Does the Automatic Stay Immediately Stop All Collection Efforts?

The Automatic Stay

The automatic stay is one of the more powerful protections available to a person who has filed a bankruptcy. As soon as your case is filed, the automatic stay goes into effect. The automatic stay puts an immediate stop to any and all collection activity. This means that creditors cannot continue or begin lawsuits against you, cannot make collection calls, cannot repossess cars, cannot proceed with foreclosures, cannot continue to garnish your wages, and cannot continue to freeze your bank accounts. In general, the automatic stay remains in effect until a discharge is received.