The Online Bankruptcy Blog

Good infographic from disabilitylawyer.com- Via: Disability Lawyer

There is one area of an individual’s finances that really peeves bankruptcy lawyers, and that’s their taxation returns. You can only file for a Chapter 7 petition for bankruptcy if your tax returns are all up to date. It’s not unusual for a bankruptcy attorney to send a client to the local tax office as [...]

When filing a Chapter 7 petition for bankruptcy, you can include reaffirmations of secured loans. These would typically involve your home and your motor vehicle. Reaffirmation is a process that advises the court that you are maintaining full responsibility for the loan, and that it isn’t to be included in the bankruptcy process. There are some [...]

While filing for bankruptcy is a legal process that involved the Bankruptcy Court, few petitioners ever get to see a bankruptcy judge. Once you have filed your bankruptcy  petition, the paperwork makes its way to a bankruptcy trustee. It is their job to manage the bankruptcy process all the way though to its conclusion. While [...]

When people are pushed, their emotions take over and they often do rash things. Being hopelessly behind in debts such as a mortgage often triggers this response, especially if threatened with court actions or foreclosures. Here are four actions that some people often take when threatened with bankruptcy – and they generally lead to more [...]

Not being able to pay bills is one thing, but filing for bankruptcy is another. Many people find it difficult to file for bankruptcy, even though they are up to their eye-balls in debt. Some debtors hide from creditors, some even reaching a point where they are too afraid to open a door or answer [...]

In what many would consider an absurdity, the cost of filing for bankruptcy is set to rise. It’s not a huge rise, but when you’re broke, any additional costs hurt.  What is important for anyone who is considering bankruptcy is that the cost of filing for bankruptcy is charged every time you lodge a petition. [...]

Bankruptcy is a tool that is designed to help people who are underwater with debt gain a fresh start. While that is sound in principle, there is one group in our society who don’t really need a fresh start, they just need a clean end, and that’s the elderly. We have a rapidly growing senior [...]

People are often wary about filing for bankruptcy, often based on stories they have heard about the process. In most cases, those stories are nothing more than myths and once the air is cleared, they find that bankruptcy is not only not scary, it was the best thing they ever did. Here are ten bankruptcy [...]

Personal bankruptcy is often seen as a low point in people’s lives. It shouldn’t be. The low point should be the event that has forced you into considering bankruptcy, for example, illness or job loss. Bankruptcy itself should be viewed as an opportunity for a fresh start – after all, that is the real reason [...]

A bankruptcy creditors meeting is known by its technical name – a 341a meeting. This is a meeting that is called by the court-appointed trustee and includes all of your listed creditors, your lawyer (if you have engaged one), and both yourself and your partner (if you have filed a joint petition). While the event [...]

The leading cause for bankruptcy in the U.S. is credit card debt. Yet filing for bankruptcy to resolve this debt is not always the best option. However, there is certainly one practice that every citizen should avoid, and that’s ignoring a court summons for a default judgement. In fact, credit card companies are relying on [...]

Mention the term bankruptcy and most people think it’s escape from debt responsibilities. This is not always the case. While most debtors do have some or all of their debt discharged (wiped) through bankruptcy, some debtors use the bankruptcy process to control their debt repayments and to pay off all of their debt. This is [...]

Under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan, you set aside an agreed amount each month which is used to pay down some of your debts. The trustee’s role is to pay debts in a specific order: priority debts, secured debts, unsecured debts. However, the trustee doesn’t do this for free – they charge 10% as a [...]

When a husband and wife are both working, credit can be easy to manage. However, if just one of that couple loses their job, that credit can suddenly get out of control. There are some bankruptcy proponents who suggest filing for bankruptcy as soon as you lose your job rather than waiting for your debt [...]

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition lasts for a minimum of three years (maximum five years) and given the turbulence we have seen in the economy in recent years, anything can happen in that three year period. The prime factor behind a Chapter 13 petition for bankruptcy is the payment plan that debtors enter in to. [...]

Whether a person is buying a car, filing tax reports, renting an apartment or running for political office, the establishment of their net worth is essential. Businesses must calculate net worth each time a financial report is filed. In order to arrive at an accurate estimate of net worth a person must know two basic [...]

Getting behind in debts can result in a number of outcomes. When it comes to a mortgage, your lender can foreclose and sell the home. For credit cards, the most common action is a wage garnishment while cars are generally repossessed and sold. In all three cases, timely intervention using a petition for bankruptcy can [...]

Bankruptcy is an insolvency solution that will have a serious impact on your finances. It’s designed to help people with unmanageable debts who simply can’t afford to repay them within a realistic amount of time – and is basically considered a suitable approach only once all other potential solutions have been considered. However, if bankruptcy [...]

Being unemployed puts a severe strain on a family’s income. So much so that the majority of bankruptcy petitions are made under the protection of a Chapter 7. This liquidates any eligible assets then discharges any remaining eligible debt. What if you’re about to start work – can you still file for bankruptcy? The answer [...]

Bankruptcy can affect anyone at any time in their life. It only takes illness, the loss of a job, or a scam artist and suddenly you are in debt up to your neck. There have been some famous modern day bankruptcy cases, however, our history is full of famous people who built fortune or fame [...]

When filing for bankruptcy, or facing foreclosure on a home, there is a temptation to just walk away from that home and let the lender have it. The lender will still need to go through the foreclosure process to reclaim that home, and that can take months. While you will no longer have any liability [...]

There are a lot of government (both state and federal) programs around at present, most directed towards those facing foreclosure. Can these programs save you from bankruptcy? In short, the answer has to be no since they are designed to help you deal with your mortgage. However, if you are smart, and can take advantage [...]

Once a personal bankruptcy petition has been filed, the petitioner must complete a Debtor Education course. You must provide proof of your attendance and completion of this course, otherwise your bankruptcy petition will not proceed to the final stage, your discharge and the discharging of any debts. The Debtor Education course (often referred to as [...]

If you watch TV or read newspapers, you’ll notice there has been an increase in the number of debt consolidation offers over the last five years. Debt consolidation offers those underwater in debt a way out by consolidating all debt into one monthly payment. There are several problems with debt consolidation, the first sticking point [...]

Bankruptcy should never affect one’s current employment, but what about future employment? There are some sections of the business community that will sometimes balk at employing someone who has been through bankruptcy. A good example is the banking community, after all, they want strong financial managers, not individuals who have lost control of their finances. [...]

While divorce is said to put a legal end to a marriage, it does not put a legal end to any debts that were accumulated during that marriage. In fact, if you are a cosigner in any debts, with or without marriage, then you are equally (or not so equally) responsible for those debts. Bankruptcy [...]

If you are considering filing for a Chapter 13 petition for bankruptcy, then it’s important to understand what is required for a payment plan to gain the approval of the trustee. Your payment plan is calculated by subtracting allowable living expenses from your income – the balance is referred to as disposable income. While every [...]

When a business files for bankruptcy, it has a choice of filing a Chapter 7 (also known as a liquidating) bankruptcy, or a Chapter 11 (also known as a reorganization) bankruptcy. Under some circumstances, the business may be able to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and while this is similar to a Chapter 11, there [...]

In what would seem to be a bit of an oxymoron, but there is little assistance available for those below the poverty line who wish to file for bankruptcy. On a national level, the poverty line is $22,314 for a family of four and $11,139 for a single person. Latest figures have shown an increase in [...]