You bought a home to make your life better, not worse.

Remember when you first thought about buying your home? How exciting it was, the thought of a permanent place to call your own? A safe place for your family to live, free from the hassles of rent?

The closing went by in a blur, a pile of papers to sign. Maybe they explained them to you, maybe not. You signed whatever they put in front of you, anxious to get it over with and move into the home you’d worked so hard to get.

Everyone was in such a good mood at the closing. The brokers, the title closers, the lawyers, even the bank were smiling and happy, congratulating you on your bright future.

That first night in the house was like a slice of heaven. Boxes everywhere, but what did it matter? You finally owned a piece of the American Dream.

The American Dream turned into the American Nightmare.

Somehow, the house was more expensive that you thought. Little things added up fast – fix the roof, broken pipe, property taxes, insurance . . . the list seemed to go on forever.

But the house was yours. It was tight, but things weren’t so bad. At least you were building equity.

Then, one day, something happened.  A job loss, illness, an unexpected expense that put you behind just a few dollars.

You tried to do the right thing, but the mortgage company didn’t want to hear about it.

That first month, you paid what you could. It wasn’t enough to make the full payment, but you wanted the mortgage company to know you were trying to live up to your end of the bargain.

What did they do? They hit you with a late fee and sucked your money into something called a “suspense account.” And then they demanded two full payments.

Meanwhile, your credit cards started getting backed up. After all, the choice was between the mortgage and Visa – it was pretty easy to decide who would get whatever money you had.

You called the credit card companies to let them know about the problem, and to ask for them to work with you. But what did they do?

They raised your interest rate, lowered your credit limit, tacked on late fees and finance charges, and threw you into collections!

Things went from bad to worse. Fast.

The increased interest rate made the payments unaffordable. After all, you were already just scraping by – how did they expect you to pay these bills and still feed your family?

Then the phone calls started coming. It felt like they were ganging up on you, calling one after the other. At home, at work. One of the creditors even started calling your family members trying to find you.

So you did what anyone would do – you stopped answering the phone. Every time it rang, you jumped a little bit and prayed for a miracle, maybe a huge raise at work or even a new job that would rescue you from the bills.

Meanwhile, the mortgage company was starting to send letters threatening to take away the house. They wanted payment in full for all the backed up payments, but there was no way that was going to happen.

It seemed like a bad dream. Everything you worked so hard for was going up in smoke. You needed some help, and fast.

Maybe a refinance would do the trick, help you bail out of this bad loan and get into something a little better. But with your credit in such bad shape there was no way you could qualify for a reasonable interest rate.

The bank was no help, either. They kept telling you they could restructure the mortgage for you, and you filled out a lot of papers, but your phone calls weren’t getting returned and they kept "losing" your papers. They were dragging their feet while the clock was ticking.

Then there were the “foreclosure rescue” outfits, shady characters who promised the moon and stars. Something just didn’t seem right about them—they were going to make a lot of money...off of the hard-earned equity in your home.

You were running out of options, and it felt like there was no way to get out of it.

The secret is that there is a real way — a legal, honorable way — to get out from under this crushing weight of overdue bills. For good.

The solution for lots of people in this situation is bankruptcy. Stop the foreclosure, keep the credit cards in check, and take a step back while you work on reorganizing your finances.

But everyone keeps telling you bankruptcy is the worst thing you could do.

NOT TRUE! In fact, bankruptcy gives you the chance to end your bill problems and re-build your life once and for all. Bankruptcy stops foreclosures, lawsuits, judgments and harassing collection letters at home and at work. Period.

Job loss, illness, divorce, wages that simply do not keep up with the ever-spiraling cost of living. These are just some of the reasons why so many honest, hard-working individuals and families in Maryland and Washington, D.C. find themselves in financial distress.

Many people don’t realize that Chapter 7, Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 may be a way to get a fresh financial start. But due to an incredible amount of false information, this may sound frightening. In fact, a lot of people walk around thinking that there’s no help for them, and no way out.

Finally, a lawyer who’s got the guts to tell you the truth about bankruptcy — and to let you know if it’s not right for you.

My name is Brett Weiss, and for the past thirty years I’ve fought hard for consumers throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C. I’ve put my heart and soul into helping people fight back against abusive debt collectors and the big banks that make you live your life in fear.   The fact is that most bankruptcy lawyers just want one thing, and that’s to get people to file for bankruptcy. It’s how they earn a living, after all. I do things a little differently. I know that bankruptcy isn’t the answer to every problem, which is why I’ll never try to shoehorn you into a bankruptcy filing unless it’s absolutely the right solution for you.

The bottom line is this: my job is to take care of my clients, to make sure that they get what they need, not what I need.

Don’t believe me? Listen to some of the other people I’ve helped.

Is a Chapter 7, Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 right for you? Can an attorney help end your financial problems?

The credit industry doesn't want you to know the facts about bankruptcy. They want to keep you in the dark because that makes it more likely you'll just pay up — even if it means you won't be able to take care of your family.

Want some independent proof of how credit card companies take advantage of people? Click here to watch The Secret History of the Credit Card, a special that aired on PBS Frontline.

And not only that . . . I want to give you some FREE information about bankruptcy. Most people come to me with more questions than answers.  That's why I'm giving you my exclusive series of bankruptcy information reports, all at no charge and no obligation. Delivered right to you by e-mail, this series will help you answer many of your questions. Just enter your information below and you'll get all the answers to your questions.
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Whether Chapter 7 , Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 is right for you, I can help you get a fresh start and get your personal finances back on track. You'll get an honest opinion from an attorney who will fight for you.

You owe it to yourself—and to your family and loved ones — to get the facts.

The bottom line is this: Americans are in more debt now than ever before. And credit card and mortgage companies do everything possible to keep you in debt. Using scare tactics and outrageous fees, it's easy for an honest, hard-working person to fall into a downward spiral. You need help, and that's why I'm here.

Sign up for free information. Sit back and read through this site. Learn what your rights are. Get the facts, all at no cost. Then, when you're ready to end your bill problems and jump start your good credit, call me at 301.924.4400. Set up a confidential, no-obligation case review.