Personal Bankruptcy Which One?

What is personal Bankruptcy? What happens when someone can’t pay back their debts? Some of the common terms you are going to hear are the debtor, which is borrowed money or someone you owe money to. And the creditor, who is someone who loaned you money.

So, what happens when the debtor, which is you can’t pay the creditor?  If you don’t have the funds to pay your creditor then you may have to consider filing Bankruptcy. We are going to talk about how personal Bankruptcy works in the United States.

Lets say you are overwhelmed in debt like, credit card payments, car loans, a mortgage, and a boat payment and you no longer have the funds to pay the creditor back. There are 2 types of personal Bankruptcy you could fall under. The first is called a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and the second is called a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

Personal Bankruptcy Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is sometimes called the “straight” Bankruptcy. You go to the court and tell them you can’t pay off your debt. This is not a simple procedure but it’s an option that you may consider.  The court will look at your assets  and split it up against your creditors. You will loose a lot of your assets but you might be surprised what things are except or things that you can keep.

Things like your house, car, TV, clothes, and other things that you need to survive you may get to keep. If you have nice things like a diamond ring, a nice watch they are going to take those things from you. What ever is left that if worth money that you don’t need to survive, will be sold by the Court or Trustee and given to your creditors. So, after this is all done you will be free of all of your debt.

A Chapter 7 is a way of breaking away from the creditors and not always feeling like you still own them money. You may ask,”why doesn’t everyone do this?”. There are a lot of things to consider when filing a Chapter 7. A Chapter 7 will stay on your credit report for 10 years. So, you need to ask yourself am I better off with having this on my creditor report for the next 10 years or try and figure out a way to pay back your debt with out filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

Something to keep in the back of your mind. There are a lot of things that are NOT discharged in a personal Bankruptcy. Such as a student loan. Say you have a $100,000 student loan to pay back, that will not be discharge. If you own Child Support or Alimony, or  back Taxes to the IRS, those will not be discharged either. Your Lawyer will be able to help you more on what items are not forgiven in a personal Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is a straight up Bankruptcy, meaning you just don’t have the funds to pay off your debt and you want a brand new start.

Personal Bankruptcy Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is the other type of personal Bankruptcy. Chapter 13 is a reorganization. In this situation you have a salary, and a job but you just don’t have the funds to pay back your debt. Maybe you had a major medical emergency, or unknown expenses that came up that you were not expecting.

Under a personal Chapter 13 Bankruptcy you are saying, hay creditors I have so much debt I want to pay you back but I just don’t have the funds to do so. So, why don’t we come up with a plan where I repay you over a 3 or 5 year plan.

In this repayment plan you try and get your creditors to maybe lower your interest rates, or lower your monthly payments. Once you come up with a plan you pay that back over a 3 or 5 year plan. If you are on a 3 year pay back plan this will still stay on your credit report for 7 years after your filing. So, just like a Chapter 7 it’s going to be on your credit report for a total of 10 years.

In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy your are watched very close by your Trustee. Your income is looked at every year. So, if you have a big pay increase every year from your employer, your Trustee will look at that and may increase your monthly payments. If you get and tax refund while you are under a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy you get none of your tax return refund money from the IRS. Keep these things in mind when filing for a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

None of these filings should be taken lightly. You should consult with an Attorney if you are considering filing a personal Bankruptcy.

How To File Bankruptcy By Yourself It’s Not Hard

How to file Bankruptcy by yourself without a lawyer and receive a successful discharge is not a hard thing to do. I am not here to tell you to whether to file for Bankruptcy, the assumption is if your reading this you have already considered your financial alternatives. And you have already decided that Bankruptcy is the best option for you.

A typical Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is going to take about 100 days from the day you file until your Bankruptcy is discharged. There is going to be a lot of stuff your going to need to do before you file and I will cover all the steps that you need to take to make your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy successful.

When you are done reading this article on how to file Bankruptcy by yourself, you might think to yourself that you are just going to hire a lawyer to do all this work for you. Well, let me tell you that even if you hire a lawyer to file your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy you still have to complete all of this on your own anyways. A lawyer will provide guidance, but you will have to complete your education courses, most of your paperwork, and attend your “Meeting of Creditors” yourself.

How To File Bankruptcy By Yourself The Very First Thing

The very first thing you need to do before you file for Bankruptcy is to find out if you qualify for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. If you skip this step and you don’t qualify for Bankruptcy your not going to know for a couple of months and your case will more than likely be dismissed and your going to be at square one and several months lost. So, avoid the headaches and find out ahead if you qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

There is a government qualifying form called the “means test” which you can download for free to see if you qualify in about 5 minutes. You can download the “means test” at EZBankruptcyForms.com

Now with the assumption that you do qualify for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, the next step is to see who you owe money too. You are going to need the names and addresses of all your creditors. A very easy way to do this so you don’t miss anyone, is to run a credit report on yourself and you can do this for free at FreeCreditReport.com

The next step is to take your mandatory “Credit Counseling” course before filing for bankruptcy. This is something you need to do on your own with no help. You have to take this course on your own weather you have a lawyer or not. I know this may sound intimidating, but it’s not.

The course is taken online and it’s a no fail course that will only take you about an hour. The cost of the course is only about $50. You can get the course at EZBankruptcyForms.com At the end of the course you are going to get a certificate of completion and you will need this certificate of completion to file with the rest of your Bankruptcy paper work.

Your Bankruptcy paper work is primarily your assets and liabilities in writing presented to the Bankruptcy trustee. You already know your liabilities, it’s the names and addresses you got from your credit report that you ran for yourself. Your assets are things like your house, car, clothes, and bank accounts.  If you hired a lawyer they would run some software to get all this information but you can get this for yourself for only $44 at EZBankruptcyForms.com- You want to make sure you take your time and make sure that this information is very accurate.

At the end of your Bankruptcy filing, your going to have a mountain of paper work. You want to make sure you make 2 copies of all of it. You will then bring the paper work to the Court and make sure you get both of your copies stamped and give one to the court and one that you will hold onto. This way the Court can’t come back and say, “you didn’t file that way”, and you will have proof that you did with your copy. When you go to the Court on your own it will take you about 5 minutes once you are there.

How To File Bankruptcy By Yourself Day 1

It’s now day 1 of those 100 days of Bankruptcy and the Court clerk is going to request $200 and that money must be in either cash or a money order. You will get a receipt and on the receipt are 4 important things.

1. Your Case Number
2. The Bankruptcy Judges Name
3. The Bankruptcy Trustee Name
4. Your Court Date

Your court date is a meeting with your creditors and this happens about 40 days from the date of filing. Now you’re at day 1 of your Bankruptcy. Between day 1 and day 40 there are going to be a lot of things going on that pertains to you. And you have to make sure you respond to any written correspondence from the Bankruptcy Court or your Trustee.

Your Bankruptcy Court gets your file on day 1, and they may require some additional paper work. They might need some things like, last years tax statements, bank statements, and last months pay stubs.

If you didn’t file all of the paper work completely on day 1, you have about 40 days to make any corrections before your case is dismissed. So, it’s very important that you fill out all of your paper work completely and honestly. It’s very important that you respond to the Trustee or the Court so if there are any corrections to be made, you can do them at this time. This will allow everything to go smoothly when you have your meeting with the creditors.

Day 40 is your first meeting with the creditors so don’t be late. This will be the fist day that your creditors have the chance to dispute your Bankruptcy.  Don’t be intimated because your creditors more than likely won’t even show up for this meeting. If they do show up this will be the first time when you meet with the creditors and your Bankruptcy trustee. In most cases it will just be you and your Bankruptcy Trustee. If you have responded to all correspondence with the court and your Bankruptcy Trustee and all of your information is correct, this meeting will only take about 10 minutes.

Now your at day 40 of your Bankruptcy and as I said earlier the process takes about 100 days from start to finish. There is a 60 day period where your creditors can dispute your Bankruptcy in writing. So, you just have to wait out that 60 days. More than likely if they didn’t show up for your meeting with the Trustee, they are not going to dispute your Bankruptcy in writing. But you just have to wait out those 60 days and wait for your Bankruptcy discharge.

One more thing that you must do between the meeting of creditors and the next 45 days is pass your Financial Management course. It’s very similar to the other course that you had to take. This one is also done online, you can’t fail and it will only take you about 2 hours to complete. This test will run you about $50 as well and you will get a certificate after completion. You can take this test at EZBankruptcyForms.com

Once you have this you need to take it back to the court and let them know that you have completed the course. You need to do this within 45 days after your meeting with your creditors.

Now you just wait for those 60 days to pass, you should get your Bankruptcy discharged, then a couple of days later you get your Bankruptcy discharge in the mail and start repairing your credit. If you want to learn how to build your credit back up to where it once was, you can do that on your own as well.

I know this all may seem like a lot of work, but if you hire a lawyer you are still going to have to do all of this on your own anyway. So, why not save yourself at least $2,000 and learn how to file Bankruptcy by yourself.

Minneapolis Bankruptcy Lawyer Michael Hoverson

If you’re trying to find a Minneapolis Bankruptcy Lawyer, Michael K. Hoverson has over 25 Years of Experience in Bankruptcy law and can help you make the right decisions during your hardship. Mr. Michael Hoverson has experience representing Individuals, Consumers, and Small Businesses with there financial problems and can help you in making the right decisions if filing Bankruptcy is your only option. Good Bankruptcy Attorneys will walk you through the whole process.

Minneapolis Bankruptcy Lawyer It’s Your Choice

Keep in mind that filing Bankruptcy is not your only choice that you have if you are behind if your payments. Make no mistake, the Minneapolis Bankruptcy law firm at Hoverson will make sure you make the right decision during your financial difficulties.

If you live in Minneapolis Mr. Michael Hoverson will personally handle your case from beginning to end. You will not be shuffled off to staff or paralegals like some of the other law firms do. You will get dignified service and the attention that you deserve with out adding stress to your already difficult situation.

Minneapolis Bankruptcy Lawyer Very Experienced

Mr. Hoverson has also taught Bankruptcy Law and Debtor Creditor Law at Hamline University in Saint Paul Minnesota. He has also volunteered his professional legal services in the area of Bankruptcy through volunteers Lawyers network for the past 23 years. He has all the knowledge and experience to walk you through the Bankruptcy process.

The law firm of Hoverson law offices has earned the respect in the legal community thanks to it’s excellent customer service and solid legal knowledge. Hoverson Law office has the experience and aggressiveness to take care of your legal matters no matter what they are. He will sit down with you and go over all of the options that you have to getting back on your feet again.

If you are looking for a great Minneapolis Bankruptcy Lawyer you will be in good hands with the Hoverson Law office. Call the Minneapolis Bankruptcy Lawyer office of Hoverson at 612-349-2728 to start the process of getting rid of your debt today.

Attorney Bankruptcy Do The Right Thing

When people find themselves in a Bankruptcy situation most people use Google to find the right answers in finding an Attorney Bankruptcy lawyer. If you are facing distress, like a Divorce, Job Loss, Under Employment, Medical Bills, or your simply getting over your head in Credit Card Bills, you can look for help by starting a search on Google. But be careful!

Make sure when you are on your hunt for an Attorney Bankruptcy lawyer you stay away from the lawyers who say they will file your case for $500 or even $600.  I can almost guarantee you that you are not going to get the relief that you are seeking. It’s almost impossible to do. An Attorney Bankruptcy lawyer would have to cut corners, it would be half hazard to you.

Attorney Bankruptcy Make it Simple

It makes me cringe when I see this. It’s no different than those loan mortification companies.  You need to find an attorney that will be with you from the beginning of the partition, while the Bankruptcy is pending, the hearing, when creditors are knocking on your door, what do you so with your house, or what do you do with your car? And you want them to be there at the end when you get your discharge.

Attorney Bankruptcy Make it Right

When you have your discharge from the court, what are you suppose to do? Is you credit report different now? Are your creditors not allowed to contact you anymore? These are the things you want to make sure you know the answers to.

Make sure you find an Attorney Bankruptcy lawyer who has lots of experience and will basically hold your hand from the very beginning to the end of your Bankruptcy filing. It’s worth paying the extra money to find an attorney that will hold your hand. It might cost you about $1,500-$2,500 to find one that will stay with you through the whole process, but it’s going to be worth it in the end.

You want to make sure when you are done with your Bankruptcy filing, that you are getting the relief that you need. Getting a fresh start, and getting your finances back in order is very important, and will help you build up your credit again. If you pick an Attorney Bankruptcy lawyer that is going to do the whole filing for $500 you are going to miss out on a lot of what you really need.

So, be very careful when you are looking for an Attorney Bankruptcy lawyer. You will be much happier in the end if you just spend a little bit more money. If you don’t have the extra money for a good attorney, most of them will work out a deal with you so you don’t have to come up with all of the money up front. After all, you are in desperate need of more money right? So, talk with a good Bankruptcy attorney and they will more than likely work with you.

To file bankruptcy in New York can be a very tough thing to except, in fact it doesn’t matter what state you live in it’s not a pleasant thing to go through. But sometimes it’s the only option that you may have.

Does your spouse need to file bankruptcy in New York with you if you file for bankruptcy? In New York which is not a community property state you can only be held liable for any debt that you have signed for. In other words, that you have been legally obligated for.

If you live in a community property state this means that if you are married, each of you are responsible for the debts of one another. New York is NOT a community property state.

Lets say you signed up for a credit card and your spouse did not sign up for that credit card with you. I am not talking about a spouse that got a copy of your second card as an authorized user but is rather a signatory to the credit card. If you have gotten the credit card and your spouse is not a signatory as well then your spouse can not be help legally liable.

If you are over you head in debt and you need to file for bankruptcy to relieve yourself of your debt obligations and your spouse is not under the responsibility paying those debts then your spouse does not have to file bankruptcy with you.

If how ever you are in a community property state you need to speak to your attorney. Because in certain cases your spouse may be help legally liable for some of your debt.

New York state is not a community property state and therefore the spouses can not be help legally liable for the debt because you are married to one another. Really meaning you marry one for love not the other persons debt. So, this is a good thing if you live in a state that is not a community property state. When you file Bankruptcy in New York your attorney will go over all the pros and cons that you may have when you decide to file bankruptcy.

Filing For Bankruptcy Is Good

In many cases filing Bankruptcy will probably help you restore your credit faster because you are asking to have all of your debt discharged. It’s like taking your record and whipping out all of your debt and starting over, brand new so that you can start rebuilding your credit again. Many people are incorrect that filing a bankruptcy will be a long term negative impact on their credit report. This was true a long time ago but not now.

Today it doesn’t take long to restore your credit after you file a Chapter 7 or 13 Bankruptcy. It’s not hard to get back on track but there are certain steps that you need to take. Just because a bankruptcy stays on your credit score for 10 years, in most states, people think that this is not good. But this is not the case.

Most people who after filing for bankruptcy recover their credit fast. Your lawyer can help you get your credit back very quick after you file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. You don’t need to wait until the bankruptcy is over to start rebuilding your credit. The sooner you get start rebuilding the sooner you will recover.

If you take the proper steps you can get a credit card  and car loans right away right after filing bankruptcy. You should also be able to qualify for a house loan as well about 2 years after your bankruptcy discharge.

One of the great things about a bankruptcy discharge is it permanently and completely whips out your debt before the case was filed. Future creditors know this so the bankruptcy showing up on your credit report can actually be looked as a positive thing.

Filing For Bankruptcy May Help You

Creditors looking at your credit know that they don’t have to be concerned about the debt you owed before your case was filed, because it got discharged in most cases in your bankruptcy. They don’t need to be worried that you will be sued by any of your  prior creditors by debt that has been discharged because it’s no longer possible after you bankruptcy discharge has been granted.

You will get a clean slat, a fresh start. Creditors know this and they are much more willing to extend credit after a bankruptcy discharge is granted. In many cases you are a better credit risk after your bankruptcy than you were before. You will owe little or nothing after the bankruptcy in many cases and therefor your much able to make the payments on the loan you are trying to get.

Filing For Bankruptcy A Myth?

The myth that bankruptcy destroys your credit keeps a lot of people from even considering filing bankruptcy as an option. And this is really sad because for many people that’s exactly  the right move to make. It normally takes much less time to rebuild credit after wiping out your debt in a bankruptcy than it would take if your tried to pay off that debt by making payments for years and years paying mostly interest every month and never getting anywhere fast.

If your interested in a fresh start and getting your credit rebuilt quickly, then bankruptcy may just be the answer for you.

Bankruptcy Chapter 7 or 13?

Filing Bankruptcy or not can be a very hard decision that a lot of us don’t want to face. But sometimes bankruptcy just can’t be avoided and it’s our only option. You can have the perfect job in the World and make tons of money, but what happens if you are diagnosed with cancer? Or some other very serious illness that keeps you from working your normal job? And now you are out of work. Your bills start piling up and you just can’t keep up with all of your payments. Your medical bills keep coming in and the next thing you know you loose your job.

Now you have tons of medical bills, your illness gets worse and now you have no choice but to file bankruptcy or your phone will start ringing off the hook! Creditors will be trying to call you non stop. Your sick in bed and the only way to stop your dept from piling up is to file bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy is not for everyone though. You need to make sure it’s the right choice for you. The best thing to do in consult with a bankruptcy Attorney and dis guess what is the best choice for you.

Two Types of Bankruptcy

There are basically two types of Bankruptcy. There is what’s called Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will wipe out all of your debt that you have. But don’t get to excited. Depending on what state you live in, depends on what you may qualify for.  If you make more than $70,000 a year you won’t even qualify for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in most cases. Another item that is looked at when trying to figure out if your going to qualify for a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 is is money left over after all of your expenses are paid. If you have more than $200 left over after ALL of your expenses are paid, you will more than likely be forced into a Chapter 13. If that’s the case then a Chapter 13 might be your only option.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Be Careful

Under a Chapter 13, depending again on your income you will be put on either a 3 year or 5 year pay back plan to a trustee. After your 3 or 5 year plan is completed, at that point you will be dept free. But one must under stand that in a Chapter 13 you are watched very closely on what you spend and where you spend it. And if you still have a job that has yearly pay increases, the amount that you owe over your 3 or 5 year plan to the trustee can increase as your income increases. And guess what? If you get any type of tax return money from the State or Federal, you don’t get to keep any of it!

Make sure you look at all of your options before you decide to file Bankruptcy or you could find yourself in a situation that is much worse.

Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 Bankruptcy A Primer Bankruptcy Blog