Jason Rodriguez asked:




Do you really need a consumer bankruptcy lawyer when filing for bankruptcy? To answer this question, you simply need to look at this situation. How important is the result of this bankruptcy filing for you and your family?You may prefer to try to go through bankruptcy alone.

Maybe you’re the type of person who likes to do everything by yourself in order to prove that you’re capable of doing so, or maybe you’re just trying to save a buck because you’re already strapped financially. This latter point is understandable, since anyone looking into bankruptcy is obviously in serious financial difficulties and doesn’t have a lot of extra money to be spending on legal fees.

Having said that, you need to realize that bankruptcy, at least a successful chapter 7 case, will wipe out your debt. Even a 13 case will reorganize your debt into a three to five year payment plan. In either case, you should have some serious breathing room in order to pay for your legal fees in the future. Of course, you should work out the details with your lawyer and possibly try to get some sort of payment plan from the law firm before taking on the case.

Is a consumer bankruptcy lawyer essential? We’re afraid so. With the recent changes in the bankruptcy code, the process is simply too complex for a consumer to do this without legal counsel. And it’s important that the attorney have experience in consumer bankruptcy cases. You don’t want someone who has mostly experience in business cases such as Chapter 11. You need someone who can help you with your particular circumstances and problems instead of just giving generic advice.

Listening to this simple advice and taking action can have great positive effects on your bankruptcy proceeding and thus the future for you and your family.

http://sites.google.com/site/chapter13bankruptcynow68/using-chapter-13-bankruptcy-to-stop-foreclosure

Steve Bingman asked:




It is not uncommon for a married couple to consider filing bankruptcy, but question whether or not both the Husband and Wife have to file. It may be a situation where one (ex. the Husband) has debts which must be dealt with while the other (ex. the Wife) is financially sound. So, is there such a thing as “Chapter 13 Husband Bankruptcy”? The answer is yes!

While it is really not called “Chapter 13 Husband Bankruptcy”, it is possible for a Husband to file bankruptcy under Chapter 13 by himself. Bankruptcy law does not require that both a Husband and Wife file jointly.

Even though only the Husband is filing bankruptcy, the income and expenses of the Wife are required when the Husband files, so that the bankruptcy court, the trustee and creditors can evaluate the household’s financial position to determine if the Husband qualifies for bankruptcy.

The Wife will need to disclose:

1. All of her creditors as well as the amount that she owes each creditor and the basis for which she owes each creditor.

2. The source and amount of her income as well as how often she is paid.

3. All of her property.

4. All of her monthly expenses such as food, housing, utilities, taxes, transportation, medical, medicine, business, etc.

Several aspects of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy are affected by a person’s household financial position including, but not limited to, the length of time for the payment plan and the eligibility of the debtor. For an accurate picture, the Wife’s information has to be included. However, the Wife is not a party to the Chapter 13 bankruptcy and is not bound by the bankruptcy.

It should be noted that if the Wife’s financial status changes during the bankruptcy, the change needs to be reported to the trustee as it can change or affect the Husband’s bankruptcy.

This is general information. If you need specific information or have any questions of any nature whatsoever, talk with a lawyer licensed in your state.

This article may be republished, but the wording must not be changed and the author links must remain active.

http://rexkaufman6721.webs.com/apps/blog/show/867595-using-chapter-thirteen-bankruptcy-to-stop-foreclosure

Asheesh Mani asked:




Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also known as Wage Earner Plan or reorganization bankruptcy. The bankruptcy as per this chapter of the bankruptcy code, is just opposite to what happens under chapter 7 bankruptcy. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a liquidation process, where all the assets of the debtor are sold off by the trustee appointed by the bankruptcy court, in order to settle his or her debts. On the other hand, the chapter 13 bankruptcy is a reorganization process, where the debtor gets a chance to continue with its existing business, while paying off the debts simultaneously, as per the wage earner plan approved by the bankruptcy court.

Eligibility criteria for chapter 13 bankruptcy

The new bankruptcy laws have now made it mandatory for all the debtors to pass a MEANS test, before filing bankruptcy and it is the reports of the MEANS test that will decide whether you qualify for chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. The main objective of the MEANS test is to figure out your expenses and income. You need to make a declaration regarding your income and expenses. The necessary expenses are deducted from your overall regular income, in order to find, if the money thus left can be used to settle the debts. If the money thus left is more than the median income of your state, you can qualify for chapter 13 bankruptcy. Otherwise, you will be asked by the bankruptcy court to file for chapter 7 bankruptcy.

You do not need to pay the full amount of debt

Under chapter 13 bankruptcy, you are not supposed to pay off the full amount of the debt that you owe to your various creditors. You can get away by paying just a certain percentage of the full amount. This will depend upon the total amount of debt that you owe and the total amount of money left to you, after deducting all the essential expenses. For example, you may be asked by the bankruptcy court to pay only 75 cents on each dollar or may be 25 cents per dollar.

Debt repayment plan

The debtors that have been declared bankrupt under chapter 13 bankruptcy are proposed a debt repayment plan. You are supposed to repay the reduced claims of the creditors based on the repayment plan as suggested by the bankruptcy court. As per this plan, the trustee will keep an eye on your business activities and will make sure that you are paying off the reduced debts on the fixed monthly schedule, as determined by the bankruptcy court.

http://rexkaufman6721.tripod.com/chapter13bankruptcynow12/index.blog/1903264/using-chapter-thirteen-bankruptcy-to-stop-foreclosure/

Jeffrey Ingram asked:




One or the other usually best fits individual’s particular circumstances. A person filing bankruptcy only uses one of the chapters. You can’t file both chapters. So it’s important to understand the difference between chapter 7 and 13. Any trained bankruptcy attorney and point out the differences in the two and how one or the other is better for what you are trying to accomplish. All bankruptcy attorneys’ are trained in both chapters and are competent to work with either a chapter 7 filing or a chapter 13.

For either of these chapters a bankruptcy attorney is needed to help an individual file. All bankruptcy attorneys are knowledgeable in both chapters. The can evaluate your circumstances and recommend which of the two chapters works best for your specific circumstances. When considering whether to file for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, remember you don’t need to go to two different attorneys. The same attorney can handle whichever one you decide to file.

What can’t be over emphasized, is don’t try and make decision as to whether chapter 7 or chapter 13 is right for you without professional help. That would be a big mistake. It may even be the case that you think bankruptcy is an answer for you and it isn’t. Either way you need to go over your individual circumstances with a bankruptcy attorney and they can tell you which course of action to take that will work best for you needs. This isn’t an area for amateurs or does it yourself enthusiasts. It’s serious and needs professional support.

http://sites.google.com/site/chapter13bankruptcynow68/using-chapter-13-bankruptcy-to-stop-foreclosure

Patience-Redhorse asked:


we have a truck payment of approximately $700 a month and my husband is soon going to lose his job.We have tried refinancing but everybody turns us down. I know if the car gets repossed we will have to pay the remaining balance after it goes to auction

cm_greer asked:


Ok, I have this friend who has gotten herself and her hubby in major debt. She has since talked him into filing bankruptcy. They talked to a lawyer and have decided to file chapter 13. She had a nice Tahoe that would have been paid off in 1 1/2 yrs and he has a 2005 truck. Since they are filing on their vehicles also she decided they should just get a new vehicle so they went and traded in the Tahoe for a 2007 fully loaded Chevy Suburban, which they are planning on adding into their bankruptcy. This does not seem right to me. I thought the idea of filing was to get out of debt and to help your financial situation, how can they do this, is this legal?????

♥ Crys ♥ asked:


I hired an attorney approx 1 month ago to file Ch 13 for my husband and I. We were behind on the car payments and had no way to catch up. I stayed in contact with the paralegal telling them how crucial it was they get the “automatic stay” in place because my car was in jeopardy. She said she was working and would have it filed this week. Today while I went into a store for 10 minutes, my car was repo’d. I called my attorney and she said uh-oh, we may not be able to get it bac because you haven’t been filed yet. She said if I was filed I’d be safe and they could get it back. In the mean time I have no car, no money and my hubby may lose his job because he has no way to get there. The attorney’s office says we’ll file you in the morning and see if we can talk them into giving it back. I am so confused about this! I thought that we would be protected by the filing bankruptcy, I thought that was the point of it really!? Anyone know anything?
OH and when it was repo’d I had a friend with me. Her husband went to the lot and said he was with me and had left items in there and needed to retrieve them. They said ok, no id nothing! They let him take carseats, diaper bag, my laptop, stroller, and my sirius satellite radio and all the paper work from the glove box. I appreciate my friend getting my stuff, but I am very bothered that they allowed him to get in my car and take all this! Isn’t that in itself illegal!?!?
I hired the attorney to file this THEY are the ones dragging their feet! I did my part, paid the fee provided the info, it was up to them to finish. And The research I have done on the law says they MUST return all your belongings to you and if they don’t they are liable for the replacement cost of them. What I need to know is if this is filed in the morning, then the stay does take effect, will it have to be returned? This is a NIGHTMARE! Don’t tell me how lucky I am blah blah you don’t know what the circumstances are and apparently your not too up on the laws either.

nwafanusa1 asked:


I am going to be going through chapter 7 bankruptcy next month (November). My car has 70,000 miles and it is five years, and four months old since I purchased it in 2001 (it had 13 miles when I bought it). If I keep my car for two and a half more years before trading it in, can i get a decent loan after filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy this november? My attorney told me that it wouldn’t hurt me that bad because I get a VA compensation and they can’t garnish my wages. Please help. And if I can get a loan, what kind of interest rate would it be?

cantstoptherobots asked:


i keep getting conflicting information. my car was paid off in full on one of the credit cards i am filing bankruptcy on. so i own it outright. it is my only car, it has a value of 7-8500 depending who you ask. if i filed 7 could i keep my car? obviously i would rather file 7 then 13.

Gary W asked:


we are trying to buy a home, but have open collection accounts. We are trying to get our credit back on track. what is the best way. Filing bankruptcy and/or paying off the collectioins accounts and settling the judgements???