Bankruptcy Stay 

When you file bankruptcy, an automatic bankruptcy stay goes into effect by operation of law.  The bankruptcy stay, also called the "automatic stay," stops most types of adverse creditor action against you and your property.  There are exceptions. A San Diego bankruptcy lawyer can explain whether any exceptions apply to your situation.

What Types of Acts Will the Bankruptcy Stay Stop?

The bankruptcy stay will usually (absent an exception) stop the following acts against you or your property:

              •   Stop harassing calls from creditors and debt collectors.
              •   Stop home foreclosure dead in its tracks!
              •   Stop credit card collection lawsuits and most other types of lawsuits.
              •   Stop a threatened repossession of your car or other type of vehicle.
              •   Stop most other types of creditor action.

These are just a few examples of creditors' collection efforts that are stopped by the stay.  In most cases, you will find that filing bankruptcy stops all creditor actions against you and your property.   The bankruptcy stay is so powerful and instantaneous that it can stop a foreclosure of your home even on the eve of the scheduled foreclosure sale date, or it can stop a pending lawsuit against you on the eve of the trial date. 

Exceptions to Bankruptcy Stay

There are exceptions to the bankruptcy stay, such as serial filings (if you have filed more than one case in the last year), an eviction lawsuit where the landlord has already obtained a judgment, a prior court order prohibiting you from filing for a stated period, or a prior court order allowing a property foreclosure to go forward.  If an exception applies, the bankruptcy stay will not protect you.  So it is important to discuss the applicability of the stay with your attorney.

Chapter 13 Co-Debtor Stay

Chapter 13 has a special type of stay called a co-debtor stay, that can act as a stay for your non-filing spouse and protects your spouse even if only you file for bankruptcy.  The co-debtor stay generally protects your non-filing spouse with respect to debts that both you and your spouse at to debts for which you are both jointly liable.