No one wants to file bankruptcy. For many it is a way of admitting failure, while others worry about what it will do to their credit. You put it off, sacrifice your retirement in a desperate attempt to pay their debts, and stick your head in the sand by not even opening your mail or answering the telephone.

In the meantime, your creditors aren't sitting on their hands; they want your money, and they will make your life miserable to get it! Here are some ways that you can make matters worse for yourself by putting off filing.

Bank Levies

A creditor can freeze your bank accounts and tie up all of your money for the foreseeable future. Checks for the mortgage, rent, car payment, etc. then bounce, thus putting you behind (and eventually in default) on other obligations.

Plus, there goes your debit card at the supermarket or other stores. Finally, it may take away the very money you were counting on to use to pay your attorney for the bankruptcy!

Wage Executions

A creditor can also garnish your wages. If you are already struggling to pay your regular monthly living expenses, or worse, deficit spending, try doing it with 10% less income in every paycheck!

Plus, there is the embarrassment of your employer knowing you are having financial difficulties. Judges in New Jersey are bound by statute and must authorize these deductions in the amounts set forth under the law, whether you can afford to lose that money or not!

Judgment Liens

In New Jersey, judgments entered against you by a creditor can be recorded in Trenton as a lien against real estate. Thus, if you wait to file bankruptcy until after your creditors sue you and get a judgment, the debt may go away, but the judgment lien remains!

Although it might be possible to remove the lien, either through your bankruptcy or an action in state court after the bankruptcy is over, it will just add unnecessary expense and complications to your case.

So What Do I Do?

They key is knowing when you need to file, and then proceeding as quickly as possible to do so.

Considering bankruptcy, but don't know if things are bad enough to warrant it? Then download my free book, Am I In Too Deep? A Guide to Knowing When You Need to File Bankruptcy in New Jersey.

If you are considering bankruptcy, and need to know if it is right for you, and you live in southern New Jersey, call my office at 856-432-4113 or contact me through this site for a free consultation in my Woodbury office. I would be happy to help you decide on the right option.

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Steven J. Richardson
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Bankruptcy, Collections, Student Loan, DUI and Traffic Court attorney in Woodbury, NJ.