MONTGOMERY, AL BANKRUPTCY LAWYER

FOCUS on the FUTURE

MONTGOMERY, AL BANKRUPTCY LAWYER

Montgomery, AL Bankruptcy Lawyer

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE
Our 30+ Years of Bankruptcy Experience Can Help Get You The Best Possible Outcome

When facing overwhelming debt, it can come to dominate every area of your life. Worries about money, about unwanted collections calls, and about the kind of future you are facing can leave you with sleepless nights and nightmarish days. Our firm understands these feelings and is here to help you. We are a top rated bankruptcy law firm that gets top rate results. No one should have to go through daily life with the stress of debt hanging over them.

You are more than a case number to us. We will listen to you and give you individualized attention. This is what makes our firm different. We take pride in how we work with our clients to learn what they want and need from our services. Then, we do all that we can to deliver on those needs. Call our team today for help at 334-260-0500.

SEE ALL VIDEOS

Our Approach
To Financial Recovery

We Will Deliver Professional and Compassionate Representation for You

When you choose the bankruptcy lawyers at Grainger Hawley & Shinbaum, LLC, you will receive a high level of professional and compassionate care. Our team takes pride in our willingness to spend a significant amount of time with our clients. We believe the only way to fully understand what you are going through and what your goals are for this process is to spend time listening to you.

Unlike some other firms, who try to rush as many clients through their doors as they can, we follow a different path. We stress the importance of giving clients the attention they need and deserve. After hearing your story and studying your situation, you can trust that we will give you the advice and recommendation that is best for you. Our bankruptcy attorney believes that giving our clients top-notch service and support is our mission, and we follow it in each and every client’s case.

When you are ready to discuss your financial situation, we offer a no-obligation, free consultation. We will take the time to study the facts in your case to work toward delivering the best outcome for you.

Call Grainger Hawley & Shinbaum, LLC as soon as possible at 334-260-0500 for a no-cost case review.

Get Your Free Consultation

STRESSED ABOUT DEBT? WE CAN HELP.

We know help can’t come soon enough. This is why we offer:

  • Emergency after-hours appointments
  • Same day emergency filings
  • FREE initial consultations
  • Many appointments can be handled by phone.

Reach out so we can discuss your needs and the best way to get you debt relief. Schedule an Appointment Online, click here.

    We Help You Navigate The Legal Complexities

    We Will Help You Take a Proactive Approach to Your Financial Situation
    We Will Help You Take a Proactive Approach to Your Financial Situation

    Our law firm does not avoid taking tough cases. Some of our clients tell us that they initially resisted calling us because they were afraid that we would not take on such a difficult case. They had concerns that if we turned them down, they would never be able to find a solution, so they chose to just hope the problem would go away on its own. Trust us: This will never happen. Being proactive is the best way for you to work through your financial difficulties, and hiring our team is one of the most proactive decisions you can make.

    You can count on our bankruptcy lawyer to take the time to fully understand your case. Our team members believe in our skills, which means we feel comfortable taking on a wide range of types of bankruptcy cases. Through our combined decades of experience, our bankruptcy lawyers in Montgomery have seen hundreds of different cases and situations. Trust that we have a number of different techniques we can use to help our clients, depending on the circumstances of the case. We have no worries about how complex the case may be. Be as honest as possible with us about your situation, and we will work as hard as we can to help you receive the best potential outcome.[ + EXPAND ]

    We Help You Find Your Best Option

    Another area where our team works extremely hard is in thoroughly understanding all potential outcomes for someone contemplating bankruptcy. Our Montgomery bankruptcy attorney team – led by our founder, Chuck Grainger, and his three-and-a-half-plus decades of experience – constantly studies new techniques and applications of the law. We regularly work with fellow bankruptcy attorneys to discuss cases and techniques. We know the way the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Alabama works.

    Regardless of which of our offices will be most convenient for you to visit initially – Montgomery, Prattville, or Troy – you can count on meeting with Chuck Grainger. We want to always make sure our clients receive the highest level of personal attention throughout the case. We understand the level of trust you are placing in our bankruptcy attorney by hiring our team to represent you in your case. We do not take this responsibility lightly. Your future is on the line, and we want to take every step we can to make this situation as successful as possible.

    Working with an experienced Montgomery bankruptcy attorney makes a big difference in the process. We will explain what is happening at every step, so you are well informed about your options.

    Debt relief can be right around the corner. Give us a call today at 334-260-0500 for a free case review.

    Our High Level of Preparation Gives Us the Ability to Meet All Potential Outcomes Head-on

    Bankruptcy can be a confusing, frightening process. Chances are good that you never had to go through a situation like this previously in your life. We fully understand this, and we tailor our representation to take your unique situation into account. In your first meeting, we will discuss your answers to a questionnaire you can complete upon arrival. You can also fill out the questionnaire in advance – click here to view the form. Your answers will help us learn more about your unique situation.

    Then we will discuss both your bankruptcy options and non-bankruptcy options to explain why one solution may work better than another. Often, two to three different options may work for you, but it is important to choose the best one. Our firm will help guide you in that choice. [ + EXPAND ]

    How Our Bankruptcy Attorney is Different: The Initial Consultation

    If a bankruptcy solution is the most appropriate, we will explain each of the steps to the case and go over a list of items the firm will need to prepare your case. For most bankruptcy attorneys, it is customary they offer you only 5-10 minutes of time. Grainger Legal is different. We typically give our clients We are committed to giving more time in that first appointment (30 minutes – 1 hour) to make sure our bankruptcy attorney personally helps you understand the strategy, the alternatives and what will be needed. We feel this approach is best for our clients. If you have no knowledge of what filing for bankruptcy means, our bankruptcy lawyer will start with the basics, explaining all of it in language you can understand.

    We believe strongly that thorough preparation is the key to having the best chance at success in all legal situations, especially in cases where bankruptcy is a potential outcome. Not only do we prepare tirelessly, but we will make certain you have the information and background you need to make the best decision for your situation. We will provide advice for how we believe you should proceed in your case, but the final decision always rests with you. Count on the fact that we will always explain all your potential options.

    Filing for Bankruptcy Can Help Your Financial Situation and Relieve Stress

    When we hear from prospective clients, they sometimes have an uneasy feeling about considering bankruptcy. Some of them may be looking for any option other than bankruptcy. Our bankruptcy attorneys understand these feelings. Bankruptcy certainly will change your life for a few years going forward. However, we also understand that when you are feeling overwhelmed by your financial situation and your level of debt, filing for bankruptcy can be a significant benefit to you. Simply going through the act of filing can take a huge weight off your shoulders as clients normally see an improvement in their credit score and find themselves closer to being able to buy a home or get a good interest rate on their next car purchase.

    People sometimes will end up in a rough financial situation through no fault of their own, thanks to a sudden medical emergency or an unexpected job loss. If this describes you, you may feel that having to file for bankruptcy is unfair. Once you work through the process of filing bankruptcy, that feeling can change. We have many clients who file for bankruptcy and come out happier and far more financially stable once their bankruptcy is complete.

    Understanding Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

    Count on the Experience of Our Bankruptcy Attorney

    Bankruptcy HourglassDepending on the circumstances you face, our lawyer may recommend that you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This is often the best option for people who cannot afford to pay back even a portion of their debt. It is possible, though, for the Chapter 7 trustee to sell property if we cannot protect it. This is why it is important to have an experienced attorney guide you. Chapter 7 is often a good choice because it truly gives people a “fresh start” and gets rid of many types of debt.

    Understanding Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

    We Will Help You Receive Extra Time to Pay Your Debts

    Bankruptcy 13Filing under Chapter 13 may be the smartest option for you. Basically, this involves reorganizing your debt, giving you extra time to pay it off at a regular pace that you hopefully can afford. This type of filing is a nice way to relieve some of your stress, because it removes some of the immediacy of the weight of the debt you are facing. Chapter 13 cases may pay a portion of your debt without paying all of it.

    Understanding Business Bankruptcy

    We Can Help You Work Through the Complexities of Business Debt

    Business BankruptcyBankruptcy is also an option for small businesses, and our team of bankruptcy lawyers can help. This process can be a little more confusing than filing bankruptcy as an individual. Your options for filing bankruptcy as a small business will depend in part on the type of business structure you have. We have a thorough understanding of all the options a business owner can have, and we will make sure we find the best solution for your needs.

    Bankruptcy Questions & Answers

    Chapter 7 cases normally take between 3-5 months while Chapter 13 payment plan cases normally take 3-5 years.

    To get your bankruptcy case filed and to obtain the legal protection you need, we can normally prepare the case in 3-5 days once we have all the applicable information. We provide our clients a list of what we need, and proceedings can take longer if our clients need more time to gather those items, or if the information we have is incomplete. You can rely on us to guide you in the process. Our bankruptcy attorneys are experienced in assisting our clients to get the information we need.

    We have more options in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy if you are behind on your car payment or have a high interest rate. That can make your car more affordable while simultaneously protecting you from other debts. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, people can keep their car if they are not behind on car payments and are willing to keep paying the loan they already have. If your car is paid-off, we make sure that it isn’t worth so much money that it would be sold by the Chapter 7 trustee. We assume you don’t want to lose your car. That is why it is very important to rely on our experienced Montgomery bankruptcy attorneys to guide you.

    If you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the filing can stay on your credit report for up to 10 years. With Chapter 13, the bankruptcy filing stays on the report for up to seven years. As long as the bankruptcy stays on your credit report, it may limit your ability to receive credit, or the interest rates you may pay.

    Conventional wisdom is that bankruptcy will severely lower credit scores. That does not appear to be true. Bankruptcy reduces one’s debt-to-income ratio which is a major factor in scoring credit.

    The company we use to pull credit reports gives us an average score for our client at the time of filing. The company also provides a prediction of what the score might be one year after bankruptcy. Even though it is an estimate, we find it to be fairly accurate given the feedback we get from our clients. People with excellent credit before their bankruptcy will see some decrease within a year but not as much as one might think.

    For example, if your score is 740 before bankruptcy, it may reduce only to 680 after it. This new rating is still good enough to get a good interest rate on a car or a house. If you have poor credit before your bankruptcy, you will normally see an increase in your credit score within a year. For example, you may start with 500 and have a credit rating of 625 one year after your bankruptcy. If you have an average credit score prior to bankruptcy, you will typically still have an average credit within a year. For example, you may start at 640 and go down only to 630.

    Credit scoring and estimations of those scores are very complex so there is no “rule of thumb” that will guarantee you will have better or worse credit after your bankruptcy. However, logical financial decisions made by lenders can provide some insight. Who would you rather loan money: someone who has no debts or someone about to get their wages garnished at work to pay creditors? The assumption that bankruptcy means you’ll have bad credit simply is not always correct.

    There are limits to how much property you can protect in bankruptcy. That protected property is called an “exemption.” If you go over those limits, it can affect how much you must pay in a Chapter 13 payment plan. However, no one will take your property.

    Retirement accounts in a “qualified trust” such as an IRA or a 401(K) are 100% protected from your creditors while you are in the bankruptcy process, as long as the money stays in that account. Clothing, books, pictures, and portraits are also 100% exempt in Alabama.

    Alabama has a “Wildcard” exemption of $8,225 per person (as of 2021), and it can be applied to savings and checking accounts. However, that exemption can be used for other property, including household goods and equity in vehicles. Most clients choose to apply the exemption to cover these items instead of their savings or checking accounts. Those clients who prefer Chapter 13 choose that type of bankruptcy because they can keep their property by just paying more on their plan payments. Our bankruptcy attorney in Montgomery will help review your property limits, so you can decide if Chapter 13 is the best choice for you, particularly if you want to keep your property.

    Extra money received during a Chapter 13 plan must be paid to your creditors by paying it to the Chapter 13 Trustee. In Alabama, an inheritance or gambling winnings are considered “disposable income.” We advise against gambling while you are in Chapter 13 bankruptcy because if you lose money, you lose it to the Casino and if you win money, you lose it to the Trustee. While a big windfall at the Casino could mean you can pay your creditors in full, you may find that the deal we obtain for you in Chapter 13 leaves you in a better financial position.

    SEE ALL FAQS

    We Work With You As A Partner

    At Grainger Hawley & Shinbaum, LLC, we work to come up with strategies that fit our slogan: “We help people get out of the hole.” When you face a tough financial situation, it can feel like you are in a deep hole. No matter how hard you try to fix your finances, it can seem like the hole continues to become deeper. Many people just need someone with experience in dealing with difficult financial situations to give them the advice and support they need to start to change the narrative.

    When you are in the hole because your income simply cannot match up with your debt payments and your living expenses, we are ready to help. We understand that many of our potential clients may not want to file bankruptcy.

    Trust that our bankruptcy lawyers in Montgomery will fully investigate your situation and give you the best possible advice on how to move forward with your life, whether that involves bankruptcy or another avenue.

    Call Chuck Grainger today at 334-260-0500 for a free review of your case.