People come to Steidl and Steinberg because they are worried. Their bills are mounting and the collection calls never seem to end. They are worried about losing their house or their car and aren’t sure if the electricity will stay on much longer.
They also worry about people finding out they are having financial problems. It’s called pride.
Instead of seeing an attorney at Steidl and Steinberg and stopping the collection calls, and saving their house and car, and keeping the power on, they hesitate to talk with us about bankruptcy because of pride.
They don’t want people knowing they filed for bankruptcy. They don’t want to be embarrassed.
It’s a natural reaction and it’s not wrong to feel that way. But pride won’t pay the bills.
Filing bankruptcy is part of the public record. But a person would have to be pretty nosey or have an obsession with your financial life to dig deep through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court records find out if you have filed bankruptcy.
Some newspapers do print bankruptcy filings, but those are decreasing by the day due to shrinking news space.
Who else knows?
The companies or individuals you owe money to are told when you file bankruptcy, but they can’t bother you once you have filed. All collection actions must stop.
Your employer might find out, if you have filed a Chapter 13 reorganization payment plan and your payment is taken out of your paycheck. It’s also illegal to be punished or fired for filing bankruptcy, and a quality workplace will keep your financial matters confidential.
If someone does a credit check, they will find out you have filed. But if you are getting collection calls and your house is being threatened with foreclosure, your credit is not in good shape anyway.
The bottom line is this. Would you rather struggle in silence, or would you rather get your financial house in order? Who cares if you file bankruptcy? Only you should.