<![CDATA[Springer Law Firm Rockford, IL Bankruptcy Lawyers and Attorneys - Blog]]>Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:22:10 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[What if my creditor has a judgment against me?]]>Tue, 19 Jan 2016 19:10:22 GMThttps://www.rockfordbankruptcylawyers.com/blog/what-if-my-creditor-has-a-judgment-against-meA common question I get is whether Bankruptcy can stop a creditor who has already taken the debt to court and received a judgment. The answer is yes!
​Often, creditors will hire a collection agency or even a law firm to collect on a past due debt. This may result in you being served with a summons to appear in court. The summons will list the date and time for the first appearance. You are not required to appear at a first appearance, however, if you fail to show up a default judgment may be entered against you. Once the creditor obtains a judgment, the creditor can begin the wage garnishment procedure. If you decide to appear at the first appearance, you can ask the Judge to continue the hearing so you can discuss your options with an attorney. Often, the Judge will give you around a month or two to discuss your options with an attorney. 
Bankruptcy can stop the creditor from collecting against you, regardless of the stage that the lawsuit may be in. For example, if a judgment has been entered, filing bankruptcy would prevent the creditor from enforcing the judgment. Bankruptcy does not need to be filed before the lawsuit, or before the judgment, or before the garnishment. It will stop the creditor at whatever stage it the creditor is at. 
With that being said. We do recommend that you appear at your first appearance and ask the Judge to continue the case out so you can meet with an attorney. Often, if we file before a judgment is entered, we can help reduce the negative impact a judgment would have on your credit report. As in most circumstances, if you have specific questions, feel free to contact us for advice. 
]]><![CDATA[Difference Between Chapter 7 and chapter 13]]>Wed, 12 Nov 2014 16:55:17 GMThttps://www.rockfordbankruptcylawyers.com/blog/difference-between-chapter-7-and-chapter-13Disclaimer: This post does not constitute Legal Advice or establish any attorney/client relationship.


First, I am a Bankruptcy Attorney in Rockford, IL. The information I am supplying will apply to primarily Bankruptcy situations in the local area I practice. I am not the only Bankruptcy Lawyer in Rockford, IL so feel free to double check my information with any other practicing attorney or attorneys. 

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
A chapter 7 Bankruptcy is called a liquidation bankruptcy, meaning there will be a Trustee assigned to your case who will determine if you have any unprotected assets she/he could liquidate to pay off your debt. 99% of the time there are no assets for the Trustee to sell, so the creditors get nothing. The Chapter 7 would take care of most of your debt. The types of Debt that would not be included would be: certain tax debt, owed child support or maintenance, criminal fines, student loan debt, certain traffic violations.

Chapter 13
A chapter 13 Bankruptcy is called a "Wage-Earner's Bankruptcy". In a chapter 13 Bankruptcy you would make payments based on your income and expenses. Generally chapter 13 Bankruptcies last from anywhere between 3-5 years. A chapter 13 Bankruptcy will take care of Parking Tickets or Toll Way Fines, whereas a chapter 7 Bankruptcy would not.

There are advantages to both bankruptcies. In a chapter 7 Bankruptcy you are done relatively quickly. Additionally it is a lot cheaper in the long run than a chapter 13 bankruptcy. You can generally begin rebuilding your credit a lot faster if you do a chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, a chapter 7 bankruptcy will stay on your credit report longer than a chapter 13. A chapter 7 bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 10 years, whereas a chapter 13 bankruptcy will remain on your credit report for 7 years. Additionally, lenders who are aware of the difference between a chapter 7 bankruptcy and a chapter 13 bankruptcy favor chapter 13 bankruptcy. Some may give you loans at more favorable rates if they see a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy instead of a chapter 7 Bankruptcy. The reason for this is that in a chapter 13 bankruptcy, you will pay back a portion of your debt, and you are on a payment plan.

If you have any questions feel free to comment below, or send us a message on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/rockfordbankruptcylawyers


]]><![CDATA[August 09th, 2014]]>Sat, 09 Aug 2014 17:54:15 GMThttps://www.rockfordbankruptcylawyers.com/blog/500-for-attorney-fees-is-this-for-real<![CDATA[Will I Lose My Car in Bankruptcy]]>Mon, 12 May 2014 19:26:38 GMThttps://www.rockfordbankruptcylawyers.com/blog/will-i-lose-my-car-in-bankruptcyAnother common question I get asked is: Will I lose my car if I file for bankruptcy? The answer (like most answers in bankruptcy) is it depends. In this post I will examine what determines whether you get to keep your vehicle in
bankruptcy.

Exemptions
    Each state has a series of exemptions (laws that provide protection for your property, like vehicles) that you will use to protect your stuff in bankruptcy. In Illinois, you have a $2,400 exemption for your vehicle. This means that if the value of your vehicle is less than $2,400, you get to keep it. Additionally, each debtor is given a $4,000 "wildcard" exemption in Illinois. This means that you can allocate $4,000 to protect miscellaneous property, except you cannot use it to protect real estate. If you have a lot of your wildcard left over (the wildcard has to be used to protect your household goods like furniture, appliances, and TV's) you can use what is left over as additional protection for your vehicle. Let me provide an example:
   Say for example you have a vehicle worth about $3,500. You have no loan on the vehicle (I will discuss the impact loans have later on in this post). Say all of your household goods are valued at about $2,000. We would use $2,000 of the wildcard exemption to protect your household goods, which would leave us with $2,000 of the wildcard to use wherever else we want. If there was no other property for us to protect with the wildcard we would apply it towards your vehicle. We would first use the vehicle exemption of $2,400 on your vehicle, which would leave $1,100 exposed equity (exposed equity is the value left after we apply the exemption). We would therefore use $1,100 from the left over wildcard to protect the remaining equity in the vehicle. Your vehicle would therefore be completely protected, and you would still have $900 of wildcard exemption to use for other property. If you had absolutely no other property, we would throw the rest of the wildcard on the vehicle, just to protect it if for some reason the Trustee thinks the vehicle is worth more than $3,500

What if I have a loan on my vehicle?
 In bankruptcy, having a loan on your vehicle can be a good thing. First, the amount of the loan is taken into account when determining how much equity we need to protect. For example, if your car is valued at $10,000, but you have a loan for $9,000 on your car, then we only have to protect the $1,000 difference. If your car is worth less than the amount of the loan then we don't have to protect anything. However, having a loan on your vehicle makes your bankruptcy a little more complex, as we will need to reaffirm your loan. I will discuss Reaffirmation in a later post. I know this can be confusing so feel free to visit Springer Law Firm's Website and contact me with any questions.
 
Additionally, please follow me on my Google + Page and leave any questions or comments for me. ]]><![CDATA[Basics of Bankruptcy for Winnebago and McHenry Counties, IL]]>Sat, 10 May 2014 13:34:46 GMThttps://www.rockfordbankruptcylawyers.com/blog/basics-of-bankruptcy-for-winnebago-and-mchenry-counties-ilWhile it might seem crazy, whether you live in Rockford, IL or McHenry County, your bankruptcy will be filed at the same place. Therefore, the general information I am about to talk about pertains to BOTH McHenry County and Winnebago County.

What Happens When I File for Bankruptcy in Winnebago County or
McHenry County?

 Many people ask me what happens after I file for bankruptcy? Do I have to go  to court? Will my creditors appear at court and ask me lots of questions? In this post I will try to answer these questions and provide a basic understanding of what you can expect will happen after you file bankruptcy in either Winnebago or McHenry county.

How Cases are Filed

Many people think that their bankruptcy attorney is going to take some huge packet of papers to some big courthouse and file it with some clerk. This is not how it really works. Almost all attorneys file bankruptcies through electronic software. The filing is done by clicking a “submit” box. This means that your case is filed the minute it is submitted via the electronic software. This moment is very important, as it marks the beginning of many important processes in your bankruptcy.

 The Automatic Stay!!!

 The automatic stay is the legal term for the protection the bankruptcy court provides to people who file for bankruptcy. Basically, the automatic stay prevents ANYONE from trying to collect from you. This means  that any lawsuit that is filed against you for a debt you owe will be stopped, any creditor who has been calling you daily must now stop, any garnishment must stop, any foreclosure must stop, you get the idea. This happens IMMEDIATELY upon filing. If you are unsure of whether a certain action will be stopped by the automatic stay contact your attorney and find out. If you don’t have an attorney, I strongly recommend you check out my firm. You can view my Google+ page here: Springer Law Firm Google+ Page.

Your Court Date (Well, not really)

One of the most common questions I get, is whether the person filing for bankruptcy will have to go to court for the bankruptcy. The answer is: Kind of. I know you probably hate this answer, but let me explain. When you file for bankruptcy (remember this is done when your attorney clicks the submit button for electronic filing) a Trustee is assigned to your case. The Trustee’s responsibilities are to make sure you understand what you are getting into, that you read and understood the petition that you filed, and ultimately to find out if there are any assets (property you own) that the Trustee could sell to pay back your creditors. In order for the Trustee to get all the information he needs, the bankruptcy law gives the Trustee a meeting where she/he is allowed to ask you questions about your case. This meeting is known as the 341 Meeting of Creditors.

The 341 meeting is not really court, but it may sort of feel like it. In Winnebago and McHenry Counties (there are more counties included in the Western Division as well, so talk to your attorney to find out where you file) the meeting is held in Rockford, IL. The address is actually 308 W. State St. room # 40. The office is located in the Stewart Square building, and is in the lower level. The Trustees schedule multiple meetings per half hour block, normally around 5-6 meetings. Doing the math, you can figure your meeting will probably last around 5 minutes. While the meeting is called the Meeting of Creditors, it is VERY RARE for any creditor or creditor attorney to show up. Probably only 1% of all cases or less have a creditor show up for this meeting. Generally the meeting is very simple and short. Generally, your attorney will meet with you before your meeting and go over the procedure you can expect. Again, if you don’t have an attorney, I recommend you look at my website: Springer Law Firm

 Stay tuned for more posts. Any questions hit me up on the comments, or call me at the contact information on my websites!

]]><![CDATA[Rockford bankruptcy info]]>Fri, 09 May 2014 15:45:37 GMThttps://www.rockfordbankruptcylawyers.com/blog/may-09th-2014While bankruptcy is a Federal body of law, and the meat and bones don’t change from State to State, each state has different exemptions (protections for your property) and each district has its own quirks. This Blog will examine and discuss Bankruptcy in General, and go into more detail on the bankruptcy particulars in Rockford, IL. Shamelessly, I urge you to first look at this Rockford Bankruptcy Lawyer’s webpage:  Rockford Bankruptcy Lawyer. Also to see our Rockford, IL location visit: Rockford Bankruptcy Lawyers]]><![CDATA[Oh What A Relief It Is]]>Sat, 26 Apr 2014 14:37:55 GMThttps://www.rockfordbankruptcylawyers.com/blog/oh-what-a-relief-it-isPicture
When you have lived in financial crisis it can be hard to believe that it can ever be over with any kind of positive outcome. We are here to tell you it can be done and we can show you how. We are committed to standing by you every step of the bankruptcy process. Our mission is NOT to add to your financial challenges with inflated costs or to surprise you when you are in our office with hidden fees. We are devoted to NO HIDDEN FEES and to make what fees you are charged one of the MOST REASONABLE in the area. Call us now for a FREE CONSULTATION! 815.312.4725
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