Facing substantial debt can leave you feeling a myriad of emotions. You may wonder how you could get out from under the outstanding balances you owe and feel considerable stress due to constant creditor calls. This stress can have significant effects on multiple areas of your life, including your overall health. Therefore, you may wish to consider exploring bankruptcy and learning how the process could potentially help.
Automatic stay
After filing for bankruptcy, your petition creates an automatic stay. An automatic stay halts actions from creditors and bill collectors who likely make you feel harassed about your outstanding debts. This stay could help fend off numerous negative actions that could potentially get brought against you due to unpaid balances.
Automatic stay benefits
In many cases, debt accumulation puts individuals at risk of eviction, having utilities cut off, repossession or home foreclosure. Luckily, the automatic stay could prove beneficial when it comes to such possibilities, as this hold can help with many areas, including:
- Utility disconnection: Utility companies have been known to turn off services to individuals who have fallen behind on their payments. Your electricity, telephone, water and other utilities could face this risk, and you may worry about getting by without these services. However, an automatic stay can keep utility companies from disconnecting utilities for at least 20 days.
- Foreclosure: Having unpaid mortgage bills can cause considerable stress as foreclosure proceedings could begin against your home. The threat of potentially losing your home may act as a catalyst for considering bankruptcy. If filed, the automatic stay associated with your bankruptcy petition can stop foreclosure proceedings for the time being.
- Wage garnishment: Many creditors may attempt to garnish your wages as a means to obtain owed money. This action can obviously affect your ability to afford the daily necessities that your pay allows you to purchase. Luckily, an automatic stay also stops garnishment actions.
It may benefit you to understand that an automatic stay does not stop these proceedings forever. In fact, some companies may have the ability to continue their actions against you once the stay ends. Therefore, you may wish to consider your bankruptcy options closely in order to determine which process could most help you achieve your goals and stop collections.
Legal help
In order to gain more information about the benefits of an automatic stay and how long a stay may last, you may want to consult with an experienced Ohio attorney. Obtaining legal assistance could allow you to choose the paths best suited to your particular circumstances.