When you are already struggling to stay on top of your bills and finances, receiving calls and threats from creditors is highly unnerving. While regular calls from credit card companies and other creditors may prove stressful, you may be feeling the pinch even more if you are also facing threats of eviction, foreclosure or wage garnishment.
You may be able to give yourself at least temporary relief from these situations by filing for personal bankruptcy. How? Once you officially open your bankruptcy case, something known as the automatic stay period takes effect. While the stay is in effect, you are going to have certain protections available to you. More specifically, bankruptcy’s automatic stay protects you from:
Utility disconnections
When your finances spiral out of control, you may need to make some tough decisions. Do you use the small amount of money you have to feed your family or keep the lights on? During the automatic stay period, your electric and other utility companies may not shut off your services.
Wage garnishments
Losing some of your income to a wage garnishment is often embarrassing, and it may, too, make it exponentially more difficult to pay your bills. While the automatic stay is in place, though, you should start receiving your full paycheck again.
Creditor harassment
Those creditors who keep calling and inquiring about your past-due balances may no longer contact you while the automatic stay period is in effect.
While these are some of the protections you benefit from during bankruptcy’s automatic stay, this is not a complete list of all protections the automatic stay period allows.