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Posted By
Dave Johnsen
One of the most important protections bankruptcy affords - and one could make the argument that it is the most important - is the protection afforded debtors in the form of the automatic stay. Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 362, the filing of a bankruptcy case automatically operates as a stay to almost all debt collection proceedings. These include (all listed in 362(a)(1)), lawsuits or other actions ...
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Posted By
Dave Johnsen
When you are preparing to file bankruptcy, it is best to discuss with your bankruptcy attorney whether you have any judicial liens against your property. These liens, even if the debt is included in your bankruptcy and discharged, can survive the bankruptcy and stay levied against your home. A judicial lien is secured through a legal process of securing a memorandum of judgment. It can be for ...
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Posted By
Dave Johnsen
In some Chapter 7 bankruptcies, particularly those where assets are found and thus available for distribution to unsecured creditors, and all Chapter 13 bankruptcies, creditors get paid by filing proof of claims. These proof of claims. These claims are governed by Bankruptcy Rule 3001, which states on a basic level that it is "is a written statement setting forth a creditor’s claim." Rule 3001(c) ...
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Posted By
Dave Johnsen
The filing of a Chapter 13 has an interesting effect. It consolidates and reorganizes all of your personal debt into one payment to the trustee each month. The analysis that goes into this deals with all of your expenses, income, assets, and debt to determine the payment. The payment can go up if it includes payment for certain secured debt in the plan, like a car of mortgage. This can help ...
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Posted By
Attorney Joseph P. Doyle
During the years leading up to the mortgage crisis and collapse of late 2008, second mortgages borrowed against the equity of a home were common. People felt comfortable taking them out because home values continued to soar, meaning that there was a low perceived risk at the time of using that extra equity to pay for college, home remodeling, or other various expenses. Only after the bottom ...
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Posted By
Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyer
Bankruptcy, by definition, is a legal process that deals in large part with numbers. Debt figures, income levels, number of people in a household, trustee payments - you name it - all deal with numbers. An extension of this is in deadlines. Most stages of the bankruptcy process deal with dates set in advance, with requirements that must met by those dates. This can include a meeting of creditors ...
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Posted By
Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyer
In any bankruptcy, whether it be a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, the issue of real estate is nearly always at the forefront. In Chapter 7 liquidations, the amount owed on any liens on the property, together with what the value is of the home, go a long way to determining whether it will be shielded from liquidation. In a Chapter 13, numerous real estate assets can drive up the percentage to be paid to ...
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Posted By
Dave Johnsen
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is available to consumer debtors as a way of individually restructuring and reorganizing their debts without liquidation. If people qualify, most choose to file a Chapter 7 to discharge their unsecured debt. But if that individual or joint case cannot qualify for a Chapter 7 (whether because of income, a previous Chapter 7 filing, or a large equity or asset issue that would ...
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Posted By
Dave Johnsen
Chapter 13 bankruptcy consists of a 3 or 5 year plan that has been submitted to, and approved by, the bankruptcy court. During this time period, you are making regular monthly payments to the bankruptcy trustee to pay off anywhere from 10%-100% of your unsecured debt, as well as any secured debt or arrearages you are paying through the plan. Debtors often wonder, because their financial lives are ...
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