Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
- Who may qualify for chapter 7
- How the means test works
- What debts can be discharged
- How exemptions protect property
- What consumers should avoid before filing
- How trustees review assets, income, transfers, and financial records
Media source and press information
Bankruptcy Expert Source & Media Contact
Casey Yontz, JD is available for expert commentary on consumer bankruptcy, chapter 7, chapter 13, foreclosure, mortgage arrears, keeping a house in bankruptcy, car loans, repossession, student loans, medical debt, wage garnishment, lawsuits, liens, exemptions, and consumer debt relief.
With more than 18 years of bankruptcy experience, Casey can help reporters, editors, producers, and researchers understand what bankruptcy means in real life, including the decisions people face before filing, what happens in bankruptcy court, and how chapter 7 and chapter 13 can affect homes, cars, wages, lawsuits, mortgages, and unsecured debt.
About Casey Yontz
Casey Yontz is a bankruptcy attorney with more than 18 years of experience in consumer bankruptcy law. He has worked with people facing foreclosure, repossession, wage garnishment, debt lawsuits, judgments, medical bills, credit card debt, student loan issues, mortgage arrears, car loan problems, tax concerns, and the risk of losing important property.
Casey founded U.S. Bankruptcy Help to make bankruptcy education clearer and more practical for people trying to understand their options. His work focuses on explaining how bankruptcy actually functions for consumers, including how chapter 7 and chapter 13 can affect homes, vehicles, wages, bank accounts, lawsuits, mortgages, liens, unsecured debt, and long-term financial recovery.
Casey's background gives him a practical view of bankruptcy beyond the basic definitions. He can speak to the common problems that bring people to bankruptcy court, the mistakes people make before filing, the questions trustees and creditors often raise, and the real-world tradeoffs involved in choosing chapter 7, chapter 13, or another debt-relief strategy.
Casey oversees editorial strategy, legal content development, and consumer bankruptcy education for U.S. Bankruptcy Help. His background also combines bankruptcy practice with technology training, including professional certificate programs in full stack development and artificial intelligence development through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Topics Available for Comment
Casey is available to comment on a wide range of bankruptcy, debt relief, foreclosure, mortgage, student loan, and consumer finance issues, including:
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
- How chapter 13 repayment plans work
- Using chapter 13 to stop foreclosure
- Catching up mortgage arrears over time
- Restructuring certain secured debts
- Chapter 13 plan feasibility and payment issues
- When chapter 13 may be useful even if chapter 7 is available
Homes, Mortgages, and Foreclosure
- Keeping a house in bankruptcy
- How the automatic stay can stop foreclosure
- Mortgage arrears and chapter 13 plans
- Restructuring mortgage-related debt
- Stripping second mortgages, HELOCs, and junior liens
- How homestead exemptions affect bankruptcy risk
Cars, Repossession, and Secured Debt
- Keeping a car in chapter 7 or chapter 13
- How bankruptcy can stop repossession
- Car loan arrears and payment defaults
- Restructuring car loans in chapter 13
- Vehicle exemptions and equity risk
- Reaffirmation, redemption, and surrender issues
Student Loans in Bankruptcy
- How student loans are treated in bankruptcy
- Undue hardship issues
- Adversary proceedings
- Student loan discharge misconceptions
- How student loan debt can affect chapter 13 planning
- What borrowers should understand before assuming bankruptcy cannot help
Consumer Debt and Collection Pressure
- Medical debt and bankruptcy
- Credit card debt and personal loans
- Debt lawsuits, judgments, and collection activity
- Wage garnishment and bank levies
- Creditor harassment and collection pressure
- How financial stress can build before a bankruptcy filing
Bankruptcy Court and Filing Issues
- What happens after a bankruptcy case is filed
- The meeting of creditors
- Trustee questions and document review
- Exemption disputes and asset issues
- Dismissal, conversion, and discharge issues
- Common problems that can complicate a bankruptcy case
Bankruptcy Trends and Consumer Education
- Why consumers research bankruptcy before contacting a lawyer
- Bankruptcy myths and misinformation
- How consumers misunderstand chapter 7 and chapter 13
- The role of free bankruptcy tools and calculators
- How legal technology can improve bankruptcy education
- Why plain-English legal information matters for people in financial distress
Practical Bankruptcy Experience
Bankruptcy stories are rarely simple. A person may be trying to stop a foreclosure, keep a car, protect wages from garnishment, respond to a lawsuit, deal with medical bills, manage student loans, catch up on mortgage payments, or decide whether chapter 7 or chapter 13 is the better option. Casey can help explain those issues clearly while still respecting the complexity of the law.
Over nearly two decades in consumer bankruptcy practice, Casey has developed a practical understanding of the issues that regularly arise in bankruptcy cases, including exemption planning, secured debt treatment, trustee review, mortgage arrears, lien treatment, vehicle loans, priority debts, discharge questions, student loan concerns, plan feasibility, and the difficult decisions people face when they are trying to protect their income, home, transportation, and family finances.
Casey is especially useful as a media source when a story needs more than a generic explanation of bankruptcy. He can help translate bankruptcy procedure, consumer debt pressure, court realities, and chapter 7 or chapter 13 strategy into language that a general audience can understand.
Sample Commentary Angles
Quote-Ready Bio
Casey Yontz, JD, is the founder of U.S. Bankruptcy Help, a consumer bankruptcy education platform offering attorney-reviewed bankruptcy guides, free bankruptcy calculators, and plain-English tools for people researching chapter 7, chapter 13, foreclosure, exemptions, student loans, secured debts, and debt relief options. Casey has more than 18 years of experience in consumer bankruptcy law and is available for media commentary on bankruptcy, debt relief, foreclosure, repossession, wage garnishment, student loans, mortgages, and consumer financial distress.
About U.S. Bankruptcy Help
U.S. Bankruptcy Help is an educational bankruptcy website created to help people better understand their debt relief options before speaking with an attorney. The site publishes attorney-reviewed guides and practical tools, including a Chapter 7 means test calculator, a Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13 decision tool, and bankruptcy exemption estimators.
The site covers practical bankruptcy questions involving chapter 7, chapter 13, foreclosure, repossession, wage garnishment, medical debt, student loans, keeping a home, keeping a car, bankruptcy exemptions, the automatic stay, and the steps consumers may face before and after filing.
The site is not a law firm and does not provide legal representation. Its purpose is to make bankruptcy information easier to understand and help consumers ask better questions when evaluating their options.
Attorney Reviewers and Contributors
U.S. Bankruptcy Help works with experienced attorneys who write, review, and contribute to bankruptcy-related educational content.
- Benjamin Wright — bankruptcy attorney and contributor. Read Benjamin Wright's bio.
- Scott Greeves — attorney with 30 years of legal experience who contributes to and reviews bankruptcy, tax law, and related financial content. Read Scott Greeves's bio.
Media Contact
Casey Yontz
Founder, U.S. Bankruptcy Help
Email: contact@usbankruptcyhelp.com
Website: www.usbankruptcyhelp.com
Disclaimer
Information from U.S. Bankruptcy Help is for general educational purposes only and is not legal advice. U.S. Bankruptcy Help is not a law firm and does not provide legal representation. Using this site, contacting U.S. Bankruptcy Help, or using any free tool on the site does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Explore Bankruptcy Help by State
Browse our state guides to learn exemptions, means test rules, costs, and local procedures. Use these links to jump between states and compare your options.
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- New York
- Nevada
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- Wisconsin