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A member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club was recently sentenced to several years in prison for their involvement in an illegal organized scheme in Indiana. Jamie Bolinger, also known as Jammer, 36, of Martinsville, Indiana was sentenced to 102 months in federal prison after he pled guilty to a slew of offenses including extortion, drug […]
Many prospective bankruptcy filers in Oregon are understandably concerned about the privacy of their filing. At least once or twice a year someone chooses to come in for a consultation with our firm because we have offices in four different cities. I guess the thought is I can meet these guys in Portland where I live, but they can file my bankruptcy in Salem where no one knows me. We can’t.
The good news though is it really doesn’t matter where we file because no one that matters is really going to find out. Filings are posted in the paper, but you really need to ask yourself, how much time do you spend poring over bankruptcy filings? The answer is that you haven’t and that you probably wouldn’t know where to look. In Portland, like most cities, the bankruptcy court doesn’t pay for bankruptcy filing posting in a major paper, like the Oregonian or even the Willamette Week. Filings are posted in the Portland Business Journal which has a circulation of about twelve and doesn’t have an online classified section. What about online?
In both Oregon and Washington, bankruptcy filings can be found online, but only if you have an account with the court’s search system and pay the eight cents per page for downloads.
Granted your bankruptcy filing will show up on your credit report for a period of time, though it will likely have only a fleeting impact on your actual credit score, but unless someone has a permissible purpose for obtaining a copy of your credit report, your secret is safe with Experian and Equifax. Frankly even the people who will have a permissible purpose for obtaining your credit report aren’t likely to read it. Your prospective car lender, doesn’t care about your history or your bankruptcy filing, he cares about your score.
The fact is bankruptcy lost its stigma a long time ago while being in debt has retained all of its negative connotations. I have been filing bankruptcies for almost fifteen years now and I have yet to have a single client come into our Portland or Salem, Oregon offices with a horror story about how the wrong people found out about their bankruptcy.
The original post is titled Who’s Going to Find Out About My Oregon Bankruptcy Filing? , and it came from Oregon Bankruptcy Lawyer | Portland, Salem, and Vancouver, Wa .
The Bankruptcy Court Date When you file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you’re going to have to appear at a 341 meeting of creditors. It is called a 341 meeting of creditors because section 341 of the bankruptcy code requires a debtor to appear and be examined under oath. This 341 meeting of+ Read MoreThe post What To Expect At The Bankruptcy Court Date appeared first on David M. Siegel.
Tax season often raises questions about what will happen to a tax refund if bankruptcy is filed. This can be the best time to discuss your questions and concerns with an experienced bankruptcy attorney. In many cases it is about timing depending on your unique situation. It may be best for you to postpone your […]
Bankruptcy Judge K. Rodney May from the Middle District of Florida held that the equity passively resulting from market appreciation is not to be counted towards the $125,000.00 cap placed by 11 USC 522 (p) on a homestead exemption for property "acquired" during the 1,215 prepetition period. In re Chouinard, 2006 WL 3873437 (Bankr. M.D. Fla.). The Court followed the holding of In re Rasmussen, 349 B.R. 747 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2006) that passive market appreciation is not an interest that a debtor "acquired" during the 1,215 period. See also In re Sainlar, 344 B.R. 669 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2006).
The Court further pointed out that there was nothing in the record that indicated that the debtors actively increased their equity by anything other than scheduled mortgage amortization payments. The regularly scheduled mortgage payments increased the debtors' equity only nominally. The rest of the increased equity was from market appreciation.
The Court was not required to reach the debtors' argument that they were entitled to each to a $125,000.00 cap for a total cap of $250,000.00, ie. similar to "exemption stacking", but noted that it found persuasive the holding in Rasmussen that each joint debtor is eligible to take the $125,000.00 amount for a total of $250,000.00 pursuant to 11 USC 522 (m) which provides that section 522 shall apply separately with respect to each debtor in a joint case.(305) 891-4055 - Jordan E. Bublick is a Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer with over 25 years of experience in filing Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 Bankrkuptcy Cases.
Do I file jointly with my spouse or can I just file alone? Every prospective bankruptcy filer in the state of Oregon asks this question. Many Portland and Salem filers just don’t want their spouses involved, particularly if the would be filer just isn’t comfortable with the potential impact it could have on their spouse. For other prospective Oregon Bankruptcy filers, the idea of dragging their spouse through the filling process just isn’t particularly appealing.
Remember that if you file together in Oregon, the available exemptions for protecting your real and personal property will nearly double. The cost of filing bankruptcy will remain the same(well with our firm anyway) and you will get rid of all your spouse’s debts as well as yours.
You should consider that filing separately is still going to subject your spouse to some of the bankruptcy process. She won’t need to sign anything or appear at any hearing, but your attorney is still going to need all her paystubs for the seven months or so prior to filing and, as likely as not, her tax return, even if she filed separately. Moreover, your Oregon bankruptcy attorney will still need a summary of her ongoing living expenses.
The one upside to having your spouse not file is that the bankruptcy should not appear on her credit. The question is how much is that really worth if you have debts in common. In Oregon, chances are if some of your debt is jointly held, filing alone to save her credit is probably a mistake. In contrast, if you live right across the Columbia river in Vancouver, Washington, it might make all the sense in the world. For an explanation of why this is so or anything regarding a potential joint bankruptcy filing, please feel free to give me a call or set an appointment at either our Portland or Salem, Oregon Bankruptcy Law Offices or at our Vancouver, Washington Bankruptcy Law Office.
The original post is titled Joint Bankruptcy Filing in Oregon , and it came from Oregon Bankruptcy Lawyer | Portland, Salem, and Vancouver, Wa .
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney And Saving Property Being a Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney puts me in a unique situation. It allows me to help somebody either save a home from foreclosure or save a vehicle from repossession or otherwise reorganize unsecured and secured debt over a period of 3 to 5 years. When people come+ Read MoreThe post Why Do I Like Being A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney? appeared first on David M. Siegel.
Bringing you the most up-to-date news, tips and blogs throughout the web. Here’s your Bankruptcy Update for February 13, 2014 Drake And Josh Star, Drake Bell, Files For Bankruptcy, Owes $1.6 Million Milwaukee Archdiocese files reorganization plan with bankruptcy court Rihanna’s near bankruptcy revealed
A bankruptcy filing can immediately stop foreclosure in most cases when proceedings have yet to be finalized. Bankruptcy may help homeowners buy more time in determining their next move including whether or not they want to keep their home. This is also a good time for debtors to review with their bankruptcy attorney about their [...]
You need to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and you live in the Central Valley of California. You may be wondering whether you can keep your car in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Either your car is paid for, or you are still making payments. If your car is paid for, you can exempt from your bankruptcy several thousand dollars of the value of your car. If your car is worth more than several thousand dollars, you can apply wild card exemption wild card exemptions to exempt the remaining value.
If you are making payments on your car, you only need to exempt the equity you own in your car. If your car is worth $12,000, but $10,000 is financed, then you only need to exempt $2,000. Your lender, however, will seek to have you reaffirm the financing agreement. Reaffirmation is like renewing your agreement with the creditor or title holder of the vehicle. You and the lender define an agreement that allows you to keep the vehicle after their bankruptcy case is completed. You may agree to repay all or a portion of the outstanding balance remaining on the loan. Most lenders in the Central Valley will require payment of the full outstanding balance. They will sometimes lower the interest rate.
Another option is to redeem the vehicle by making a lump-sum payment that often adds up to be the vehicle’s total value. Because you are filing bankruptcy, you will not likely be in a position to do this, making reaffirmation the most realistic solution.
A vehicle that has payments still owed on it is part of a secured loan agreement you originally made in the beginning. A lien against the vehicle makes it possible for the lender to repossess it when payments are not made. In Chapter 7 the lien still survives if you discharge what is owed or payments you missed, but reaffirmation can help you keep your vehicle when your case is completed as long as you make payments according to the new agreement.
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