Bankruptcy Attorney | Weik Law Office | Serving Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest, North Carolina

Filing a bankruptcy can improve your credit score, especially if you have bad credit. When you file for bankruptcy and eliminate your debt, your income to debt ratio will improve, thereby improving your overall credit score. Also, the creditors know that you cannot file another bankruptcy for a certain period of time, and you become a better credit risk. If you file for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can often use your payments that are being made to the Trustee as a credit reference. If you have good credit, then filing for bankruptcy may damage your score.

The most common types of debt that cannot be discharged or wiped out in a Chapter 7 are student loans, back taxes under a certain period, child support, maintenance or alimony, credit card debt that was used to pay off back taxes, accident claims where there was a determination of intoxication, debt incurred by the willful and malicious injury to another, court fines and criminal restitution and certain co-signor liability if you want to protect a co-signor on the account. If you have this type of debt, it will not be eliminated. There are other types of debt that are non-dischargeable, but these are the most common.

To consolidate your debt under a Chapter 13 Plan, you must have a regular and consistent source of income. Monthly retirement or social security is often used to qualify.

When you come into the office, you will meet with an attorney who will perform a complete financial analysis. They will give you all of your options under both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.

We have helped many individuals who are facing retirement and it seems that in the last few years, it is more common to see clients who are approaching the Golden Years. Times are tough, and often retirement plan are the first thing to be cut in a tough economy. It’s important to remember that you do have options. Retirement should be a time of enjoyment and peace, not a time of major financial stress.

The consultation is free. Call our office at (919) 845-7721. You will listen to a short information tape and then be transferred to a receptionist.

This is a very common question.  We generally tell people that their credit report probably doesn’t look great right now.  Filing for bankruptcy will stop the aging process.  Those things that are delinquent now will never get any older than on the date that you file.

Once you retain our office, our staff will show you how to re-establish your credit.  We will give you a pamphlet to help you deal with your credit issues.  For example, setting up a secured credit card after filing for bankruptcy is one way to help re-establish your credit.

If you file a Chapter 7, your creditors know that you cannot file another Chapter 7 for at least eight years.  You often become a better credit risk than before you filed and creditors are often willing to give you credit after you receive a discharge.  In our pamphlet, we give you a list of creditors who help our clients purchase cars and obtain mortgages after filing for bankruptcy.

If you file a Chapter 13, you can often use the payments made on the plan as a credit reference.  After making timely payments for two years, many of our clients qualify to purchase homes and cars.