But Chapter 13 provides a number of other benefits distinct from the discharge of debts. For example, it stops a foreclosure and gives you years to catch up on your mortgage arrears. It also stops extremely aggressive collection of unpaid support payments, including the suspension of professional/occupational/driver’s licenses, again giving you years to bring it current. It may be able to significantly reduce what you pay for your vehicle through a “cram down.” For these and other reasons it can make a lot of sense to file a Chapter 13 case while knowing that you’ll not get a discharge of any of your debts. You may not even have any debts to discharge, but just need one or more of those other powerful benefits.
Source: schoenbohmlaw.com
Video: Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney
Contact a Bankruptcy Attorney for Help Filing Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
The Trustee Another resource to turn to throughout bankruptcy may be your estate’s trustee. In both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your assets will be turned over to a neutral third party to be sold off in an effort to pay off your creditors. These individuals are professionals, often with decades of accounting and bankruptcy experience. If you have any questions, your trustee is a great person to reach out to.
Source: goldenstatelawca.com
Don’t Go Alone: A Bankruptcy Law Blog: What to do when you receive a Notice of Bankruptcy? Step 1: Identify the Chapter
As you can see the title of the Notice identifies whether it is a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case. The notices differ as well in terms of the instructions they may provide because of the differences in these types of cases. Below we explain a little more about why the type of case matters. If you would like more information about bankruptcy visit our website. The most common types of bankruptcy that you will encounter are Chapter 7, 11 and 13. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy sometimes referred to as “liquidation”, is designed for debtors in financial difficulty who do not have the ability to pay their existing debts. Chapter 7 is available to both individuals and businesses. Under Chapter 7 the debtor may claim certain property as exempt under the governing law. A trustee may have the right to take possession of and sell the remaining property that is not exempt and use the sale proceeds to pay your creditors. After liquidation of these non-exempt assets, all remaining qualified debts are then discharged and the creditors are out of luck. Chapter 11 Bankruptcy sometimes referred to as “reorganization”, is designed for debtors in financial difficulty who may have the ability to pay their existing debts in part. Chapter 11 is available to both individuals and businesses, though is more typical for businesses. Under Chapter 11 the debtor must propose a plan that results in more payments to debtors than they would get under a liquidation. The plan must be approved by a council of creditors. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy involves the repayment of all or part of the debts of an individual with regular income. Chapter 13 is designed for individuals with regular income who desire to pay their debts in installments over a period of time. Debtors are only eligible for Chapter 13 if your debts do not exceed certain dollar amounts set forth in the Bankruptcy Code. Under Chapter 13, the debtor must file with the Bankruptcy Court a plan to repay their creditors all or part of the money they owe, using future earnings. The period allowed by the court to repay the debts may be three (3) to five (5) years. The court must approve the plan before it can take effect. Our next post will address the following step for identifying what you should do with this notice after you have identified the type of bankruptcy: Are you actually a creditor, or did you receive the Notice for some other reason?
Source: blogspot.com
Chapter 7 bankruptcy filed by recycling firm
In Roscoe, Total Waste was referred to at times humorously as a company assisting residents to recycle “whether they like it or not.” Residents of the town were encouraged to put general garbage and items to be recycled into the same container, with the company doing the work of sorting things out to see which items were suitable for recycling processing. This feature of their service was reportedly popular with customers and was believed to have resulted in a greater amount of recycling taking place.
Source: affordablebankruptcychicago.com
Bankruptcy reform and abuse in filing Chapter 7
“In FY (fiscal year) 2011, approximately 13 percent of chapter 7 debtors had income above their respective states’ medians. Of the cases filed by debtors with income above the state median, 7 percent were presumed abusive under the means test. However, after considering a debtor’s special circumstances, the Program exercised its statutory discretion to decline to seek dismissal in about 63 percent of the presumed abusive cases in which the debtor did not voluntarily convert or dismiss the case.”
Source: bankruptcylawnetwork.com
Debt Limits in Chapter 13, is it time to File Chapter 11?
In a Chapter 13 case, an individual must have regular income and must owe less than a certain amount of debt in some categories. The maximum amount of secured debt (debt secured by collateral – like your home and cars) allowed in a chapter 13 bankruptcy is currently $1,010,650.00. The maximum allowed unsecured debt allowed in a Chapter 13 is $336,900. USC section 506. Defines what is an unsecured debt. With respect to the value of Real Property that equals the amount of the loan attached to that Real Property, there is no unsecured portion contributes to your unsecured debt. For example, if you own a house with a value of $500,000 and the loan attached to that property is $250,000, the difference of those amount is considered unsecured debt, which is added to the unsecured debt that you already have.
Source: piklawgroup.com
On Seven Year Anniversary for Bankruptcy Reforms: Debtors Hurt, Creditors Not Helped
“In FY (fiscal year) 2011, approximately 13 percent of chapter 7 debtors had income above their respective states’ medians. Of the cases filed by debtors with income above the state median, 7 percent were presumed abusive under the means test. However, after considering a debtor’s special circumstances, the Program exercised its statutory discretion to decline to seek dismissal in about 63 percent of the presumed abusive cases in which the debtor did not voluntarily convert or dismiss the case.”
Source: richardsonlawoffices.com
ALI CLE: Continuing Legal Education Seminars in Multiple Formats
ALI CLE is a leading provider of continuing legal education online and offline. We offer CLE through participation in live events, online courses, mp3 downloads, CLE books, and publications. The ALI CLE volunteer CLE speakers and writers have consisted of thousands of the most prominent lawyers, legal academics and judges in the United States.
Source: ali-cle.org
What Bankruptcy is Right for Me?
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Chapter 7 bankruptcy consists mainly of a liquidation process whereby a portion of your assets are sold to pay off debt obligations. Often referred to as individual or consumer bankruptcy, this form of bankruptcy can often take anywhere between 3 to 6 months to complete. A court appointed trustee will often sell property that secures your debt in order to pay off your creditors. You get to retain some of your personal items, including household furnishings, clothing and other possessions – this can sometimes include even your car and your home as long as their value doesn’t exceed certain limits set by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. To be eligible for Chapter 7, the filer must either have a median family income level that falls below the national average or else pass a means test that determines if the margin of excess income exceeds that allowed by the bankruptcy code.
Source: freshstartlaw.com
What Is a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?
The answer is a Chapter 13 filing, also known as “reorganization.” In this filing the debtor submits a plan showing how the debtor will pay off some of their past due and current debts. The debtor is able to keep most of their property. In a plan filed with the court and approved by the trustee, the debtor will have three to five years to catch up on delinquent accounts. Chapter 13 is convenient for the debtor: they make one monthly payment to the trustee, who distributes the money directly to the creditors. If a debtor is considering a Chapter 13 filing, they need to be aware of the individual filing guidelines. An individual debtor can file if their unsecured debts are below $360,475, and secured debts are less than $1,081,400.
Source: lakelandlawyers.net