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Whats New
Our New Website Is Being Developed
We hope you enjoy the new layout of our website. The content for the
site is still being developed. Check back often! Have a question? Contact
us! 314-827-4313
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Current News
Consumer Protection Legislative Advocacy
A lot of action is happening in Washington that can impact all of our lives a
great deal! Learn about the bills that are being weighed
HERE, and click
HERE to contact
your representative & make your voice heard!
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Recent Events
Free Consumer Rights Seminar - Tuesdays @ 6pm
Interested in learning about bankruptcy, budgeting to avoid a bankruptcy,
your rights when creditors and collectors call? Contact our office to RSVP
- 314-827-4313
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Bankruptcy FAQ's
- What is Bankruptcy?
- How much does
Bankruptcy Cost?
- What information is
needed to file a Bankruptcy?
- How quickly can my
Bankruptcy be filed?
- Can my creditors
contact me after my Bankruptcy filing?
- Do I have to go to
Court?
- Does Bankruptcy wipe out taxes?
- Does Bankruptcy wipe out Student
Loans?
- Does Bankruptcy wipe out lawsuit
judgments?
- Does Bankruptcy stop a wage
garnishment?
- Can a person file a Bankruptcy more
than once?
- Can you keep a House in Bankruptcy?
- Can you keep a Car in Bankruptcy?
- Will any of my Belongings be taken in
Bankruptcy?
- What is an Unsecured Debt?
- What is a Secured Debt?
- What is a Discharge?
- What is a Credit Counseling
Certificate?
- What is a Financial Management
Certificate?
- What is a Bankruptcy Trustee?
Have a question that isn't answered above?
Contact us!
Type in your Search Term
For more information about Bankruptcy click here.
To contact our office for a consultation, click here.
Bankruptcy is a way to
help good people who have fallen on hard times, and need assistance
to get back on their feet.
Bankruptcy is a legal way to wipe out debts.
Bankruptcy protects your assets from creditors. Bankruptcy
helps reorganize and prioritize debts that need repaid.
The fees for a Bankruptcy are made up of three
parts:
1. Attorney Fees
2. Court Costs
3. Certificate Fees
Attorney fees vary by the complexity of your case. Contact our office for a
consultation to discuss your case and how much the fees will be.
Court Costs are set by the Court where your case
is filed.
The Eastern
District of Missouri's fees are here. You should pay this
fee before your case is filed. However, if you are suffering
from great financial difficulty, you can ask the Court to pay this
fee in installments.
The two certificates needed to file a bankruptcy
are a Credit Counseling Certificate (obtained before your case is
filed) and a Financial Management Certificate (obtained after your
case is filed.
When you file a Bankruptcy you tell the Court all
of the debts you owe, all of the property you own on the day the
case is filed, information about your income and certain information
transactions and occurrences in the last few years.
To get all this information, Longo Law Firm will
ask you for paystubs, a credit report, copies of tax returns, and
you will also be asked to complete a questionnaire. This
information is then all personally reviewed by Attorney Jovanna
Longo, and used to prepare your case.
When you decide to pursue a bankruptcy, we will
give you a list of information needed to prepare your case.
The answer to this question involves two steps:
1. First, before a case can be filed you need to
schedule a consultation with Longo Law Firm, sign a contract, obtain
a list of information and documents for Attorney Jovanna Longo to
review, complete and pay for your first certificate and pay the
attorney fees in full. (The attorney fees need paid so the
debt isn't discharged when your case gets filed.)
2. After you have completed the steps listed
above, then your case needs prepared. At Longo Law Firm we
strive to satisfy our customers and handle our cases as quickly as
possible. In addition, we prioritize cases where individuals are
facing repossession, foreclosure and garnishments due to the severe
nature of these collection actions.
No, as soon as your bankruptcy case is filed you
are protected from your creditors by the Automatic Stay. The
Automatic Stay means:
- creditors cannot call you
- creditors cannot send you bills and
collection letters
- repossessions can no longer be threatened
- foreclosures must be stopped
- wage garnishments must stop
If a creditor has a reason to continue collections against
you, they MUST ask the Court for permission before taking any action.
Yes, there is one Court date that you need to
attend when you file a Bankruptcy. It is called the 341
meeting of creditors.
This court date is not in front of a judge, it's
in front of a bankruptcy trustee.
There are two main reasons for this meeting;
1. The Trustee gets to ask you questions about
your bankruptcy paperwork to see if you told the truth, if any
changes need made, and if you have any property which needs to be
given to your creditors.
2. Creditors are allowed to ask you questions
under oath about your bankruptcy. However, creditors rarely
attend 341 meetings.
Yes, bankruptcy CAN wipe out certain types of
taxes! However, this is can be a complicated subject that depends on
the facts of your individual case. If you are having problems
with income taxes or certain types of property taxes
contact Longo Law Firm for a consultation.
We can review your situation and help you plan a course of action to
handle your taxes!
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No, usually you cannot wipe out a student loan
when you file a bankruptcy. However, in situations of extreme
hardship a court will determine that a student loan can be forgiven
by a bankruptcy. If you have difficulties with student loans and
overwhelming debt, contact Longo Law Firm
for a consultation. Bankruptcy laws and Student Loan laws can
be used together to give individuals powerful remedies despite
financial difficulties.
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Yes, even if you have been sued and a creditor has
a judgment against you, a Bankruptcy will wipe the debt out.
However, if you own a home, it is possible that
the judgment is tied to your home like a mortgage is. If you
own a home, check your local land recorder's office to see if a
judgment lien is against your home. If a lien is against your
home, it is sometimes possible to remove this lien.
Contact Longo Law Firm for a consultation to
review this issue.
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Yes, when you file a bankruptcy, a wage
garnishment must stop. Any money taken out of your paycheck after a
bankruptcy is filed must be refunded to you.
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Yes, you are allowed to file a bankruptcy more
than one time. However, you have to wait several years between
each filing. If you don't wait the right amount of time, you
won't get a discharge and you'll still owe the debts listed in the
next bankruptcy case.
Generally, you have to wait:
8 years from Chapter 7 to Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
6 years from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
4 years from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
2 years from Chapter 13 to Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
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Filing a bankruptcy does not mean that you
automatically lose your house. However, the type of bankruptcy
which you need to file will vary based on the amount of equity in
your home and whether you are current on your house payments.
In Missouri, if your home has more than $15,000 of equity or if you
are behind on your house payments, a Chapter 13 reorganization
bankruptcy might be necessary to protect your home. However,
there are exceptions to this, and everyone's situation is different.
Contact our office for a consultation
about your unique situation.
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Similar to a house, filing a bankruptcy does not
mean that you must forfeit your car. In Missouri, if your car
has more than $3000 of equity in it, or if your are behind on your
car payments, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy might be a better option for
you.
Contact our office to discuss your
particular situation with an attorney for free.
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Bankruptcy is not about taking the clothes off
your back - it's about giving you a fresh start. To that end,
each state has determined how much property a bankruptcy debtor is
allowed to keep when they file for bankruptcy protection. The
amounts that Missouri has chosen are listed
here. When you file a bankruptcy, you tell the Court what
belongings you own and what their resale values are. This
information is compared to the Missouri state allowances. If
you have property that is worth more than the State allows you to
keep, then you need to give the Court that property.
If you have additional questions about your
personal property and filing a bankruptcy, please
contact our office.
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Unsecured debts are not tied to
property, as in, you never signed a contract letting a creditor take
away your property if you stopped paying the debt. Examples of
unsecured debts are credit cards, medical bills, pay day loans and
personal loans. Car loans and mortgages are secured debts.
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Secured debt is the name for a debt which is tied
to property. That means that when you made a promise to repay
someone for this debt, you also promised to turn over a piece of
land or personal property if you stopped making payments. Car
loans and mortgages are secured debts.
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When a debtor files a bankruptcy they are asking
the Court to wipe out their debts, this is a discharge. It is
an order from the Bankruptcy Court that discharges a debtor - or
releases the debtor - from paying their debts.
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Before you file a bankruptcy case you need to take
a Credit Counseling class. This class can be taken in person,
over the telephone or on the internet. The purpose of this
class is to review your financial situation with an unbiased
counselor who can help you determine if you can repay your debts.
After the class is over, you are issued a Credit Counseling
Certificate. When you file a bankruptcy, you must give the
Court a copy of the Certificate. If you do not have this
Certificate your Bankruptcy case will be dismissed.
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After you file a bankruptcy case there is a second
course you need to to take called a Financial Management Course.
You cannot receive a bankruptcy discharge unless you file a
certificate proving you took this course with the Bankruptcy Course.
The Financial Management Course teaches bankruptcy debtors how to
budget, take out credit responsibly, and learn skills to help keep
you our of bankruptcy in the future. The course can be taken
in person, over the internet or on the telephone. When you
complete this course, you are given a Financial Management
Certificate which must be filed with the Bankruptcy Course.
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A Bankruptcy Trustee is an attorney appointed by
the Bankruptcy Court to oversee your case. The Trustee is not
a judge. When you go to your court hearing, the Trustee is
there to ask you questions about your bankruptcy petition. A
Bankruptcy Trustee is responsible for collecting funds available in
a bankruptcy and distributing these funds to creditors.
The United States Trustees Office also reviews
bankruptcy files, looking for many issues including fraud and
bankruptcy crimes.
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