Bankruptcy is Available Immediately, with Only Some Limited Conditions Bankruptcy is federal law, so there is no waiting period to file bankruptcy after moving from one state to another. However, even though bankruptcy is federal law it incorporate state laws in many ways. Probably the biggest practical way state laws matter in bankruptcy … [Read more...]

Including Your House Debts in Bankruptcy Both Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” and Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” can help you keep your house. Be sure you talk to an attorney to understand how they can do so. Believe it or not, under some circumstances you can significantly reduce your monthly payments, and even reduce the debt against your … [Read more...]

“Straight Bankruptcy” and Secured Debts A secured debt is one in which in which you have in effect made two agreements with your creditor: 1) you agreed to pay the amount you owe, and 2) you agreed to surrender the collateral if you don’t pay. So with a secured debt, if you don’t keep up on your payments, the creditor has the right to repossess … [Read more...]

The Majority of Bankruptcies are Chapter 7s In the U.S. overall, generally about twice as many Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” cases are filed than Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” ones. In 2014, for example, about 619,000 bankruptcies filed were Chapter 7s and about 310,000 were Chapter 13s, an almost exactly two-to-one ratio in favor of Chapter … [Read more...]

Some income taxes can be discharged in bankruptcy. Some can’t. It depends mostly, but not completely, on the how old the tax is. To discharge an income tax debt, that particular tax must meet all of four main conditions. So to some extent it’s easy—you’re just checking off these conditions to see that they are all met. But on another level, it’s … [Read more...]

There are certain rare but potentially very helpful situations in which you would be happy to hand over some of your assets to your bankruptcy trustee. Your Usual Goal — a “No-Asset” Case When you file a bankruptcy case, you usually want to keep for yourself whatever possessions you own. And most of the time that’s what happens. Bankruptcy is … [Read more...]

Even if your income is higher than the “median income,” you may still be able to pass the means test by going through the expenses part of the test. There are a number of ways to pass the means test so that you can file a Chapter 7 case. The easiest way is if your income is no more than the “median income” amount for your state and family size. … [Read more...]

Most people can pass the means test and qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy simply because their income is no more than the “median income” for their state and family size. If you are considering bankruptcy, this blog can help you find out if you are among the many people whose income easily qualifies them for Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy.” The … [Read more...]