Tucson Bankruptcy Blog Tucson Bankruptcy Lawyer

Deciding to file bankruptcy is a really personal decision. But there are a few red flags which probably mean it’s a really good option. So if you’re considering going into your retirement account and borrowing money to pay off unsecured debts like credit card debts and medical debts, that’s a pretty good sign that it might be time to file bankruptcy. Look your retirement funds are earmarked for your retirement. They are 100 percent exempt in bankruptcy. So if we file a bankruptcy for you nobody can touch your retirement account. So why would we take the money out of your retirement account and pay off debts that are dischargeable in bankruptcy. It probably doesn’t make sense.

Can I file? For the most part, when people seek out bankruptcy relief they are seeking the type of relief offered through chapter 7. To file, you must:
• Reside, be domiciled, or have property or a place of business in the United States (U.S.). A person does not have to be a U.S. citizen to file, nor live in the U.S., as long as they have assets in the U.S.
• You are able to file if you do not have a prior Chapter 7 discharge or it has been more than 8 years, or 6 years since a Chapter 13 discharge.
• Within 180 days before filing the bankruptcy petition, you must receive credit counseling briefing from one of the approved nonprofit agency that focuses on budget and counseling.
• Be subject to a means test to determine how your income compares to Arizona’s median income and whether or not you qualify to file under Chapter 7.

The easily availability of consumer debt in the United States (U.S.) has significantly increased debt amounts by more consumers, especially those with low to moderate income. This makes these families and individuals most vulnerable to financial difficulties when they suffer income interruptions or emergency expenses when it comes to staying a float debt payment

When you purchase something on credit, such as a car or a piece of jewelry, you enter into a Secure Loan because the item you’ve purchased secures the creditor because it automatically becomes collateral. Collateral is something that can be taken away, from the borrower, by the lender, if the debt is not paid.

Anywhere from three weeks to fifty days after you file your Chapter 13 bankruptcy paperwork, a meeting of creditors will be held. Seven days before the meeting you will be required to give the trustee copies of your federal income tax return for the previous tax year. If you were not required to file taxes, you will provide a statement saying so.

In this article I am going to discuss Schedule C of the bankruptcy petition, which is property exemptions. Under federal and state bankruptcy laws, there are categories and amounts of property that are exempt from the bankruptcy process. This means that you are allowed to keep the property as part of your fresh start after bankruptcy.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy: the basics. If you are considering bankruptcy as a solution for your financial troubles, you may be wondering if there is an option which would allow you to be able to keep your assets and still be able to pay back debt and receive a discharge for unpaid debt. If this is […]

In my last article I went over for you the basics of bankruptcy and briefly described the two most common types of bankruptcy used by individuals. Now I am going to spend some time focusing on the number one most common type of bankruptcy; the Chapter 7, which is sometimes referred to as the Straight […]

The first, and by far, most common type of bankruptcy is liquidation under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, also referred to as a straight bankruptcy. In this type of bankruptcy all of the debtor’s (or, the person filing the bankruptcy) assets which are nonexempt are sold and the proceeds of the sales are distributed amongst creditors (everyone who is owed money by the debtor.) After doing so, the remaining debt is wiped out giving the debtor what is known as a “fresh start.”

The second commonly used type of bankruptcy is known as a reorganization under Chapter 11 or 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 11 is most commonly used by companies and Chapter 13 is most commonly used by individuals. In this reorganization, the debtor still pays some or all of his or her debt under a 3-5 year agreed-upon plan.

In a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, creditors have the right to vote on or approve of the companies proposed reorganization.

Under Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the companies or individuals you owe money to don’t vote on or approve your proposed plan for paying back some of what you owe. And unlike Chapter 11, only you propose the plan for some or all of your debts. In Chapter 11, your creditors can also propose plans.

If you consider that Chapter 11 is most often used by large companies, it makes sense that creditors have the right to propose or vote on the plan to repay debt. Because very large sums of money that impact multiple companies are usually involved, creditors have a much larger stake in what happens in the bankruptcy.

Just as in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, at the end of payment plan period under Chapter 13 you will receive a discharge.

The Bankruptcy Discharge
The bankruptcy discharge is the end goal of the bankruptcy case. Clients filing for bankruptcy are not only interested in stopping potential legal action such as repossession or foreclosure, but they are also interested in relieving themselves of the heavy burden of debt. When you receive a discharge at the end of your bankruptcy you are no longer legally responsible for repaying debts included in the discharge. The discharge is a court order that prohibits creditors from taking any action to collect debts that you owe them. It is permanent and can only be taken away by the court under certain circumstances such as fraud, which we will discuss later.