The reasons why people declare bankruptcy might fill a book. One of the most annoying aspects of being behind on bills, however, has to be the constant contact from creditors. There are several benefits to a chapter 7 filing and protection is one of them. Read on to find out more about creditor contact during a bankruptcy proceeding.

Creditors and Harassment

As anyone who's fallen behind on a bill can tell you, creditors can be very aggressive. They are allowed to contact you by phone during certain hours of the day and they are allowed to send you mail. In some cases, they may also text and email you. The creditor may hand your account over to a credit collection agency if you don't pay it in time. These agencies are paid to collect as much as they can from a consumer and they get to keep a certain portion of whatever that might be. When things have deteriorated to the point that you cannot go a day without a creditor calling you, you might want to consider filing bankruptcy.

Is a Filing Right for You?

Speak to a bankruptcy attorney and find out what a chapter 7 (or other bankruptcy types) can do for you. Not all of your debts can be discharged (forgiven) with a bankruptcy filing. If you owe federal or state taxes, back child support, student loans, and other debts, you cannot use a chapter 7 filing to get rid of those debts. This is a big decision and you want to know how much debt you can expect to leave behind. In most cases, personal loans, medical debt, and credit card debts can all be discharged with a chapter 7 filing.

The Automatic Stay

Once you and your attorney have made the federal filing paperwork packet ready and file it, a powerful legal remedy is automatically triggered. The automatic stay sends a virtual stop sign to your creditors and informs them you've filed and are under the protection of the bankruptcy codes. This protection includes stopping court cases in their tracks, reversing wage garnishment, removing liens, and stopping all contact with all creditors listed on the filing. The automatic stay also freezes repossessions and foreclosure actions, at least temporarily.

You might find a few straggling pieces of mail or a few phone calls in the week or so after you've filled. The lag time between a filing and the creditors knowing about it can cause delays. If you are contacted, inform the creditor of your federal case number and your attorney's contact information. Creditors almost always take a bankruptcy automatic stay extremely seriously and you are not likely to hear from them ever again. If you do, let your bankruptcy attorney know about it.

For more information about chapter 7 bankruptcy law, contact a bankruptcy attorney in your area.