Bankruptcy Attorney Serving North and Central Texassimsbankruptcy

Sims Bankruptcy Law, PLLC is North Texas and Central Texas law firm helping individuals, families, and businesses through tough financial times in Waco, Killeen, Fort Worth, Frisco, and the surrounding areas. Whether this is your first time filing bankruptcy or you’ve failed in the past, you will receive a thorough free consultation and receive answers to all the questions you may have. We pride ourselves on being exceptionally responsive to you during this financial struggle. If you have suffered a result of COVID-19 employment shut down, a personal injury, or even a divorce, a bankruptcy filing may be able to help you.

Get Help Today

Gain your life back and begin the road to financial recovery by calling or emailing us today. No two situations areWaco Bankruptcy Lawyer alike and we will give your case the attention it deserves. Don’t hesitate to begin the path forward.

Sims Bankruptcy Law, PLLC has many locations to best serve you and our law office offers flexible appointment times morning, day, or night to meet your busy schedule. Weekday or weekend, we are available to help you.

  • Are you facing foreclosure?
  • Have you gotten behind on payments to your car company?
  • Has a creditor sued you?
  • Are you tired of the harassing calls?
  • Do you have tax debt that just will not go away?
  • Have you gotten behind on credit cards payments and medical bills?
  • Lost your job and can’t seem to get ahead?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, Sims  Bankruptcy Law, PLLC can help.

Experienced Texas Bankruptcy Attorney

Providing Debt Relief Solutions for Individuals and Businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth

  • filing-bankruptcy

Metroplex and Central Texas

Are you in financial distress due to mounting credit card debt, job loss, medical bills, or some other life event? No matter how dire or hopeless your situation seems, it’s important to know that there are legal solutions available that can provide the relief you need.

Sims Bankruptcy Law, PLLC offers experienced representation and knowledgeable bankruptcy advice to individuals, families, and businesses throughout North and Central Texas. We know that financial hardship can wreak havoc on every aspect of your life and take great pride in our ability to alleviate some of the burdens that are weighing you down.

Bankruptcy attorney Tyler Sims is ready to put his expertise in state and federal bankruptcy law to work for you. He has a proven track record of helping others get back on solid footing through the bankruptcy process or debt settlement.

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Rather, it’s an empowering first step towards getting the fresh start you deserve. When you walk through our doors, you can expect to be treated with compassion, dignity, and respect. We understand how tenuous your financial situation may be and strive to offer our services at a rate you can afford.

Practice Areas

Sims Bankruptcy Law, PLLC helps clients resolve debt through:debt-stress-in-texas

Peace of Mind Awaits

Call today or fill out our online form to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with Mr. Sims. We’re always accessible — even on weekends!

He will take the time to assess your financial situation and recommend a course of action that can:

  • Stop harassing calls and letters from bill collectors and agenciesFrisco-Texas-Bankruptcy
  • Reduce or eliminate most if not all of your debt
  • End garnishment of wages and bank levies on your accounts
  • Structure an affordable repayment plan
  • Protect your home from foreclosure
  • Protect your vehicles from repossession
  • Prevent lawsuits and stop pending litigation

Gather Key Financial Documents

To help us better serve you, it’s helpful to make an itemized list of your income sources, assets, debts, and monthly living expenses. You should also begin to collect the following documents:

  • Income tax returns from the last two years including W-2, 1099 and K-1 information
  • Deeds to real estate you own
  • Vehicle titles
  • Loan documents
  • A list of all creditors, including addresses, and the amounts and description of each debt
  • A recent bill from each of your creditors
  • Collection letters you’ve received
  • Copies of all pay stubs for the last 6 months showing the amount and frequency of your income; if self-employed, copies of monthly profit-and-loss statements for the past six months
  • Notices of foreclosure on your home, utility shut off,  or vehicle or property repossession
  • Court documents you’ve been served

What Type of Bankruptcy Fits My Needs?

Bankruptcy is a process provided under federal law to allow individuals and businesses the opportunity to receive relief from financial debt. The two most common types of bankruptcy are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Bankruptcy attorney Tyler Sims will evaluate your case to determine which if any chapter is right for you. He is prepared to represent you at every stage of the bankruptcy process from the initial filing to the discharge of debts.

Texas Bankruptcy Courts

If you reside in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Lubbock, Garland, Irving, Amarillo, Grand Prairie, Mesquite or anywhere else in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex your case will be filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas

The main courthouses for this district include:

Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthousebankruptcy-filing-Killeen-TX
501 W. 10th St.
Fort Worth, TX 76102-3643

Earle Cabell Federal Building
1100 Commerce St., Rm. 1254
Dallas, TX 75242-1496

George Mahon Federal Building
1205 Texas Ave., Rm 306
Lubbock, TX 79401-4002

J. Marvin Jones Federal Building
205 Southeast Fifth Ave., Rm 201D
Amarillo, Texas 79101-1559

If you reside in Central TX you will file bankruptcy in the Western District Bankruptcy Court

Courthouses that serve this district include:

Thornberry Federal Judicial Bldg
903 San Jacinto Blvd., Suite 322
Austin, Texas 78701

Bankruptcy Courthouse
8515 Lockheed
El Paso, Texas 79925

Annex Room P-163
100 East Wall Street
Midland,Texas

Federal Building and United States Courthouse
615 East Houston Street, Room 137
San Antonio, Texas 78205

800 Franklin Avenue Suite 140
Waco, Texas

Filing Fees:

The bankruptcy court’s filing fee for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $335. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy costs $310.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy — Discharge Debt Quickly

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a “debt forgiveness” plan that can wipe out most, if not all of your unsecured debt, including:

  • Medical billsbankruptcy-help-texas
  • Utility bills
  • Credit card payments
  • Automobile repossessions
  • Foreclosure judgments
  • signature loans, payday loans,

Non-Dischargeable Debts

Debts that cannot be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy may include:

  • Student loans
  • Alimony
  • Child support
  • Fraudulent debts
  • Certain taxes
  • Court-ordered fines and penalties

Liquidating Assets in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a court-appointed trustee will be assigned to your case to evaluate your debt situation and determine if you have non-exempt assets that can be liquidated to repay your debts. The trustee will sell these assets and distribute the net proceeds to your creditors. While this may sound scary, you will most likely be able to avoid surrendering assets such as your home and vehicles due to the generous exemptions Texas provides.

An Overview of the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Process

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy generally lasts 4-5 months. The following provides an overview of what you can expect throughout the process.

Creditors Counseling

Before you file for Chapter 7, you must complete a creditor’s counseling course via phone or online. A certificate of completion must be filed with the court.

File Bankruptcy Petition

A Chapter 7 case begins with filing a petition with the bankruptcy court in the district in which you live. Attorney Sims can manage this process and ensure that all proper financial documents are included such as a schedule of assets and liabilities, a schedule of current income and expenditures, a statement of financial affairs, etc.

Automatic Stay

Once you file for bankruptcy, an automatic stay goes into effect which immediately prevents any creditor from taking collection action against you.

341 Meeting of Creditors

30 days after your bankruptcy petition is filed, you must attend a creditor’s meeting conducted by the trustee. Your creditors are invited to appear but rarely do so. At this meeting, the trustee will ask you questions related to your bankruptcy documents under oath.

File Reaffirmation Agreement texas-bankruptcy

If you wish to reaffirm certain secured debts such as your home or vehicle, you need to file a reaffirmation agreement 45 days after the creditors’ meeting. A reaffirmation agreement indicates your commitment to continuing making payments on these assets.

Financial Management Course

60 days after the creditor’s meeting, you must complete a financial management course via phone or online. You must file a certificate of completion with the court.

Receive Discharge of Debts

  • When your bankruptcy case concludes, you will receive a discharge signed by a federal bankruptcy judge which officially wipes out debts.
  • Stays on credit record for 10 years. Rebuild itself repair credit

Begin Rebuilding Credit

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy will stay on your credit record for 10 years. Once your debt has been wiped out, your credit will automatically rise. Attorney Sims can recommend ways to rebuild your credit to ensure you’re on a positive financial trajectory.

Eligibility Requirements for Chapter 7

Texas uses the means test to determine eligibility for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The means test compares your average household income to the median income of a Texas household of similar size.

If your current income falls below the median income level, you will qualify. If your income is above the median, you may attempt to deduct payments and expenses from secured debt to qualify. If your income is still too high, Chapter 13 may be a more viable option to pursue.

In TX, the median income for a single person is currently set at $46,127. For a married couple with one child, the median is $60,935

Chapter 13 – Debt Consolidation Plan

A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy allows you to propose a plan to repay most or all of your debt to your creditors over a 3-5 Waco-Bankruptcy-Filingyear period. Potential candidates for Chapter 13 include individuals and businesses with significant equity in assets and wage earners with disposable income who did not qualify for Chapter 7. You will qualify for Chapter 13 as long as your unsecured debt is less than $360,475 and secured debt is less than $1,081,400.

Chapter 13 can be used to:  

  • prevent a house foreclosure;
  • make up missed car or mortgage payments;
  • stopping interest from accruing on your tax debt
  • stop interest from accruing on your tax debt;
  • keep valuable non-exempt property

Like all forms of bankruptcy, an automatic stay begins when you file in bankruptcy court. This means no more harassing phone calls or letters from creditors, no garnishment of wages, no more foreclosure actions on your home, no more threats of lawsuits.

Attorney Sims will work with you to develop a manageable repayment plan which is subject to the approval of the Trustee, creditors, and the court. Your disposable income will be among the factors which determines the amount to be repaid.

Which Debts are Paid?

Your repayment plan must pay certain debt in full. These are called “priority debt” and include child support, alimony, and tax obligations. Your plan must include recurring payments on secured debt such as a mortgage or car loan, as well as repayment of any arrearages on these debts. Lastly, you must be able to show that any disposable income you have remaining will go towards repaying your unsecured debt which may include credit card debt or medical expenses.

When you complete your Plan, you receive a discharge of the remainder of your general unsecured debt.

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy – Debt Reorganization for Businessesbankruptcy-filing-fort-worth

If your corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship is struggling with substantial debt, you may want to consider filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to keep your business viable. Chapter 11 is known as a “reorganization” bankruptcy because it allows you to reorganize your debts and operating expenses so you can repay your creditors in a more manageable way. When you file for Chapter 11, you will be known as a debtor in possession and the business will remain in your control but with oversight from the court.

During the reorganization process, bankruptcy lawyer Tyler Sims will work with you to find effective ways to cut costs in accordance with Bankruptcy Code rules. He will put your business in the best position to succeed and be profitable.

Alternatives to Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy may not be right for you. If that’s the case, Mr. Sims can pursue an alternative debt relief solution that meets your specific needs and accomplishes your goals while still protecting your financial well-being. This may include getting you into a settlement program, obtaining a loan modification, using debt consolidation, or negotiating a settlement with creditors that reduces the amount you owe.

A debt settlement program may be a viable choice if you do not have much debt, have filed bankruptcy previously and do not wish to file again, or you make too much money to file for Chapter 7 and don’t want to file for Chapter 13.

Contact a Texas Bankruptcy Attorney

Are you struggling to keep your head above water due to crippling debt? At Sims Bankruptcy Law, PLLC our goal is to protect individuals, families, and businesses from financial ruin. We can help you find a debt relief solution through bankruptcy or settlement. Call today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with the firm’s founder and lead bankruptcy attorney.

Dallas-Fort Worth: 469-751-7467; Central TX: 254-304-7161