Ever since the real estate and credit meltdown there have been many Americans facing the dreaded bankruptcy and foreclosure. With the huge numbers of individuals filing bankruptcy and facing foreclosure there have been many types of businesses that eliminate debt coming out of the woodwork. Just pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV and you'll see something every day about the how experts feel the best way for struggling consumers to get out of debt. There have been many controversial ideas that have come out of the alternative to bankruptcy boom. There are many so-called financial professionals that come on TV spouting inaccurate assumptions about filing bankruptcy and how the process works. Recently, a TV financial guru was speaking about filing bankruptcy over simplifying the entire process. This showed their obvious lack of knowledge when it comes to the subject of bankruptcy.
With all this fear of bankruptcy being debated by financial experts on the TV makes debtors question whether they should pursue debt consolidation options over filing bankruptcy. This advice should be solely left to an expert like a bankruptcy attorney who can advise a debtor on the benefits and negative aspects of bankruptcy filing.
After speaking with a bankruptcy attorney a debtor will find out that the truth is, neither of the options is really perfect. Having to pay back a portion of your debt through debt consolidation can really cramp your lifestyle, as well as, filing bankruptcy will temporarily slow you down also. As many people can testify your focus should be directed toward your financial problems and not getting caught up in a possible scam trying to reduce your amount of debt.
A bankruptcy attorney will tell you that filing bankruptcy is not easy and is a long complicated process. A good attorney will also tell you that bankruptcy does not guarantee that all your debts will be discharged when filing. On the downside, there have been a number of attorneys that have decided to jump into the filing bankruptcy boom. People should beware of a lawyer claiming to be a bankruptcy attorney but has very little experience to back it up.
Debt management and debt consolidation companies have many of their own issues. Generally, the terms of the debt management program is dictated by the creditors. The creditors will press every nickel that they can out of a debtor. Becoming debt-free is usually not the focus with these debt consolidation companies. If you had to choose between the two debt management services, they don't work very well and the person ends up filing bankruptcy anyways. So the bottom line is, debtor should cut to the chase and find a good bankruptcy attorney to help them get their lives out of financial turmoil.
Minggu, 27 Agustus 2017
Senin, 14 Agustus 2017
Multiple Bankruptcy Filings - How Long Do I Have To Wait To File Again?
In a bad economy, it is not surprising to see an increase in bankruptcy filings. However, once your debts are discharged in your bankruptcy petition, the law limits your ability to file another bankruptcy petition for a certain number of years. This law was made to prevent bankruptcy fraud and abuse. If anyone could discharge debt at any time banks would not want to lend money and would have severed consequences for economy, students and almost everyone. How would anyone ever buy a home or start a business? The Bankruptcy Code provides rules for when another bankruptcy can filed and under what chapter of the Bankruptcy Code.
Chapter 7 to Ch. 7
If you have previously filed a Chapter 7 or 11 bankruptcy and received a discharge, under §727(8) of the Bankruptcy Code, you cannot receive another discharge in another Ch. 7 bankruptcy until at least 8 years after the date you filed your first Ch. 7 bankruptcy.
Chapter 7 to Ch. 13
If you have previously filed a Chapter 7, 11, or 12, §1328(f)(1) indicates that you will need to wait at least 4 years from the date to file a Ch. 13 bankruptcy.
Chapter 13 to Ch. 7
Under §727(9), you cannot receive a Chapter 7 discharge if you have previously filed a Chapter 12 or 13 bankruptcy within 6 years before the date of filing the Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, the exception to this rule is that you can receive a discharge in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy if your previous Chapter 13 bankruptcy paid at least 100% of the allowed unsecured claims or 70% of the allowed unsecured claims and the plan was proposed by the debtor in good faith and was the debtor's best efforts.
Chapter 13 to Ch. 13
§1328(f)(2) provides that if you received a discharge in a previous Ch. 13 bankruptcy, you cannot receive a discharge in another Ch. 13 petition filed in the 2 year period preceding the date of the discharge order in the previous Ch. 13 bankruptcy.
Thus, in summary, if you want to file a Ch. 7 bankruptcy, and you wish to file another Ch. 7 bankruptcy, you have to wait 8 years from the date you filed the first Chapter 7 petition before you will be eligible for a discharge. If you want to file a Chapter 7 petition and you have previously filed a Chapter 13 petition, you have to wait for 6 years. If you had previously filed a Chapter 7 petition and you wish to file a Chapter 13 petition, you have to wait for 4 years. Finally, if you filed a previous Chapter 13 petition, you cannot file another Chapter 13 petition in the 2 year period prior to the discharge order of the previous Chapter 13 petition.
Now that you know how long you have to wait before you can file another bankruptcy petition, what happens if you cannot wait for the required 8,6,4, or 2 years? Can you still file for bankruptcy? The answer to this question is "Yes." However, the catch is that although you can file for bankruptcy, you do not receive a discharge. This means that you will still be obligated to pay for the debts after your bankruptcy case is completed. Many people may ask, if I don't receive a discharge of all my debt, why should I file for bankruptcy? There are a lot of reasons why people may file for bankruptcy protection: to stop a foreclosure sale on their home, to create a payment plan to pay off their non-dischargeable tax debt, to stop a levy of their bank accounts and many others reasons.
Chapter 7 to Ch. 7
If you have previously filed a Chapter 7 or 11 bankruptcy and received a discharge, under §727(8) of the Bankruptcy Code, you cannot receive another discharge in another Ch. 7 bankruptcy until at least 8 years after the date you filed your first Ch. 7 bankruptcy.
Chapter 7 to Ch. 13
If you have previously filed a Chapter 7, 11, or 12, §1328(f)(1) indicates that you will need to wait at least 4 years from the date to file a Ch. 13 bankruptcy.
Chapter 13 to Ch. 7
Under §727(9), you cannot receive a Chapter 7 discharge if you have previously filed a Chapter 12 or 13 bankruptcy within 6 years before the date of filing the Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, the exception to this rule is that you can receive a discharge in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy if your previous Chapter 13 bankruptcy paid at least 100% of the allowed unsecured claims or 70% of the allowed unsecured claims and the plan was proposed by the debtor in good faith and was the debtor's best efforts.
Chapter 13 to Ch. 13
§1328(f)(2) provides that if you received a discharge in a previous Ch. 13 bankruptcy, you cannot receive a discharge in another Ch. 13 petition filed in the 2 year period preceding the date of the discharge order in the previous Ch. 13 bankruptcy.
Thus, in summary, if you want to file a Ch. 7 bankruptcy, and you wish to file another Ch. 7 bankruptcy, you have to wait 8 years from the date you filed the first Chapter 7 petition before you will be eligible for a discharge. If you want to file a Chapter 7 petition and you have previously filed a Chapter 13 petition, you have to wait for 6 years. If you had previously filed a Chapter 7 petition and you wish to file a Chapter 13 petition, you have to wait for 4 years. Finally, if you filed a previous Chapter 13 petition, you cannot file another Chapter 13 petition in the 2 year period prior to the discharge order of the previous Chapter 13 petition.
Now that you know how long you have to wait before you can file another bankruptcy petition, what happens if you cannot wait for the required 8,6,4, or 2 years? Can you still file for bankruptcy? The answer to this question is "Yes." However, the catch is that although you can file for bankruptcy, you do not receive a discharge. This means that you will still be obligated to pay for the debts after your bankruptcy case is completed. Many people may ask, if I don't receive a discharge of all my debt, why should I file for bankruptcy? There are a lot of reasons why people may file for bankruptcy protection: to stop a foreclosure sale on their home, to create a payment plan to pay off their non-dischargeable tax debt, to stop a levy of their bank accounts and many others reasons.
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