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In the earlier series on real estate closing, Wynn at Law, LLC mentioned easements. In fact, we bring up the topic every time we review a title or write an article about one. The reason is simple, just like the old proverb that good fences make good neighbors: Clearly defined easements keep property owners out of court.
An easement on a property allows a landowner to grant access to a part of his or her property. You grant access without giving up ownership of that part of the property. It’s a binding agreement. Where we see this commonly throughout southeast Wisconsin is allowing access to a walking path, a driveway, a community pier, or a utility line crossing the property. Without an easement in place for access to such things, anyone attempting to access the path, pier, driveway or utility pole would be trespassing on the property. You can see the legal ramifications.
That means: Talk to your attorney anytime the word comes up. Here are a few spots in which the topic may come up.
If you are buying a property
Two easement issues Wynn at Law, LLC sees frequently are easements for driveways and for lake rights or lake access. When there are disputes over the area of the easement, or the size or the situations for which the property can be used, it can sour a neighborhood. Nobody wants to be ‘that neighbor,’ especially when you’re new to the neighborhood. By the way, if a lender is involved, the lender may take issues with driveway easements. Driveway easements require you to have legal access to your property. Imagine the difficulty clearing up the easement specifics after the closing.
If you are selling a property
When you know of an easement exists, you should disclose that to potential buyers on the real estate condition report. If you do not have a written easement in place or it is not recorded with the Register of Deeds Office, Wynn at Law, LLC can assist you in drafting and recording the easement.
Your relationship with your neighbors is the important aspect of easements. It is important to have a lawyer review easements on your property because it is your property.
Image by Anna Koldunova, used with permission.
The post In real estate law, there’s no such thing as an ‘easy’ easement appeared first on Wynn at Law, LLC.
In the earlier series on real estate closing, Wynn at Law, LLC mentioned easements. In fact, we bring up the topic every time we review a title or write an article about one. The reason is simple, just like the old proverb that good fences make good neighbors: Clearly defined easements keep property owners out of court.
An easement on a property allows a landowner to grant access to a part of his or her property. You grant access without giving up ownership of that part of the property. It’s a binding agreement. Where we see this commonly throughout southeast Wisconsin is allowing access to a walking path, a driveway, a community pier, or a utility line crossing the property. Without an easement in place for access to such things, anyone attempting to access the path, pier, driveway or utility pole would be trespassing on the property. You can see the legal ramifications.
That means: Talk to your attorney anytime the word comes up. Here are a few spots in which the topic may come up.
If you are buying a property
Two easement issues Wynn at Law, LLC sees frequently are easements for driveways and for lake rights or lake access. When there are disputes over the area of the easement, or the size or the situations for which the property can be used, it can sour a neighborhood. Nobody wants to be ‘that neighbor,’ especially when you’re new to the neighborhood. By the way, if a lender is involved, the lender may take issues with driveway easements. Driveway easements require you to have legal access to your property. Imagine the difficulty clearing up the easement specifics after the closing.
If you are selling a property
When you know of an easement exists, you should disclose that to potential buyers on the real estate condition report. If you do not have a written easement in place or it is not recorded with the Register of Deeds Office, Wynn at Law, LLC can assist you in drafting and recording the easement.
Your relationship with your neighbors is the important aspect of easements. It is important to have a lawyer review easements on your property because it is your property.
Image by Anna Koldunova, used with permission.
The post In real estate law, there’s no such thing as an ‘easy’ easement appeared first on Wynn at Law, LLC.
Restaurant Closings in New York City and BankruptcyAs reported by many newspapers and websites, a significant number of restaurants are closing in New York City. These closings are due to the high cost of rent, insurance, overhead and the increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour for the restaurant staff. A restaurant consultant who meet with me stated that a Ray Kroc associate told an individual not to open a restaurant unless they were prepared to clean the bathroom and wipe the floor themselves due to the thin margins in many restaurants. At Shenwick & Associates, we have seen a significant uptick in bankruptcy filings by restaurant and restaurant owners and we have developed a legal strategy to deal with these situations.We focus on the financial issues related to the restaurant first and then to the owner of the restaurant second. Most restaurants are owned by LLC or Subchapter S corporations. We first review the assets and liabilities for the restaurant and a recent budget showing revenue and expenses for the year to date. We review that information with the owner and determining whether the restaurant should close or file for bankruptcy and we then focus on issues related to the owner of the restaurant.Restaurants are eligible to file for chapter 7 or chapter 11 bankruptcy. Chapter 7 is a liquidation where the restaurant is closed or chapter 11 is a reorganization where the business can attempt to reorganize its debts. In the Southern and Eastern District of New York (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau county) historically on average only one out of 10 businesses are able to successfully reorganize (file and confirm a chapter 11 plan of reorganization). There are many reasons for the low percentage of success, but many of those factors related to the cost and expense of filing chapter 11 bankruptcy and the inability to obtain financing and capital from third parties or banks.The option that most restaurant owners face is either to close the restaurant or file Chapter 7 bankruptcy for the LLC or S Corporation that owns the restaurant. In Chapter 7 bankruptcy a bankruptcy trustee closes the restaurant and liquidates any inventory, furniture fixture or equipment and attempts to collect accounts receivable. The chapter 7 trustee then takes those monies, if any and distributes them to creditors after paying legal fees and court costs.It's the restaurant does not have significant amounts of furniture fixture or equipment or accounts receivable, the owner may be better off closing the restaurant itself and selling or auctioning off any furniture fixture and equipment and attempting to collect its own accounts receivable. Additionally, if the restaurant lease has a term of 3 years or more and is below market the restaurant owner may be able to assign (sell) the lease to a 3rd party. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee is permitted to bring lawsuits to recover monies that may have been paid to third parties ( preference actions) or recover money or property paid to a third party ( fraudulent conveyance actions) and the bankruptcy trustee will want to review the books and records for the restaurant, its checking account and tax returns. The owner of the restaurant will have to go to one meeting at the courthouse (called the 341 hearing) and cooperate with the bankruptcy trustee. These factors often affect whether a restaurant will file for chapter 7 bankruptcy or just close.Notwithstanding the fact that the restaurant is owned by an LLC or Subchapter S corporation, members of the LLC, including the officers, directors, shareholders or the individuals that signed the checks may be liable for certain debts of the restaurant after it closes (discussed below). Some of those debts may be “responsible person taxes” which are trust fund taxes such as sales tax or FICA/FUTA taxes withheld from an employee's wages or the FICA/FUTA tax penalties. Sales tax and FICA/FUTA taxes are not dischargeable in personal bankruptcy, so those debts should be paid prior to the restaurant closing or paid from the sale of furniture, fixtures and equipment, collection of accounts receivable or from the sale of the lease. Next, if a member of the LLC or a shareholder guaranteed a lease obligation, or guaranteed debts to a supplier, they be personally liable ( discussed below). There are 2 types of lease guaranties, good guy guaranties and lease guarantees and the type of guaranty can affect the amount owed by the restaurant owner. If a supplier to the restaurant is not paid, the restaurant is generally liable, however in certain instances, the supplier will look for a “deeper pocket” and sue the individual arguing “alter ego” or “piercing the corporate veil” and attempt to sue not only the restaurant but the owner of the restaurant as well.The owner of the restaurant, may also be liable personally for wages not paid to the restaurant staff under the New York State Business Corporation law.A restaurant owner with significant business debts may need to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or attempt an out-of-court workout with respect to the monies that it owes. To determine whether a restaurant owner should file bankruptcy or attempt to do an out-of-court workout with its creditors, we need to see a list of assets or property that the restaurant owner owns, a list of liabilities or money or property owed to third parties and an after-tax monthly budget, showing what the restaurant owner earns what it pays in personal and business expenses.Unfortunately, in many instances after the restaurant is closed, the restaurant owner needs to file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy and James Shenwick is available to help address these issues. Jim Shenwick 212 541 6224, [email protected]
With the increase in bankruptcy filings, many clients have contacted us regarding
the treatment of their pensions in a chapter 7 bankruptcy filing and whether they should borrow from their pension prior to filing for bankruptcy, if necessary.
Under the law, both Roth and traditional IRA’s are exempt up to $1,283,025 in a chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
401(k)s, 403(b)s, profit sharing plans, SEP & Defined Benefit Plans are completely exempt in a chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Pension monies are also exempt from the reach of creditors (“spendthrift trust”) so they cannot be liened or levied by creditors. If those monies are withdrawn from a pension plan they are subject to the reach of creditors and therefore if possible a debtor should not borrow from their pension prior to filing for bankruptcy.
Additionally, if a person borrows money from a pension (prior to the age requiring a mandatory withdrawal from the pension plan) they will have to report that money as additional income and pay a 10% excise tax on those monies.
Anyone with questions regarding personal bankruptcy should contact Jim Shenwick at [email protected]
How New York’s Taxi Titans Roiled Cities Hundreds of Miles Away
In the early 2000s, a group of New Yorkers did something unexpected.
They bought a bunch of taxi medallions that allowed them to own and operate vehicles hundreds of miles away, in Chicago. Medallions in that city were considered such an inexpensive commodity that Chicago had, at times, given them away free.
This turned out to be an early sign of a takeover of taxi markets across the country by some New Yorkers who were about to teach drivers in other cities a painful lesson.
The real taxi money wasn’t made by charging passengers; it was made by raising the price of medallions and financing loans to drivers who wanted to buy them.
The scheme started in New York.
In May, The Times’s Brian M. Rosenthal exposed the financial maneuvers that helped lead to the collapse of the taxi industry in New York City.
His series detailed potential market manipulation of taxi medallion prices and showed how some of the people who manipulated those prices also made money by providing drivers with high loan amounts, long loan lengths, steep fees and interest-only terms.
The Department of Justice and the New York attorney general soon opened investigations into the industry. The city arrested a debt collector, waived $10 million in fees owed by medallion owners and strengthened regulations.
The taxi titans expanded their operations to Chicago …
Symon Garber, a New York fleet owner, along with a group of partners, began buying medallions in Chicago and lending to other buyers. They eventually bought 800 of the city’s 7,000 medallions.
Michael Levine, a legend in New York’s taxi industry, bought more than 500 medallions in Chicago. Mr. Levine also was involved in a company that provided at least 750 loans to medallion owners.
At least 40 other New Yorkers bought Chicago medallions, including Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, records show.
… and to Boston, Philadelphia and elsewhere.
Then some of the same people who roiled New York’s industry expanded their operations. Medallion prices soared to $700,000 in Boston, $550,000 in Philadelphia, $400,000 in Miami and $250,000 in San Francisco.
But in Chicago, New Yorkers eventually bought almost half of that city’s medallions, records showed. The average cost of a medallion there — less than $50,000 in 2006 — rose to nearly $400,000 before prices began plummeting in 2013.
Today, a Chicago taxi medallion is worth $30,000 or less.
“In retrospect, it should’ve set off alarm bells” that New Yorkers were entering Chicago’s market,” said Michael Negron, who was a policy adviser to Rahm Emanuel, a former Chicago mayor. “Outside investors were coming in to upend the industry, and everybody kind of missed it.”
The New Yorkers who bought medallions in Chicago and elsewhere said in interviews with Mr. Rosenthal that they were never accused of breaking any laws. They said that as New York medallion prices rose, it made sense to pursue new opportunities.
Pensions and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filings
With the increase in bankruptcy filings, many clients have contacted us regarding the treatment of their pensions in a chapter 7 bankruptcy filing and whether they should borrow money from their pension prior to filing for bankruptcy.
Under the law in New York both Roth and traditional IRA’s are exempt up to $1,283,025 in a chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
401(k)s, 403(b)s, profit sharing plans, SEP & Defined Benefit Plans are completely exempt in a chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Pension monies are also exempt from the reach of creditors (“spendthrift trust”) so they cannot be liened or levied by creditors. If those monies are withdrawn from a pension plan they are subject to the reach of creditors and therefore if possible a debtor should not borrow from their pension prior to filing for bankruptcy.
Additionally, if a person borrows money from a pension (prior to the age requiring a mandatory withdrawal from the pension plan) they will have to report that money as additional income and pay a 10% excise tax on those monies.
Anyone with questions regarding personal bankruptcy should contact Jim Shenwick at [email protected]
[email protected] • Shenwick & Associates
By: Steven P. Taylor
Law Office of Steven P. Taylor, P.C.
On August 23, 2019, the Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need Act of 2019 (HAVEN Act) was signed into law. The Haven Act provides for exclusion of disability benefits paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Defense from the calculation of an individual debtor’s disposable income used for bankruptcy means testing for purposes of determining whether a veteran headed for bankruptcy would have to file a Chapter 13 repayment plan case.
According to the 2018 VA Annual Benefits Report, 4.74 million US veterans—or 25 percent of the total veteran population—receive VA disability benefits. Veterans also make up a disproportionate share of bankruptcy filers. Nearly 15 percent of both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filers are veterans, who make up approximately 10 percent of the overall population. Approximately 125,000 veterans in Indiana and across the country filed for bankruptcy in 2017 alone.
Like the Social Security Act assists those citizens receiving social security benefits, the Haven Act assists these honored veterans and their surviving dependents in obtaining an opportunity for a fresh start. Disabled veterans have earned their disability-related benefits in defense of our nation, and these disability-related benefits honor their service and the sacrifices that they have made. Forcing disabled veterans and their surviving dependents to dip into these funds to pay off creditors dishonors their service and sacrifice.
Prior to the HAVEN Act, a disabled veteran declaring bankruptcy must include his or her disability benefits as part of disposable income which could force the disabled veteran to file for a Chapter 13 debt reorganization bankruptcy vs. Chapter 7 bankruptcy. By contrast, current bankruptcy law explicitly exempts Social Security disability benefits from this disposable income calculation. The HAVEN Act now excludes VA and DoD disability payments made to veterans or their dependent survivors from the monthly income calculation used for bankruptcy means testing as well. Now, more disabled veterans and their surviving dependents will now be eligible to file a Chapter 7 liquidation case where only nonexempt assets are sold to pay creditors.
TALK TO A BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY
Not all veteran or DOD benefits are excludable from the disposable income calculation. For this reason, if you want to file for bankruptcy to obtain a fresh start, consider talking to a knowledgeable bankruptcy attorney in your area first to learn about your options.
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You may have heard that Chapter 7 is a relatively quick process. But how long does bankruptcy Chapter 7 take from filing to discharge?
Typically, you can expect your case to last anywhere between four to six months. But the timeline may vary depending on the specifics of your case. An experienced Dallas bankruptcy attorney can help guide you through the process and help you avoid potential pitfalls that could delay your case.
What Are the Steps in the Chapter 7 Process?
The timeline for your Chapter 7 bankruptcy will look something like this:
Preparing Your Case
Assuming that you’re eligible for Chapter 7, you will need to consider which debts can be eliminated and which debts will have to be reaffirmed — and which assets will be subject to liquidation and which assets you can protect under Texas’ bankruptcy laws.
Filing Your Petition
You will file your petition with the court. Once you file, you have up to 14 days to submit supporting documentation, including forms related to your debts, assets, and property transactions going as far back as ten years. It’s a tedious and complicated process, but this information will provide the backbone of your bankruptcy. Any debts you want discharged will need to be listed.
Informing the Court What You Will Do With Unsecured Debts
After you file for bankruptcy, you will have 30 days to decide what you want to do with your secured debts. These can include cars and your mortgage. You can surrender the property, and discharge any remaining delinquency or you can reaffirm the debt based on the original terms or negotiate revised terms.
Attending the Meeting of Creditors
Four to six weeks after you’ve filed for bankruptcy, you will be required to attend the 341 Meeting of Creditors. This process is usually not quite as daunting as it sounds. Creditors generally do not show up for the meeting in a typical Chapter 7 case unless they have good cause. The bankruptcy trustee who presides over your bankruptcy case will ask you a series of basic questions relating to the information you provided on your bankruptcy forms. These questions are simply to ensure that you have been honest and thorough in reporting your assets and income.
After the meeting of creditors, creditors may be able to raise objections to your exemptions, but only have 30 days after the meeting of creditors to do so. After 30 days have elapsed, they’ve lost their chance. Creditors also have 60 days to object to the discharge of specific debts. Creditors have 90 days to file proof of claims, documents proving that you owe the creditor money.
Completing a Financial Management Course
Within 60 days of the meeting of creditors, you are required to take and complete a financial management course. This is different from the credit counseling course you took before filing for bankruptcy.
Closing Your Case
Around two months after the meeting of creditors, you will receive your bankruptcy discharge. The discharge formally acknowledges that you no longer owe the debts. While the discharge is the main point of bankruptcy, your bankruptcy may remain open for another two to four months.
What Factors Could Delay Your Bankruptcy Case?
The process described above is when everything goes smoothly and there are no creditor objections. However, some bankruptcies can get complicated. The following are things that could delay your case:
Trustee Must Liquidate Some Assets
If you have any assets that you could not be exempted, selling off the assets will delay your bankruptcy. The trustee will need to determine the value of the asset and then secure a fair market price for it. The money from the transaction will be turned over to your creditors.
Creditor or Trustee Objects
Generally speaking, when a creditor objects to a discharge, they are alleging fraud against the person filing for bankruptcy.
If a creditor objects to your bankruptcy exemptions, they have 30 days after your meeting of creditors to express their objections to the bankruptcy court.
If a creditor objects to the discharge of certain debts, they have 60 days after your meeting of creditors to file the objection with the court.
The objecting creditor has 90 days after your meeting of credit to file their claims with the court, providing evidence proving that you owe them money.
Trustee Objects
If there are any recent transactions, the trustee will look at those under a microscope since some individuals believe they can transfer valuable assets to family or friends as a way of protecting them. But this is fraud, and if the bankruptcy trustee or creditor has reason to believe you are acting in bad faith, it will hold up the bankruptcy process.
Trustee Sells Your Assets
If the trustee identifies assets that could be sold in your case, it will take time to value the assets, acquire them from you, and sell them.
How Long Does Bankruptcy Chapter 7 Take? Ask a Dallas Bankruptcy Attorney
Complications in your bankruptcy case can be time-consuming and frustrating. An experienced bankruptcy attorney can help you both avoid these complications and resolve them quickly if they do arise. To learn more, contact Allmand Law Firm PLLC today.
The post How Long Does Bankruptcy Chapter 7 Take? appeared first on Allmand Law.
You may have heard that Chapter 7 is a relatively quick process. But how long does bankruptcy Chapter 7 take from filing to discharge?
Typically, you can expect your case to last anywhere between four to six months. But the timeline may vary depending on the specifics of your case. An experienced Dallas bankruptcy attorney can help guide you through the process and help you avoid potential pitfalls that could delay your case.
What Are the Steps in the Chapter 7 Process?
The timeline for your Chapter 7 bankruptcy will look something like this:
Preparing Your Case
Assuming that you’re eligible for Chapter 7, you will need to consider which debts can be eliminated and which debts will have to be reaffirmed — and which assets will be subject to liquidation and which assets you can protect under Texas’ bankruptcy laws.
Filing Your Petition
You will file your petition with the court. Once you file, you have up to 14 days to submit supporting documentation, including forms related to your debts, assets, and property transactions going as far back as ten years. It’s a tedious and complicated process, but this information will provide the backbone of your bankruptcy. Any debts you want discharged will need to be listed.
Informing the Court What You Will Do With Unsecured Debts
After you file for bankruptcy, you will have 30 days to decide what you want to do with your secured debts. These can include cars and your mortgage. You can surrender the property, and discharge any remaining delinquency or you can reaffirm the debt based on the original terms or negotiate revised terms.
Attending the Meeting of Creditors
Four to six weeks after you’ve filed for bankruptcy, you will be required to attend the 341 Meeting of Creditors. This process is usually not quite as daunting as it sounds. Creditors generally do not show up for the meeting in a typical Chapter 7 case unless they have good cause. The bankruptcy trustee who presides over your bankruptcy case will ask you a series of basic questions relating to the information you provided on your bankruptcy forms. These questions are simply to ensure that you have been honest and thorough in reporting your assets and income.
After the meeting of creditors, creditors may be able to raise objections to your exemptions, but only have 30 days after the meeting of creditors to do so. After 30 days have elapsed, they’ve lost their chance. Creditors also have 60 days to object to the discharge of specific debts. Creditors have 90 days to file proof of claims, documents proving that you owe the creditor money.
Completing a Financial Management Course
Within 60 days of the meeting of creditors, you are required to take and complete a financial management course. This is different from the credit counseling course you took before filing for bankruptcy.
Closing Your Case
Around two months after the meeting of creditors, you will receive your bankruptcy discharge. The discharge formally acknowledges that you no longer owe the debts. While the discharge is the main point of bankruptcy, your bankruptcy may remain open for another two to four months.
What Factors Could Delay Your Bankruptcy Case?
The process described above is when everything goes smoothly and there are no creditor objections. However, some bankruptcies can get complicated. The following are things that could delay your case:
Trustee Must Liquidate Some Assets
If you have any assets that you could not be exempted, selling off the assets will delay your bankruptcy. The trustee will need to determine the value of the asset and then secure a fair market price for it. The money from the transaction will be turned over to your creditors.
Creditor or Trustee Objects
Generally speaking, when a creditor objects to a discharge, they are alleging fraud against the person filing for bankruptcy.
If a creditor objects to your bankruptcy exemptions, they have 30 days after your meeting of creditors to express their objections to the bankruptcy court.
If a creditor objects to the discharge of certain debts, they have 60 days after your meeting of creditors to file the objection with the court.
The objecting creditor has 90 days after your meeting of credit to file their claims with the court, providing evidence proving that you owe them money.
Trustee Objects
If there are any recent transactions, the trustee will look at those under a microscope since some individuals believe they can transfer valuable assets to family or friends as a way of protecting them. But this is fraud, and if the bankruptcy trustee or creditor has reason to believe you are acting in bad faith, it will hold up the bankruptcy process.
Trustee Sells Your Assets
If the trustee identifies assets that could be sold in your case, it will take time to value the assets, acquire them from you, and sell them.
How Long Does Bankruptcy Chapter 7 Take? Ask a Dallas Bankruptcy Attorney
Complications in your bankruptcy case can be time-consuming and frustrating. An experienced bankruptcy attorney can help you both avoid these complications and resolve them quickly if they do arise. To learn more, contact Allmand Law Firm PLLC today.
The post How Long Does Bankruptcy Chapter 7 Take? appeared first on Allmand Law Firm, PLLC.
By now, you’re probably well aware of the benefits of bankruptcy. And if you’ve been struggling with unmanageable debt for a while, you may be seriously considering pursuing debt discharge through Chapter 7. But what how does it work, and what can you do to prepare your case? Below, we discuss how to file bankruptcy Chapter 7 and what you can expect during each step of the process.
Analyze Your Debts
While Chapter 7 is a great way to discharge certain kinds of debts, it’s important to be aware of what it can and cannot discharge. If your debt is primarily mortgage or car payments, Chapter 7 can eliminate those debts but you will lose the property that the debt secures. Additionally, child support payments, student loan debt, and some tax debt are not dischargeable in Chapter 7. An experienced Dallas bankruptcy attorney at Allmand Law Firm PLLC can help you analyze your debts and advise you as to your best steps moving forward.
Assess Your Exemptions
Chapter 7 bankruptcy repays your creditors by liquidating your non-exempt assets. So if you have valuable property you want to keep, you will need to consider whether or not it will become part of the liquidation process. Typically, you will be able to retain your car, retirement accounts, and household items. In Texas, you can exempt a considerable amount of money in overall property value.
Determine Your Eligibility
Not everyone is eligible to file under Chapter 7. In order to qualify, you must pass the means test. That means that you will want to figure out whether your income is at or below the state median (which is adjusted periodically). If you’re below the state median, you automatically qualify for Chapter 7.
If you earn more than the state median, you will have to calculate the difference between your income and expenses to determine your eligibility. You must present to the court an itemized list of all of your debts and income to show that paying off your debts is not financially possible. A bankruptcy attorney can help you with this process.
Redeem or Reaffirm Secured Debts
You can discharge delinquency fees and late fees in Chapter 7, but you’ll have to reaffirm your secured debts such as your mortgage or your car loan if you plan on keeping them. You have three options:
- Redeem the property in a lump sum that pays off the entire existing balance.
- Reaffirm the debt by continuing to pay as per the loan agreement.
- Surrender the property (but you wouldn’t owe any more money on it).
File the Petition
You will need to take a credit counseling course directly before filing for bankruptcy. After completion of this course, you can then file your Chapter 7 bankruptcy forms. This process marks the official beginning of your bankruptcy. While most file all the forms at once, others make an emergency filing completing some of the forms. This is so that the automatic stay goes into effect sooner.
Once you have all of your ducks in a row, you can begin the process of filing a petition. You will be required to fill out forms that list your property, debts, income, monthly expenses, property exemptions. You will also need to decide on how you want to handle your secured debts and disclose any property transactions that occurred up to ten years prior to your bankruptcy case.
Pay the Filing Fee
You’ll need to pay a filing fee when you submit the forms to the bankruptcy court. If you cannot pay all at once, you can make payments in four installments. If you can’t pay at all, you can apply for a fee waiver by filing out yet another form. However, the fee waiver is generally only granted in cases where your household income is within 150% of federal poverty guidelines.
Submit Documents to Your Bankruptcy Trustee
During your bankruptcy, the trustee will request documents that prove your debts and income. This can include bank statements, pay stubs, tax returns, and just about anything else that the trustee requests.
Attend a Creditors Meeting
After the trustee reviews your documents and verifies the accuracy of your claims, you will go to a meeting with the bankruptcy trustee and your creditors. In most cases, creditors will not bother to attend the meeting. The trustee will ask you a series of basic questions, confirm which debts you want discharged in bankruptcy, and your creditors will also have a chance to speak, if they wish.
Complete a Debtor Education Course
Once you are done filing your paperwork, you will complete a debtor education course.
Receive a Discharge
If your petition is successful, the court will discharge your debts. Typically, this occurs within 4 to 6 months of filing.
Learn More About How to File Bankruptcy Chapter 7
If you are struggling with debt, Allmand Law Firm PLLC can help. To learn more about how to file bankruptcy Chapter 7 and how to get on the road to financial freedom, contact us today.
The post How to File Bankruptcy Chapter 7 appeared first on Allmand Law.
Updated daily, this blog will keep you informed on the latest bankruptcy news! 
Learn more about how Bankruptcy works and what you need to know.