Bankruptcy
Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 guidance, including automatic stay protection, exemptions, and a practical path to a fresh start. Federally designated debt relief agency.
Established counsel · Over 50 years in practice
Clear advice when the stakes are personal.
Bankruptcy, family law, divorce, criminal appeals, and civil litigation — handled with the judgment that only decades of practice can give.
50+Years practicing law
5Core practice areas
VA · MD · DCAdmitted and experienced
What we handle
Practice areas
Focused representation for people facing debt, family disruption, appeals, and civil disputes.
Family law & divorce
Domestic relations matters handled with discretion — from separation and divorce to the property and support issues that follow.
Civil litigation
General civil practice including real property, employment, taxation, and personal injury matters that need a seasoned courtroom lawyer.
Criminal appeals
Appellate work for clients who need a careful review of the record, the law, and the next available remedy.
Reorganization advice
When catching up on a house or car loan is the goal, Chapter 13 can create time and structure that a lender will not offer on its own.
Direct access
A solo practice means you speak with the attorney handling the file. Call 703-798-8176 or write dejones@erols.com.
David E. Jones
Attorney at Law
History & background
A career built in public service, then private practice.
David E. Jones has practiced law for more than fifty years. His private practice emphasizes bankruptcy and also includes domestic relations, real property, employment, taxation, personal injury, general civil litigation, and criminal appellate work.
Before opening his own office he served in Washington, D.C. at the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Indian Affairs Division of the Interior Department’s Office of Solicitor, and the Division of Surface Mining in the same office.
He earned a B.B.A. in economics from Kent State University in 1967 and a J.D. from The Ohio State University College of Law in 1969. He is a member of the Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Bar Association and co-authored “Subsidence Regulation Under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.”
Ohio Bar, 1970
Virginia Bar, 1973
D.C. Bar, 1987
Maryland federal courts, 1995
Also admitted before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Tax Court, the D.C. and Fourth Circuits, and federal district and bankruptcy courts in Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and Northern Ohio.
About bankruptcy
A discharge, and a way to keep what matters.
The object of bankruptcy is a discharge. That result is reached in two ways: liquidation under Chapter 7, or reorganization under Chapters 11 or 13.
This office is a federally designated Debt Relief Agency under the United States Bankruptcy Laws. We help people find solutions to debt problems, including, where appropriate, filing petitions for relief under the Bankruptcy Code.
Figures and examples below are drawn from the firm’s long-standing explainer and are educational. Debt limits, exemption amounts, and trustee fees change. Current numbers should be confirmed before any filing.
Bankruptcy in brief
Chapter 7 is typically a “no asset” case for the consumer debtor: exemptions protect ordinary property, unsecured debts are discharged, and creditors often receive nothing. Chapter 13 is for people with regular income who are behind on a house or car and want time — often 36 months, and up to 60 months for cause — to catch up while an automatic stay stops foreclosure or repossession.
Filing a petition triggers the automatic stay. A sale scheduled for tomorrow can be halted by a petition filed today. After filing, the main court appearance is the meeting of creditors, which is actually a short meeting with the trustee about a month later.
Chapter 7 and the fresh start
After the meeting of creditors there is generally a 60-day waiting period. If no creditor objects, a discharge order typically follows. Support obligations, certain recent taxes, and most government-guaranteed student loans are among the debts that usually survive. Keep the discharge order and the petition; mortgage underwriters often ask for both later.
Chapter 13, cramdown, and catching up
Reorganization means paying creditors at least part of what is owed through a plan. A typical plan might cure a mortgage arrearage over 36 months and pay unsecured creditors a dividend. In some cases a depreciated car loan can be split into secured and unsecured portions — a “cramdown” — though Bankruptcy Reform limited that tool for many recent purchase-money car loans.
Life after bankruptcy
A bankruptcy can remain on a credit report for ten years, but you may borrow again after discharge. Payment history is what lenders watch. You can obtain free annual reports at annualcreditreport.com and dispute errors with Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Mortgage timing rules are more flexible than they used to be; ask about current seasoning requirements rather than relying on older one- and two-year rules of thumb.
Means test and counseling
Before filing, consumer debtors take a credit-counseling course; a financial-management course is required before discharge. Households above median income face the means test, which can push a case from Chapter 7 into Chapter 13. Whether that applies depends on current median-income tables and your last six months of income — not on old published examples.
Location & contact
Talk with counsel before the next deadline.
Call, email, or send a short note. Do not include confidential details until an attorney-client relationship is formed.
Office
201 Brookwood Drive
Williamsburg, VA 23185
Telephone: 703-798-8176
Email: dejones@erols.com
Consultations by appointment. Directions available when you call.