Sean S. Hanley
Attorney at Law for Bankruptcy

San Jose, California, Bankruptcy Attorney at Law since 2007. In addition to bankruptcy, foreclosure and debt relief law, I specialize in real estate transaction law and general law. Call me now for a free phone consultation.

We are attorneys at law and a licensed real estate broker and private lender who specialize in all aspects of legal and real estate services relating to bankruptcy, foreclosure, credit card debt relief, real estate loans and real estate transactions.

The bankruptcy laws were recently modified by U.S. Congress in recognition of America's current precarious economic situation. The intent of bankruptcy law is to allow a "fresh start" to Americans in pursuit of the American dream (Title 11, U.S. Bankruptcy Code, pursuant to the U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8).

In pursuit of Congress' intent of giving debtors a "fresh start", the bankruptcy laws were drafted so debtors can stop home foreclosures, keep personal property, and remove all credit card debt.

Knowing whether you will be able to keep your real or personal property depends on your individual circumstance, which mandates a comprehensive review of your financial situation by a qualified bankruptcy attorney.

Many people with a regular income will be able to retain their homes and cars with reasonable payment plans done through the bankruptcy court.

Almost every individual will qualify for a discharge of all credit card debt.

Filing for bankruptcy can be reported on your credit report for 10 years after the date of filing, however, if you have income, you should be more credit worthy after filing a bankruptcy since your old creditors no longer have a claim on your future income.

Once your bankruptcy case is complete, the balance of all your discharged debts will be reported as "0". The history of delinquencies may be reported, however, the balance of these debts will be zero.

Negative credit history is just that... history. Banks and other financial institutions are more aware than ever of the status of the economy and filing for bankruptcy is not uncommon and doing so in no way dooms you to perpetual credit rejection.

Countless Americans that have recently filed for bankruptcy have earned the highest credit ratings possible after strengthening their financial presence by saving and using credit carefully.

Filing for bankruptcy allows debtors to take financial management courses, which helps the debtor to learn how to repair their credit report and ensure that they will never have to file for bankruptcy again.

You should review your credit report after completing your bankruptcy to ensure that your old debts are noted as "discharged" on your credit report, since it is proof that the old discharged debts are no longer legally enforceable. A free report can be obtained at annualcreditreport.com.

It is not a court requirement to hire an attorney to file a bankruptcy, however, the legal system is a maze of complex laws, rules, and regulations that takes many years for the most competent attorneys to master. In other words, it is very easy to make mistakes and mistakes are time consuming and costly.

In addition to dealing with the stress of guiding yourself through the complex maze of the legal system, banks and credit card companies typically hire teams of aggressive attorneys to fight bankruptcy cases.

An experienced bankruptcy attorney is in a much better position to not only help you maximize the bankruptcy laws to discharge as much debt as possible and ultimately save you money, but also to save you the time, stress, and aggravation of transacting with harassing creditors while figuring out how to weave yourself through the complex bankruptcy laws.

Yes!... once you hire the Law Offices of Sean S. Hanley to represent you, you can begin to forward the harrassing calls you receive from creditors to us.

We will work expeditiously to utilize the benefit of the bankruptcy laws, which, if successful, "discharges" (releases) you from personal liability for many types of debts. In other words, you will no longer be legally required to pay any debts that are discharged. For millions of Americans, this translates into not having to pay thousands of dollars of outstanding credit card debt, medical bills, and many other bills and debts that an attorney specializing in bankruptcy can detail for you.

Once you receive a discharge, creditors are prohibited from taking any form of collection action against you, including filing lawsuits, making harassing calls, reporting your debts to credit reporting bureaus, threatening you with letters and/or calls from attorneys, and any other similar action.

You can always negotiate with your creditors, however, many creditors make it extremely difficult by refusing to negotiate with individual debtors, unless the debtor has legal representation, and demanding settlement money "up front" with no payment plans.

Additionally, creditors typically will not negotiate with debtors unless the account is very delinquent and worse yet, after you pay all the money due, your credit will not be restored.

Paralegals and other legal document preparers cannot represent you in any way, including giving legal advice or representing you in court (only attorneys can legally represent you).

People often go to paralegals or other legal document services because they feel it is cheaper than hiring a lawyer. The problem is that bankruptcy cases are very complicated and it takes the full attention of an experienced bankruptcy attorney to get the very best outcome for you. Hiring an unqualified and/or unlicensed person will end up costing you more.

It depends on your situation and on the consolidation company.

You must be very careful when dealing with a consolidation company as many debt consolidation plans consist of phony deals that enrich the company at your expense.

The end result: Your credit will be just as bad or worse than if you filed for bankruptcy and worse yet, you may still be in debt.

Bankruptcy is a law enacted by the U.S. Congress, called Title 11, U.S. Bankruptcy Code, pursuant to the U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, which was done so to ensure that Americans, who are suffering hard times, can get a "fresh start". It is not a gimmick or a loophole.

According to recent stats, "bankruptcies are up from ".

There is a mandatory court filing fee of $299. that must be paid to the Federal Court.

Attorney fees vary depending on what your case requires.

We have payment plans available for most cases and we will work with you to come up with a fee and payment plan that you will be comfortable with.

To learn more about if filing for bankruptcy will protect your home from foreclosure, see Bankruptcy and Foreclosure.

In addition to bankruptcy, our firm also offers a full range of legal, real estate and loan related services including foreclosure, elder law, estate planning, probate, real estate exchanges, real estate loans, real estate transactions and small business matters.

If you have questions about bankruptcy, please do not hesitate to contact our San Jose bankruptcy attorney today. Call us now for a free phone consultation at 408-293-0344 or contact us via e-mail by filling out the form on the Contacts page and a representative from our office will reply immediately.

More information: Contact Us, Bankruptcy and Foreclosure, Estate Planning, Foreclosed Property Investment, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Considerations, Guide to Foreclosure, Homestead Law, Mortgage Workout, Protecting Your Assets, Real Estate Exchanges, Real Estate Loans, Real Estate Transactions, Sean S. Hanley Biography