Smith Montgomery & Associates, P.C.

Smith, Montgomery & Associates, P.C., comprised of lawyers and highly-trained staff and one of the leading law firms in Southwest Missouri, is a full service law firm with over 65 years of combined experience.

Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding in which you declare you can't pay a part or all of your debts or that you need time to pay the debts. Congress designed the laws to give people a fresh start. Call the experienced Debt Planning and Bankruptcy Lawyers at Smith, Montgomery & Associates for a free first visit to discuss the various debt work out and settlement options that are available to you that include debt negotiation, debt consolidation or bankruptcy.

Smith, Montgomery & Associates Bankruptcy Lawyers, under the Federal Bankruptcy Law, can usually help you keep all of the personal property (furniture, car, appliances, etc.) and real property (house, condominium, etc.) that you want to keep, as long as you agree to pay for it according to the terms of the bankruptcy. Keeping your property is the most important part of our Bankruptcy Lawyers' job.

Hiring one of the Debt Planning and Bankruptcy Lawyers at Smith, Montgomery & Associates can stop creditor calls immediately, even before your bankruptcy has been filed. By federal law, creditors are not allowed to contact you in any way after they are properly notified that you are represented by an attorney. Once your bankruptcy is filed, garnishments, foreclosures and repossessions also stop. We may even be able to get back your money that was garnished before bankruptcy or your car that was repossessed before bankruptcy. But time is crucial in cases like this - do not wait. Please call the Debt Planning and Bankruptcy Lawyers at Smith, Montgomery & Associates today for a free first visit.

Call Smith, Montgomery & Associates immediately for a free first visit with a Debt Planning and Bankruptcy Lawyer. Do not ever ignore a summons for a lawsuit; if you do, your rights will not be protected and your paycheck could be garnished very soon. Our experienced Debt Planning and Bankruptcy Lawyers will help you make informed decisions about your financial options.

There is not a minimum amount. If you cannot afford to pay your debt, bankruptcy may be right for you. However, each case is different and one of the Debt Planning and Bankruptcy Lawyers at Smith, Montgomery & Associates can advise you of other options besides bankruptcy.

Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 are the two options for most consumer debtors. Both chapters usually allow you to wipe out your unsecured debts, like credit cards and medical bills. Chapter 13 can be used by nearly everyone, including small businesses. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is designed for debtors that may have a home and other property they want to protect and a source of income that will allow at least a minimum payment of $100 monthly. Only the filing fee and other related costs must be paid before filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and you can spread payments over 3 to 5 years for legal fees and the property you wish to keep.

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is very quick, usually about 4 months, and is most common for someone who does not have much property or possessions. However, the full attorney fee must be paid before you can file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and not everyone qualifies under the law for this chapter.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is for larger businesses, and Chapter 12 bankruptcy is for farmers. Businesses usually use Chapter 13 or Chapter 11. Call Smith, Montgomery & Associates for a free first visit with one of our Debt Planning and Bankruptcy Lawyers who can help you make an informed decision about all of the financial options available to you.

Generally speaking, there are restrictions on who can file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, while most people are eligible to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is designed to assist clients wipe out the debts they can't pay and reorganize their personal debts and assets and give them time to pay. Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be used also for businesses. Under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, people can also keep their property that may have significant equity. If payments on a mortgage, automobile or other secured asset are behind, Chapter 13 will allow you to make up the payments over the duration of the bankruptcy effectively stopping a foreclosure, garnishment or repossession. If income taxes are owed for prior years, you can include the tax debt and repay through your Chapter 13 bankruptcy as well, and no additional penalties or interest will be added while you are in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy. In many instances all or most unsecured debt, including medical bills, credit card balances, etc., can be eliminated in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy takes 3 to 5 years to complete. Also, the fees for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy are lesser than in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, plus in many situations the legal fees can be spread out over a period of time.

Both Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy are designed to assist clients with mostly medical, credit card or other unsecured debt that they are unable to pay. They are also designed to offer options for debts that are secured by property, such as homes or automobiles. The debts owed on secured assets can be "reaffirmed," meaning you simply agree to continue to make the payments as stated in the original loan documents. If you find that you owe more on a debt that the property is worth, you can surrender the property back to the lender and not have to repay the balance of the debt. Chapter 7 bankruptcy usually takes four (4) to six (6) months to complete. Upon completion of the bankruptcy, all unsecured debt is eliminated. The major drawback to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is that all legal fees must be paid prior to obtaining the court's protection from your creditors.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a business reorganization that allows the business to negotiate with creditors and lower their debt while continuing to operate. Chapter 11 should only be used by businesses that intend to continue to operate or need time to affect an organized closing of the business. This is ideal for those businesses that have been struggling to meet their obligations in this challenging economy. Chapter 11 applies to all businesses except farming, which would file under Chapter 12 bankruptcy. Many times Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be used for smaller businesses and, if available, is less expensive and much simpler to administer.

Chapter 12 is similar to Chapter 11 but deals with the circumstances that are specific to farming and not found in other enterprises.

Call Smith, Montgomery & Associates for a free 1st visit with a Debt Planning and Bankruptcy Lawyer who can help you make an informed decision about all of the financial options available to you.

The biggest change is the requirement to take the "means test", which means your income is compared to the median income in Missouri. If you make more than the median, you do not qualify to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and are required to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Law also requires you to take a consumer credit counseling course before you can file. If you have filed bankruptcy in the past 8 years, the law may affect parts of your bankruptcy now. There are many other complex changes in the law. Please call the Debt Planning and Bankruptcy Lawyers at Smith, Montgomery & Associates for a free first visit so we can tell you if there are any other ways the laws affect you.

We work very quickly. If you are able to pay the court and other fees and provide us with all the required paperwork, we can file within 24 to 48 hours after you first hire the Debt Planning and Bankruptcy Lawyers at Smith, Montgomery & Associates to help you.

The bankruptcy laws are very complex. It is helpful if you bring the following to your first free visit at our office: copies of all of your bank statements for the last 6 months; copies of all of your paycheck stubs for the last 6 months; copies of all your bills, lawsuits, etc; copies of your tax returns for the last 4 years; and copies of your home and auto insurance declaration pages. In addition, there may be other documents that we need that are unique to every case. Even if you do not have all of these documents, do not let it stop you from calling our Debt Planning and Banktruptcy lawyers, as we can help you get many documents that you may have trouble locating.

No. In most cases, your monthly payment to the trustee will pay for your secured debt (like your car or your furniture), the back taxes or child support you may owe, the fee for your Bankruptcy Lawyer, and your trustee fee. Your unsecured debts (like credit cards and medical bills) can usually be wiped out. Secured debts can also be wiped out if you don't want to keep the property that secures it. These are complex issues which require analysis for each individual. Call Smith, Montgomery & Associates today for a free first visit with one of our Debt Planning and Banktruptcy lawyers who can tell you how your case would be handled.

At Smith, Montgomery & Associates, we generally advise clients to expect the bankruptcy to be reported to the credit bureaus for 7 to 10 years, although you can begin to rebuild your credit as soon as your bankruptcy is declared discharged by the Bankruptcy Court. Many banks now offer "secured" credit cards where you deposit a certain amount of money that will guarantee the credit card. By starting small and paying for your charges each month, you will begin rebuilding your credit history. Many debtors are able to rebuild their credit and qualify for a home loan in as little as 2 years, and some more quickly. Schedule your free first visit with one of our Debt Planning and Bankruptcy lawyers so we can help you get a clean start.

Yes. If all of the debt is individual and in your name alone, your spouse does not have to file bankruptcy with you. If that is the case, you may be able to preserve your spouse's credit history. However, the trustee uses household income and expenses when evaluating a budget so, even if your spouse is not filing, you will have to include all of the income and all of the expenses for everyone who lives in your home.

No. Federal law prohibits any employer from discriminating against you because you filed bankruptcy.

No. You do not need to use a lawyer to file either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a complex matter, however; and we advise you to use the services of Smith, Montgomery & Associates' experienced Debt Planning and Bankruptcy lawyers to help you. A bankruptcy lawyer is worth the cost. You can save the cost of legal fees many times over through the peace of mind, release of stress and actual money saved by following the advice of the experienced Debt Planning and Bankruptcy lawyers at Smith, Montgomery & Associates. We have completed over 8,000 bankruptcy cases in Springfield, Missouri, and surrounding cities and towns throughout Southwest Missouri. Call Smith, Montgomery & Associates today for a free first visit with one of our Debt Planning and Banktruptcy lawyers who can help you make an informed decision how to handle your financial situation.