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Helping People Get A Fresh Financial Start to Regain Financial Independence

Does filing for Chapter 13 stop debt collection?

On Behalf of | Apr 9, 2020 | Bankruptcy

You might be suffering under the burden of debt, made worse by the fact that creditors are texting or calling you with reminders that your payments are overdue and that they may take action against you to collect their money. To escape the crushing burden of your debt, you may decide filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy is your best option.

You might wonder how long it will take for your bankruptcy filing to stop efforts by your creditors to collect from you. You may have heard that simply filing for bankruptcy will be enough to stop creditor harassment. The U.S. Courts website clarifies the issue, explaining how a Chapter 13 filing may free you from various collection actions.

Stopping collection efforts

Filing for Chapter 13 does impose an automatic stay on most efforts by creditors to collect on your debt. This means that creditors cannot sue you for outstanding money or continue to litigate you in an ongoing case. Creditors cannot garnish your wages or make telephone calls to you to remind you to pay your debts. A Chapter 13 petition can even halt a bank from foreclosing on your home.

Exceptions

However, a Chapter 13 filing does not stop collection actions from all creditors. For example, filing for Chapter 13 will not stop efforts by a spouse or parent to collect child support or domestic support, or halt related actions like paternity suits. Also, the automatic stay generated by a Chapter 13 filing may only last for a short time in some situations.

Still, achieving an automatic stay by filing for bankruptcy may provide you the peace of mind you need to focus on the next steps in Chapter 13 bankruptcy, like preparing a repayment plan that will satisfy your creditors and start you back on the road to financial solvency.

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