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Sometimes it’s helpful to have kind of a global or overhead view of a process before drilling down in into the particulars. What follows is a view of Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Oregon and Washington from 30,000 feet up. I mean that both figuratively and literally as I am writing this 30,000 feet above eastern Oregon on a flight into Portland. Anyway, here goes nothing.
First, before a bankruptcy can be filed with the court, you must complete a credit counseling course. Fortunately, this course can be completed on the phone and online, figure maybe forty-five minutes to get this done. Depending on your financial status, you may have to pay a fee, normally somewhere between fifteen and twenty-five dollars. When you have satisfactorily the course, you will receive a certificate of completion, which is valid for 180 days. If you use our provider, the provider will automatically send on a copy of the certificate to our offices. 
After you complete the course, we work with you to prepare paperwork including the identities and addresses of your creditors and the amounts owed, descriptions of your property, your current expenses and income, a statement concerning your financial affairs and a statement of what you intend to do with the property you used as collateral to secure consumer debts. You must include all of the creditors that you know about, everyone goes in. You can opt to repay a debt to a family member or friend later, but they need to be completed. 
We try to make the process of getting this paperwork put together as easy as possible. We can provide you with an online questionnaire, rather than the 70 page monstrosities that many firms are handing out these days for you to fill out by hand and then drop them off at their offices rather than just hitting the submit button. We have detailed lists of the documents that we are going to need to file your case and we provide you with those lists as soon as we  are hired. We can often do prep appointments over the phone with you before you come in to file your case so that your time in our office(away from work and/or family) is minimized. 
All of your information must be submitted on forms that have been approved by the court. They are filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court, along with the certificate of completion of the credit counseling course. You must also pay a filing fee to the court which is $335, but you need not pay this at the time of filing. Our office is happy to submit paperwork to the court so that your can get a few months to pay it off.  
Your bankruptcy is effective the moment it is electronically filed with the court. Once your bankruptcy is filed, the court will notify every creditor that you listed in your petition that you have filed for bankruptcy. The court will also set a date, time and place for a hearing that is called either the section 341(a) hearing or the “meeting of creditors.” 
The hearing is usually held somewhere between 28 and 36 days after your bankruptcy is filed. You must attend this hearing with us and answer questions under oath by the trustee and any creditors who appear. Creditors rarely appear. The questions are about your financial affairs, including your property, past earnings, past transactions, and the forms you have filed. Your case may be dismissed if you fail to attend as scheduled. These hearings generally are about five minutes long. 
After your case is filed, our case managers will likely need documents from you to submit to the Chapter 7 Trustee. Failing to provide these documents in a timely manner can have major repercussions, including dismissal  or having to come back for a second hearing. It is also critical that you bring photo identification and official proof of your social security number or your hearing will not be held.  
The trustee who administers your hearing is appointed by the court. The trustee is obligated to determine whether you have properly completed all of the forms and listed all of your assets and your creditors.
It is also the trustee’s duty to take possession and sell any of your non-exempt property, to examine claims creditors may file and determine whether they are proper, and to distribute any proceeds of that property among your creditors. This rarely comes up for two reasons. First, the exemptions that are used to protected assets in both Oregon and Washington are actually extremely generous. Second, we screen for potential issues prior to the filing of your case. 
You might be required to make further court appearances at the trustee’s request. Also, if anyone objects for any reason to you getting a discharge of all or part of your debts, we may have to appear in court on your behalf to defend your position. Again, in the vast majority of cases, these issues do not come up.
No more than forty-five days after your meeting of creditors, you must complete a second counseling course to be eligible for a discharge. This course is on personal financial management. It can be completed on the Internet or by telephone. This course generally costs between ten and twenty-five dollars, depending on who you use. If you do not timely complete this course and file the certificate of completion with the court, the court can close your case without discharging your debts.
During the entire bankruptcy process you must be honest and as accurate as possible in the information you put in your petition and with your answers to questions.
Please let me know if you have any questions at all about the bankruptcy filing process. The above overview is just that, an overview from 10,000 feet. If you want to drill down on a specific issue that worries you during the filing process, set an appointment with one of our attorneys in Portland, Salem or Vancouver. You can also book a video or phone appointment with me. We are here to help. 
The post Overview of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Oregon and Washington appeared first on Portland Bankruptcy Attorney | Northwest Debt Relief.

U S Senate Votes to Override Bill of Rights Last night, the United States Senate blocked an effort to restore a neglected part of America’s Bill of Rights: The Seventh Amendment to the Constitution. The Seventh Amendment grantees a jury in civil cases; cases where people are suing other people, or corporations. (The better known […]
The post U S Senate Ignores The Seventh Amendment by Robert Weed appeared first on Robert Weed.

So you were in the marijuana business or worked in it and things didn’t work out. Now you are thinking about filing bankruptcy and wonder what effect, if any, your former business or employer is going to have on you.  As bizarre as it might sound to anyone living in Portland or Salem where dispensaries have become about as ubiquitous as gas stations, this can be a real problem. 
It is the policy of the United States Trustee Program that United States Trustees shall
move to dismiss or object in all cases involving marijuana assets on grounds that such assets may not be administered under the Bankruptcy Code even if trustees or other parties object on the same or different grounds. There is no distinction made between states where marijuana is legal and less evolved states where it is not. 
With respect to Chapter 13 bankruptcy, it seems pretty clear that no debtor is going to be able to fund a Chapter 13 Plan with any income that is even tangentially related to marijuana. After all, in one Oregon bankruptcy case, a debtor who owned a medical marijuana business filed for chapter 13 protection, but the plan was denied when the U.S. trustee objected to his case due to the fact that income received from the debtor to support the plan payments was partially derived from Federally illegal activity. 
In a recent Colorado case, the U.S. Trustee successfully objected where a debtor derived 25% of his income from renting out space to a grower. The debtors bankruptcy was dismissed as the debtor was found to have “unclean hands.” 
With respect to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it seems pretty clear that the U.S. Trustee is going to take a hard line with respect to debtors with any assets that stem(pun intended) from the marijuana business. For our part, we would encourage any debtor currently employed in any marijuana related business to find work elsewhere prior to filing. Moreover, debtors in possession(pun intended) of grow equipment or any other property used in the marijuana business would do well to eliminate that property prior to filing.
If you are or were in the marijuana business or somehow profited from it even tangentially, it’s  critical that you consult with a Portland or Salem bankruptcy attorney about how to put yourself in a position to seek relief under the bankruptcy code. 
The post Oregon, Bankruptcy and Marijuana appeared first on Portland Bankruptcy Attorney | Northwest Debt Relief.

Higher education is a critical investment for the future, and it has become
a commodity younger generations, as well as older generations looking
to start new careers, are required to have by more and more companies
when beginning their careers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come cheap.
With rising tuition costs at both public and private institutions, in addition
to ancillary costs for books, room, and board, many American students
have turned to student loans in order to fund their education. While student
loans can be a sound and reasonable investment for one’s future,
they can also become a cumbersome debt that looms large over many individuals
for years to come. This is especially true when students accumulate large
student debt loads, and have difficulties finding employment or jobs that
pay them enough to pay down their debt.
If you have student loan debt and are considering
bankruptcy, you are certainly not alone. Student loan debt now exceeds credit card
debt as Americans ‘largest financial obligations, and the problem
has become one economists suggest could trigger the next bubble. As such,
legislators and advocates are constantly pursuing ways to deal with the
crisis, including gaining control of rising tuition and providing better
subsidies and scholarship opportunities to students. While many lawmakers
are also exploring ways to make student loan debt dischargeable, or to
allow for debt relief to those who carry burdensome student debt loads,
student loan debt still generally remains a non-dischargeable debt in
bankruptcy.
While student loan debt may not be wiped away by bankruptcy, at least for
now, it does not mean that bankruptcy is not a viable solution for debt
relief and financial improvement. Having working with numerous clients
across the Dallas – Fort Worth area who struggled with student loan
debt, in addition to other financial concerns, our bankruptcy lawyers
at Allmand Law Firm, PLLC know how to help address the unique issues involved
and guide clients throughout the bankruptcy process.
If you think you have a shot at discharging your student debts through
bankruptcy, here’s what you need to know:

• There may be options – Although student debt loans are typically non-dischargeable in
  bankruptcy, there has been increasing use of exceptions made by courts.
  These are generally reserved for situations where borrowers face undue
  hardships to both themselves and any dependents if they are required to
  remain on the hook for student loan debt.
• Proving hardship – In order to prove undue hardship, courts commonly use a Brunner
  test, which involves showing: 1) a minimal standard of living cannot be
  maintained when a debtor is forced to repay student loans; 2) there are
  additional circumstances that complicate their ability to repay student
  loans, and which will likely persist through the repayment period; and
  3) the debtor has made attempts in good faith to repay the student debt.

These are merely general facts about pursuing a discharge of student loan
debt, and it must be mentioned that every case is unique. Your particular
situation and the financial circumstances involved will always dictate
your available options and whether you may be entitled to a discharge
of student loan debt.
If you have questions, our legal team at Allmand Law Firm, PLLC is available
to discuss your situation, student loan debt, and how we may be able to
assist you in pursuing bankruptcy or other debt relief options.
Contact us for a FREE financial empowerment session.

The post How to File for Bankruptcy with Student Loans appeared first on Allmand Law.