An automatic stay is a court injunction that automatically stops lawsuits, foreclosures, wage garnishments, and other collection activity against a debtor the moment that a bankruptcy petition is filed. Automatic stays provide debtors with immediate relief from all types of collection activity (for example, threatening letters and phone calls) and have been described as the financial equivalent of a "restraining order." An automatic stay will generally stay in place until a bankruptcy case is over unless it is lifted for a particular creditor to pursue payment for a certain debt.
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