Automatic Stay

The filing of a bankruptcy petition will immediately trigger an automatic Stay that stops most debt-collection actions for a period of time. As long as the stay is in effect, creditors generally cannot file lawsuits against you, garnish your wages, or engage in other activities to collect on their loans.

The automatic stay can stops foreclosure proceedings.  For the stay to stop foreclosure proceedings, however, the bankruptcy petition must be filed before your mortgage company completes the foreclosure sale. Moreover, you could still lose your home if you fail to make mortgage payments that become due after you have filed for bankruptcy.

The granting of the say depends on how many bankruptcies you have filed within 1 year. Your "stay" may not be automatic if you have filed a previous bankruptcy within the prior year. Your bankruptcy attorney can advise you on how to file a motion for additional "stay" protection if it is not "automatic."

What the automatic say cannot do for you: 

Child support.  The automatic stay will not stop a lawsuit against you that attempts to establish paternity.  In addition, it will not stop a lawsuit that tries to establish, modify or collect child support payments.

Criminal proceedings.  If you are involved in a criminal proceeding that involves both a debt and criminal portion, the automatic stay will only stop the debt portion of the proceeding.  So, if you were convicted of petty theft and were ordered by a judge to make repayments and also conduct a certain number of hours of community service, the automatic stay will only stop the repayment portion of your sentence.  You will still be required to complete your community service hours.

Loans from your pension.  If you took a loan against your pension, the automatic stay will not prevent your wages from being garnished in order to repay the loan to your pension.

Some tax proceedings.  The automatic stay will not help you if the IRS wants to audit you or issue a tax deficiency against you.  Also, the automatic stay will not prevent the IRS from demanding that you file a tax return, or from issuing you a tax assessment or demanding payment for taxes that are owed.  However, if you are protected by the automatic stay, the IRS cannot issue a tax lien against your income or property.

Lincoln Law's goal

Lincoln Law claims their goal is " to help people who are thinking about or going through bankruptcy, and to make the process fast, stress-free, and error-free. "
How can this be the goal, and how can it be accomplished, when the staff in the office knows about as much about bankruptcy as you do?
If you choose to retain Lincoln Law just remember that the Attorney Andrew Gustafson believes he is always right. He does not care about you, and does not want to hear about your personal life. He does not make you feel at ease, and you better not trust that the process with be "error-free". They no longer can process anything fast, because they have very little knowledge about bankruptcy. With all this said do not expect that the process with be stress-free either.
So if you do decide to choose Lincoln Law for your bankruptcy needs, just remember you were warned.

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy law is complex, and there are many considerations that must be taken into account in making the determination whether or not to file. Anyone considering bankruptcy is encouraged to make no decision about bankruptcy without seeking the advice and assistance of an experienced attorney who practices bankruptcy law.
With that said Lincoln Law is not the place you would want to go. The attorney there knows little about bankruptcy. The attorney there does not have your best interest at heart. Andrew Gustafson has not been doing legal work in the past 10 years. There is a reason you never meet with him, you only meet with his staff. Why would you want to be represented by and attorney that does not know the law he is practicing? Why would you want to have an attorney representing you that does not even have enough knowledge to meet with you? If you want to meet with a paralegal, and do not care about the attorney there are a lot of places you can go to just get advice, that are A LOT cheaper, and will help you with filing.  

Rebuilding Your Credit Score

You just filed Bankruptcy, which means your credit score just took approximately 150 point credit hit. So how do you bounce back?

It’s a double-edged sword of post-bankruptcy life: mismanaging credit may have gotten you into trouble (or just magnified other problems), but you have to get credit to rebuild your financial life.  

After your bankruptcy has been discharged, you need to re-establish good credit, right away for a Chapter 7 or after reorganization for a Chapter 13. The rule of thumb: there are no rules. How fast you build back your credit will depend on a lot of factors that vary widely.

It also depends on what resources you have. Obviously, if you have a high-dollar income, you have an edge. If you managed to hang onto your house, paying your mortgage on time will improve your credit report. (Many apartments don't report to credit bureaus, so those payments will keep a roof over your head but won't help rebuild your credit)

Ironically, people who file a Chapter 7 may have an easier time re-establishing credit.  While you’re in a Chapter 13 (reorganization) your options are somewhat limited in terms of credit.  When the discharge is complete you can start rebuilding your credit while someone who went through a Chapter 7 at the same time is already well on his way to repairing his credit.

Don't Jump Back Into Debt After bankruptcy

To make sure you have enough money left over to rebuild, you'll want to keep an eagle eye on your "must have" expenses -- the shelter costs, food, utilities, insurance, child care  that form your essential bills. After losing so much and living without for so long, it would be easy to rush into commitments that you can't really afford in your efforts to restore some normalcy to your life. Resist the temptation. Keep those "must haves" under 50% of your after-tax income. 
 If you can delay a purchase for a few months with no serious consequences -- for example, clothing or dining out -- it's not a must-have. If you're contractually obligated to pay something (a credit card minimum, child support or a cell phone bill), it's a must-have, at least for now.
Now that you have just filed Bankruptcy in Utah you are ideal candidate for credit cards, car loans etc. Be careful, the process was not fun the first time, don't put your self back in the same position.  
Be smart, make a plan, budget. 

Why Does Marketing Win Over Services?

I think it would be fair to say that Lincoln Law probably puts the most money into marketing than any other bankruptcy law firm. With all the billboards, direct mail, website, phone book, etc, their name has become recognizable. They do a great job dumping money into marketing.  However when you come into the office they do not continue the same type of service to match the money put into marketing. The attorney in the office is very short, uncaring, and to the client.He does not know anything about bankruptcy, but is very quick to push people into filing for bankruptcy.
So why is this law office so successful? Why does the marketing win? Why do people retain an attorney that is too good to meet with them?
Is it that people at too lazy and stressed out about their finances to do research to find a good attorney?  

Why Have An Attorney

Is it worth having an attorney for file bankruptcy? Yes, if you have secured debt (an auto loan, a mortgage, etc,) it is nice to have an attorney because some creditors will not allow you to keep the collateral unless you have an attorney.
In order to keep your collateral after bankruptcy you have to sign a reaffirmation agreement. Some creditors will only allow you to sign a reaffirmation agreement if you have an attorney representing you.
Lincoln Law will no longer sign any reaffirmation agreement, for anyone, no matter what the collateral is, unless you are willing to pay an additional $400-$600. This means if you have a car that you want to keep, even if you are current on it, if you go through Lincoln Law, you will most likely lose it.
With this being said, there is no reason to have an attorney if you are looking at going with Lincoln Law. Go somewhere else. Even if they do not have as much marketing as Lincoln Law, there is a good chance they will be better than Andrew Gustafson.