Best Ways On How To File Personal Bankruptcy For An Individual

November 10, 2010 by Guest Author  
Filed under Debt

Anyone that is going to file for personal bankruptcy needs to take into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of filing and the various types of bankruptcy that can be filed. Because of these decisions and the cumbersome filing process it is a good idea to hire a lawyer to help in the overall process. This is a snapshot of how to file personal bankruptcy.

When someone has a large amount of debt that they are not able to pay they can enter into the legal procedure of bankruptcy. When bankruptcy is filed the person will have the opportunity to have some debt removed or restructured by it will have a large impact on their credit history.

There are two different types of standard personal bankruptcy, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. The fact that these two filings are fairly similar is another good reason to ensure that a person filing hires a lawyer to help decipher the differences and how each would impact their specific situation. There is an opportunity to switch filings at the start of the proceedings as long as the person filing meets the appropriate criteria.

With the major financial issues that the world is going through at this time there have been many more filings for bankruptcy. From 2007 to 2009 the amount of Chapter 7 filings jumped from 413,294 to 819,262 and Chapter 13 went from 276,649 to 370,875. With this amount of filings it is important for people to understand all of the bankruptcy laws that are in place, having a bankruptcy lawyer will help anyone better understand the process.

The most common type of bankruptcy filing in the United States is Chapter 7. This type of filing occurs when someone has a tremendous amount of debt but not many assets. When Chapter 7 is filed then an individual would use any assets they have to pay creditors. Although many debts will be written off, student loans, income taxes from the past three years, and child or spousal support cannot be taken away.

Chapter 13 is what an individual would file when they are in arrears for a mortgage or car loan. A person needs to have regular income to file for Chapter 13 due to creditors being assigned a payment that is a portion of the person’s future earnings. Chapter 13 is debt rehabilitation for people while Chapter 7 is a form of debt relief.

With the major differences between the two most common types of bankruptcy filings it is important for someone to have a lawyer help them through the decision making and filing process. For many people it will come down to weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each as far as debt and assets are concerned.

The filing process for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 is a long, detail oriented process. If paperwork is not filled out correctly or not turned in the process will be delayed or, possibly, denied. Having a bankruptcy lawyer that is aware of the filing requirements will pay great dividends.

With the world’s finances in the state that it is today many new filings of bankruptcy is taking place each day. It is important for someone to hire a lawyer to help understand the major differences between the two types of filings. A lawyer could help someone understand the process and explain how to file personal bankruptcy.

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Bankruptcy Chapter 7 Exemptions – Why Is It Important

June 18, 2010 by Guest Author  
Filed under Debt

When debts are overwhelming, the hardest part could be filing for bankruptcy. A lot of people like Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Chapter 7 is a ‘liquidation’ of all the non-exempt assets which can be an avenue to pay all your debts. This chapter is supervised by the authority and the court will appoint a personnel who has the authority to sell all the non-exempt assets owned by the debtor and distributes between the creditors. Bankruptcy chapter 7 exemptions are assets that the creditors cannot touch when the bankruptcy is filed. Although chapter 7 is the least favorite method of bankruptcy, with with the exemptions in place, you can have a chance to reduce their personal liability and keep some personal belongings.

In this exemption the debtor keeps the property that he is allowed to keep. This list will be provided in the Federal Bankruptcy Code. The property shall be separated as exempt or non-exempt when a property exemption report is filed by the trustee. The exemptions are not across the board and the law can be very different in some states, but the basic laws should remain unchanged.

Debts that are classified as secured debts will be paid first. As for debts that are unsecured, it can be possible that the creditors of unsecured debts may not get the full payment. The trustee makes sure that the right creditors get the deserved money in the right way. To get bankruptcy chapter 7 exemptions, the defaulter must file the case in the state where he/she resides for a period of 730 days before he/she can file for this type of bankruptcy. Alternatively, the defaulter may also file the case in a state where he/she has previously lived for more than 180 days, up to 2 years.

Federal exemptions may also be provided including retirement benefits, death disability benefits, survivor’s benefits and miscellaneous. Remember that in some states, not all the benefits are available.

This is most probably the worst form of bankruptcy, your credit score may take a major hit because of a filing of bankruptcy. You will lose all your personal belongings and you need start all over again in your life. Always keep in mind that bankruptcy should be your last option.

However, if in a worse case scenario, then it will help to learn more about bankruptcy chapter 7 exemptions that can help reduce your loss and maximize the benefits of this law to pay off your debts fast.

Want to declare bankruptcy? Thinking of declaring under Chapter 7? If so, be sure to understand more about bankruptcy chapter 7 exemptions. You can minimize the loss from the exemptions! Visit our website for more information today!

categories: Personal Bankruptcy,Bankruptcy,Money,Personal Finance,Finance,Law,Legal

Real Cost Of Bankruptcy – Understand the Impact of Personal Bankruptcy

May 30, 2009 by Guest Author  
Filed under Debt

While many do not know this prior to making their decision to file for bankruptcy, a discharged bankruptcy comes with serious consequences in both your personal and professional life.

For many, personal bankruptcy is often a “last resort,” driven partly by harassing demands of credit and debt collection companies. Although bankruptcy might seem like a quick and easy fix to the harassing calls and sleepless nights, one must never rush into making such a decision. While filing for bankruptcy can momentarily end the consequences of your financial condition, almost all others who have gone bankrupt admit that it was one of the biggest mistakes they ever made.

Like everything else in life, personal bankruptcy comes with consequences. Here are some of the most popular consequences that you can expect in your personal and financial life:

One of the biggest risks that bankruptcy poses to the debtor is that assets are often sold by the trustee to settle debts. Assets are anything of value, including property, investments, and other items of value.

While current assets are obviously at risk, a lot of people do not realize that future assets such as inheritance money can also be subject to claims by creditors.

In addition to the sale of assets, the impact of personal bankruptcy includes harmful records on your credit bureau. Bankruptcy will impact your intentions to act as a company director and obtain non-personal credit for the rest of your life.

Perhaps the worst impact of personal bankruptcy comes after the bankruptcy order is advertised locally. This damages the reputation of an individual’s name and personal business dealings. Unlike companies, individual debtors cannot trade under a different name. So for the debtor who has declared bankruptcy in the past, all of this information is available in the public domain.

What is likely the harshest impact of personal bankruptcy is something that comes after the bankruptcy notice is advertised. Given the public nature of bankruptcy, the debtor’s name and personal business dealings are in jeopardy. Unlike companies who can operate under different trade names, individuals have just one name. And since bankruptcy are publicly available, anyone can access the details of your bankruptcy.

Personal bankruptcy will have an impact on your reputation. With your financial affairs being examined in an open court, the process will not only prove to be extremely stressful, but others have found the whole experience rather humiliating.

In addition to the items discussed here, bankruptcy also impacts your financial condition given that there are court costs and other fees. You need to have at least some money in order to go bankrupt.

If you are considering bankruptcy as a debt clearance option, then try gaining some knowledge about other alternatives. For more information on the impact of personal bankruptcy and its alternatives refer to e-books and manuals available on the net.

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