In Washington, the court imposed filing fee for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $306. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filers have the option of paying this filing fee after their cases are filed. Our office prepares the required application for you so that you can get your case filed quickly and pay the filing fee later. If you do choose this option, the Washington Bankruptcy Court will impose an installment payment schedule that will enable you to pay off your filing fee in the 12 weeks after your case is filed.

Telling the bankruptcy court that you’re surrendering property in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy doesn’t mean it’s not yours anymore.
When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you complete a document titled “Statement of Intention.” That document outlines for the court what you intend to do with the property that’s secured by debts.
Think mortgages and car loans.

Authors of a recent Student Loan Study have concluded that Congress should create new classifications for both federal and private student loans and make some of them dischargeable in bankruptcy.
Under current law, as any Washington or Oregon debtor can tell you , student loans are almost always impossible to discharge in bankruptcy.

I’m Northern Virginia bankruptcy lawyer Robert Weed.  I want to talk to you about using Chapter 13 bankruptcy to stop foreclosure in Virginia. Before the housing crisis, Chapter 13 bankruptcy was the best way to stop foreclosure in Virginia.  Today, a lot of the time, getting a loan modification is a better way to stop […]The post Stop foreclosure in Virginia with Chapter 13 Bankruptcy appeared first on Robert Weed.

You can often consolidate your federal student loans. Whether it’s a good idea, however, is a different matter entirely.
I’m a big fan of keeping my finances simple.
The more bills I get each month, the more likely it is that something’s going to fall through the cracks.

Most income taxes cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, but some can. To find out whether yours can, your lawyer will need your tax account transcript.  The IRS makes these available now on line.  You can download yours here. Why do you need that?  Your lawyer can use your account transcript to see if your taxes […]The post Before bankruptcy: Getting your tax account transcripts appeared first on Robert Weed.

The Statement of Current Monthly Income is used by judges to determine if your income level raises the question of abuse of the bankruptcy laws. Part of the responsibility of the judge in a bankruptcy case is to ensure that debtors do not abuse the bankruptcy laws and avoid paying debts by filing bankruptcy when they have the means to pay. Prior to 2005, this determination was made at the discretion of judges. After new bankruptcy laws were passed in 2005, judges are no longer able to use their discretion, but instead follow the formulas outlined in the law to determine if there is abuse.

The Statement of Current Monthly Income is used by judges to determine if your income level raises the question of abuse of the bankruptcy laws. Part of the responsibility of the judge in a bankruptcy case is to ensure that debtors do not abuse the bankruptcy laws and avoid paying debts by filing bankruptcy when they have the means to pay. Prior to 2005, this determination was made at the discretion of judges. After new bankruptcy laws were passed in 2005, judges are no longer able to use their discretion, but instead follow the formulas outlined in the law to determine if there is abuse.

A layperson is often at a disadvantage when defending against a debt collection suit filed by an attorney. The debtor as a defendant does not know the "rules of the game" and sometimes takes the advice or direction of court staff (who by the way should not be giving legal advice but often do.)

A layperson is often at a disadvantage when defending against a debt collection suit filed by an attorney. The debtor as a defendant does not know the "rules of the game" and sometimes takes the advice or direction of court staff (who by the way should not be giving legal advice but often do.)