Your Rights When Filing for Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy laws are complicated, and it’s often difficult to tell what your rights are when filing for bankruptcy, and what has to be done under law. Consumers do have some rights when filing for personal bankruptcy. Understanding these rights can help you make informed decisions about your financial future.

When you file for bankruptcy, you are offered the opportunity to reaffirm your debts. When you reaffirm a debt, you may be able to change the terms, including the payment amount, length of loan, interest rate, and amount owed. If you agree to a reaffirmation, you need to continue making the agreed-upon payments, and the loan is not discharged.

However, you do not need to reaffirm anything. Keep this in mind when filing for bankruptcy, because it’s often not in your best interest to reaffirm credit cards and other kinds of unsecured debt.

When reaffirming, you do not have to reaffirm under the same terms—you should negotiate for better terms with the lender before deciding to reaffirm. In addition, if you choose to change your mind after you reaffirm, you can do so up to 60-days after it’s filed with the bankruptcy courts. You must write a letter to the creditor, and they are required to return any money you’ve paid under the reaffirmation agreement.

When you file for bankruptcy, you may also try to redeem your collateral on a secured debt. When you redeem your collateral, you pay your creditors a lump sum of money for the amount the item is worth, rather than what you owe. This can be beneficial for items that depreciate quickly.

Better Business Bureau

MMI is proud to have achieved an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), a nonprofit organization focused on promoting and improving marketplace trust. The BBB investigates charges of fraud against both consumers and businesses, sets standards for truthfulness in advertising, and evaluates the trustworthiness of businesses and charities, providing a score from A+ (highest) to F (lowest).
Candid

MMI has achieved a Gold Seal of Transparency by Candid (formerly GuideStar), a leading source for insights on thousands of nonprofit organizations. For decades, Candid has provided data that powers hundreds of websites, programs, and applications related to philanthropic giving in order to help grantors make informed decisions.
Trustpilot

MMI is rated as “Excellent” (4.9/5) by reviewers on Trustpilot, a global, online consumer review platform dedicated to openness and transparency. Since 2007, Trustpilot has received over 116 million customer reviews for nearly 500,000 different websites and businesses. See what others are saying about the work we do.
Department of Housing and Urban Development

MMI is certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide consumer housing counseling. The mission of HUD is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD provides support services directly and through approved, local agencies like MMI.
Council On Accreditation

MMI is proudly accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), an international, independent, nonprofit, human service accrediting organization. COA’s thorough, peer-reviewed accreditation process is designed to ensure that organizations like MMI are providing the highest standard of service and support for clients and employees alike.
National Foundation for Credit Counseling

MMI is a longstanding member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling® (NFCC®), the nation’s largest nonprofit financial counseling organization. Founded in 1951, the NFCC’s mission is to promote financially responsible behavior and help member organizations like MMI deliver the highest-quality financial education and counseling services.