Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Wisconsin

Debt Collector Harrassment Immediately Prior to Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing

The person most likely to help you reduce the collector activity is your bankruptcy attorney. In my office, we send out a pre-filing warning letter, which usually buys the client a brief "courtesy" extension to get their bankruptcy case filing finalized. A reasonable number of such letters are included in our flat fee quotes. Although such letters have no legal effect (only proof of the final filing and court case number has that), most collectors know that it is in their own best interest not to waste their time with a person who is filing bankruptcy. However, if you are already near being in a garnishment or repossession situation, the creditor will probably not stop the collection activity and may even expedite it once they know your plans. It is therefore critical to start the bankruptcy filing process well in advance of collection litigation, since once the garnishments commence, you may be too poor to even complete your bankruptcy filing due to the loss of 25% of your income to the garnishment (or loss of your job due to losing your work transportation vehicle to repossession).