Why It’s Not a Good Idea to Handle Your Own Filing You’re struggling to meet your financial obligations, either because you lost your job, you’ve been sick or injured, or you’ve gone through a divorce. You may not own a lot of property and your financial circumstances may seem simple. Should you consider handling a bankruptcy filing on your own? … [Read more...]
What You Want When You Hire a Bankruptcy Lawyer
November 2, 2023 by
How to Know that You’ve Retained the Right Bankruptcy Counsel You’ve lost your job and are struggling to find new employment. Your bills are mounting, the phone is constantly ringing and you’re afraid to go to the mailbox. It’s clear that you need to at least talk with a bankruptcy attorney, to learn what your options are and whether a personal … [Read more...]
Are Lottery Winnings Part of a Bankruptcy Estate?
October 8, 2023 by
Can You Keep Money that You Win if You Have Filed for Bankruptcy Protection? If you’ve filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 7 and you hit it big in the Lotto, winning the Powerball or Mega-Millions, chances are good your financial troubles will be behind you. But what if you bought a lottery ticket and won a smaller, but significant, cash … [Read more...]
The Effect of a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy on a Lease or Contract
October 8, 2023 by
What If You Are Owed Money on an Unfinished Contract or Lease? You’re struggling to make ends meet and can see no way forward other than through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition. You may have some contracts or leaseholds that provide monthly income, though not enough to resolve your financial challenges. What happens to those leases and contracts … [Read more...]
Should You Reaffirm a Debt that’s in Chapter 7?
September 8, 2023 by
What Is Reaffirmation? When Is It a Good Idea? How Do You Reaffirm a Debt? You've lost your job or suffered an injury/illness that prevents you from working and meeting your financial obligations. You've submitted to the means test and qualify to discharge debts under Chapter 7. Are there good reasons not to discharge some of those debts, but to … [Read more...]
Converting a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy to a Chapter 7
September 8, 2023 by
Choosing Liquidation of Debt over Reorganization You've been experiencing financial difficulties and concluded that a personal bankruptcy filing is the best way forward. You wanted to keep all your assets, if possible, so you initially opted to file for reorganization of your debts under Chapter 13. It has become clear, though, that your financial … [Read more...]
Reestablishing Your Credit after a Bankruptcy Filing
July 4, 2023 by
The Best Ways to Rebuild Your Credit after a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 It's possible to make your way in the world without access to credit, but it's extremely difficult. You'll likely never be able to own your own home, and you'll likely be limited to driving older vehicles. That's one of the reasons why, in the aftermath of a bankruptcy filing, … [Read more...]
Bankruptcy and Credit Cards
July 4, 2023 by
How a Personal Bankruptcy Will Affect Your Ability to Own a Credit Card Unmanageable credit card debt is a common cause of many personal bankruptcy petitions. It's rarely the result of fraud, but typically tied to the loss of a job, an unexpected illness or a divorce. Credit card debt may be discharged in Chapter 7, provided you qualify, and may … [Read more...]
Advantages of Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
May 15, 2023 by
Why Chapter 13 May Still Be a Good Option When You Don't Qualify for Chapter 7 When you're facing personal financial challenges, there are generally two bankruptcy options that can give you a fresh start—a liquidation of debt under Chapter 7 and the reorganization of debt under Chapter 13. You must, however, qualify to discharge your debts under … [Read more...]
The Benefits of Taking the Texas State Bankruptcy Exemptions
May 15, 2023 by
Keep Most or All of Your Property in a Chapter 7 Filing in Texas When you file for protection under Chapter 7 of the American bankruptcy laws, you have the right to permanently discharge certain debts. In exchange, you must generally relinquish some of your assets to the bankruptcy trustee, so that they can be sold, with the proceeds distributed … [Read more...]
