John Wittrock, P.C., Attorney at Law, Bankruptcy Northwest, Portland, Oregon

John Wittrock, P.C., Attorney at Law
516 S.E. Morrison Street, Suite 1010, Portland, Oregon, 97214

Please call 503-253-8801 for questions or information.
As required by federal law, we must inform you that we are a debt relief agency.

Bankruptcy - Basic Information
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Bankruptcy is the process the legal system allows for a person or a business to use when you are no longer able to pay your bills. The aim of filing a petition in bankruptcy is to obtain a "discharge" from your debts. This means that creditors can no longer pursue you for payment of their bills.
As soon as your bankruptcy petition is filed, an "automatic stay" takes effect. This means that creditors (which is anyone who has a claim for money against you) cannot take any further actions against you, without going through the bankruptcy court. This includes any actions including letter demands, telephone calls, lawsuits and garnishments. All attempts to collect are "stayed" (temporarily stopped) pending the outcome of the bankruptcy proceedings. When a discharge is obtained any creditors are then permanently prohibited from attempting to collect on those debts that have discharged. The filing of the bankruptcy petition also causes your assets to become part of a bankruptcy "estate" which cannot be reached by creditors or disposed of by you while you are in the bankruptcy process.
The court does not look for any particular level of debt to determine if you can file bankruptcy. It also does not ask why you are filing bankruptcy or what has happened to you to decide whether you ought to be using the bankruptcy system. What the process does require is that you honestly disclose your financial situation. That means you must list creditors that you intend to repay such as your house mortgage or your car loan. The court does not require that you give up your house or car; it just requires that you fully disclose all of your assets (and what they're worth) as well as all of your liabilities or debts. You are also required to disclose certain other financial information such as your income over the last two years, any repayments on loans to family members or business insiders in the last year or any transfer, sale or other disposition of property in the last year.
You may continue to pay certain creditors if you choose to. For example, most people continue to pay on their home loan and car lender. However, it is you who decides which creditors to repay. Generally, you do not want to continue making payments to creditors you will discharge in the bankruptcy because the purpose of filing a bankruptcy is to get a "fresh start," and you do not want to start over unduly burdened with debts. There are some debts that are not discharged or are only discharged in some circumstances. The most common examples of these are tax debts, child support, student loans, or debts incurred by fraud or dishonesty or where the circumstances indicate you intended to file a bankruptcy when you acquired the debt. you should not assume, though, that certain debts will not be discharged. Even tax debts and student loans can be discharged under certain conditions.
For most people the bankruptcy laws offer two options. One is called a Chapter 7 and the other is a Chapter 13. A Chapter 7 does not generally require any payment to the bankruptcy court beyond the filing fee. A Chapter 13 requires payments to a bankruptcy court Trustee for 36 months or 60 months. In the bankruptcy process, it is highly advisable to hire a lawyer with significant experience with the federal bankruptcy laws. Bankruptcy laws are complex; if you are not with an experienced and accountable legal practitioner in the early planning stages before filing your bankruptcy, you may be setting yourself up for unwelcome surprises.
Timing of the bankruptcy filing has important ramifications. Avoid costly mistakes. Bankruptcy is not generally a "do-it-yourself" legal process.
We are at 516 S.E. Morrison Street, Suite 1010, Portland, Oregon, 97214. Here is a handy online map. Call us at (503) 253-8801. We are here to help.

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John Wittrock, P.C., Attorney at Law 516 S.E. Morrison Street, Suite 1010, Portland, Oregon, 97214 Please call 503-253-8801 for questions or information. As required by federal law, we must inform you that we are a debt relief agency. Bankruptcy - Basic Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Bankruptcy is the process the legal system allows for a person or a business to use when you are no longer able to pay your bills. The aim of filing a petition in bankruptcy is to obtain a "discharge" from your debts. This means that creditors can no longer pursue you for payment of their bills. As soon as your bankruptcy petition is filed, an "automatic stay" takes effect. This means that creditors (which is anyone who has a claim for money against you) cannot take any further actions against you, without going through the bankruptcy court. This includes any actions including letter demands, telephone calls, lawsuits and garnishments. All attempts to collect are "stayed" (temporarily stopped) pending the outcome of the bankruptcy proceedings. When a discharge is obtained any creditors are then permanently prohibited from attempting to collect on those debts that have discharged. The filing of the bankruptcy petition also causes your assets to become part of a bankruptcy "estate" which cannot be reached by creditors or disposed of by you while you are in the bankruptcy process. The court does not look for any particular level of debt to determine if you can file bankruptcy. It also does not ask why you are filing bankruptcy or what has happened to you to decide whether you ought to be using the bankruptcy system. What the process does require is that you honestly disclose your financial situation. That means you must list creditors that you intend to repay such as your house mortgage or your car loan. The court does not require that you give up your house or car; it just requires that you fully disclose all of your assets (and what they're worth) as well as all of your liabilities or debts. You are also required to disclose certain other financial information such as your income over the last two years, any repayments on loans to family members or business insiders in the last year or any transfer, sale or other disposition of property in the last year. You may continue to pay certain creditors if you choose to. For example, most people continue to pay on their home loan and car lender. However, it is you who decides which creditors to repay. Generally, you do not want to continue making payments to creditors you will discharge in the bankruptcy because the purpose of filing a bankruptcy is to get a "fresh start," and you do not want to start over unduly burdened with debts. There are some debts that are not discharged or are only discharged in some circumstances. The most common examples of these are tax debts, child support, student loans, or debts incurred by fraud or dishonesty or where the circumstances indicate you intended to file a bankruptcy when you acquired the debt. you should not assume, though, that certain debts will not be discharged. Even tax debts and student loans can be discharged under certain conditions. For most people the bankruptcy laws offer two options. One is called a Chapter 7 and the other is a Chapter 13. A Chapter 7 does not generally require any payment to the bankruptcy court beyond the filing fee. A Chapter 13 requires payments to a bankruptcy court Trustee for 36 months or 60 months. In the bankruptcy process, it is highly advisable to hire a lawyer with significant experience with the federal bankruptcy laws. Bankruptcy laws are complex; if you are not with an experienced and accountable legal practitioner in the early planning stages before filing your bankruptcy, you may be setting yourself up for unwelcome surprises. Timing of the bankruptcy filing has important ramifications. Avoid costly mistakes. Bankruptcy is not generally a "do-it-yourself" legal process. We are at 516 S.E. Morrison Street, Suite 1010, Portland, Oregon, 97214. Here is a handy online map. Call us at (503) 253-8801. We are here to help.