Will the automatic stay stop creditors from calling my home and work?
Yes, it should. After you file your bankruptcy petition with the court commencing a case, the Clerk’s office will send a written notice of your bankruptcy filing to all of your creditors at the addresses you list on your creditor mailing list. Although this notice goes out within one to two days of case filing, it may take up to a week or longer for creditors to receive this notice. If a creditor calls after you have filed your petition, simply tell them you have filed for bankruptcy, give them the case number and the district (the state in which you filed), and indicate that the will receive notice of this in the mail. If the creditor was not listed on your mailing list, you may amend your bankruptcy schedules so that future notices about your bankruptcy can be sent to that creditor. Adding a creditor, later on, requires a fee. It is important to make sure you list all your creditors on your initial creditor list because if a creditor doesn’t get notice of your bankruptcy, that debt might not be discharged in your bankruptcy, and adding them, later on, will cost you more money. Once a creditor receives notice of your bankruptcy filing, they may not attempt collection of a debt from you unless they follow certain actions, such as obtaining relief from stay, if allowed by the court. Then, if a creditor continues to try to collect a debt from you after being notified of your bankruptcy, you should contact an attorney immediately for advice.