Bankruptcy, Adding Creditors, and the Motion to Extend the Automatic Stay

July 20, 2010 - PRLog -- Can I add creditors after filing bankruptcy? The answer is yes. There are some deadlines that you will have to keep in mind when you need to add creditors. After the date of filing a Chapter 13, you need to get the creditors filed within the next couple of months, to ensure that they get proper notice. Keep in mind that these creditors that you are adding are creditors that were incurred prior to you filing your case. If you incur medical bills after you filed, you can’t go back and add these to the bankruptcy. You will have to make arrangements with them to get their debt repaid. There is a filing fee to add these creditors. The fee to do so is $26 for how ever many creditors you may have. It is very important that you make sure that you list all your creditors, by law you don’t have a choice of who can be in the bankruptcy and who can’t.

For a Chapter 7, the time frame to get additional creditors added is the same. You don’t want to wait until the last minute to get these taken care of, because if you do, then they won’t get added, because of the time delay. The $26 filing fee applies to this as well.

If you have additional questions about adding creditors, contact your attorney’s office right away.

If a Debtor has had a previous bankruptcy case dismissed within one year of filing another case, the attorney must file a Motion to Extend the Automatic Stay. Under the bankruptcy law, the stay will only be in place for 30 days unless a hearing is held. In the Northern District of Texas, the Debtor is required to attend the hearing in order for the stay to be extended.

What is the automatic stay and why is it important? The stay is what stops creditors from taking any further action to try and collect a debt. It is what prevents the mortgage company from foreclosing on the house, the car creditor from repossessing the car, and the annoying collection agencies from calling.

The hearing is more of a formality than a major hearing. It usually required about 5-10 minutes of answering basic questions. The main purpose of the hearing is for the Debtor to explain to the judge why his last case got dismissed and what is different in his current case that will make him successful. As long as the Debtor shows up for the hearing and the judge believes the case is filed in good faith he will grant the motion to extend the automatic stay. Once the motion is granted, no creditor can try and collect a debt without filing a motion to have the stay lifted with the court and show the court cause for the stay to be lifted.

For more information visit http://www.bankrupcy-alternative.com/and-income.html or call us directly. Here is another bankruptcy article http://www.prlog.org/10804330-bankruptcy-the-fair-collect... and here is another http://www.prlog.org/10804322-bankruptcy-student-loans-an... for your reading enjoyment.

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