Thursday, April 29, 2010

Declaring Bankruptcy: Cost and Important Considerations

A large number of people are going through financial difficulties in their lives -- especially with the recent global Crisis throughout the world. There are a lot of individuals and corporations that undergoing buyouts and layoffs. Financially weird situations may sometimes take a bit of time to become better. At this point of time, the thought of filing bankruptcy may appear in a lot of people's minds -- especially when the recurring debts become enormous with no hope of coming out of it.

Declaring Bankruptcy Meaning

Declaring or filing bankruptcy case is an indication for creditors and financial institutions that you will not be able to pay the wholesome debts that have actually being legally incurred. But with a large number of people going for the option of the declearing bankruptcy, the government has passed an act called the "Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act" that makes it difficult for debtors to declare bankruptcy. With the release of this act the bankruptcy filing fees has increased and has made it more difficult to fire bankruptcy under Chapter 7. This act has forced people to go ahead with filing bankruptcy under Chapter 13. A number of details included in this chapter limits bankruptcy.

The filing of bankruptcy under Chapter 13

Filing under this section of bankruptcy means that there is some kind of recognition of your finances that has been done. This chapter does not forbid you to pay the debts but creates facilitation of repaying the existing debts in small sections and very easily. Filing bankruptcy under Chapter 13 may cost some of your belongings being sold by the creditors and financial institutions.

Cost of Declaring Bankruptcy

The cost of declaring bankruptcy can amount up to $1800 for personal bankruptcy. This includes the lawyer's fees and filing charges. However, the fee is also dependent on the factor of your income and in the state you live. The whole process of obtaining the declaration of bankruptcy, legally will take about six months. Once the declaration of bankruptcy has been achieved by you, the creditors know their standings and they do not have any more right to harass you. However, this also means that the credit rates your had, have also been destroyed but within a few years you can restore it.





Brian Joneta also writes about Bankruptcy and Credit issues including Declaring Personal Bankruptcy and Cost of Declaring Bankruptcy

The Importance of a Good Bankruptcy Lawyer

Going for the option of filing a bankruptcy can be a hard process and in such case a good bankruptcy attorney can be your best ally. It is very crucial to stumble on a good defense so that you don't end up losing a win-win battle. When faced with a situation like Bankruptcy, the first and foremost task is finding the best representation possible.

There are many reasons that support having a good bankruptcy lawyer that you can personally afford. By not having a good representation you may end up owing some non-secured debt or even worse -- your bankruptcy getting denied. These powerful consequences will not only affect your present but also your financial future, at least close to a decade. The right representation may lead to a big difference between one that is filled with struggles and the other which is a worry-free future.

While the bankruptcy proceedings are going on, the creditors may show up asking the judge to exempt particularly their debt from the list of your bankruptcy. Many other reasons also prompt the judge to decide if he should reject your bankruptcy suit. The judge may also ascertain including certain debt from the list. Unless you have created some major fraud, most of the claims can be easily debated by a good bankruptcy lawyer who already has experience in this field.

The last thing that you would want on earth would be you getting accused of being a fraud just because of the reason that you had unforeseen some medical expenses or lost a job. A good bankruptcy lawyer always knows how to defend their bankruptcy claim that has been made by you against various acquisitions and get rid of as much as debt as possible.

Bank laws may vary from one state to another, thus, it is important to look forward to a bankruptcy attorney locally so that the bankruptcy lawyer you choose is very familiar with the laws of bankruptcy in your state. The bankruptcy lawyer you choose can be tested by taking a counseling session first. You should clear on all your doubts and questions while speaking to the bankruptcy lawyer and then entrust the job to him.





Brian Joneta also writes about Bankruptcy and Credit issues including Declaring Personal Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Automatic Stay

Bankruptcy Law: Key Features

Sometimes back people use to file bankruptcy almost as easily as the drop of a hat, only because they wanted to do so. In most of the cases, people did not even require a real financial reason to do so but it was all possible because of some lacks in the bankruptcy laws. The bankruptcy laws have become significantly tougher in the past few years. In fact, these days you may not even qualify to file bankruptcy according to new laws.

Bankruptcy law facilitates a plan that grants a debtor (who is otherwise unable to pay its credits) to find a resolve for his debts by facilitating the division of assets amongst the creditors. In a way, this also permits the interest and benefit of the creditors being treated equally. There are a number of bankruptcy laws that support the debtors to continue with his business and at the same time use the revenue that he generates to pay off the pending debts partly. The aim of this specification is allowing debtors to get rid of the financial obligations slowly without actually meeting any harassment. Bankruptcy law inculcates comprehensive access to credit, civil litigation, commercial transactions and consumer law.

Another important aspect of bankruptcy law is that the bankruptcy cases can be either voluntary or involuntary. In Voluntary bankruptcy cases, debtors involve in filing a petition in bankruptcy courts. In case of involuntary bankruptcy, it is the creditors that file the petition. Voluntary bankruptcy cases are present in majority whereas involuntary cases are not.

Bankruptcy laws prohibit some filers from using chapter 7 if they have a higher income. In order to file a case under Chapter 7 of bankruptcy laws, the monthly income is measured and it should be either equal or less then the median income. In case the income is more than the median income the person cannot file a case under Chapter 7 of bankruptcy laws. In this case one would need to file the case and some other chapter. Personal bankruptcy is generally commenced by an individual under the filing chapters 7, 11, 12 or 13. The moment the case is filed, the automatic stay comes into play and prohibits agencies and financial institutions from taking any property or collecting money from the debtors.



Brian Joneta also writes about Bankruptcy and Credit issues including Declaring Personal Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Lawyer

Weighing Bankruptcy Consequences

The time when one is engulfed in debts is the worst time of life. There can be unpaid bills, late and high credit card fees piling up, outrageous interests of creditors and more. You may come across financial state when you realize that the bankruptcy can be the best solution for you, but the consequences of filing bankruptcy should be monitored before actually going for it.

You can weigh the actual consequences that are associated with bankruptcy by meeting with some credit card counselor and then gathering complete knowledge of your liabilities and assets. A large number of companies are available that will let you know about the pros and cons of filing bankruptcy and also recommend what they think is the best course of action you.

Talking with a bankruptcy lawyer will also help. Bankruptcy lawyers may charge a small fee for consultation but they will update you with the current laws and information that you may need to deal with, if at all you file bankruptcy. Use your meeting with the lawyer to ask a number of questions and also address the concerns you have with filing bankruptcy.

You must have a complete knowledge of the kind of bankruptcy that you can file. Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy law discharges almost all allowable debt but you may have to go through tests that prove that your income is much below the required level. If you make too much money then you need to find bankruptcy according to chapter 13 which is actually a repayment plan. By filing bankruptcy under Chapter 13 also, you'll be able to eliminate a very large portion of the pending debts but in this case you will have to fulfill a repayment plan.

It is important that you realize that filing bankruptcy may lead to losing your possessions at home. Although some states allow one to maintain certain amount of share in Car, home and other possessions but in case you have more equity than the amount that has been allowed, the court may appoint trustees to sell off the non--exempt assets. You have to decide if it is worth losing a few things or not in order to completely eliminate your debt. Keeping these important factors in mind when help you take the right decision.




Brian Joneta also writes about Bankruptcy and Credit issues including Declaring Personal Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Law

Bankruptcy Automatic Stay

Automatic stay is a powerful protection device for consumers in the realm of bankruptcy. A bankruptcy automatic stay can be defined as temporarily evaluation that has been automatically placed once the bankruptcy petition has been filed by a company or individual.

According to U.S. Bankruptcy Code section 362, the stay will protect you from almost all creditors and their actions against you from the moment the case is filed. Automatic Stay does not last forever and it generally ends when at least one of the following three actions occur:

1. your discharge is denied or granted
2. at time of deep dismissal of case
3. when the case is getting closed.

If the discharge of bankruptcy is granted and the case gets closed then the automatic stay turns permanent and takes the form of Discharge Injunction. In case the discharge has been denied or the case gets dismissed, the creditors may take action and act against you. Automatic and may also end early in you had find some other things to them past few years. This particular condition happens when you have filed at least one out of the chapters 7, 11 or 13 and the case got dismissed in the past year. In case you had filed more than one of the chapters 7, 11 or 13 and case got dismissed in the past year, then you may not get the automatic stay protection except the court instructs otherwise.

Your creditors may also request the Bankruptcy court to lift the stay and enable them to go ahead with their course of action against your property or you. This is because specific requirements for governing their ability is also present but the court will definitely require some kind of certain proof to lift the stay. Mortgage companies may also file a motion to get relief from stay safe you fall behind your payments.

Even if the court lifts the automatic stay, it does not mean that your bankruptcy suite has failed. You still have all the possibilities of getting discharged off your debts. The Discharge Injunction will help in effectively imposing the prohibition of taking any action against you.




Brian Joneta also writes about Bankruptcy and Credit issues including Declaring Personal Bankruptcy and Cost of Declaring Bankruptcy

Friday, April 2, 2010

What is a bankruptcy stay?

When you file for bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code an injunction immediately comes into force. This prevents any of your creditors from furthering any collections efforts. This is in the case of Chapter 7. In the case Chapter 13, this injunction covers co-debtors as well.

What an automatic stay does is to be the debtor a level of protection. Creditors can be a harassing lot. This however is subject to the bankruptcy judge. A stay will necessitate that all your assets as a debtor be brought to the front. An evaluation of it will be done by the court. There have been amendments however to the stay. This is to prevent repeat offenders from making use of it several times. As a debtor is you have had a prior case that closed in the previous year, you can get a month in stay. In the case of two or more pending cases, the chances of getting a stay are much slimmer.

Automatic stay do not allow for any law suits, whether they are new or pending to be initiated and continued. There are strict prohibitive orders against collection calls. Repossessions too are not allowed and neither are foreclosure sales. An automatic stay is enforced till the judge revokes it. This often happens at the behest of the creditors or in the case of the debtor getting a discharge. If you are filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 you can save yourself from foreclosure if you are in such a situation.

In terms of benefit, the stay becomes permanent in the case of a discharge. A permanent injunction automatically comes into play. There are however some situations which cannot change when filing for bankruptcy. It cannot in halt criminal proceedings. Neither will you be exempt from paying child support or alimony. Taxes due to the government will not be exempt.

People who are found in violation of a stay will be liable for penalization as prescribed. The responsibility of communicating filing of bankruptcy to creditors rests with the debtors. The courts cannot be held responsible for this. Any action that is taken by the creditor once bankruptcy has been filed for becomes null and void and will have no legal implications.

Brian Joneta also writes about Bankruptcy and Credit issues including Declaring Personal Bankruptcy and Cost of Declaring Bankruptcy

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Personal bankruptcy goarticles And Credit issues bloglines Blog

How to avoid filing for bankruptcy

For many people, filing for bankruptcy has become a necessity. This is to handle the ever increasing financial pressure that is being levied on the common man. With accumulating debts and the resultant pressure on debtors, there have been several defaults. Filing for bankruptcy often becomes the only solution. But before you actually do so there are few options you should consider to help avoid filing for bankruptcy.

If you have a lot of credit on your credit cards, check out on whether there is still the option of making minimum payments each month on them. Assess whether you run your home on the credit card and whether you have been taking cash from one card to make payments for another. And most importantly has your payments to the card exceeded the actual limit allotted to you. If you have answered yes to most of these then chances are you are facing extreme financial pressure. Besides these factors you may have some unexpected expenses such as hospitalization bills, a major illness, divorce, lay off etc. An assessment of your entire financial status is required before you actually decide to file for bankruptcy. This is needed to ensure that you can chart out a repayment plan and stick it.

You could think of alternatives such as consolidation of your debt or taking a loan against home equity. What you will need to analyze are all the terms and conditions of the new loan plan you take. Take into account your employment situation and your capacity to repay loans. If you are taking a loan against your home, then take as much required to clear your debts only. Anything more could land you in more trouble in terms of repayment.

Stop the use of any of your credit cards till you are completely out of debt. This will involve a change in lifestyle temporarily but it will be worth the effort. A month before you file for bankruptcy try the tracking all your expenses, even the smallest ones to see where you are spending unnecessarily. Create a household budget and stick to it no matter what. Make every effort possible to try and clear your debt before you file for bankruptcy. Work at clearing the credit card with the highest interest rate first and then work on the others. Financial discipline is what it will take to try and bring your finances on track before you file for bankruptcy.

Brian Joneta also writes about Bankruptcy and Credit issues including Declaring Personal Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Automatic Stay

Also read about

Personal Bankruptcy articlebiz Articles And Credit issues bravenet blogs

Easing the emotional burden

Filing for bankruptcy can take an emotional toll on anybody. Largely because it is not a nice situation to be in – socially or personally. Constantly having to see bills that you cannot pay pile up can be disturbing. Have creditors call at insane hours and leave messages at every possible outlet can be frustrating. Considering the present economic climate and the aftermath of recession, the number of people filing for bankruptcy is high and doesn’t seem to be on the decline. Despite the social negativity associated with it, filing for bankruptcy can be the most intelligent decision you have made yet.

One of the fall outs of dealing with the bankruptcy is having to break the news to your family. It can be even more daunting if you have kept them sheltered from the family’s financial issues till then. You will have to break the news in such a way so as to reduce the shock that is often associated with it.

There is no good way of breaking the news to your family however you can do it in a manner that can cushion the blow. For starters get your spouse into the loop if you already haven’t done that. Many people tend to hide facts from immediate family out of shame. But in a situation like this, breaking the news to the rest of the family has to be done with care. Having your partner by your side helps. It helps reduce the emotional burden associated with bankruptcy.

The next step is to consult a good bankruptcy lawyer to help you and the family find the ideal means of dealing with the situation. You have to understand that filing for bankruptcy affects one’s credit ratings. But this is a temporary issue. Depending on the extent of your petition, you may even get a discharge or in its place, a reasonably good repayment plan. Tell your family of these options to help them understand that you are not standing at the brink of disaster, but rather have met a road block.

Being as honest with your family as needed is the best way to go about it. Talk to the children together and allow them to ask you questions. It will put their little minds at rest. Emphasize the need for a slightly altered lifestyle and ensure them that this is only a temporary phase. In the case of younger children, you may not have much of an issue, but with older ones you may have to deal with resentment and anger. Family therapy would be a good idea, especially if members are having a hard time coping.

Brian Joneta also writes about Bankruptcy and Credit issues including Declaring Personal Bankruptcy and Cost of Declaring Bankruptcy

Also read about

Bankruptcy self growth artcicles And Credit Issues Bravenet Blog

Thursday, April 1, 2010

The cost of filing for bankruptcy

Living in the modern world is not easy. Value for money is a concept rarely heard of. With additional financial pressures as a result of recession and layoffs, debts constantly mount. In such a scenario applying for bankruptcy can be looked as a solution till you get back on track. Many people tend to dither between wanting to file for bankruptcy and being too scared to do so. Others who do decide to take the plunge often back off at the thought of bankruptcy fees involved.

What you have to understand is that if you are in a situation where paying off debts doesn’t seem likely for a while and they are going to keep mounting, then declaring bankruptcy is an option that you have to think of. Many people tend to hesitate taking the plunge thinking the costs involved are formidable. This line of thinking rises purely from being unaware. The costs actually work out much simpler than perceived.

Court fees form a small portion of the bankruptcy proceeding. If you are filing under Chapter 7, the court fees payable is around $274. In the case of Chapter 13, it is $189. For those people who are significantly in debt, this may seem like a huge amount. But what you should look at here is the long terms benefits. At this price, you will be able to get a respite for paying your dues. It will give you time to take a step back, re-plan your finances and work out a plausible means of getting out the financial rut you are in.

This having been said, bankruptcy costs are largely due to legal fees that are incurred. Declaring bankruptcy requires that you hire the legal services of an experienced firm or lawyer. Under any circumstance, filing for bankruptcy is a complicated affair and not one you should attempt on your own. Law firms understand this and therefore charge a substantial amount in terms of fees. Through it all you have to keep in mind that successful bankruptcy claims can give you a much needed break from paying off debts. It will also mean that you could be eligible for a discharge. In fact most law firms work out payment schedule for their fees since they know they are working with clients who are already in serious financial trouble.

Brian Joneta also writes about Bankruptcy and Credit issues including Declaring Personal Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Law

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Bankruptcy the freelibrary articles And Credit issues Vox Blog

An overview of bankruptcy law

Put in simple words, bankruptcy law is what allows you, as a creditor to be able to solve your financial problems. It creates a forum where you can develop a repayment plan and stick to it. In some cases your assets will need to be divided and given to creditors. This is often done under a court-appointed trustee who will oversee the entire process. There are several categories under which you can file for bankruptcy. Some of them allow you to continue in your line of work to generate the funds to repay your debts.

Bankruptcy laws also provide for the ability to get discharges where are creditor can free himself of accumulated debt. Once provided by the court a creditor will not be required to pay all of his debts in full.

Bankruptcy law comes under the purview of Federal Law and comes under Title 11 of the United States Code. While the overall law has to be adhered to, each state can be laws that further guide the creditor-debtor in the process of claims. All proceedings in relation to bankruptcy claims are dealt with in the United States Bankruptcy Courts. Bankruptcy proceedings are of two kinds. The most commonly opted for is under Chapter 7 which calls for liquidation. A trustee is appointed to supervise the division of assets to creditors. Bankruptcy can also be filed for under Chapters 11, 12, and 13. These proceedings can be voluntary or can be initiated by the creditors. What these Chapters provide for is a means to allow the debtor to work off his debt.

Once bankruptcy is filed for, creditors will have to wait to claim their dues within the boundaries of the ongoing proceedings. The debtor cannot move any asset that is a part of the proceeding. Any such transfers that had been initiated before the proceedings will be cancelled or invalidated. The Bankruptcy code has several provisions that allow creditors to build priorities. Recent rulings however have held that Individual Retirement accounts cannot be used for withdrawal in bankruptcy cases. This gives some measure of protection to debtors who are already in serious financial trouble.

There have been several revisions of guidelines with regards to dismissals and conversions in relation to proceedings in each of the chapters. The role of the trustees too has been expanded to include more supervisory responsibilities.

Brian Joneta also writes about Bankruptcy and Credit issues including Declaring Personal Bankruptcy and Cost of Declaring Bankruptcy