Avoiding harsh collections actions such as bank levies, wage garnishments and other asset seizures is one of the reasons that many debtors file bankruptcy. But one of the problems with this motivation is that the bankruptcy is usually filed right on the eve of such seizures, creating a situation where seizures may happen after the bankruptcy filing because all parties have not been notified in time.
How to avoid these post-bankruptcy petition asset seizures:
- Make sure you list all of your debts on your bankruptcy petition. Many debtors who are filing bankruptcy in a hurry forget to list some of their creditors and end up with asset seizures even if they are in bankruptcy. Don’t let that happen to you; make sure you take the time to accurately list all debts and creditors.
- Make sure you have the correct contact information for your creditors. Once your bankruptcy petition is filed it will be the responsibility of the bankruptcy attorney to notify the creditors. But sometimes debt has been sold to 3rd party debt collectors or has proceeded to the lawsuit phase. In the case of debt collectors hired to get payment from you and lawyers hired to sue you, you need to make sure your bankruptcy attorney has these other party’s contact information. If the debtor fails to give the accurate contact information to their bankruptcy attorney, it could take longer for these 3rd party debt collectors and attorneys to receive notification of the bankruptcy filing opening up the possibility that asset seizures could take place.
- Make sure your assets aren’t easily accessible. This could mean removing money from bank accounts and using money orders to pay bills until all parties have been notified of the bankruptcy filing.