Whether or not you qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy does not depend on what type of job you have, what your profession is, whether it is full-time or part-time, or whether it is seasonal employment or not. The question is not what type of job you have, but rather what your income is. To qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, your Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney will look at your income over the prior six months and compare it to the median income for your area. This is called the means test. If you pass the means test, your income is less than the median. If your income is over the median, then you still can qualify for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. To see if you qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, call a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today at 904-685-1200.
Can I Get Rid of My Student Loan Debt in Bankruptcy?
The average student loan debt for a four-year degree is over twenty-three thousand dollars. Many people understandably want to get rid of this debt. However, student loan debt is very difficult to discharge in bankruptcy.
Generally, student loan debt is nondischargeable unless the debtor can prove he or she would suffer an “undue hardship”. Whether or not you are suffering an undue hardship is up for the court to decide, but it’s important to realize that this is a relatively high standard to show. Courts often look at whether you made a diligent effort to pay the debt, find a good paying job, and reduce your living expenses. In actual practice, almost the only way that you are going to get your student loans discharged through bankruptcy is if you are permanently disabled, with no opportunity or ability to get a job to repay your student loans.
If you are in debt and are thinking of filing bankruptcy, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney to discuss what debts can ben discharged and whether filing is right for you.
I Received A Discharge In Bankruptcy, But The Creditor Keeps Contacting Me. What Should I Do?
If the debt was properly listed on your bankruptcy schedules and subsequently discharged, the creditor no longer has the right to collect that debt from you. If the creditor is continuing to harass you, you should have your Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorneywrite a cease and desist letter to the creditor. This usually cures the problem and the creditor will stop contacting you. If, however, the creditor continues to try and collect the debt, this is illegal and your Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney will file a complaint against them for possible discharge violations, FDCPA violations, FCCPA violations, and/or FDUTPA violations. Often times attorneys will take these cases on a contingency basis, meaning that you and the attorney would each get a share of the monies recovered, so that you would not have to pay any legal fees up front. If a creditor is harassing you, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today to discuss your options.
What Does it Mean to “Strip A Lien”?
In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney might be able to strip a lien for you. This means that the lien would be considered unsecured, so that a creditor cannot take your collateral if you do not pay it. Most often, this is done with a second mortgage. If you owe more on your first mortgage than the house is worth, you can strip the second mortgage in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Then, the debt becomes unsecured. The amount of money you must pay to unsecured creditors is determined by your means test and the amount of unexempt property that you have. So any amount that you owe to unsecured creditors beyond this amount simply gets discharged in the bankruptcy and you do not owe it anymore. In saying, the amount you must pay to unsecured creditors through your Chapter 13 bankruptcy is not dependent on the amount of money you owe to unsecured creditors or the amount of any unsecured claims in your case. So it is of great value to you if you can strip the second mortgage in your bankruptcy and no longer owe this debt. If you would like to learn if you are eligible for your second mortgage to be stripped, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today to discuss your particular situation.
Will filing for bankruptcy in Orange Park Florida affect my credit?
One of the first questions new clients ask me as a Orange Park Bankruptcy Attorney is if filing for bankruptcy will negatively affect their credit. There is no completely clear answer to this question, but I tend to lean towards yes, it will affect your credit.
A bankruptcy will appear on an individual’s credit report for ten years. However, the odds of obtaining credit after a bankruptcy discharge are very good. In fact, some credit card companies target individuals right after a bankruptcy discharge because the credit card companies know they have a clean slate.
To learn more about bankruptcy and the possible effects on your credit contact an Orange Park Bankruptcy Attorney today to schedule a free consultation.
Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney: The 341 Meeting
In the majority of Florida bankruptcy cases including those in Jacksonville bankruptcy court, debtors do not have to appear in court for every hearing. However, debtors do have to attend a proceeding called the “meeting of creditors” or a “341 meeting”. At this meeting the debtor meets with the Florida bankruptcy trustee and any present creditors (who rarely attend). In Jacksonville the trustee and any present creditors ask the debtor a few questions about the financial documents the debtor filed with the court. The process takes just a few minutes and is normally pain-free if you are prepared for the questions and have discussed your answers with a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer.
The only time the debtor may have to appear in court is if a creditor or the bankruptcy Trustee files a motion or an adversary action, or if the debtor’s Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer chooses to dispute a debt.
Normally these hearings are not included in a standard bankruptcy fee and you should discuss the costs with your Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer.
What Are Some Main Reasons One Might File For Bankruptcy?
There are many reasons that it would be advantageous to file for bankruptcy, but here are some of the most common reasons:
1. The first reason to file for bankruptcy is to stop a foreclosure sale. Filing for bankruptcy immediately stops a halts a foreclosure suit against you. This can give you time to reorganize your finances, try to sell your home, negotiate a modification, or find another place to live. Your chapter 13 Plan can let you catch up on your arrearages over a 5-year time span and so cure your default. If your home has been foreclosed upon, bankruptcy might be a good option for you.
2. Filing for bankruptcy not only stops a foreclosure suit, it halts almost all legal actions taken against you, such as a garnishment or auto repossession. If your auto is in danger of being repossessed, filing for bankruptcy will keep the creditor from doing so. You can value your auto in the bankruptcy and pay only fair market value to the creditor. This means that if you owe $20,000 on your auto and it is only worth $10,000. you can pay the $10,000 to the creditor through your bankruptcy and own the vehicle outright after your Plan is completed.
How do I reconcile a bankruptcy with my religion?
Many people considering bankruptcy have religious concerns and wonder if they can still be a good Christian or Jew and simultaneously file bankruptcy. Very few people know that the origins of bankruptcy actually come from Deuteronomy 15:1-2 which reads:
“At the end of every seventh year you are to cancel the debts of those who owe you money the Lord himself has declared the debt canceled.”
This is the reason why people can only file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy every eight years (eight years being the end of the seventh year). To take things further, the United States Bankruptcy Code permits a substantial tithe contribution to qualified charities if made under certain circumstances.
Florida Supreme Court Case: Osborne v. Dumoulin, allows some to keep more property than before
When people consider bankruptcy they often wonder if they’ll be able to keep their car, home or even personal belongings. Fortunately, the bankruptcy laws are designed to help you get a fresh start and in the spirit of a fresh start they allow you to keep more than the shirt on your back with “Exemptions” i.e. property that you’ll be able to keep through the bankruptcy.
Exemptions come in two forms: State or Federal. Once you’ve lived in Florida for two years you must use our state exemptions. If you haven’t lived here quite that long you will need to use either your previous state’s exemptions or the federal exemptions.
Every state that has opted to create their own exemptions has it’s own nuances. For example, a bankruptcy debtor in Texas is allowed to keep a gun as well as a certain amount of homestead property. Maine allows a debtor to keep a wedding ring of unlimited value and one of each type of farm equipment needed to raise and harvest crops. Florida allows you to keep $1,000 in vehicle equity, $1,000 in personal property (beds, jewelry, televisions, etc.) and either $4,000 of additional personal property or the benefit of a homestead of any value. Back when homes were worth more than was owed on them, the unlimited homestead exemption was a huge benefit to people in bankruptcy. The unlimited homestead allows you to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, keep a three million dollar homestead and discharge three million dollars in credit card debt. Unfortunately, not a lot of people have three million dollars in household equity these days. In fact, as stated in our Jacksonville Report Rate of Florida Mortgages Underwater Down, 46 percent of home-owners currently owe more on their mortgages than those homes are worth. As a result, more people than ever are entering bankruptcy with homes that have no equity at all. When choosing between a house with no equity and keeping an extra $4,000 in personal property, the right decision is not always clear. Economically, it makes sense to take the $4,000 and give up the house, but for many people a home means more than bare dollars and cents. Fortunately, a new case from the Florida Supreme Court Osborne v. Dumoulin allows some people who have filed bankruptcy to keep both the $4,000 exemption for personal property and keep their homestead. This gives them the best head start in their life after bankruptcy without having to move out and it helps keep their children in the same school district.
Ray Guy Surrenders His Super Bowl Rings In Bankruptcy
Ray Guy, who used to play for the Oakland Raiders, auctioned his Super Bowl rings as part of his bankruptcy case. Guy won 3 Super Bowls throughout his career, in 1976, 1980, and 1983. Guy had filed for bankruptcy in Georgia in April 2010.
You may be wondering if you must give up your personal property if you file for bankruptcy. You might. If you have any unexempt personal property, you will either have to surrender that property or buy back its value from the trustee. To see if your personal property is exempt, call a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer at 904-685-1200 to discuss your options.