Blogs

Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy won’t get rid of a judgment that’s already on your record. Depending on your situation, you may not care.
When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you are looking to wipe out your personal liability for repayment of certain debts.
If a creditor sued you and got a judgment before the bankruptcy case is filed, then you may be able to wipe out that liability.
But the judgment is a separate matter. It is a record of an official result of a lawsuit in court. Even if you wipe out your liability for the debt, the record of your judgment remains in place.
What If You Do Nothing?
Assuming the underlying debt is wiped out in your Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, the judgment remains nothing more than an empty shell.
The creditor cannot freeze your bank account, seize your wages, or take any further action against you.
However, the judgment may remain on record as a valid lien against any property you owned at the time your Chapter 7 bankruptcy was filed. The creditor can’t do anything with the lien, but it will need to be paid off in the event that you try to sell the property while the judgment is in place.
Under California law, a judgment becomes a lien on land, a house or other building you own only if the judgment creditor files an Abstract of Judgment. In other states such as New York, however, the judgment is automatically a lien against property.
Why A Judgment Lien May Not Be Troubling
A judgment does not last forever. In the event that the judgment is considered a lien against your property, you may not be concerned if you don’t intend to sell the property before the judgment expires.
Judgments expire in 10 years under both California and New York laws. In both states, however, the creditor can apply for an extension of the judgment to get 10 more years to collect the debt.
In addition, if you’re in New York you have the option of going back to state court to seek a discharge of the judgment after a certain amount of time has passed since your bankruptcy discharge. Learn more about that here.
If you go through Chapter 7 bankruptcy and have a judgment but don’t expect to need to sell your property within the time that’s left for enforcement, you may decide to do nothing. It’s a decision you need to make with your bankruptcy lawyer.
How To Get Rid Of The Judgment Lien In Bankruptcy
Let’s say you don’t feel comfortable with the lien remaining in place.
If that’s the case, you’ll need to file a motion to avoid the judgment lien in bankruptcy court.
To do so, you’ll need to prove that the lien is impairing an exemption to which you are entitled under the bankruptcy laws. You should expect to provide to your lawyer at least all of the following:

• valuation of the property;
• balance due on all mortgages, home equity loans, and other liens; and
• copy of the judgment (and, if applicable, Abstract of Judgment) from the state court.

Is It Included In Your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Fees?
Depending on when the judgment is issued, taking care of the motion in bankruptcy court may or may not be made a part of your retainer agreement. You want to make sure your lawyer knows about all pending lawsuits and outstanding judgments so that he or she can properly assess your situation.
Read the retainer agreement carefully and ask questions. Without full information about what’s covered and what isn’t, there’s no way for you to plan your post-bankruptcy future.

Personal Bankruptcy Is Technically Public The fact is that filing a personal bankruptcy case is public record. However, the fact you filed is not something that is easy to obtain by the general public. There is a public access system known as PACER which contains information regarding bankruptcy filings throughout the country. To gain access to+ Read MoreThe post Is Filing Personal Bankruptcy Public? appeared first on David M. Siegel.

Here's a site to give you your daily bankruptcy news fix:
Daily Bankruptcy News

Adam Brown is a bankruptcy attorney for Dexter & Dexter, a debt relief agency helping people file for bankruptcy.

Behind on the rent? Looking to buy yourself some more time, maybe even wipe out the obligation to the landlord altogether?
If so, you may be tempted by the prospect of filing for bankruptcy.
Filing for bankruptcy will usually wipe out the balance due for past due rent as of the date on which the case is filed. Rent for any period after the case is filed won’t be wiped out, though.
But if you time your bankruptcy correctly, you may also be able to buy some more time in the place before you have to move out.
The Automatic Stay
The filing of a bankruptcy petition stops all efforts at collection, including an eviction proceeding. This automatic stay remains in effect until a creditor makes a request to the court and that request is granted, or until the case is closed or dismissed, or when your discharge is granted.
This means that, under normal circumstances, the eviction action has to stop the minute your bankruptcy case is filed with the court.
Stopping the eviction means you get some extra time before you need to move out.
Landlord’s Exception To The Automatic Stay – Judgment Of Possession
If there a judgment for possession of the property due to failure to pay rent was issued before the bankruptcy case is filed, there is an exception to the automatic stay.
This exception to the automatic stay would not apply if you do all of the following:

1. specially mark the petition indicating a judgment of possession has been obtained on the rental property;
2. provide the name and address of the landlord that obtained the judgment;
3. file with the petition and serve on the landlord a certification under penalty of perjury that, under the applicable landlord-tenant law, there are circumstances under which you would be permitted to cure the entire monetary default that gave rise to the judgment for possession;
4. along with the petition, deposit with the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court any rent that would become due during the 30-day
5. period after the filing of the bankruptcy petition; and
6. within 30 days of the filing of the petition, file with the bankruptcy court and serve on the landlord a further certification (under penalty of perjury) that the entire monetary default has been cured.

Landlord’s Exception To The Automatic Stay – Non-Monetary Eviction
If you’re being evicted because of a reason aside from failure to pay the rent – for example, conduct causing a health and/or fire risk; use of illegal drugs on property – then there is an automatic exception from the automatic stay.
This exception applies only to residential property in which you reside, if you are “endangering” the property or using, or allowing to be used, illegal controlled substances on the property.
In order for this exception to apply, the landlord must file with the court, and serve on you, a certification under penalty of perjury that such an eviction action has been filed, or that you, during the 30-day period preceding the date of the filing of the certification, have endangered property or illegally used or allowed to be used a controlled substance on the property.
If such a certification is filed then you are required to file an objection with the court and serve such objection on the landlord within 15 days of the landlord’s certification. The court will hold a hearing, and you have the burden of proving that the landlord is incorrect.
Time Your Bankruptcy To Maximize The Benefit
Depending on your goals, the timing of your bankruptcy filing can be really important.
If you’re looking to wipe out as much of the deficiency as possible, file your case as late as you can.
But if you want to buy a little time before you have to pack up and move, you may want to file before the possession order comes down from the housing court judge.