Getting out of debt competes with losing weight for the most common New Year resolutions.

Here is some advice for making your New Year resolution stick. One secret is to create a goal and a sub-goal.

If your resolution is to get out of debt, you can skip eating lunch out each day and start sending that money in to pay off credit card debt. Then, voila…in six months that credit card might be paid off. As you’ll begin to see, your daily goals help you fulfill your larger goal. Sub-goals are very, very important.

But if you are drowning in debt with bills you can never pay, it is time to consider starting over and getting the fresh start that only the federal bankruptcy law provides.  Bankruptcy can stop the garnishment of your paychecks and bank accounts. Bankruptcy can end the trips to collection court. Bankruptcy can make the phone stop ringing. Yes, it is true.

You have good company if you find yourself in financial trouble. Businesses file bankruptcy regularly. The rich and famous shed their debt and move on with their lives. About 4500 bankruptcy cases are filed every day. You can, too! In fact, forgiveness of debt has been part of our culture for centuries.  It is in the Bible.

No one wants to file bankruptcy, at least I have never met anyone who does. You will feel a tremendous relief by getting out of debt. Financial freedom is the brass ring bankruptcy provides.  Call Mark or Jill today.  We understand.  We can help. 785-354-1471.

Jill Michaux

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., appointed Jill Michaux to a three year term on the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules to the U.S. Supreme Court.  She is one of four practicing lawyers on the 17 member committee. Other members are federal judges from the bankruptcy, district and circuit courts, two law professors who serve as committee reporters, and a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice.

She succeeds John Rao of the National Consumer Law Center who served six years. Prior to Rao, the position was filled by Eric L. Frank who later was appointed Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Henry L. Sommer, president of National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center, and Editor-in-Chief of Collier on Bankruptcy.

The rules committee is reviewing mortgage claim forms, a proposal for national chapter 13 plan form, and the modernization of bankruptcy forms, and accompanying rules changes on its agenda.

Jill has represented consumer debtors in bankruptcy for 30 years.  She is a founding member and one of the first directors of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA). She is a founder and past president of the Topeka Area Bankruptcy Council and the Kansas Bar Association Bankruptcy and Insolvency Section.

She is contributor to the Bankruptcy Law Network, the premier website for consumer bankruptcy information, and writes Kansas Bankruptcy blog. She runs the BK-Kansas listserv for 452 members of the bankruptcy bar in Kansas. She is one of two Topeka attorneys and seven Kansas attorneys who are board certified in consumer bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification. She practices law with Neis & Michaux, P.A., of Topeka.

See the article in the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Kansas bankruptcy filings fell 10.6% in the federal courts fiscal year ending September 30, 2012.  That compares with the 14% fall nationally, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Filings were down for all bankruptcy chapters:

• Chapter 7  (liquidation) 16%
• Chapter 13 (individual repayment plans) 10%
• Chapter 11 (businesses or individuals with high income or debts) 12%
• Chapter 12 (family farmers) 20%

Business filings fell 16% and consumer cases were down 14% nationally.

The 10.6% decrease in Kansas bankruptcy filings compares to 11.3% in Colorado, 16.3% New Mexico, 7.7 Northern Oklahoma (Tulsa), 10.2% Eastern Oklahoma, 9.4% Western Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), 13.1% Utah, 11.0% Wyoming, 8% Eastern Missouri (St. Louis), 13.6% Western Missouri (Kansas City), and 17% Nebraska.

Kansas saw 3.20 bankruptcy filings per 1,000 people in fiscal year 2012 ranking 30th in the country in chapter 7 filings and 18th in chapter 13 filings. There were 11 cases filed for family farmers, and 51 chapter 11 cases filed in Kansas. Chapter 11 is usually filed by corporations or individuals with large debts. About a third of the consumer filings (3,150) in Kansas were chapter 13 and 6,089 chapter 7 cases were filed for a total of 9,301 bankruptcy filings.

Plan completion rates far higher than the national average show chapter 13 bankruptcy works in Topeka, Kansas.  Debtors are receiving discharges and successfully adjusting their debts more often than not in this midwestern division.

The chapter 13 trustees in Topeka and Kansas City, KS, give debtors free online access  to  their chapter 13 bankruptcy records. You may view payments coming in and disbursements going out to “monitor the progress you are making toward your financial recovery.”

How to Access Your Chapter 13 Case Information on the Internet

To view your case on line, you must register for a Username and Pasword on our website, www.13datacenter.com. You will need your Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition to create your user name and confirm information on the petition.

We encourage you to sign up for online access so you may view your case records at any time.  You may confirm a payment has been received and you can see the trustee payments going out to your creditors.  No need for time consuming telephone calls or waiting for the annual report from the trustee to get up to date information about your case.

The median family income figures by household size to use on the bankruptcy means test for cases filed on or after May 1, 2012 have been released. Fortunately, for Kansas consumers struggling with paying debts, the figures have increased and more people will be able to pass the means test on the first go through.

If your income exceeds these figures, don’t despair, you still may pass the means test on the second go through. Most clients do. Many people, including other lawyers, misunderstand the means test and conclude incorrectly that the median income figure is the end of the analysis. You may still qualify for bankruptcy with above-median income.

Unfortunately, the bankruptcy means test is a complicated formula with many variables and different court rulings from place to place. It cannot be easily calculated. We calculate the means test for  our clients so you do not have to worry about it.

Add $7500 for each additional household member

 

Photo Credit: License Some rights reserved by ryantron.

You need your tax returns to file for bankruptcy.  But when you are having bill problems, how do you find the money to get them prepared?  Here is how to get your federal income tax return done free, according to a press release from the Internal Revenue Service.

Do Your Federal Taxes for Free with IRS Free File

WASHINGTON — IRS Free File, which has been making taxes a little less taxing for a decade, opens today, Jan. 17. More than 33 million returns have been filed through Free File since its debut.

Everyone can use Free File, either the brand-name software offered by IRS’ commercial partners or the online fillable forms. Individuals or families with 2011 adjusted gross incomes of $57,000 or less can use Free File software. Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic version of IRS paper forms, has no income restrictions.

“Free File can save you time and money. You can prepare and e-file your tax return at no charge. And, the software helps you find the tax breaks you are due,” said Diane Fox, director, Free File program. “Free File helps make taxes less taxing.”

Free File software is a product of a public-private partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance, LLC. The Alliance is a consortium of approximately 20 tax software providers who make versions of their free-file products available exclusively at www.irs.gov/freefile.

All Free File members must meet certain security requirements and use the latest in encryption technology to protect taxpayers’ information. Seventy percent of taxpayers – 100 million people – are eligible for Free File software. It’s perfect for first-time filers, families looking to save money or older Americans adept at using the Internet.

People with an adjusted gross income of $57,000 or less are eligible for at least one software product if not more. Each of the Free File software providers sets their own eligibility requirements, usually based on qualifiers such as income, state residency, age or military status.

The easiest way to locate a software provider is to use the online “get help” tool atwww.irs.gov/freefile that, with a little of a taxpayer’s information such as income, age and state residency, can identify matching free-file products. Or, taxpayers can review all providers and their offers. Some software providers also offer state income tax preparation for free or for a fee.

Also, the IRS is working with select volunteer tax sites such as Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly. There are 200 locations nationwide that have set up Free File kiosks where taxpayers can use computers to prepare their own returns with Free File.

For taxpayers whose incomes are more than $57,000, there’s Free File Fillable Forms, available only at the IRS website. This program is best for taxpayers experienced in preparing their own federal tax returns. For people who prefer doing their taxes the old fashioned way – by paper – this is an electronic alternative.

Free File Fillable Forms performs some math calculations and provides links to some IRS publications. It does not use the familiar question-and-answer format used by software. Taxpayers can e-file the forms for free.  It also does not support state income tax returns.

Taxpayers must access the free-file products through IRS.gov or authorized kiosks to avoid any charges for preparing or e-filing a federal tax return.

Once taxpayers have selected a Free File software product, they will be directed away from IRS.gov to the partner’s site to prepare and e-file their returns. The IRS does not retain any personal information from the taxpayers.

The IRS also encourages businesses, state and local governments, charities and churches to inform their employees, clients and customers about Free File.

Image Credit:  This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Arpingstone.