If you are tired of being harassed by constant calls from creditors, then you need to do what's best for you and declare bankruptcy. There is a lot of misleading information about bankruptcy that may be giving you doubts. Rest assured that it will not permanently ruin your credit, and you run a very low chance of losing your home or vehicle. Bankruptcy in Hawaii is a very fast and straightforward process that can give you a clean slate to rebuild your life upon. Keep in mind that certain debts like taxes, debts owed to the government, and student loans are not eligible to be removed.
Different kinds of bankruptcy
For individual consumers such as yourself, there are two kinds of bankruptcy: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. While there are many other forms of bankruptcy, they deal with businesses, corporations, and farms for example; so you don't need to worry about them. Chapter 7 bankruptcy will wipe away most old debts so that you can basically start all over again with a clean slate. While you may have to give up some of your possessions, you run very little risk of losing your home or vehicle. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you won't lose all of your debt, but you may lose some of it. The rest you will be required to pay off within the period of the next three to five years.
New Bankruptcy Laws
The first thing you should know about before you declare bankruptcy in Hawaii, is that the president signed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which put some major changes in place. It can be more difficult to declare bankruptcy as a result. For example, there are new bans on Chapter 7, increased payments for Chapter 13, and new presumptions against debtors, increased penalties, and reductions of judicial discretion when it comes to competing interest.
Exemptions in Hawaii Bankruptcy
When you declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Hawaii, you should be happy to know that you will have the following exemptions: your home or mobile home up to $20,200, life insurance payments, alimony, child support, pensions, household goods up to $10,755, health aids, jewelry, lost earnings payment, your vehicle up to $3,225, tools of your trade up to $20,000, and much more. In order to learn more about the complicated exemptions schedule, consult your attorney. Thanks to exemptions, you run little risk of losing too much to your creditors during the trial.
