Arizona Bankruptcy Legal Questions

You can either speak to an attorney to determine your eligibility for filing a bankruptcy to eliminate the debt or hire an attorney to assist with debt negotiation if you have the ability to pay a lump sum amount. Both options should be evaluated as to what is the best course of action for you in the long term and the short term. If you do nothing the creditor will most likely get a default judgment against you which gives them 20 years to collect the amount plus interest by either taking up to 25% of your wages (garnishment), seizing a bank account (attachment), or having the sheriff come and take something from you like a paid up car (levy).... Read More

There is no good way to do this. However, every time a debt collector contacts you ask them to stop calling and send everything in writing to your address. Then IN WRITING ask them to verify the debt is owed by _______ Name with Social security number xxx-xx-____ (give only the last 4 numbers). Tell them in WRITING that you believe they have mistaken the identity. If they do not verify and continue to contact you get an attorney it's a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Act and several other federal statutes. If they do verify make sure that they have verified the social security number and contact the original creditor in writing with the same demand for verification.... Read More

A bank has no obligation to foreclose on a property to suit your situation or you desire. As long as you are in a Chapter 13, the statute of limitations does not run because of the bankruptcy stay. Your failure to understand the law does not make the law unjust, and I suspect you do not have an attorney representing you in your Chapter 13, which deprives you of the benefit of the valuable legal advice you ought to be getting to obtain the best results from your case.... Read More

I don't know what a homestead "clause" is, but your homestead exemption has nothing to do with whether or not you can lien strip a junior mortgage lien in a bankruptcy case. Whether or not you can reduce your 1st mortgage lien depends on whether this is your principal residence or not.  If it is, then you cannot regardless of the values.  If it is a rental/investment property, you can reduce the amount owed on the 1st mortgage down to value of the property, but you can only do that in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, which is quite involved and expensive and could cost you as much as the reduction, based on the numbers you provided. Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.... Read More