Bankruptcy Lawyer in Oak Brook, Illinois

Nobody plans to call a bankruptcy lawyer. People usually call us because something has already started: a garnishment has hit a paycheque, a summons has arrived, a car has been repossessed or a mortgage is months behind. The first thing worth knowing is that filing stops most of that immediately — and the second is that bankruptcy is not the only tool, and not always the right one.

We have been doing this work in Illinois since 1983, from our office in Oak Brook. The consultation is free, and you will get a straight answer about whether filing helps you or not.

The automatic stay: what filing actually stops

Filing a bankruptcy petition “automatically stays” — stops — most collection action against you and your property. That is the mechanism behind almost everything else on this page: the calls stop, garnishments stop, and a foreclosure sale can be halted. Chapter 13 also carries a special provision that can protect a co-debtor, which matters when a relative co-signed. Joe sets out what the stay reaches, and what it does not, in what the automatic stay stops in a foreclosure.

Chapter 7 or Chapter 13?

Chapter 7 is what the Bankruptcy Code calls liquidation: qualifying debts are wiped out, and in exchange a trustee can sell property that is not protected by an exemption. For most of the households we see, there is nothing for the trustee to sell — but that has to be checked before you file, not after.

Chapter 13 is an adjustment of debts for someone with regular income. You keep your property and repay over time, usually three to five years. It is the chapter that can save a home: it stops foreclosure proceedings and lets mortgage arrears be cured over the life of the plan. Plan payments to the trustee must begin within 30 days of filing, even before the court approves the plan.

The short version: Chapter 7 is about clearing debt. Chapter 13 is about catching up on something you want to keep.

Which one fits depends on your income, what you own and what you are trying to protect. Joe compares them in Chapter 7 versus Chapter 13, and sets out how a Chapter 13 repayment plan works. Official summaries: Chapter 7 basics and Chapter 13 basics from the US Courts.

What you keep: exemptions

Exemptions are the rules that decide what a trustee cannot touch — typically equity in a home, a vehicle, household goods, tools of a trade and retirement savings. Illinois has its own set of exemptions rather than the federal list, and the amounts are fixed by statute and change over time, so we work them out against your actual equity rather than a rule of thumb. Joe's guide to the main Illinois bankruptcy exemptions is a good starting point, and the question we are asked most often — can I keep my car? — usually comes down to exactly this.

What bankruptcy does not erase

Some debts survive a discharge. The common categories are certain tax claims, debts you fail to list in your schedules, spousal or child support and alimony, debts for willful and malicious injury to a person or property, fines and penalties owed to government bodies, and most government-funded or guaranteed student loans. Secured creditors can also keep the right to take back collateral even after a discharge — which is why “what happens to my car” is a different question from “what happens to my debt”.

The rest of what we do

• Foreclosure defense. Reinstatement, loss mitigation, and using Chapter 13 to cure arrears. See foreclosure defense and how to respond to a foreclosure summons in Illinois.
• Creditor and debt-buyer lawsuits. Being sued is not the end of the road, and default judgments are avoidable. See credit card lawsuits and answering a debt-buyer complaint.
• Wage garnishment. Often the reason people call in the first place — how bankruptcy stops a garnishment.
• Repossession. Timing decides what is still possible: bankruptcy and repossession.
• IRS and state tax debt. Some tax debt can be dealt with in bankruptcy and some cannot. See IRS debt settlement.

Is bankruptcy even the right answer?

Sometimes it is not. Debt settlement, negotiation or simply defending a lawsuit can be the better route, and we will say so if that is the case — a consultation is not a sales pitch for a filing. Joe weighs the alternatives in bankruptcy versus debt settlement, and when it is actually time to call.

What filing involves

• Credit counseling first. Federal law requires an approved credit-counseling briefing within the 180 days before you file. There is no way around it.
• The petition and schedules. Everything you own and everything you owe, listed properly. Debts left off the schedules can survive the discharge.
• The meeting of creditors. Held 21 to 40 days after filing. It is usually short, and we prepare you for it.
• A financial-management course. Required before discharge — skipping it can cost you the discharge outright.
• Discharge. In a straightforward Chapter 7, generally 60 to 90 days after the date first set for the meeting of creditors. A Chapter 13 discharge comes at the end of the plan.

More on what the process feels like from the inside: filing in Illinois, what to expect.

Cost

There is a court filing fee and there is our fee. We quote ours before any work starts, the first consultation is free, payment plans are available and we accept all major credit cards — which matters, because the people who most need to file are rarely the people with money sitting spare. Joe explains how that works in bankruptcy lawyer payment plans.

Talking to us

Bring what you have: recent pay stubs, any court papers, letters from creditors, your mortgage or car loan statements, and a rough idea of what you owe. If a hearing date or a sale date is already set, say so when you call — that changes what we do first. You can read what a case evaluation can tell you, or more about Joe.

Nothing on this page is legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Procedure described here was checked against the US Courts' Bankruptcy Basics in September 2026.