How Do Social Security Benefits Affect My Bankruptcy Case?

These days, most Americans use credit cards in one form or another and carry a balance each month. Everyone has been affected by the economic meltdown. People living off social security benefits are no exception. If you are in over your head and in a lot of debt, and receive social security benefits (SSB), you may be wondering if receiving SSB will affect your ability to file a bankruptcy case. The answer depends on your specific financial situation.

If you currently do not own any real estate and the only income you receive is social security income, you are technically judgment proof because your SSB are exempt from collection activities, such as garnishments and levies. If this is your situation, you may not need to file for bankruptcy. Even if your creditors file a lawsuit against you and obtain a judgment, they cannot levy against your SSB. The most important thing is to make sure you can prove that everything in your bank account is derived from SSB and not commingled with other sources of income. It should not be too difficult to prove all the money you have is from SSB if that is your only source of income.

If you do have real estate or other assets that need to be protected and you have other sources of income in addition to your social security benefits, most people will need to complete the Statement of Current Monthly Income and Calculation (commonly referred to as the "Means Test") to determine whether you qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or whether you should file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy instead. The means test determines what your average disposable income is based on your average income minus allowable deductions. If you have any disposable income left over it most likely means that you should be filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and paying back to them what you can afford to pay each month. Social security benefits are not considered income for means test purposes. That means that any income you receive from the Social Security office does not need to be calculated into this monthly equation.

However, even though social security benefits are not considered income for means test purposes, there is a second test to determine whether you qualify for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This test depends on what your monthly household income and expenses are. This is similar to the means test in that it takes your income and subtracts your expenses, but while the means test calculates the average income minus allowable expenses based on IRS standards to determine your disposable income, this test simply takes what your actual and future monthly household income is and subtracts your actual expenses to create your monthly budget (Schedule I and J in your bankruptcy petition). Whether your social security benefits are considered "income" depends on what jurisdiction you live in. Here in the Northern District of California, social security benefits are included in your household income. If based on your monthly budget you have disposable income, then again, it is a sign that you may need to file for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Money Management Techniques That Will Help You Towards a Secure Financial Future

Life is hard at the best of times but it is doubly difficult to meet ends meet at the present time. What with the credit crunch, the downturn in the global economies and job cuts in almost all the industries. We all want to live the life of our dreams by having a better house to live in, drive the car of our dreams and pay our bills without having concerns about our bank balance at the end of the month. Most of these things are possible with changing our lifestyle and better money management.

Nowadays every bit of information that we need is at our fingertips because of the internet and this is also true for money management. There are hundreds of sites offering you advice and information on how to become debt free with money saving tips. There are money management sites which cater to your financial planning with lots of advice and information on how to manage your money more efficiently.

It is no surprise that money issues seem to hit the younger generation the hardest. This is probably because the instant culture that affects young people and very poor money management habits. Young adults want to have things that they often fail to realize are out of their budgetary reach. One thing that we can attribute this to is the ease of getting instant credit. Another reason for this is that most young people want to live their life at the level of their parents but they fail to realize that it has taken their parents twenty or thirty years to get where they are.

Money management techniques and money saving tips have become quite popular in the recent months. More and more people begin to realize that to move towards a debt free future, you need to start saving money in all the areas that you possibly can. One place people are turning to achieve this is the internet, where you can find many organizations that provide sound financial advice and practical info on how to start achieving all your financial goals, understand everything from financial planning to getting out of debt, to managing your money wisely, to saving for your future.

If you are some one who finds themselves in a financial predicament then there are many organizations out there waiting to help you. Consumer credit counseling services offer confidential budget, credit, and housing advice in addition to debt management, financial education, and bankruptcy counseling. Money saving tips and money management advice are available online from a number of sources. All you have to do is to reach out and help is at hand that can help you on your way to a better financial future. You will have to make sacrifices on the way but when you look back, you will realize that it was worth all that effort that you put in.

Debt Settlement Tips - The Easiest Method to Find Legitimate Debt Negotiation

Even when people have knowledge of the bankruptcy alternatives they are faced with a big trouble of how to find good legal debt settlement firm nearby to help you during the negotiations. But using some simple advises you can make this job easier. The widespread fraud in the market is what bothers people making it difficult to trust anyone. The biggest convenience that the new world has is internet using which they can find a company in every corner of world if they want.

You can easily search all the debt relief agencies in your state in a matter of few hours. However it is entirely different matter to choose from all those hundreds of options you get. Many names will repeat themselves over a period of time, make a note of those names and look into their websites. Look for all the company info and see if there are more useless advertisements than actual information, if so then it is a mark of a fake website or company. If you find sufficient proof of authenticity of a company then contact them personally. Explain your situation and ask for advice on how they would go through the entire procedure.

If they try to ask for any advance amount and more than the prescribed fees no need to hire them. You can contact the state bar associations and attorney general's office for legitimate debt solutions provider. Always look into the past profile of the company, their past client history to know more about them. Contact those clients and see for yourself whether the company people spoke the truth or not. Using these very simple advices you can easily become debt free with good professional help to guide you and salvage your situation.

Single Moms - Problems and Possible Solutions

Single mothers do seem to get the hardest stresses of life. Taking care of one, and many times more than one, children all by themselves, trying to afford regular month to month bills, and all the while finding someone responsible and affordable enough to care of her children while she remains away all day long-it's not something that most of us want to endure, but the fact of the matter is that some of us do have to endure things like that. Statistically, a large percentage of women have to endure things like that.

But there are options for those of you who feel like there is no way out, or that the stress will never end. You may see being single as a handicap, when in really it is a right of passage to a more fulfilling life. It is important to look at the situation positively, and in a stress free way, and you will be able to get a new outlook that many do not. In a marriage of relationship where a child is involved, there is the additional stress of disputes and arguments; arguments with regard to how to raise your child, where the child will go while the two of you are at work, discussion on what ways the money you have earned yourself will be spent and the like. With these additional stresses out of the way, you can focus more genuinely on yourself, your own situation, and the life of your child or children.

First, governmental assistance is an option that has been around for years. There are financial help for single moms - programs offered that can help you with your monthly bills, with affordable childcare for your children while you are away at work, and even with college and educational expenses-so you know that you are not in any way handicapped. By speaking with your county or cities local human services department, you will see a whole range of benefits that you may qualify for that will help ease the stress of being a single mom. Financially, this will help a lot.

Second, find a job that will pay you what you are worth. Single mom's have something that other workers may not have: devotion. Make sure this shows in any interview you attend and it will pay off. With a decrease in bills, and an increase in pay, you can now budget your monthly expenses thoroughly by eliminating what is not necessary, and additionally, by calculating how much you will be able to save each month. This can go into a savings account, or into an investment account to help you when you are old. Even though some may not have childcare expenses to pay for, and can devote more into these types of accounts, you are not at all restricted from doing the same.

Finally, if at the end of the day you are still worried about finances, childcare, or any other aspect that being a single mom brings, remember that there are millions in the country who are also fending for themselves as single mothers. Reach out to your community to see what other options you have, such as local churches who give away food, or food discount programs. Speak to your apartment or governmental agencies about reduced rent. If you find it necessary, you can even consider getting a second job to help supplement your income. Taking care of your children will always be number one priority, but there are ways to maintain your monthly income without having to jeopardize any chance of savings. The important thing for single mothers to remember when it comes to their finances is that they are not alone, there are programs that will help, and to not become so overwhelmed.

If Filing Bankruptcy Is Available Why Would You Use Debt Consolidation?

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.

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.