Brownsville Texas Bankruptcy Legal Blog

With the holidays in full swing, many people are eagerly hitting the stores and trying to come up with the perfect gifts for everyone on their wish list. With stores offering sales and coupons, it may seem like getting a good deal is easy to do around this time of year.

Just because everything is on sale does not mean that people do not overspend. According to The Penny Hoarder, 71 percent of people spend more than they planned to on presents. More than half of shoppers—57 percent—buy presents that were not even on their shopping lists. One could say overspending during the holidays is as American as apple pie.

If someone tells a Texas resident otherwise, he or she should probably run the other way. While most people do receive a discharge from a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, there is no guarantee it will happen. However, knowing the circumstances under which one may not be given could help increase the likelihood of receiving one.

First, Texas consumers contemplating filing bankruptcy should know that not all debts are eligible for discharge such as most taxes, student loans and child support. Moreover, if a filer neglects to include a debt ordinarily eligible, he or she remains responsible for it even if a discharge is received. A consumer may decide to reaffirm a debt with a creditor such as a mortgage or auto lender in order to retain an asset.

For whatever reason, you are no longer able to meet your financial obligations as you once were. Now, you have creditors calling you, sending you letters and making threats or following through with legal action. More than likely, you have tried everything you can think of to deal with your financial situation, but to no avail. Like other Texas residents, you probably did not automatically consider filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy as a debt relief option, even though it could be your best option.

Upon filing a bankruptcy petition, an automatic stay goes into effect that prevents your creditors from continuing their debt collection efforts. When creditors call you for your daily dose of harassment, you can tell them you have filed for bankruptcy and give them your case number. They can no longer contact you during the course of your bankruptcy.

It is easy for expenses to sneak up on a Texas resident. A cup of coffee here, a quick lunch there and a few unplanned purchases can easily add up to a significant amount of credit card debt over time. If an individual fails to notice how much of a problem it is until it is too late, debt collectors could already be calling.

How a consumer deals with these calls matters. Avoiding them could only make matters worse. Instead, it might be more useful to make contact proactively in order to see whether an agreement can be reached regarding the balance owed. Another mistake that many people make is agreeing to pay the balance that the debt collector says is owed. It would be better to first request this information in writing to be sure that is actually the true balance, and to make sure that it is actually a debt owed by the person being called.