Tired of riding the bus? Chapter 13 can help get your license back!
If you have a suspended drivers license in Washington State due to unpaid tickets or fines, bankruptcy may help get it back. I have helped several people in the Vancouver, WA area get their driving privileges back through bankruptcy.
Filing for bankruptcy puts a stay (immediate stop) on all collection activity. This means that a collection agency, or government unit can not refuse to release the license suspension for non payment of the fines or tickets. This would essentially be an attempt to collect a debt. Once a bankruptcy is filed, any attempt to collect a debt must stop.
If a main goal of filing a bankruptcy is to get your license suspension released, generally a chapter 13 bankruptcy will be the best option. In chapter 13 you make a monthly payment to a Trustee to reorganize your debt. A chapter 13 payment plan generally will last between 3 and 5 years. As long as you are in a chapter 13 you will have protection from all collection activity. This means that if your drivers license is suspended for non payment of prior tickets it must be released for the entire duration of the chapter 13.
Another advantage of chapter 13 is that you may be able to discharge (eliminate) any unpaid tickets or fines once the bankruptcy completes. As long as the tickets are non-criminal fines or penalties, they will be erased upon successful completion of your chapter 13. However, if you have any criminal related fines, those may survive your chapter 13. It is important to discuss with your attorney which debts may survive your chapter 13 and which ones will go away upon completion.
You can also get your suspended license back by filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, this is a more temporary solution and used less often to get a suspended license back. There are two main reasons why chapter 7 may not be an ideal solution for a suspended drivers license:
1) the chapter 7 is only open for approximately 90 days, and they can simply re-suspend your license when it is over unless you pay all fines, tickets, etc., and
2) in chapter 7, tickets and government fines (even non-criminal) will not be discharged/erased like in a chapter 13.
So, generally, unless the fines that are holding your license back are minimal, chapter 13 is likely your best option to get your license back and start driving again. As soon as a bankruptcy is filed, our office will contact the proper parties to work on getting releases of the suspension. You will need to visit Washington State Department of Licensing and pay a fee to get your license reinstated. Typically, getting a suspended license back will take between one and four weeks after a chapter 13 is filed.
If your license is currently suspended for non payment of fines and tickets, contact our office today to see if we can help. You can reach us at 360-213-2722. We offer a free initial consultation and can go over all of your options.
