Bankruptcy Blog

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is called a straight bankruptcy because it is a liquidation of your assets. An individual will give their non-exempt property to a court appointed trustee who converts the assets to cash and redistributes the proceeds to the creditors. The debt will be discharged between four and six months. Many individuals who file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will have no assets this type of bankruptcy is called a “no asset” case. If you do have property, there are certain assets that will be exempt from the bankruptcy.

Most bankruptcyhome.com/secured-and-unsecured-debt.htm”title=”what is unsecured debt” >unsecured debt will be discharged by filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy including: hospital bills, unsecured personal loans and credit card debt. Individuals, corporations, partnerships and couples may all qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy can be easy, quick and inexpensive.

The first step in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is to meet with your Oklahoma Bankruptcy Attorney. You bankruptcy attorney will determine if you qualify to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. If you qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, your Oklahoma Bankruptcy Lawyer will file your bankruptcy petition in the bankruptcy court serving your area. In addition to the bankruptcy petition, you attorney will file a schedule of your liabilities and assets, a list of your expenses and income, information about your financial affairs and information about all of your leases and contracts.

After the bankruptcy petition is file, an automatic stay will temporarily force all creditors to stop debt collection efforts. Under Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, a bankruptcy judge may determine there is cause and allow debt collection efforts to continue.

In 2005, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Act (BAPCPA) made it more difficult for individuals to qualify to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Individuals now must take a credit counseling course prior to bankruptcy, complete a financial management course prior to the discharge of their debt and pass an income test to qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

Under the BAPCPA, you will have to pass an income test to see if you qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. The income test will measure your monthly income against the median income of other households of similar size in the state of Oklahoma. If the income test determines your income is less or the same as the median income of other Oklahoma residents, you can file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. If your median income is higher, you must pass additional “means tests”.

The means test is used to figure out if you have enough disposable income after subtracting your expenses such as home mortgage payment, car payment, taxes, child support and tuition (up to $1650) to make payments on your unsecured debt. If you can pay $6,000 or 100 per month over the next 60 months in debt repayment, you may have to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. If you can not do this, but you could pay up to 25% of your income toward debt repayment over the next 60 months, you may have to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. The goal of the tougher law is to force more individuals with disposable income to make debt payments by filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

State median data is provided by the United States Trustee Program. For the State of Oklahoma, after March 15, 2009, the median income for a single wage earner in the state of Oklahoma was $38,244 and for a family of two it was $51,322. For a family of three it was $54,494 and for a family of four it was $62,049.

The information provided for means testing is general information and should not be considered legal advice. To find out if you can file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy it is important to talk to an Oklahoma Bankruptcy Attorney.

Bankruptcy laws were created by the federal government to provide a plan that allows an individual who is unable to pay his creditors, a chance to resolve his debt obligations through a division of his assets among his creditors.

Bankruptcy law provides the framework for the division and will ensure that all creditors are treated with a measure of equality. If you file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you may be able to free yourself of most of your accumulated unsecured debt and obligations, after your assets are distributed. Discharging of the debt will occur even if the debts are not paid in full. If you file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, your unsecured debt obligations will not be discharged immediately, but you will have a chance to repay a portion or all of your debt with a new repayment plan.

Filing bankruptcy is a major financial decision and should not be done with out consulting an Oklahoma Bankruptcy Attorney. An Oklahoma Bankruptcy Attorney can answer you bankruptcy questions, review your assets, debts and income and determine what type of bankruptcy you can file.

You might consider filing bankruptcy if:

• You can only afford to pay the minimum payments on credit cards and loans
• You are constantly receiving notices from creditors or harassing phone calls that your bills are past due
• You can not make your mortgage payment each month
• You are unable to pay your bills due to a job loss, divorce, separation, death or high medical costs
• You are only paying the minimum amounts on your bills
• You will not be able to budget yourself out of debt within five years
• You are facing a home foreclosure

If you file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy or Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, there will be certain debts that will not be considered dischargeable. All non-dischargeable debt is decided by federal bankruptcy law and will be the same regardless of where you live.

If you have questions regarding the type of debts you have, it is important to talk to a Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorney. If you decide not to pay your non-dischargeable debt, creditors do have the legal authority to continue their debt collection efforts, even if you are under bankruptcy protection.

In the state of Minnesota, the following debts will not be discharged by filing bankruptcy:

• Federal, state and local taxes. May be subject to specific time rules.
• Spousal Support/Alimony
• Child Support Payments
• Most Student Loans
• Mortgage Liens
• Certain types of purchases for luxury items within 90 days of filing
• Secure Debt
• Penalties and fines by government agencies
• Fraud committed in a fiduciary role including larceny and embezzlement
• Punitive damages assessed for “willful and malicious acts”
• Debts not outlined on the schedule and forms filed with the Bankruptcy Court
• Drunk Driving fines
• Certain cash advances or purchases for luxury items with in a certain time frame.

Due to the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Act (BAPCPA) of 2005, many individuals will have to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. One of the benefits of filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is your assets will not be liquidated. You may be able to keep your home and other personal property. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will also stop certain wage garnishments and end creditor calls.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will allow you create a structured repayment plan and work with your creditors to repay your unsecure debt with in three to five years. Unfortunately, your debts will not be discharged immediately, but will be discharged at the end of 3 to 5 years.

A Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorney can help you create your bankruptcy repayment plan, file all bankruptcy forms and appear in court for you. The bankruptcy court will assign a trustee to manage your payment plan and work with your creditors to repay the debt. If you are under Chapter 13 Bankruptcy protection, creditors will not legally be able to contact you unless it is for non-dischargeable debt that is not covered by the bankruptcy repayment plan.

The federal government has determined that certain assets and property are protected from the bankruptcy process. These assets are called exemptions. Exemptions are decided at the federal level, but certain states have also outlined their own state bankruptcy exemptions. Many states will allow you to use the federal or the state bankruptcy exemption list. Other states will only let you choose the state bankruptcy exemption list.

In the State of Minnesota you may choose either the federal bankruptcy exemptions or the state of Minnesota Bankruptcy Exemptions.

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy has become more difficult with the passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Act (BAPCPA) of 2005. Prior to 2005, most people were able to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and discharge most of their unsecured debt with in four to six months. Unsecured debt may include: unsecured personal loans, hospital bills and credit card debt. The BAPCPA stiffened bankruptcy requirements by forcing all individuals to pass an income test and credit counseling course before they can file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and pass a financial management course prior to the discharge of their debt.

If you qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, it is the easiest, most common, and least expensive type of bankruptcy. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is a liquidation bankruptcy. A trustee will be assigned to your case to help sell your assets and use the money from the sale to repay your creditors. All creditors are paid according to the priority they are assigned under federal bankruptcy law. Individuals, corporations, partnerships and married couples all may be able to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

It is important to contact a Minnesota Bankruptcy Lawyer who can file your petition, schedule and Statement of Financial Affairs. You will be required to provide a list of all of your assets, income, expenses, properties and creditor names. After the petition is filed there will be a temporary automatic stay which will stop all creditor calls. The stay may be lifted if a bankruptcy judge determines there is “cause”.

The main change under the BAPCPA is the income test. The income test will compare your median income to the median income of other Minnesota residents. If your median income is lower compared to other families of similar size, you may be able to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. If your median income is higher, you will have to complete additional means testing to determine if you have enough disposable income to pay your debts.

Means testing subtracts your expenses from your gross income. Expenses can include your house payment, car payment, taxes owed, child support and limited school tuition (maximum $1650). After the expenses are subtracted, if you have enough disposable income to pay $6,000 or $100 per month toward debt repayment in the next 60 months, you may have to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. If you can not pay this amount, but you could pay up to 25% of your disposable income toward debt repayment over the next 60 months, you may have to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

The goal of the BAPCPA is to force more individuals to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy so they can repay all or most of their debt obligations. Means testing is complicated. A Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorney can help you determine if you can file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

State median data is provided by the United States Trustee Program. For the State of Minnesota, after March 15, 2009, the median income for a single wage earner is $47,592 and for a family of two it is $62,073. For a family of three it is $75,603 and for a family of four it is $87,634.

Do you find yourself avoiding creditor calls or not opening your mail? Do you have skyrocketing medical costs and credit card bills you can not pay? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. Last year over one million individuals had to file personal bankruptcy.

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy may allow you to discharge all or most of your unsecured debt with in four to six months. Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy may allow you to create a more favorable repayment plan to discharge your unsecured debt with in three to five years.

The federal bankruptcy process was created to help anyone who doe not have the ability to pay their creditors by creating a legal method to discharge or restructure their debt and allow them to start over.

Filing personal bankruptcy may allow you to:

• Eliminate most or all of your unsecured debt
• Stop creditor calls
• Erase credit card balances, penalties and interest
• Stop certain wage garnishments
• Stop property repossessions
• Eliminate medical bills

If you are going to file bankruptcy in Minnesota, it is important to contact a Minnesota Bankruptcy Lawyer. A bankruptcy attorney can determine if you qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy is an important financial decision with long term financial consequences and should not be done with out help from an experienced Minnesota Bankruptcy Lawyer.

If you are unable to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or if you have substantial assets you would like to keep, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy may be an option for you or your family. Chapter 13 is not a liquidation bankruptcy, but will allow you to keep your assets by restructuring your debt under a three to five year bankruptcy repayment schedule. Under the repayment schedule, you will repay a portion or all of your debt, but at the end of the schedule, if you complete the debt repayment plan, your qualifying debt will be discharged.

If you choose to file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, there are certain assets that may be excluded from the bankruptcy process. Most bankruptcy laws are constructed at the federal level including federal bankruptcy exemptions, but unlike most bankruptcy laws, many states have created their own list of state bankruptcy exemptions which may allow you to “opt out” of the federal choices.

Depending on the state where you live, you may be able to chose either the state or federal exemptions or you may have to choose the state exemption list. In the state of Georgia, federal exemptions are not allowed and you must choose the Georgia State Exemption list.  Prior to filing bankruptcy in Georgia, it is important to discuss your assets and which ones may be exempt with a Georgia Bankruptcy Attorney.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is the easiest, cheapest and quickest bankruptcy process. If you are an individual, partnership, married couple or corporation you may be able to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is a “liquidation” bankruptcy and your assets will be sold to pay your personal debt. After you file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, the Georgia bankruptcy court will assign a trustee who will sell your non-exempt assets and use the proceeds from the sale to pay your creditors. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy usually takes four to six months to complete and at the end of this time period, qualifying unsecured debt will be discharged.

Current bankruptcy laws have made it more difficult to qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Changes in the bankruptcy law now require individuals to take a credit counseling course prior to filing bankruptcy and a financial management course. Many individuals who may at one time have qualified to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will now have to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and repay a portion or all of their debt.

To determine if you can file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, testing will be done to review your income. If your income is below the median income levels for the state of Georgia, for a family of your size, you may qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. If your median income is above the Georgia median income levels, more “means testing” will have to be done.

In general, means testing will analyze your expenses including your house and car payments, school expenses up to a threshold amount and taxes you owe. If after the testing is complete you can afford to pay at least $6,000 or $100 per month in debt repayment for the next five years you may be forced to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

The state median income list provided by the United States Trustee program will help you determine if your income is below the median income. In the state of Georgia, beginning March 15, 2009, the median income level for a single wage earner was $40,760.  For a family of two it was $54,054 and for a family of three it was $61,959. For a family of four it was $71,554.

The means testing information is general information. A Georgia Bankruptcy Attorney should be contacted to discuss your financial situation to help you determine if you will qualify to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Georgia.

If you file personal bankruptcy, some of your debts will not be discharged. The federal bankruptcy laws determine what debts are not discharged in all states, so the debts not discharged in Georgia will be the same as other states. Failure to pay these debts will allow your creditors to legally continue their debt collection efforts.

The following debts are not discharged through the bankruptcy process in the state of Georgia:

• Federal, state and local taxes. May be subject to specific time rules.
• Spousal Support/Alimony
• Child Support Payments
• Most Student Loans
• Mortgage Liens
• Certain types of purchases for luxury items within 90 days of filing
• Secure Debt
• Penalties and fines by government agencies
• Fraud committed in a fiduciary role including larceny and embezzlement
• Punitive damages assessed for “willful and malicious acts”
• Debts not outlined on the schedule and forms filed with the Bankruptcy Court
• Drunk Driving fines
• Certain cash advances or purchases for luxury items with in a certain time frame.

If you live in the state of Georgia, and are currently suffering a financial crisis due to a job loss, mounting debts, or unexpected medical bills, you may qualify to discharge a portion or all of your unsecured debt by filing bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy may be able to help you:

• Reduce or eliminate penalties and out of control credit card debt
• Stop harassing creditor calls
• Stop home foreclosure
• End property repossessions
• Eliminate wage garnishments

The federal government has created a legal process called bankruptcy to help individuals who are unable to pay their creditors and help them have a chance at a fresh financial start. If you live in the state of Georgia, and you are considering filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, it is important to contact a Georgia Bankruptcy Attorney. Bankruptcy Lawyers in Georgia will be able to determine what type of bankruptcy is right for you, answer all your bankruptcy questions and analyze your debts.

Filing bankruptcy is an important financial decision and it is important to understand it can potentially lower your credit score and negatively impact your ability to get future personal loans.