Medical Bills & Bankruptcy

When you’re facing a serious injury or illness, the last thing you should be worried about is how to pay off astronomical debt due to medical bills. However, depending on your insurance rates and the severity of your procedures, you might find yourself contemplating if declaring bankruptcy is your only mode of debt relief.

If you have questions about removing medical debt by undergoing the bankruptcy process, please contact the bankruptcy lawyers of The Santos Law Offices, P.A.

Our lawyers will offer you legal advice during your initial free consultation and work to set you on a path of financial freedom.

When To File For Bankruptcy

Is your kitchen table overflowing with letters from your local hospital demanding payment that you cannot currently provide? During this stressful time, you might be wondering if declaring bankruptcy is the correct next step for managing your medical bills.

Our bankruptcy lawyers recommend filing for medical bankruptcy if:

You have other debt compounded with your medical debt.
You have attempted to reduce or remove your medical debt with medical creditors to no avail.
Your medical care provider will not offer a manageable repayment plan.
Creditors threaten to report you or have already reported you to a credit bureau.
You are not receiving coverage from Medicaid or Medicare.

What to Expect When Filing for Bankruptcy

According to the bankruptcy code, when you file to discharge your medical debts, you are required to discharge your other unsecured debts as well. The bankruptcy process requires you to list:

All of your personal effects.
Any real estate properties.
Any active debts.
All household expenses.
Your household income.
Any information about recently paid debts.
Any property sales or transfers.
Your medical debt.

It is important to remember that filing for bankruptcy will negatively affect your credit score. If you need assistance navigating federal bankruptcy law, contact the bankruptcy lawyers of The Santos Law Offices, P.A., today.

Filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Due to Medical Debt

Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or liquidation bankruptcy, is a safety net for individuals without disposable income who cannot feasibly repay debt and whose income is underneath the state’s median income level.

However, like the title “liquidation bankruptcy” suggests, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy might lead to your assets being seized and liquidated.

If you currently owe debt on your home or vehicles and would like to protect them from being seized by the trustee, you will need to continue making payments, even if the court approves your bankruptcy case.

We recommend working with knowledgeable bankruptcy lawyers who will work to lessen your medical debt and help you start your financial journey anew.

The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Process

The first step of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process is reviewing your dischargeable debts with your bankruptcy attorney. Together, you will go over your eligible:

Credit card debt.
Past-due utility bills.
Medical debt.
Business debt.
Personal loan debt.
Collection accounts.
Once you are confident that you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you will need to:

Complete at least 180 days of credit counseling.
Stop using your credit cards 90 days before filing.
After your mandatory credit counseling, your bankruptcy attorney will file the petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Thirty days post-filing, you will need to present the court with a Statement of Intention. Six weeks post-filing, you will meet with creditors and the trustee, who will ask you questions about your filing. If your bankruptcy is approved, you should be debt-free six months after filing.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Repayment Plans

If you do not qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or have non-dischargeable debts, you might want to explore available repayment plans.

Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy does not grant you total debt forgiveness like Chapter 7 bankruptcy does. Instead, filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy gives you the gift of more time and potentially a smaller debt amount.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to repay your debt monthly based upon how much disposable income you earn over the next three to five years. Chapter 13 bankruptcy requires you to live within a much smaller budget as you allocate funds for paying off your debt.

You should pursue Chapter 13 bankruptcy if:

You want to prevent your home from being in foreclosure.
You want to stop your car from being repossessed.
You want to save your nonexempt property.
You want to protect your co-debtor from being held liable for your debts.

Find Lawyers for Bankruptcy Assistance at The Santos Law Offices, P.A.

If you are searching for bankruptcy lawyers in Florida, look no further than The Santos Law Offices, P.A.

Founded by U.S. immigrant and bankruptcy attorney Dalyla Santos, the highly experienced firm works to:

Eliminate debt.
Protect clients’ assets.
Reunite immigrant families.
Our lawyers understand that filing for bankruptcy comes with a stigma, but we also know that anyone can fall on hard times, and it is how we get up when we stumble that matters.

We will make sure that creditors do not kick you when you are down and instead respect your rights. If creditors violate your rights, we will sue them, free of charge, on your behalf.

Why Choose Santos Law Offices