There are no minimum or maximum income levels when it comes to filing for bankruptcy. However, your income levels will determine which Chapter you may file under. Bankruptcy petitioners must complete a means test that is based on the median income for their state. If their income falls below these levels, then they will qualify [...]
One myth that often does the rounds suggests that bankruptcy is only for the poor. Having a job or any form of regular income is then thought to preclude bankruptcy. This is a complete myth. In fact, the Chapter 13 bankruptcy option is often referred to as the worker’s bankruptcy petition. Under a Chapter 13 [...]
Starting the bankruptcy process can be easy, or it can be difficult. It really does depend on your approach. Consulting a bankruptcy lawyer is the smartest move anyone can take. While legal assistance through the bankruptcy process is not exactly cheap, the amount your lawyer can save you when it comes to stress, time, and [...]
Under bankruptcy law, once a debtor files a petition for bankruptcy, creditors must immediately cease all collection activities. This is known as a ‘stay’ and affects every creditor whether secured or unsecured. It has often been used as a tactic to prevent foreclosure on a home mortgage or repossession of a motor vehicle. However, there [...]
One of the biggest myths associated with bankruptcy is that which suggests a person (or family) will lose everything (except the shirt on their back) by filing for bankruptcy. In most cases, the opposite is the truth. If your bankruptcy petition is well planned, then there is a good chance you will lose nothing except your [...]
Disposable income can be determined in many different ways depending on your reasons. If you apply for a mortgage, they will use a simple income minus debt formula. When it comes to bankruptcy, you can use a simple approach or a more detailed and deeper formula depending on which bankruptcy chapter you wish to file [...]
When a debtor files a petition for bankruptcy, they are informed that their petition will be a matter of public record. You may also read that filing for bankruptcy is never private, and that people will find out you are bankrupt. This can often cause concern for those in debt, and has often been a [...]
Bankruptcy deals quite effectively with unsecured debts. Under a Chapter 7 petition, the debtor’s non-exempt assets are seized and sold while the funds used to pay off some of the outstanding debt. Once these funds have been dispersed, and the court appointed trustee is satisfied there are no other funds available, the outstanding debts are [...]
Most people relate bankruptcy to either business going bust or to poor people who cannot afford to pay their bills. Those same people question the need for the wealthy to file for bankruptcy – after all, they are wealthy, right? If you were to take a simplistic view, then yes, they may be wealthy or [...]
If you are working but struggling to maintain your debts, then a Chapter 13 petition for bankruptcy offers a complex but neat solution to your debt problems. It takes on some of the concepts of debt consolidation, the major difference being you won’t normally be repaying the total outstanding debts. Under a Chapter 13 petition, [...]
That may sound like a trick question, but it’s not. In fact, there are many situations where you may want to buy an ‘asset’ while still going through the bankruptcy processes. A simple example is where your wide screen plasma television is seized and sold during the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process. Can you then buy [...]
Most people are afraid of being labeled a bankrupt, yet if your financial situations calls for it, it can be one of the best steps a person can take. By petitioning for bankruptcy, a debtor can have all their debt issues resolved, making it easier to get a fresh start. It’s not an easy process, [...]
There are two terms that are often used when it comes to individuals or businesses not being able to pay their debts – insolvency and bankruptcy. Are they the same thing? Technically speaking, they are not the same even though general language interchanges the two. Insolvency is a situation, generally used in business, that describes [...]
There are many people who are in financial difficulty who are in a position to choose between a Chapter 7 and a Chapter 13. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy is also referred to as a liquidation bankruptcy because you are required to liquidate a range of assets to help pay your debts. The Chapter 13 is [...]
When it comes to bankruptcy, there are two myths that stand out that should really be exploded. The first relates to how much debt you have with bar room lawyers often claiming you have to have a minimum amount debt before you can file for bankruptcy. The second myth is the biggest, and this myth [...]
Filing your bankruptcy petition is the first step in what may be either a very quick process, or a long drawn out process that can take from three to five years to complete. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition is by far the fastest and can be completed within four months. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition [...]
The act of filing for bankruptcy is fairly simple. Collect all the forms, fill them in and present them to your local court. You will need to collect certain documents to include with your filing, and you will need to pay a filing fee at the time you file. Sound simple? As simple as it [...]
For those in financial distress, taking up an offer to consolidate debt may sound quite attractive. Rather than having a handful of accounts that you owe money on, these accounts can all be paid off with the balances combined into a single debt. Generally speaking, the monthly payments are then much less than what was [...]
Filing your own bankruptcy petition is fraught with danger, even when your circumstances appear to be very simple. In fact, what appears to be simple to you may turn out to be quite complex once the process begins. You can download all the forms required to file for bankruptcy, or you can collect them in [...]
A lot of people worry about their social security benefits so they are reluctant to undertake actions such as filing for bankruptcy. If you compare what happens with social security benefits before, during, and after bankruptcy, your fears should be allayed. To begin with, your social security benefits are better protected during bankruptcy than they [...]
If you are considering filing a Chapter 7 petition for bankruptcy, and you have sizable debts, be warned – your petition could prove to be painful. Filing for a Chapter 7 is saying you cannot afford to make any payments to any of your unsecured (or secured) debtors. Secured debtors are generally well cared for [...]
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is the classification set aside for individuals, not businesses. As such, there are certain rules in place to protect both the debtor and the creditors to whom he owes money. Here are 5 distinct things you should know about Chapter 13 bankruptcy before you file: You must provide the court with a [...]
Bankruptcy is a serious situation. When you file for bankruptcy, you are basically saying that you can no longer service your debts. There is no way that our legal system will allow you to profit through the bankruptcy process. If it did, then everyone would rack up debt and file for bankruptcy. Then our economy [...]
For most individuals, there are two options for bankruptcy – a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13. Each chapter has its pros and cons. For many, the cons of a Chapter 13 petition for bankruptcy can be difficult to endure. Under a Chapter 7 petition, the debts and the debtor are normally discharged within three [...]
Debt in the United States is concentrated in two distinct areas – mortgage debt and credit card debt. These two debt areas account for 70% of all debt – if you include vehicle finance and medical debts, then you can lift that to almost 85% with tax being the next largest debt. Credit card debt [...]
When an individual reaches a point where their debts have become impossible to repay they may seek assistance through the bankruptcy court. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, the debtor (the person owing the money) may be subject to various recovery actions by the creditor (the lender). These actions include court and collections agents. Once a [...]
To demonstrate how complex bankruptcy law can be, owning a car can make a big difference between being eligible for a Chapter 7 petition, or for reducing payments in a Chapter 13 petition. This is where the expertise of a bankruptcy lawyer can really pay dividends, especially if you are seeking a Chapter 7 bankruptcy [...]
There are a lot of people in our community who wouldn’t have any credit at all if it wasn’t for a parent, friend, or relative who agreed to be a cosigner. For most of us, we got our first start along the credit highway by having a parent cosign our first loan. What happens to [...]
There are some groups within our community that often struggle financially. Single parents are one group that can find expenses suddenly getting out of hand. This is particularly true when their children start school, and becomes even harder once they enter high school. Bankruptcy is no different for single parents than any other group within [...]
If you seek debt relief through a Chapter 13 petition, then you will be required to enter into a debt repayment plan. This repayment plan is designed to pay off as much of your debt as possible over a three- to five-year period. Where a Chapter 7 petition seizes assets and sells them, the Chapter [...]
