Just like anything in life, you do not realize how much you appreciate and need your utilities (i.e., electricity, gas, water, telephone, etc.) in your daily life until they are no longer accessible to you. This may become true if you continue to neglect your monthly bills. While there are less drastic options for handling this, you may address it through bankruptcy if you have been struggling equally with your other debts. In this case, please continue reading to learn whether a bankruptcy filing can shield your utilities from being shut off and how an experienced Louisville, Kentucky consumer bankruptcy lawyer at Schwartz Bankruptcy Law Center can help you work with your utility companies appropriately.

How can bankruptcy prevent my utilities from being shut off?

Once you submit your bankruptcy petition to the Kentucky Bankruptcy Court, it may grant an automatic stay. This order essentially deters your creditors from pursuing activities to collect your outstanding debts. And so, this ruling includes preventing utility companies from shutting off your services in response to your past-due bills. Or otherwise, from altering the type of services you receive. And lastly, from refusing to continue your services simply because you initiated a bankruptcy filing.

How do I keep my utilities turned on during my bankruptcy proceedings?

You must understand that the automatic stay may only serve as a temporary solution to your utility issue. That is, it may only remain in effect for 20 days from your bankruptcy filing date. Meaning that after approximately three weeks, utility companies may be well within their right to shut off, refuse, or alter your provided services. This is to say that you must take affirmative action to ensure your utilities are kept turned on throughout your bankruptcy proceedings, which may be accomplished in any of the following ways:

  • You may make a security deposit equivalent to a few months’ worth of utility bills.
  • You may use a surety bond backed by a third-party insurance or bonding company.
  • You may submit a letter of credit or certificate of deposit as a financial guarantee by a bank.

Importantly, your work is not over once the utility companies accepts your affirmative action and alternate form of payment. That is, throughout your bankruptcy proceedings, you are expected to remain current on your incoming utility bills. A failure to keep up may give the utility companies the authority to suspend your services. But as for your past-due utility bills pre-bankruptcy, you may discharge them at the close of your Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Or, you may incorporate them into your three- to five-year Chapter 13 repayment plan.

The first step toward preparing yourself for this legal action is to retain the services of a skilled Louisville, Kentucky consumer bankruptcy lawyer. Look no further than Schwartz Bankruptcy Law Center.