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 is there a citizenship requirement? There is no citizenship requirement in the bankruptcy code. To file, a person must reside in the United States or have a business here, or...
Read More
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 with good intentions, good faith, but somehow did not act or do what you needed to in the prior case, and you had a good reason for not acting. If...
Read More
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 study found that bankruptcy rates quadrupled within five years of cancer diagnoses, and that cancer rates were nearly twice as high among cancer patients one year after diagnosis. Most cancer...
Read More
In re: Bearup, No. A10-00565-HAR (Bankr. D. Alaska, June 1, 2011) In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the trustee, whose job it is to administer your case, will compile all your property to pay creditors. If the trustee believes you are hiding property or disguising property to avoid it being used in the case, he or she may challenge your classification of the property. One such way for the trustee to challenge property is to claim that a nonprofit organization you are a part of. In this...
Read More
When you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you propose to the court a plan to repay your creditors. During the course of this plan, the court must approve many of your decisions, including the decision to hire a realtor to sell property. The court will want to look at how much you will pay the realtor to decide whether the fee is reasonable. Also, the court will look to the terms of your deal with the realtor in order to decide that they are fair...
Read More
Considering filing for Arizona bankruptcy? Need a new car? These two things may seem odd to do together, but for many bankruptcy filers, it makes sense to buy a new car before filing for bankruptcy. One reason is that once you file for bankruptcy, it will be difficult to get a loan at all, and especially on decent terms, for the short term. So it is a good idea to plan ahead, and make sure your car will make it through this period. If...
Read More
It is the trustee’s job to administer your bankruptcy case. He’s the one who will try to figure out how much property you own, what can be sold, and how much to pay creditors. He challenges anything in the case he does not agree with, and he holds the all-important creditor meeting. So what’s in it for him? Most Chapter 7 trustees actually don’t get paid very much. They get paid a flat fee, which comes from your bankruptcy filing fee, of $60. After that,...
Read More
Although the point of garnishing wages is to make sure creditors get paid, states that permit it have a higher bankruptcy rate than states that do not. What can you do to prevent or stop wage garnishment? If you do not pay your bills, a creditor can sue you to collect what you owe. If they win, and you still cannot or will not pay, the court may grant the creditor the ability to garner your wages. This means that your employer will be required...
Read More
Does Higher Consumer Spending Amount to Increased Bankruptcies? A June report from the Arizona Department of Revenue, which keeps track of consumer spending that the government can tax, put the total expenditures on taxable items in May of 2011 at $4.01 billion. This is a return to pre-recession levels, and for many businesses is a good sign that the economy is recovering. For at least a year and a half between 2008 and 2010, the amount of outstanding consumer debt decreased for the first time...
Read More
When you file for bankruptcy protection, can you “cancel” or “change” your case once you have submitted your petition to the court? That may depend. Unfortunately for many filers, there is no way to undo a filing. Whether you can dismiss your case depends on the Bankruptcy Chapter within which you file. After filing, you can voluntarily dismiss a Chapter 13 case, but if you decide to file again within the year, you may lose the protection of the automatic stay. Bankruptcy’s automatic stay, one...
Read More
