Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Maryland

Re: Is bankruptcy for me?

Probably not. You do not state how many creditors you have but regarless of the number your best bet is a workout with the creditors.

You can do this yourself or through an attorney or through one of the non profit debt workout organizations.

For $16,00 dollars bankruptcy is a very draconian solution.

Re: Is bankruptcy for me?

It is always best to avoid filing a bankruptcy if at all possible. Whether or not it is right for you depends on many variables. First, you may wish to go to a credit counseling agency such as Consumer Credit Counseling and see whether they can help you. Also, if you are behind on your monthly payments, but have an ability to borrow some money, it may be possible to make settlements with your creditors - in other words, pay a certain number of cents on the dollar in a lump sum to them as full and final payment. While in the scheme of things $16,000.00 is not a lot of debt, it may be a lot of debt to you, especially considering how much your monthly minimum payments are. If you have assets that have a significant amount of equity, it is possible that you would not be able to file a Chapter 7 without the possibility of your property being sold. If you cannot handle the monthly payment in credit counseling, and do not have access to any monies to make lump sum settlements, it is possible that a bankruptcy could help you.

Carolyn G. Krohn

60 West Street, Suite 220

Annapolis, MD 21401

(410)280-5000

Re: Is bankruptcy for me?

Bankruptcy entails several limitations, most notable is impairment of your ability to obtain credit or to do so at a reasonable cost (i.e., without security or at reasonable interest rates). This is not to say that bankruptcy is out of the equation.

Other avenues exist to address your situation. These avenues involve planning and discipline. Essentially the discipline that is needed to address your situation will ultimately be imposed upon you through the effects of bankruptcy (as partially indicated above). But bankruptcy may still be a suitable course of action.

Consumer credit arrangements have limitations that often approach the effect of a bankruptcy, that is your credit score (often referred to as FICO) will be adversely affected. An attorney may be another alternative.

My fees are reasonable in either accord, feel free to contact me to discuss your situation.

G. Joseph Holthaus

(410) 799-9002