Filing a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy immediately gives you the protection of what lawyers call the automatic stay. The automatic stay prevents creditors from taking certain actions to collect debts against you or your property. The automatic stay is a powerful tool at your disposal and can be used to immediately stop creditors from calling you, and can even stop the foreclosure of your home.
Immediately after you file a bankruptcy, the automatic stay stops:
Creditor Calls
Garnishments
Foreclosures
Tax levies
Repossessions
Evictions
All Creditor Harassment
Once your petition is filed, creditors are prevented from taking the following actions:
1. The commencement or continuation of a judicial, administrative, or other lawsuit or proceeding against you that was or could have been commenced before your case was filed, or to recover a claim against you that arose before your case was filed;
2. The enforcement of a judgment obtained before your case was filed;
3. Any act to obtain possession of your property or to exercise control over your property;
4. Any act to create, perfect, or enforce any lien against your property;
5. Any act to create, perfect, or enforce any lien against your property to the extent that such lien secures a claim that arose before your case was filed;
6. Any act to collect, assess, or recover a claim against you that arose before your case was filed; and
7. The setoff of any debt owed to you that arose before you filed your case.