A significant number of my potential bankruptcy clients are current on their credit card payments. I am often asked by my potential clients if they can file for chapter 7 bankruptcy protection even though they are current on their credit card bills. The answer is Yes. Actually it is better to file when you are current with your credit card bills until waiting a year after making no payments. Why? Because if you file for bankruptcy protection when you are current with your credit card and other bills, you will only take one hit on your credit – the bankruptcy filing. If you wait till you have missed a year of payments on your bills, your credit score will not only take the bankruptcy hit, but also the months and months of negative reporting from your credit cards. Many of these potential Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy clients see the black clouds of debt payments swarming in even though they are current on payments when they come see me.
I am also asked by potential clients if I can predict what their credit score will be post filing. In the past there has been no way to predict a credit score in the future. However, Best Case bankruptcy software has a computer program that can help provide a rough idea of what a bankruptcy filer’s credit score will be in the future. Most of my clients are surprised at how high their credit score is within twelve months of filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
At the Stone Law Firm we are also interested in helping you change your thinking going forward on how to use credit cards. You will hear us talking about Dave Ramsey and other debt counselors. We want to make sure this never happens to you again. If you are interested in this program, please feel free to call me to set up a free consultation. Stone Law Firm has offices in Columbia, Irmo, Florence, and Greenville. We are currently allowing phone consultations and zoom consults in addition to in person consults due to the virus.