Oregon residents can find themselves facing seemingly insurmountable debt for a wide variety of reasons, including medical debt and credit card debt, among others. When this happens, most people do their best to make a budget and pay back the debt as they are supposed to do. But, in some circumstances, this simply isn’t possible. For our readers who believe they may have run out of options, there is one option that may be left on the table: Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, commonly known as “liquidation” bankruptcy, is a form of bankruptcy which allows borrowers to discharge most, if not all, of their debt. To start, Oregon residents will file a bankruptcy petition with the court which, if initially approved, will implement an “automatic stay” of all collection action on debt. This can be quite a benefit for debtors who have been struggling with endless phone calls and threatening letters from collection agencies.
From there, the filer’s case will work through the bankruptcy process, which includes a listing of all debts and assets. The process also involves selling off some of the filer’s assets to pay down debt, but many people have assets that are “exempt” from the bankruptcy process, which means that they get to keep those assets despite the bankruptcy filing.
When the process is done, unpaid debt will be discharged. At our law firm, this is the goal we attempt to help our clients reach when they file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. For more information, please visit the Chapter 7 bankruptcy overview section of our law firm’s website.
