This is the case of Carolyn Raney who is from Deerfield, Illinois who is coming to see me for a debt relief consultation.  Ms. Raney filed a Chapter 7 back in 2002 so she is eligible once again since it’s been over eight years.  She owns no real estate and she is currently living in a rental arrangement with a yearly lease which expires in June.

This is the case of Gerald Cramer who comes to me from Homewood, Illinois about bankruptcy.  Mr. Kramer filed a bankruptcy back in 1996, so long ago that he is not even sure if it’s a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 but that’s okay since it’s more than eight years ago.  Mr. Kramer does not own any real estate.  He is currently renting on a month to month basis.  He has no vehicle whatsoever.  He is using a vehicle that is in his wife’s name.

One of the most frustrating experience is that people have in bankruptcy is thinking that they will be able to keep their tax refund and then losing it to either the IRS or the trustee.  With a little bit of proper planning, it is possible to protect your tax refund.  As an initial matter, I need to understand two things about your tax refund.  First, your tax refund is probably the bankruptcy estate.  It is an asset to the chapter seven trustee can block to three payment your unsecured creditors.  Second the tax refund is actually a debt the IRS owes to you.  When you have a tax refund, yo

Many of my clients want to know if they can keep their tax refunds after the file bankruptcy.  For many people, the tax refund is an important source of revenue and income during the year.  It is possible a file bankruptcy and keep your tax refund, but you must follow the proper procedure.  Additionally, if you owe the IRS any money, it may not be possible to protect your tax refund this year.  However you can use the bankruptcy discharge to protect future tax refunds.

The shorter answer is yes, the filing fee is always paid in advance.  The filing fee in Illinois is $306 for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and $281 for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  Typically in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the attorneys’ fees are also paid up front; though your attorney may wish to offer you other payment arrangements for services rendered after the filing of your case.

The answer is no.  A married couple does have the option to file jointly and often it’s the best decision due to the fact that it costs the same amount of money for a married couple to file as an individual but there is no requirement that a married couple files together.  However, even if you are married and have a nonfiling spouse, their income and expenses will be taken into consideration when filing bankruptcy.  The way the court sees it is, income and expenses are calculated as household expenses rather than individual expenses unless, in the very rare situation, households keep comple

This is a very complicated question with a relatively simple answer.  The first consideration is where is your credit at the time of filing?  If you are the kind of person who made minimum payments on all your debt for years and years and years and just had balances pile up on them and have a very good credit rating, bankruptcy will be a significant hit to your credit.  But that’s often not the case with people who are considering bankruptcy.  In fact, if you are considering filing bankruptcy, there’s a good chance that your credit is already not that great.

More than half of all bankruptcy is caused by health problems.  Many people file bankruptcy on medical bills, including hospital bills.  (For other people, the medical expenses all ended up on credit cards.)
So it’s no surprise people ask me, “Will I get turned away from the emergency room after I file bankruptcy on the hospital?”

Bankruptcy can help in a myriad of ways.  One, it’s going to eliminate a serious amount of stress in your life.  No one likes to see a pile of debt that they cannot pay and wonder how they are going to pay it.  Second and maybe the most obvious reason is it’s going to eliminate all your debt whether in a complete fresh start bankruptcy in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy during a four-month period.  Or in a 3 to 5 year repayment plan through a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  You will be debt free at the end of your bankruptcy.

Well, there are any myriad of reasons why an individual might file bankruptcy.  The first is they just have fallen too far behind whether because of illness or a job loss or just feeling overwhelmed and they need a fresh start.  They will often take advantage of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  Chapter 7 bankruptcy is going to improve your life in a lot of ways.  One way is it’s going to eliminate a lot of stress.  We all know how hard it is to deal with debt that you just don’t know how you’re going to pay back.  Dealing with constant creditor calls, constant harassment from creditors, co