Bankruptcy Attorneys In Yakima County Can Get You Results

There are mistakes and unfortunate circumstances, and then there are mistakes and circumstances that can have serious legal and financial consequences. When that happens, just riding it out and hoping for the best isn’t a feasible option for anyone’s future. It’s always a good idea to work toward a better resolution, and that can only happen when you get guidance from experienced legal professionals in Washington State.

Our team of bankruptcy attorneys has over 30 years of combined experience resolving bankruptcy and other financial law situations throughout Washington State. We’re able to help people with concerns such as:

• Filing for bankruptcy
• Repossession
• Wage garnishment
• Creditor harassment

Every American does, of course, have the personal freedom to represent themselves in a legal case. However, when it comes to financial law and specific matters such as bankruptcy, poor or uninformed choices can have serious financial repercussions. Our bankruptcy attorneys can work with people to understand their needs and guide them toward the outcome that best helps them.

Getting help from experts is just as important throughout the country as it is here in the Pacific Northwest, with its many locales and attractions. This region, in particular, can resonate with some Americans as an ideal place to travel, work, and even live. Like other states in the country, it has a strong sense of autonomy when it comes to the administration of regional and local laws.

People choosing to live in Washington State from elsewhere have a variety of different destinations to take up residence, like Yakima and other parts of Yakima County in central Washington State. Similar to other states, there are laws in place at the federal, state, and municipal levels. Some laws govern people, but others govern organizations, like the banking systems Yakima County residents rely on.

These laws are there both to regulate behavior and provide direction when things go wrong. The economy, for example, can be booming, with plenty of opportunity. However, that’s no guarantee of financial success for everyone. Some residents of Yakima and Yakima County can still encounter economic difficulties that result in insurmountable debt. If this should happen, they’ll find themselves under the purview of both state and federal laws for debt. For anyone who wants to maintain control during such a situation, it’s crucial to study the basics of bankruptcy. Once people know their situation, it may be time to seek out a bankruptcy attorney in Yakima and determine whether it’s actually appropriate to file for bankruptcy.

Many Americans are at least vaguely familiar with the concept of bankruptcy, enough that many people immediately think of it alongside a financial crisis. So, it’s no surprise that people don’t expect this situation to be a positive one. However, while it’s true bankruptcy isn’t a great situation to face, people need to understand that it is not a permanent or “fatal” financial status from which there’s no coming back. Bankruptcy can be an extreme alternative but can still often be conducted with an eye toward resolution and eventual recovery.

Bankruptcy itself is a type of financial status that has legal consequences but also imparts potential legal protections as part of the debt management and repayment process. There are laws at the federal level to regulate bankruptcy, but in a sense, these can be viewed as general guidelines. The reason for this is that states possess a large amount of legal autonomy in creating their own bankruptcy policies. This makes it possible for states to have regulations that are more relevant to regional needs and interests. Washington State is typical of this, with laws in place regulating how Yakima and other Yakima County residents conduct themselves during the bankruptcy process.

Yakima County residents should also be aware that bankruptcy itself is just a general term. This means that a few general conditions apply to all bankruptcy situations, such as having debts that can no longer be managed. Beyond that, however, are specific categories of bankruptcy depending on the type of financial situation. Various economic factors outline these bankruptcy types. A Yakima bankruptcy lawyer in Yakima County can guide people towards which type they qualify for, like:

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also informally referred to in financial law circles as “the wage earner’s plan.” This category has very specific eligibility requirements. Most importantly, the person filing has some gainful employment or other reliable means of income. A full-time employee with a monthly salary is the most common example of someone who may qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. As a result of this bankruptcy filing being granted to people who are still making money, it may be viewed as the less severe category of bankruptcy filing.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy manages owed debt by creating a financial structure and plan for people to follow. The debt is repaid by making a payment plan, which typically has a duration between three and five years. Many people will find it similar to existing installment and payment plans, like car loans or mortgages. The amount paid per installment is calculated by assessing total income, living expense requirements, and other variables.

Two chief qualifiers are required for Chapter 13 eligibility. The first is that the person filing must be able to provide verifiable evidence of a fixed salary or other regular income or revenue stream. The second requirement is that the debtor has a comparatively “small” debt. Only people with debt under $2.75 million may file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is contrasted with Chapter 13 in that it tends to be viewed as more extreme. The process here is simple but drastic, as it liquidates the debtor's assets and uses those profits to pay off all or as much of the existing debt as possible. Many people view Chapter 7 bankruptcy as an alternative last resort if they are unable to qualify for Chapter 13 due to a lack of acceptable income or revenue stream requirements.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a rigorous process of assessment and sale. A person or company’s belongings are evaluated probably value, though this excludes items that have their own outstanding debt, such as vehicles or properties still being paid off. Assets that are wholly owned, however, are subject to assessment, and this runs the gamut from physical belongings such as art, furniture, and vehicles to liquid assets such as bonds and investment accounts. Both people and businesses can qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

When a home is paid off, it may be sold in an effort to recover other debts. However, if the home itself is a source of debt, then it has its own process in a bankruptcy filing. This process is called foreclosure, and Washington State has its own state laws and regulations for pursuing it in Yakima and other parts of Yakima County. The basic idea is that if a person can no longer manage the mortgage payments for a home, then the mortgage holder, usually a bank or credit union, has legal ownership of that home. They are now permitted to put that home up for sale and take the proceeds of that sale to pay off the remaining amount of a mortgage.

Home and other property owners should take the time to inform themselves about the exact methodologies of the foreclosure process. This way, they will know what to expect and, perhaps more importantly, also understand what their rights are in this situation. For example, people don’t have to worry about a foreclosure being filed on them because a mortgage payment is a few days late. One delinquent payment is not enough to warrant this type of action. A few months must pass before this type of action is allowed, and banks may take this step if mortgage obligations lapse over 120 days.

Foreclosures are really just a very specific type of financial action under the more general category of repossession. Repossession, as the name implies, is when an item, whether that is a vehicle or other retail product, such as consumer electronics, is on a payment plan structure, and too many payments are missed. At that point, the holders of the debt are legally allowed to take back the item. There are specific repossession regulations in place to define the categories and administration of this process.

Yakima residents and those in other parts of Yakima County should know that even if an item is legally permitted to be seized for repossession, consumer rights exist to protect people. Bankruptcy lawyers in Yakima, for example, can help people get an exemption on some items by filing for specific types of bankruptcy. A car may be excluded from repossession if it’s essential for earning income that would result in paying off debts.

There are circumstances when a proposed solution can inadvertently cause more problems. This may sometimes be the case when Yakima and other Yakima County residents are placed under a wage garnishment order. Wage garnishment is a financial and legal mechanism that withholds a portion of a person’s salary without their consent. This is often resorted to in situations where a legally ordered payment is delinquent. For example, the most common wage garnishment situation is when a couple gets divorced, and one of the spouses is required by the court to pay child support. If that spouse does not pay the child support, the court may then order wage garnishment so that part of their salary is automatically diverted into child support payments.

Yakima residents should know that wage garnishment has limits, and there are legal options available to resolve it. Washington State has laws to define the maximum limits that wages may be garnished, and this includes conditions for exemption. In general, the law has a maximum of up to 25% of a person’s weekly pay allowable for garnishing. The final amount ultimately depends on various economic factors that are assessed, such as other ongoing debts, like rent, living expenses, and total salary. A Yakima bankruptcy attorney is useful in helping people mitigate the effects of wage garnishment should they face it.

America is in an extremely fortunate position to have developed some of the most advanced medical infrastructure in the world to treat patients. Unfortunately, this advanced treatment can be costly. For those without the benefit of health insurance, the expense of paying for an accident or a diagnosis of a disease can be a financial disaster, potentially wiping out all life savings. This can be especially true for diseases that require ongoing or even lifetime treatments. It’s a sad reality that even in these situations, Americans can be financially exploited and caught off guard by expenses added to medical bills that weren’t previously discussed.

Yakima bankruptcy attorneys can help people deal with unexpected medical bill increases. Washington State has laws that protect residents from surprise billing. Yakima County residents should never make the mistake of thinking that they have no legal options when a licensed medical facility presents a surprise bill.

As with the rest of the world, Yakima and Yakima County residents use credit cards heavily. They are convenient and often essential for people who want to make purchases online. Unfortunately, that same ease of use can lead to overuse, and this can quickly escalate into debt that is no longer manageable. This is an issue that can affect Americans everywhere, and Washington State is no exception.

In normal circumstances, even just a little outside help can help people control credit card debt. Government services are on offer to provide credit reports, debt counseling, and other services. If things do become unmanageable, that’s when credit card companies get certain allowances to take action on debts owed. This may be as minor as trying to get a specific payment or can be as general as trying to recover all the debt owed. Bankruptcy lawyers in Yakima and around Spokane Yakima County can help people with these issues.

In Washinton State, financial laws are in place to govern both residents and the financial organizations intended to service residents. All financial groups must comply with consumer lending laws that regulate which actions are permissible and which aren’t. These laws also apply to duly designated agents for these organizations, such as collection agents. There are regulations in place at both the Federal and state levels that govern which actions they are permitted to take when trying to recoup a debt.

Unfortunately, sometimes creditors will ignore the legal boundaries put before them. They may sometimes rely on the debtor’s ignorance, hoping that the disadvantaged position of the person who owes a debt will lead them to assume any action the creditor takes must be legal, or they wouldn’t have done it.

Yakima residents who are in even this position have rights that must be respected. For example, a debt collector goes to someone’s workplace to try to collect. If that workplace has a policy of no visitors, the debt collector’s legal obligations do not override the company’s no-visitor policy. In the same way, a creditor can’t try calling a person’s home very early in the morning or very late at night in the hopes of disorienting or intimidating them.

In a typical legal situation, a Yakima or Yakima County resident involved in a lawsuit should always get legal counsel from an experienced lawsuit attorney. In other instances, especially those related to debt, better results may be achieved by getting guidance from a Yakima bankruptcy lawyer in Yakima County. They may provide far more incisive financial guidance in lawsuits not involving injury.

A debt-related lawsuit may occur when too many payments have been missed, such as when credit cards are used. A credit card company may at first try to resolve the situation themselves and may even resort to collection agents. However, if these measures don’t yield results, they may serve notice to the debtor that a lawsuit is being filed against them. People who find themselves in this position have the normal legal options available. The best action to take in debt-related lawsuits is to talk to a Yakima County bankruptcy attorney.

It’s not just banks that have the legal and financial authority to offer loans to people. There are other financial organizations authorized to do this as well. They often offer loans as an advance on an expected salary paycheck, hence the term “payday loan.” In some cases, they may initially seem more compelling because they offer faster and easier approval on loan applications. The other side of this equation, however, can mean that there are severe potential negative consequences. These may only make themselves evident if people start missing or making late payments.

Those loan companies may sometimes impose incredibly harsh late fees and other penalties. As the punitive expenses escalate on a loaned amount, the new totals may far eclipse the original loan and leave a person in a crisis of debt. In such a situation, the best advice is to seek the guidance of a Yakima bankruptcy lawyer.