Choosing the Right Filing When your business is experiencing financial difficulties, it's almost certain to have a detrimental impact on your personal finances as well. If you don't have the business resources to properly compensate yourself, you can easily fall behind on your mortgage, car payments or other obligations. The bankruptcy laws were … [Read more...]
Bankruptcy and Retirement Assets
November 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Can Your Retirement Assets Be Available to Creditors in a Bankruptcy Proceeding? It's no secret that medical expenses are one of the primary causes of personal bankruptcy filings in the United States. Unfortunately, as you age, your risk of health problems and substantial medical bills increases significantly. You may be edging in on retirement, … [Read more...]
Bankruptcy and Inheritance
November 21, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The bankruptcy laws are in place to give individuals an opportunity to start over again, allowing you to either discharge debts permanently or restructure your obligations with creditors. You may wonder, though, what happens after the bankruptcy is over. Suppose you file for protection, eliminate certain debts and then receive notice some months … [Read more...]
Can You File for Bankruptcy Again?
November 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Your Right to File Multiple Bankruptcy Petitions It can happen to just about anyone—you have an unexpected medical emergency that's not fully covered by insurance or you lose your job and it takes a while to find a new one. That's one of the reasons we have the bankruptcy laws in place—so that you can get a fresh start. But is bankruptcy a … [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...]
Things that You Can Do to Minimize the Risk of Bankruptcy
August 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The federal bankruptcy laws are in place for good reason—so that you can get a fresh start when the circumstances of life cause you to incur unmanageable debt. But the bankruptcy process is rarely a simple or stress-free one. If you can avoid filing for bankruptcy, you'll often be better off in the long run. Here are some simple strategies for … [Read more...]
Filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition for Your Small Business
July 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Running your own business can often be a precarious venture. If your business is experiencing serious financial challenges, you need to realistically assess whether it has the potential to succeed. Whether you want to try to salvage the business or just shut it down, a Chapter 7 (liquidation) bankruptcy filing may be helpful. First, though, you … [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...]
The Treatment of Condo Fees and Assessments in a Bankruptcy Filing
July 11, 2018 by Leave a Comment
When you've decided to get a fresh financial start with a bankruptcy filing, and part of your overall debt is in the form of past-due condominium dues or assessments, you need to be very careful—while a Chapter 7 petition may extinguish your liability on the debt, the HOA or condo association may still hold a lien on your property. If you seek … [Read more...]
Will a Bankruptcy Filing Stop All Legal Action against You?
June 21, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Some Legal Matters Are Not Affected by the Automatic Stay When you file a bankruptcy petition, seeking to discharge debts under Chapter 7 or reorganize your obligations under Chapter 13, an automatic stay immediately goes into effect. One of the effects of the automatic stay is the suspension of legal actions against you. But there are limits to … [Read more...]
