Articles Posted in Chapter 7

Are these tough financial times impacting you? Are bills starting to pile up without a way to pay them? Are you facing foreclosure on your home? Are you drowning in debt? If you have answered, “yes” to any of the previous questions a Bankruptcy may be in your best interest. However, a simple blog or description of Bankruptcy cannot tell you if Bankruptcy is right for you, but a FREE consultation with a Jacksonville Bankruptcy can give you the insight and knowledge to make the right decision.

As a Bankruptcy Lawyer, I can review your financial documents and make an educated decision on which chapter of Bankruptcy will be best suited for your current needs. With that being said, most clients are not aware there are four (4) chapters of Bankruptcy that are available. Most clients have heard of Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, however, few have knowledge of Chapter 11, and Chapter 12. In order to better inform the general public and my potential clients, I will give a brief summary of each Chapter of Bankruptcy. Then armed with that knowledge our initial consultation can be more productive and directed at getting you the best result possible.

Chapter 7

When you file for bankruptcy, every debt you owe must be completely and accurately disclosed. The process does not permit you to pick and choose which debts you’d like to leave behind. Intentionally omitting debts or assets from your filing may prevent those debts from ever being discharged, the dismissal of your case, fines and even imprisonment.

The bankruptcy court requires that you engage in due diligence to determine your debts and to identify any and all potential creditors. This means that you are required to make a real effort to track down the money you owe and to whom it’s owed. You need to sit down and go through your credit report, account statements, collection notices, and other information pertaining to the existence of debt. When you sign your bankruptcy petition, and testify at the Meeting of Creditors, you are telling the Court that your petition is true, accurate and complete. This is important to you because bankruptcy courts will only result in the discharge of those debts where the creditor received notice.

What if you accidentally leave someone off the list? If you neglected to list a creditor and you have not yet received a discharge, it is possible to file an amended schedule of your debts to include the missing debts for a fee of $30.00. This means a new list of debts must be created and in some cases, a Motion for Leave to Amend Schedules must be granted. The Court will most likely allow the change but there is a filing fee associated with this process. The Court will then give your newly mentioned creditor time to object to having the debt discharged.

If you have filed bankruptcy in the past and you have fallen victim to the recent plummet in the economy, you may be wondering how many times you can file bankruptcy. Whether you are allowed to re-file for bankruptcy depends on whether or not you received a discharge under your most recent bankruptcy filing and what kind of filing you made in the first place.

While there are no limits on how many times you can file bankruptcy there are limits to how often you can file. If you received a discharge under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, then you cannot file for relief under Chapter 7 unless:

1. Six (6) years have passed since the discharge in the Chapter 13 case; or

One of the most powerful effects of filing a bankruptcy is the Automatic Stay. This Automatic Stay prevents any collection attempts from being made upon the debtor. Thus, every person that the debtor owes cannot continue to pursue the debtor for repayment of the debt.

There are some situations, however, when the automatic stay might not be able to prevent other court proceedings from continuing, at least in part. One of those situations is in family law cases involving child support and custody. Proceedings that are concerned with visitation or with current payment of child support are generally not subject to the Automatic Stay, which means those proceedings will continue despite the debtor having filed for bankruptcy. However, cases that involve past due child support may be subject to the Automatic Stay. These matters will continue if the stay is lifted by bankruptcy court order or once the bankruptcy proceeding has concluded. Sometimes family law judges in such cases will not hear any issues at all, including current child support obligations and current visitation matters, until the Automatic Stay has been lifted.

It is necessary for all debtors to understand that even though the Automatic Stay may stop court proceedings, if there is an order for current child support or alimony already in place, those amounts will continue to accrue. In other words, if an individual is ordered to pay child support or alimony each week, he or she is still required to meet this weekly obligation after a filing for bankruptcy.