start with a free debt analysis to determine the best course of action for you. If bankruptcy in Arizona is your best option, you will be able to make easy payments for your attorney’s fees. Then, we go to work and get you out of debt and on to fresh start, but we don’t stop there. We really want to get you back on your feet financially which is hard to do when your credit is in the dumpster. That is why we include our free credit repair program with every bankruptcy we file in Arizona. Our free credit repair program is fast and effective. It could have you back at a 720-credit score in 18 months or less. Get out of the dumpster and back to living. Call us today.