Filing for bankruptcy puts all your creditors on an even level because you don’t get to pick and choose who you’re going to pay what to or when. Instead, the payments go to creditors based on the specific order the law sets forth. In order to ensure there isn’t any preferential treatment of certain creditors, the court issues an automatic stay when you file for bankruptcy.
The automatic stay prevents creditors from being able to try to contact you to collect money. This includes phone calls, mail, email or any other means. This alone can take some of the stress off you as you wait for your bankruptcy to provide full financial relief.
There are a few things that the automatic stay won’t help you with, so be sure you understand this before you file your bankruptcy case. It won’t stop anything related to child support, so you’re still responsible for paying it, and you’ll have to cover the arrears that have accumulated.
It also won’t help to stop most tax proceedings or money you have to pay due to criminal matters. It also won’t stop you from having to repay any loans that you take out from your pension. You’ll have to determine how to handle these circumstances.
Because the automatic stay can impact people in a variety of ways, you have to look at how it will affect you before you file your bankruptcy. Your attorney can help you determine this, as well as other things that you might need to consider, so you’re prepared once you get the case moving forward.