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If you are filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you must list all of your creditors including your mortgage and your auto finance company. The good news is you will have the ability to continue to make voluntary payments on your mortgage and you will have the ability to reaffirm the debt on your vehicle after your bankruptcy case is filed. The reason why you must list your house and car, even though you want to keep those items, is that the Bankruptcy Code requires that all of your assets and all of your liabilities be listed on your petition. Simply by listing your liability does not mean you are not going to keep that liability. In fact, you can decide to pay any creditor post filing if you would like to. For example, some people have a physician or a dentist that they really like and despite the fact that the debt has been discharged, and despite the fact that the creditor is not seeking a payment, the debtor wants to make a voluntary payment as a goodwill gesture so they can continue to see that medical provider. The fact that the creditor had to be listed, discharge the debt; and you can make voluntary payment if you would like.
The same applies for the mortgage. You do not have to reaffirm on a mortgage. You can make a voluntary payment since the Bankruptcy Code does not require that mortgages be referred. Vehicles, however, have to be either reaffirmed, redeemed or surrendered under the Bankruptcy Code.
Now, the Reaffirmation Agreement is a separate agreement that’s going to come from the lender which basically sets out the dollar amount, the interest rate and the terms of the agreement. If you want to keep your vehicle, you have to go back on the hook and sign up for it again through this Reaffirmation Agreement. Your attorney will advise you of the consequences of doing such, however in most cases, the vehicle is necessary for living. Therefore, the attorney and the court will not have a problem with you reaffirming the debt.
Just remember, everybody you owe money to, including family members, vehicles, mortgages, must be listed on your bankruptcy petition. You have the ability to make voluntary payments or reaffirm particular debts. Don’t make the mistake of not listing creditors as that is an absolute violation of the Bankruptcy Code.
Once your bankruptcy case is filed, you have the ability to apply for and acquire a credit card. Lenders have gotten pretty aggressive these days with soliciting people after filing a bankruptcy for credit. One of the reasons why creditors do this is that they know that you cannot file another fresh start Chapter 7 bankruptcy case for eight years from the date of filing your current case. Plus, the creditor is hoping that you will use the card, pay the annual fee, pay late fees, pay interest fees and basically go into the same bad habits that might have gotten you into debt in the first place. The creditors are not offering you credit because they want to help you. They are offering you credit because they want to make money from you, they want you to use their card because they make money whether or not you just use the card and pay off the balance or whether or not you incur additional fees, late fees and carry a balance. Obviously, they make more money with the latter; however, if they can just get you using the card, they get a certain percentage from the merchants. So you have the ability to apply for a card and acquire a card immediately after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.
Now, in some cases, you might want to get a secured credit card. That is where you are putting a certain dollar amount; say $250 or $500 in a bank account and that is what you have for charging privileges. You are basically not getting credit but you are using your own down payment security deposit or credit as your ability to charge. The good thing about a secured credit card is those cards can turn into unsecured credit cards shortly down the road, provided you continue to make current payments.
So yes, you can acquire a credit card immediately after filing and you will get offers for credit cards very shortly after filing.
A 341 Meeting is a meeting of creditors we acquired and mandated by the Bankruptcy Code whereby a debtor will be examined under oath by a Chapter 7 trustee regarding assets and liabilities. The Chapter 7 trustee has the duty to examine the debtor and determine whether or not there are any assets that can+ Read MoreThe post What is a 341 Meeting? appeared first on David M. Siegel.
Foreclosure Settlement Checks are Bouncing Some people just can’t catch a break. Homeowners who received settlement checks from some of the largest banks involved in the illegal foreclosures of 2009 and 2010 reported that they were denied due to “insufficient funds.” Having the foreclosure settlement checks bounce is just the most recent blow dealt to [...]The post Foreclosure Settlement Checks are Bouncing appeared first on National Bankruptcy Forum.
A Macon, Georgia doctor was indicted earlier this month on multiple bankruptcy fraud counts. Dr. George Robert Vito, a former podiatrist who practiced in the Macon area, was indicted on 4 counts of bankruptcy fraud that included making false statements in court and falsifying documents pertaining to his filing. When Vito filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy [...]
As soon as you file, your chapter 13 bankruptcy case has officially started. Your case will be assigned to the trustee who serves your county in Arizona. If you filed paperwork to pay your filing fee in installments the court will “enter” the order, meaning the order is signed and filed with the clerk of [...]
This is a story about how Bank of America violated the bankruptcy discharge, hacking off Gus and Nikoleta, and me. (I’ve changed the names of Gus and Nikoleta–all the rest of this is true.) And then hit Gus and Nikki for a “foreclosure fee” while they were current. And then did it again.
Gus and Nikoleta came to see me in 2009.
Gus and Nikki had been through tough times and they were behind on the mortgages. They had a first and a second, both with Bank of America. They were fifteen thousand behind on their first mortgage and Bank of American was about to foreclose.
We put them into a chapter 13 bankruptcy. The had five years to pay the bankruptcy court fifty thousand dollars–catching up the first mortgage, knocking the second off the house, and paying off their car, and a little something to the rest of their creditors. (I explain how that works, here.)
In early 2011, Gus lost his job–he used his thirty five thousand dollars severance to pay off the chapter 13 early! (Pretty gutsy–he was hopeful he could get work again soon.)
After the Chapter 13 bankruptcy was paid and closed in May 2011, Bank of America misbehaved. Calling Gus and Nikki day and night, trying to collect that second mortgage that had been knocked off by the Chapter 13.
Gus tried to handle this on his own. He called Bank of America–and over five months talked to Denise, Eddie, Shauna and Tanisha. Each of them claimed in different ways that he still owed the second mortgage. He faxed them five times and sent certified mail. They kept leaving voice mails and kept billing him.
And in July 2011, they also put a $450 “foreclosure” fee on his first mortgage, which was, of course, current.
Finally, in April 2012, I filed papers to bring the bank in front of the bankruptcy judge. (I was way slower than I should have been.) That started months of back and forth between me and the Bank of America lawyer. We agreed quickly that they owed Gus and Nikki some money for their aggravation. And they owed legal fees, because the bank refused to shape up until I got involved.
We agreed, after several months, what the bank owed us–but then they said they wouldn’t pay unless I promised I wouldn’t do a blog on this whole mess.
Well, I hadn’t blogged on it–my blog is mostly helpful advice, not courtroom drama. But it’s a legal ethics violation for a lawyer to promise to keep information from the public. (That sells out the rights of people who might be in the same boat.)
Finally, the bank agreed to drop that demand, and we signed a settlement.
As soon as the settlement was signed, a new $450 foreclosure fee hit Gus’s monthly bill! The bill said he owed $450 for foreclosure fees for January 9, 2013, when he was current!
They did it again. Bank of America charged a foreclosure fee when Gus and Nikki were current--then they did it again!
What? Having spent months fighting Bank of America on his own, this time Gus called his lawyer, me, right away. He told me to get on it!
I called up their lawyer the next day and asked what the heck was going on. He assured me the Bank had a right to the $450 and he’d let me know what right as soon as he found out.
Then he called back and said, complain all you want to the bankruptcy court, it will do no good. Since the bankruptcy is over, the bankruptcy court has nothing to say.
Well, I did complain to the bankruptcy court–I’d been reasonable, now they were pushing us around.
In court last month, their lawyer said this was the same $450 foreclosure fee we had complained about the year before. We had no business, he said, complaining a second time.
When the Judge asked a follow up question, the lawyer gave a different excuse. We agree this is a mistake, the lawyer said, it’s in our computer, we can’t figure out how to stop it.
That was four different “excuses” in the space of four weeks.
Excuse one: It’s right–Gus and Nikki owe the $450
Excuse two: It’s not part of the bankruptcy; you can’t complain to the bankruptcy judge
Excuse three: This is the same $450 you complained about before; it’s unfair to complain again
Excuse four: It’s a mistake; we’re trying to fix it
The bankruptcy judge told the lawyer to come for trial on May 23 with a witness from the bank who knows and can explain what is going on. Or, you can settle with Mr. Weed and his client. (I thought that was a hint that the bank should settle, but so far they haven’t.)
It will be interesting to see what their witness says at the trial May 23. I’m looking forward to it.
(I should say their lawyer may right about one thing–the bankruptcy court has jurisdiction if this foreclosure fee is really a foreclosure fee. Because the bankruptcy stopped the foreclosure and caught the mortgage up. But suppose they say, “Oh that has nothing to do with the foreclosure back in 2009. This is our New Year’s Special no-reason-at-all-fee. We just call it a foreclosure fee.”
If it is a no-reason-at-all fee, then maybe the bankruptcy court does not have jurisdiction. But it will sure be fun to hear them explain their no-reason-at-all fee to the judge.
And I’ll order a transcript. )
Bringing you the most up-to-date news, tips and blogs throughout the web. Here’s your Bankruptcy Update for April 18, 2013 Scooter Store Bankrupt After Medicare Audit Uncovered Fraud Peabody Energy Objects to Bankruptcy Probe by Patriot Retailers more likely to liquidate in bankruptcy
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a repayment plan approved by the court. This can be a suitable option for debtors who want an affordable payment plan for their debt obligations based on what they earn. Yet, consumers may be under the impression that only earned wages or a form of employment is the only income that [...]
This is a story about how Bank of America violated the bankruptcy discharge, hacking off Gus and Nikoleta, and me. (I’ve changed the names of Gus and Nikoleta–all the rest of this is true.) And then hit Gus and Nikki for a “foreclosure fee” while they were current. And then did it again. Gus and Nikoleta came [...]The post After Bankruptcy: Bank of America Can’t Stop Themselves appeared first on Robert Weed.
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