CONGRESS PASSED A NEW BANKRUPTCY LAW TO MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR DEBTORS TO QUALIFY FOR BANKRUPTCY. THE NEW LAW WAS EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 17, 2005. HOWEVER, many debtors will still qualify. We have 20-plus years of experience assisting families, individuals & small businesses with debt problems. This includes Simple Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Complex Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. We will analyze your financial situation and advise you of all your options. Creditors cannot and will not harass you once the bankruptcy Petition has been filed. Garnishments will stop immediately. Please remember that the following information is general and should NOT be relied upon without a comprehensive consultation at our office.

Information needed for the initial appointment with us:
When you meet with us, we will have you sign a release so we can obtain your credit report. There is no additional charge for the credit report. In order to analyze your case accurately we must have your completed In-take Form, which you can print out from this website, and the necessary documents listed on the In-take Form.

TOP

Bankruptcy Procedure:
After you have filled out our In-take Form, met with us, provided us with most of the required documents AND paid the first $300 of our fee, we will prepare your Chapter 7 Petition. [See below for a complete explanation of our fees.] While we are preparing your petition, you will need to attend a 90-minute "debt counseling" session over the phone or the internet. When the petition is ready for your signature, we will call you to schedule an appointment to sign it. At that time you will need to bring a $299 Money Order payable to GRUBER & ASSOCIATES, PC (or cash) for the Court's filing fee. A hearing will be held about 35 days after the filing date and we will attend with you. You will receive notice of the exact date and time about 3 weeks before the hearing. The hearings are held at 620 SW Main Street, Suite 223 in Portland. The hearing takes about 10 minutes and is held in front of a bankruptcy trustee, not a judge. You will need to attend a second counseling session pertaining to "debt management." The Court will close your case about 3.5 months after the filing date, unless you have an asset case. [Few cases are asset bankruptcies.] When the Court closes your bankruptcy case, all your unsecured debts will be wiped out, except for certain debts listed below.

TOP

Chapter 7 Debts:
Chapter 7 is the type of bankruptcy process that wipes out most unsecured debt. However, the following debts are generally NOT wiped out: student loans; NSF checks; traffic violations; any debt that is based upon fraud or mis-representation; debts caused by an uninsured auto accident that involved a drunk driving citation for you; payroll taxes, property taxes and license fees; child support; spousal support or alimony; criminal restitution or other criminal fines; debts for willful and malicious injury to another person. Income taxes that are less than three years old are also not dischargeable in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. (The 3-year period begins to run on the April due date.) Recent credit card charges are sometimes not wiped out. Debts that are not wiped out in a Ch. 7 bankruptcy can usually be handled under a Chapter 13 Plan.

TOP

Garnishments:
When a creditor has obtained a judgment against you for money that you owe he can garnish your wages at any time. Some creditors will garnish within a few weeks of receiving the judgment, if they know where you work and/or what bank has your checking or savings account. If you don't have a job they will wait until you start working. When your bank receives a Writ of Garnishment it must withdraw all funds in your account if the funds are less than the amount of the judgment. When your employer receives a Writ of Garnishment he must take out 25% of your after-tax wages from each paycheck until the entire judgment is paid in full. Only if you file either a Ch. 7 or Ch.13 bankruptcy petition is your employer permitted to stop the garnishment. The day after we file your petition with the court we will fax notice to your payroll department to stop your garnishment.

TOP

Chapter 13:
If you are not eligible for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy you are probably eligible to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. You will need to pay some money to the Court's Trustee each month for 5 years. We will advise you of the amount of your monthly payments before you decide if you want to file. If you have significant debt that can't be wiped out in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy this may be your best course of action. Your payments are likely to be less than the 25% of each paycheck that is taken out when a creditor garnishes you. You can download & print-out our In-take Form and call us to schedule an office appointment.

TOP

Bankruptcy Fees:
We handle Chapter 7 Bankruptcy cases for debtors who reside in the following Oregon counties: Clackamas, Columbia, Hood River, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Wasco, Washington, and Yamhill. We charge a one-time fee of $700 (single debtor) and $900 (for married debtors) for a simple Chapter 7 bankruptcy. You will know the entire fee BEFORE you hire us and our fee must be paid BEFORE we file your petition. The first step is a brief, free, telephone consultation with our attorney, Diane L. Gruber, if she is available. The second step is an office appointment, where you bring in the necessary documents AND the short In-take Form, which you can print out from this website. The appointment fee is $100 and will be waived if you hire us to handle your bankruptcy during your first appointment (pay $300 down). These quoted fees pertain to non-business, non-asset Chapter 7 bankruptcies only. If you want to discuss Chapter 13 fees and/or you are interested in discussing a business bankruptcy, please call.

TOP