How do you know when it is time to file bankruptcy?

Hello! this is Jeff Kelly, and today the title of this message is: "How do you know when it's time to file bankruptcy". We get this question a lot, there are a lot of bankruptcy attorneys out there, who will try to push potential clients into filing as soon as humanly possible and I hate that. I want you to be able to take your time, I want you to think about it, I want you to think about how this is going to affect your life. I want to go over the pros and cons with you, we want to spend a lot of time getting you ready before any case gets filed, however, there are some situations where you do need to move pretty quick; so let's go through those.

Number one: Is a garnishment if you're being threatened with a garnishment we may need to move pretty fast, because, Georgia is brutal, and in Georgia, your creditor can take up to 25 percent of your take-home pay. So let's say you're taking home $4,000 a month, a creditor can take a thousand of that; and for ninety-nine percent of America, if you lose twenty-five percent of your take-home income, it's going to be pretty hard to get by.

Good news is; we can get a garnishment stop, as soon as we get your case filed. So you don't want to wait till the last possible second; a lot of people do, and we'll get calls and have been getting garnished for a few weeks: "I just don't want to file", "Is it too late?", "Can I file now?". The answer is: "Yes, you can" and "Yes we can still get it stopped". But we need to move quickly in situations like that.

Another question I get from people is: "You know, hey I just got off the phone with this nasty creditor, he says he's going to garnish me tomorrow; Can he really do that?" and the answer is: "No", in order for somebody to garnish you, they're gonna have to get a Judgment first; and typically the way it works in Georgia is; a Sheriff will drive out to your house he'll serve you with these pink papers, and tell you that you've got 30 days to respond to this lawsuit. After they get the judgment against you, that's when they can start the garnishment proceedings, but until then, you're safe.

In Georgia, they can also clean out your bank account. So if you've got money sitting in a bank account and so you got a judgment against you, not only can they garnish your paycheck, they can completely clean out your checking account.

Another situation that might be an emergency, and might be time to move pretty quick; is: if, you're being threatened with a foreclosure. Now in the state of Georgia, a creditor has to advertise your house for four consecutive weeks before the foreclosure date. So again, if a mortgage creditor calls and says: "I'm taking your house tomorrow!". That's not true, they're going to have to advertise it in the legal organ of your county for, four consecutive weeks, before that foreclosure date. And you should also know, you're about to get foreclosed on, because you should be getting advertisements, from every bankruptcy attorney in the state of Georgia, including myself, telling you: "Hey, come file chapter thirteen quickly, let's let's stop that foreclosure".

Another situation where you might have to file a pretty quick, is if, you're being threatened with a car repossession. Now, they can take your car quickly. In the state of Georgia; you've got ten days to get a chapter 13 filed so that you can have a good shot at getting that car back. If the creditor goes ahead and sells your car before that 10-day period, then, under Georgia law, they can't sue you for any deficiency. And that's why most creditors will wait 10 days and send you the 10-day letter before they'll take your car.

If you're under financial stress, and you've got any questions at all, I would encourage you to call my office at (770) 881-8449. I've also got a 67-page guide to chapter 13. In Chapter seven, on my website, we also got an online Welcome Package. If you want to make an appointment and see what we're all about, you can go to

Again, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to call or send us an email at

Thank you for tuning in, have a great day!.

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"Jeff and his team do great work. They are fast and easy to work with. I would suggest working with them if you need to file for bankruptcy. Thanks Kelly Law Group!

Tom L.

"The staff was great helpful always there to answer our questions courteous would highly recommend Mr Kelley and his office staff Great Job. Thanks. Mary and Philip Abrams."

Mary A.

"They really helped me to feel comfortable and explained everything in detail and made sure I understood the process from start to finish. I recommend them highly. Thank you guys."

Mickey J.

"Mr Kelly was very professional and charming. He explained everything, took time for me to decide the right course to take in my situation. He is also funny I would recommend him to anyone looking for an honest attorney who has a heart."

Dyann R.

"Extremely professional. Helpful and knowledgeable every step of the way. Make you comfortable from the get go and never make you feel like they are judging you. Each and every person I talked to was so nice."

Lynn S.

"I would love to just tell you THANK YOU!! Without your help my family would have been destitute. Now that my case has been completed successfully, it is the biggest RELIEF to not have to wonder how to make ends meet."

Angela W.