Should I File Bankruptcy Now?
Bankruptcy-It Could Happen to Anyone
I Feel So Guilty Filing Bankruptcy
People seeking debt relief often feel guilty about filing for bankruptcy. We are raised to pay our debts and conditioned to feel bad when we can’t. In fact, people will go to extreme measures, such as depleting the retirement account, to avoid bankruptcy.
When you can’t pay your bills because your credit card lenders have raised interest to 30%, it is time to stop feeling guilty. Stop feeling bad about bills you can’t afford to pay.
It may not be your fault. It may be that someone in your family has gotten sick or injured and you are facing huge medical expenses. It may be that you have lost your job on main street because of greedy acts on Wall Street. It may be that your marriage ended. Most Americans are one injury, illness, job loss or divorce away from bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy is a legal way to resolve your debts.  It is for honest debtors who play by the rules. Get the fresh start you deserve and get on with your life in peace. Call today to see if bankruptcy is the right solution for your financial problems.
Why Did They Stop Sending My Mortgage Statements After Bankruptcy?
Most home mortgage lenders who send monthly statements to their borrowers will stop sending statements once a bankruptcy is filed.  They will stop withdrawing automatic payments form your bank account. They claim sending the statements and withdrawing your funds might be seen as a violation of the bankruptcy automatic stay on collection and they don’t want to run afoul of the bankruptcy law.
Some Courts such as the Kansas bankruptcy courts have local rules allowing mortgage statements to be sent to debtors who want to retain their properties and continue paying the mortgage payments.
If you have filed bankruptcy and wish to keep your real estate that has been pledged as collateral for a loan, you must pay your mortgage payments. Not getting a statement does not get you off the hook – you don’t get a free house. YOU MUST PAY YOUR MORTGAGE PAYMENTS TO KEEP YOUR PROPERTY OUT OF FORECLOSURE. [Read more…]
U.S. Supreme Court Takes Topeka Bankruptcy Case
A Topeka, Kansas, consumer bankruptcy case is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. It involves the Topeka chapter 13 trustee objecting to Stephanie Lanning’s bankruptcy plan.
Lanning had taken a buyout and left her job at Payless Shoesource. She was working at Joann’s Fabrics for less money when her bankruptcy was filed.
When Lanning took the bankruptcy means test, the Payless buyout caused her income average to be higher than her current income and higher than the median for a single person in Kansas. She would have been required to make a bankruptcy payment she could not afford to make with her lower income. [Read more…]
What Is Required to Confirm My Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan?
11 U.S.C. § 1325. Confirmation of plan
Means Test Allowances
Who Are Creditors in Bankruptcy?
Creditor: The person or organization to whom the debtor owes money or has some other form of legal obligation.
What is a Contingent Debt?
Contingent: Used to describe debts that are not fixed in right at the time, but are dependent on some other event happening to fix the liability.
What Is Consumer Debt in Bankruptcy?
Consumer Debt:Â Debts incurred by an individual for personal, family or household purposes. Taxes are not consumer debts; neither are business loans. The means test only applies to those with primarily consumer debt.
My Income Is Above Median, How Long Will My Chapter 13 Plan Run?
B22C CONTROLS, OR IF DEBTOR USES I AND J, MUST HAVE A FIVE YEAR PLAN
In re Beckerle, Case No.06-20572
April 2007, Judge Berger
ACP is a time frame of either 3 or 5 years and not a multiplier. B22C is a starting place in determining projected disposable income to be received in the 5-year period. A negative number on B22C indicates the plan is not feasible. Debtor can’t have it both ways. If the debtor relies upon I and J to prove feasibility, then the debtor must commit to a 5-year program.
Digest by:Â Jan Hamilton, Trustee
What is the Automatic Stay?
Automatic stay: The injunction issued automatically upon the filing of a bankruptcy case which prohibits collection actions against the debtor, the debtor’s property or the property of the estate. See Relief from Stay on terminating the injunction.
My Wife Didn't File Bankruptcy, Can I Deduct Her Car Payment on My Means Test?
NON DEBTOR EXPENSES NOT ALLOWED ON B22C
In re Shahan, Case No. 06-11638
April 2007, Judge Nugent
Above median debtor filed 13; wife did not. Trustee objected to confirmation on basis of various B22C deductions. Debtor was allowed to take a marital deduction on Line 19 from his paycheck, which represented mandatory withholdings from her paycheck and, as such, was not dedicated to household expenses. Debtor sought to deduct future payments on secured debts for wife’s debts on Line 47. Since these were not debtor’s expenses, they were not allowed. Additionally, debtor sought to deduct $415.00 on line 59. This includes wife’s monthly recreational expenses, loan repayment to family, tax prep fees and $200.00 per month to help an adult daughter. These are to be actual expenses. None of these qualified, except for the tax preparation expenses as analyzed by the Court.
Digest By:Â Jan Hamilton, Trustee
What are Assets in Bankruptcy?
Assets. Assets are every form of property that the debtor owns. They include such intangible things as business goodwill; the right to sue someone; or stock options. The debtor must disclose all of his assets in the bankruptcy schedules; exemptions remove the exempt assets from property of the estate.
