What is Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is, and should be, a last resort. It is a tool that's available to you to protect your property and or your sanity.

When a bankruptcy is filed a stay order is entered. That's stay order does just what it sounds like it's an order issued by the United States bankruptcy court instructing all of your creditors to stay where they are. As long as that stay order is in effect, no creditor can take action to collect any debt from you. They cannot call you, sue you, garnish you, or have any other contact with you at all. They can only have contact with your attorney.

If a creditor attempts to collect a debt which is stayed, it is in contempt of the United States Bankruptcy Court, and is subject to sanctions. The great majority of creditors understand this, and are very unlikely  to put themselves in contempt of court by continuing collection activity after the case is filed. Consequently the filing of the bankruptcy petition virtually guarantees the all collection activity will stop.