How Long Is the Bankruptcy Process? When you're struggling to make ends meet with little or no prospect of improving your situation,you want relief and you want it as soon as possible. The automatic stay that comes with a bankruptcy filing will immediately end harassing calls, letters, and legal action from creditors. But how long do the broader … [Read more...]
Avoiding the Means Test in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing
January 24, 2020 by Leave a Comment
The Limited Circumstances Where You Don't Have to Submit to the Means Test When American bankruptcy law was amended in 2005, the framers of the revised Bankruptcy Code, with the intent of reducing the number of Chapter 7 petitions, added a requirement that debtors qualify for Chapter 7 by submitting to a means test. That test is designed to … [Read more...]
Filing for Chapter 7 Protection When You Want to Keep Your Home
September 4, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Using a Personal Bankruptcy Proceeding to Keep Your House One of the most common factors leading to the decision to file for bankruptcy protection is the inability to stay current on mortgage obligations. If you're in over your head, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding can allow you to permanently discharge certain debts. That usually involves … [Read more...]
The Simplest Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing
July 17, 2019 by Leave a Comment
A Successful Bankruptcy Petition Can Be Relatively Painless When you think about a bankruptcy, it's pretty common to envision complex financial calculations and lots of paperwork. While many personal bankruptcy filings are complex, and any bankruptcy petition should be made with the assistance of an experienced bankruptcy attorney, there are … [Read more...]
Discharging Debts or Damages from Business Litigation
June 13, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Can You Permanently Rid Yourself of Debts Incurred in Commercial Lawsuits? In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, available to individuals and businesses, you can permanently wipe out certain obligations in exchange to transferring "non-exempt" assets to the bankruptcy court to partially satisfy creditors. What happens if you are a small business … [Read more...]
Can You Discharge a Car Accident Verdict in Bankruptcy?
March 21, 2019 by Leave a Comment
It's not common that a private individual will have personal financial responsibility for damages suffered by another person in a motor vehicle accident. That's generally covered by automobile insurance. There are, however, isolated instances where you may be sued directly by another person, or by an insurance company, for losses incurred. Can you … [Read more...]
Situations Where Chapter 7 Bankruptcy May Not Be Available
August 24, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Under the federal bankruptcy laws, you can discharge most unsecured debts through a Chapter 7 proceeding, though you need to qualify by submitting to a means test first. Child support arrearages, student loan payments and tax obligations are generally not dischargeable, with extremely limited exceptions. There are other instances where bankruptcy … [Read more...]
Filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Protection to Deal with Mortgage and Property Tax Debts
July 25, 2018 by Leave a Comment
For most people facing financial challenges, it's the mortgage and property tax obligations that are hardest to pay, and typically in arrears. While you generally cannot discharge those types of payments in a Chapter 7 proceeding, you can use Chapter 13 to get some relief. Here's how it works. With a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, you'll have the … [Read more...]
How the Means Test in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Work—Part One
April 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment
It's been a requirement under the federal bankruptcy laws since 2005, but most people still don't have much understanding of what the "means test" is and how it works. When you choose to seek protection in a bankruptcy filing, you must now qualify to discharge debts in a Chapter 7 proceeding, demonstrating to the bankruptcy court that you lack the … [Read more...]
Stop a Home Foreclosure with Chapter 7 or 13
August 16, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The bankruptcy power called the "automatic stay"immediately stops a home foreclosurethe moment your bankruptcy is filed. What happens after that depends on whether you file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case, and on what you want to accomplish. Buy Some Time with Chapter 7 A Chapter 7 "straight bankruptcy" cancels an immediately pending foreclosure … [Read more...]
