Every bankruptcy case is assigned to a trustee, whose job it is to administer your case. The trustee may challenge almost anything he or she disagrees with, and may be heard on any issue having to do with the bankruptcy. Here, the Bank of America submitted a claim against an individual who had filed bankruptcy. […]

When you file for bankruptcy, you have to list all your property in paperwork submitted to the bankruptcy court.  Then, you may be able to claim that some of your possessions are exempt, or will not be used to pay creditors, under state or federal law.  Every state has exemptions for certain automobiles, because it […]

When you complete your Chapter 13 plan, the court will grant you a discharge of much of remaining debt, and you will not longer be required to pay it.  The creditors you owed the debt to are forbidden from trying to collect on it, as well.  Even if the bankruptcy court made a mistake in […]

If a bankruptcy court determines that an attorney who appears before it is not properly qualified or prepared to handle bankruptcy cases, the court may order the attorney to gain more knowledge before he can appear again. In this case, the bankruptcy court ordered an Alaskan attorney to stop filing Chapter 13 plans until he […]

When you file any bankruptcy case, one of the biggest advantages is that your creditors are automatically prohibited from attempting to collect on your debts.  That means they cannot repossess your car, foreclose on your home, or call you ceaselessly once you file for bankruptcy. In this case, Jason Henry bought a car with a […]

In Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, there is a general requirement that you pay what you owe to as many creditors as you can for 3 to 5 years.  At the end of the plan, you have the opportunity to wipe clean all remaining debts that are “unsecured”, such as credit card debt.  Because this only […]

If you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you need to pass a “means test” in order for your case not to be converted to Chapter 13.  The idea behind the test is that many debtors used to abuse the bankruptcy system by filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and wiping clean their debts when they could […]

Reports estimate that there are somewhere between 7 and 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States.  Many have come to the U.S. seeking work, and are often suffering financial hardships.  Many would like to seek the relief that bankruptcy can provide.  This leads many to ask:  can an illegal immigrant file for bankruptcy, or […]

A bankruptcy court can set aside, or consider void, a previous court decision that was based on mistake, surprise, or excusable neglect.  However, the person trying to set aside the prior decision must prove that one of these things existed at the time and led to the decision. Excusable neglect, generally, is when you act […]

A recent study funded by the National Cancer Institute has analyzed bankruptcy court records along with cancer registry data from almost 232,000 adult cancer cases in Washington over 14 years.  While many bankruptcy filings come as a result of medical bills, according to the study, those who live longer have increased rates of bankruptcy. The […]