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November 1, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Types of Bankruptcy

Author: Shaun N

Chapter 7 bankruptcy: Also known as liquidation (converting assets into money) or a straight bankruptcy. This is one of the faster ways of starting afresh and more so if there are no objections from any of the parties involved. Ordinarily, most (if not all) debts would be discharged within months of the attorney filing a bankruptcy petition. A trustee is appointed who collects all non-exempt property, sells the assets and distributes proceeds from this sale to appropriate creditors. Chapter 7 is different from other bankruptcy filings because the debtor needs not make a payment to the trustee.

Chapter 9 bankruptcy: The purpose of Chapter 9 is to provide a financially-distressed municipality protection from its creditors while it develops and negotiates a plan for adjusting its debts. Reorganization of the debts of a municipality is typically accomplished either by extending debt maturities, reducing the amount of principal or interest, or refinancing the debt by obtaining a new loan.

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy: Chapter 11 bankruptcy is known as the corporate bankruptcy or the reorganization bankruptcy. When business organizations are unable to pay their creditors or the claims of the creditors when exceed what the business organizations can pay, then the business organizations file for chapter 11 bankruptcy. In this bankruptcy, a reorganization of debts are as well the assets in possession of the business organizations are done, in order to help them relieve from a part of their debt and the remaining can be paid in best accordance to their ability.

Chapter 12 bankruptcy: entitled Adjustment of Debts of a Family Farmer or Fisherman with Regular Annual Income provides debt relief to family farmers and fishermen with regular income. The process under chapter 12 is very similar to that of chapter 13, under which the debtor proposes a plan to repay debts over a period of time – no more than three years unless the court approves a longer period, not exceeding five years. There is also a trustee in every chapter 12 case whose duties are very similar to those of a chapter 13 trustee. The chapter 12 trustee's disbursement of payments to creditors under a confirmed plan parallels the procedure under chapter 13. Chapter 12 allows a family farmer or fisherman to continue to operate the business while the plan is being carried out.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: is also known as restructuring where you file a repayment plan with the bankruptcy court proposing how you will repay your defaults to your creditors. The amount of money you'll have to repay depends on how much you earn, the amount of debt you owe, the types of debt you have, and how much property you own. you don't have to hand over any of your assets to discharge your debts, but you must make use of your income to pay off your debts over the due course of time – it's usually three to five years, depending on the amount of your debts and your income.

Chapter 14 bankruptcy: Chapter 14 Bankruptcy is recognized as the involuntary bankruptcy. In this bankruptcy the creditors file the bankruptcy appeal against their debtors. This bankruptcy is very rare, and most of the rare cases are seen in the corporate world rather than with individuals.

Chapter 15 Bankruptcy: This is a newly added chapter in the Bankruptcy code or may even be termed as the new type of bankruptcy which is designed for international state of affairs. This bankruptcy gives rights to foreigners to take part in the state's bankruptcies cases.

It is essential to understand the different types of Bankruptcy because some are not appropriate legal action for certain individuals.

Article Source: http://www.sooperarticles.com/finance-articles/bankruptcy-articles/types-bankruptcy-38847.html

About Author:
Shaun Nichols is the author of this contemporary article. He has briefly explained all the types of bankruptcy options available.

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Bankruptcy Steps

October 23, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Personal Bankruptcy in Florida - Steps to Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcies

Author: Kenneth Diaz

Bankruptcy in the state of Florida can be filed by an individual without the aid of an attorney or document preparation agency. Yet, it is still recommended that anyone filing for personal bankruptcy should seek legal counsel.

The federal bankruptcy code creates different categories of bankruptcy, known as chapters, which gives debtors different ways of dispensing with debt. The two most common forms of individual bankruptcy available to any resident of Florida are chapter 7 and chapter 13. This brief "how to" guide is written in with a systematic process for both types.

Chapter 7

Note: After filing for a chapter 7 bankruptcy, a debtor must wait 6 years before they will be allowed to file again.

Step 1: Filing the Petition

A chapter 7 bankruptcy begins with a petition filed at the federal district courthouse servicing the area the filer lives in. Under federal and Florida law, an individual, partnership, or corporation can file chapter 7 regardless of the amount of debt. This petition paperwork is provided by the courthouse or can be obtained online at many legal websites.

Along with the petition, or shortly after the initial filing, the debtor must also submit several schedules listing current income, expenditures, and a statement of financial affairs, executor contracts, existing or potential lawsuits, and any recent transfers of assets. If a debt is omitted then it will not be covered in the bankruptcy.

Step 2: The Stay Period

Filing the petition automatically stops all creditors from trying to collect money that is owed. This stay period happens automatically without any judicial action. The stay period is effective from the time of filing, even if creditors are not aware of it until later. In this period, lawsuits, garnishment actions, and even phone calls to the debtor must stop.

Step 3: The Creditors Meeting

Once the petition is filed for a chapter 7 bankruptcy, the court immediately appoints a trustee to administer the overall case and liquidate any non-exempt assets to pay off creditors. The trustee will call a meeting for the debtor's attorney and the creditors wishing to collect debt. The debtor must attend this meeting and creditors may attend in order to ask questions and examine documents concerning a debtor's financial affairs.

In most individual bankruptcy cases, all of the debtor's assets are either exempt or subject to valid liens, which leaves no assets for a creditor to pursue. These cases are called no asset cases and many times a creditor will not show up.

Step 4: Claims of Creditors

After the creditors meeting takes place, all creditors can file a claim against the debtor with the court. This is done so that a creditor can make a claim against nonexempt assets free of security interests.

Step 5: Liquidation, Discharge, and Reaffirmation

The idea of having a trustee is to liquidate the debtor's non-exempt assets and pay off as many creditors as possible. A chapter 7 bankruptcy concludes when the trustee sells the debtor's property, distributes any cash to the creditors, and discharges the remaining debt. The final discharge, ordered by a judge, ends the debtor's remaining personal liability on the debt. Some debt is not dischargeable such as alimony and child support, most tax obligations, most student loans, and liability for damages resulting from willful or malicious acts.

During this process, creditors can ask the court to deny an individual debtor a discharge. The grounds for approval are based on whether a debtor fails to adequately explain the loss of assets, the debtor perjures him or herself or fails to obey lawful orders of the court, or the debtor fraudulently transfers, conceals, or destroys property that should be included in the bankruptcy case.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is considered a wage-earner plan because it is generally used by people with stable incomes who want to repay at least some of their debts but cannot handle the full brunt of it. The biggest advantage of a chapter 13 over a chapter 7 is that the debtor is allowed to keep his or her property and set up a court-approved payment plan. Only individuals with less than $100,000 in unsecured debts and less than $350,000 in secured debts are eligible to file chapter 13.

Step 1: The Petition

The petition is similar to that mentioned above in the explanation on chapter 7. The debtor provides the court with lists of all creditors including amounts and the nature of claims, the source and amount of income, lists of all property, and detailed descriptions of the debtor's monthly living expenses, including groceries, clothing, shelter, utilities, taxes, transportation, and medical care.

Step 2: The Stay Period

The stay period is identical to that of chapter 7 except that chapter 13 contains a provision that prohibits creditors from collecting on a debt owed by a third person such as a cosigner.

Step 3: Chapter 13 Plan

Federal and Florida law state that within 15 working days of filing for a chapter 13 bankruptcy, a debtor presents a plan to the bankruptcy court listing out how he or she intends to pay off debts over a three-year period, or in some cases a five-year period. These must be paid out based on priority and federal bankruptcy law lists several categories of unsecured claims that have priority over other unsecured claims including costs of administering the bankruptcy, employee's wages, salaries and commissions, contributions to employee benefit plans, deposits accepted by the debtor for personal items or services that the debtor did not deliver, and taxes.

Individuals seeking to fill out this plan should get the aid of an attorney to ensure it is filled out properly. If the plan is not done correctly the court can deny the document and the bankruptcy cannot proceed.

Step 4: The Creditors Meeting

A meeting is usually held about one month after the initial petition is filed. A trustee and filer must attend the conference, and creditors have the option of coming also. The idea of the creditors meeting is for the creditors and trustee to question the individual filing the plan about his or her financial affairs and any possible problems with their plan. Some problems can be solved at this meeting.

Step 5: The Confirmation Hearing

After the meeting mentioned in step 4, the bankruptcy court will make a final determination whether the plan is feasible and meets the standards set forth in the bankruptcy code. Creditors can dispute the plan if they believe that a debtor has not pledged enough income to the plan or that the creditors receive less than they would if the debtor's assets were simply liquidated.

If the plan is approved by the court, a portion of the debtor's paychecks will go to a court-appointed trustee who divides the money among the creditors. At that point, the creditors are prohibited from garnishing wages or repossessing property.

Step 6: The Discharge

Once all payments are made, the plan approved by the court is complete and the bankruptcy is successfully discharged. The discharge releases the debtor from all debts provided for in the plan.

Other Types of Bankruptcy

The Federal Bankruptcy code also allows an individual to file a chapter 11 or 12. Chapter 11 is available for individuals, but is generally used by troubled corporations and partnerships.

Chapter 11 allows the debtor to remain in operation and reorganizes debts in a way that they can pay them. It is designed to keep businesses up and running rather than liquidation.

Chapter 12 is available only to farmers and is very similar to chapter 11. Before choosing either chapter 11 or 12, an individual should consult an attorney.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/bankruptcy-articles/personal-bankruptcy-in-florida-steps-to-chapter-7-and-chapter-13-bankruptcies-1726462.html

About the Author

Author: Kenneth Diaz
Mr. Diaz is a Legal Document Preparer in Florida and New York with over 15 years of experience. He has launched an informational website for self-representing litigants (pro se) in the state of Florida. You can read more about his site at Florida Court Forms. For more information about this article, visit his Florida Bankruptcy web-page.

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Avoiding Bankruptcy

October 22, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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How To Avoid Bankruptcy

Author: Jason

Generally speaking, in the United States today bankruptcy is considered a measure of last resort and virtually every other debt relief method out there – debt consolidation, debt settlement, and so on – is designed to help debtors avoid filing for bankruptcy. The old days when people could simply borrow extensively, default on everything and run to the bankruptcy courts for relief and debt discharge have been over since 2005, so virtually all efforts to reduce your debt or restructure it in order to make it more manageable are effectively ways of avoiding bankruptcy.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 mandated that all individuals considering filing for bankruptcy have to undergo credit counseling immediately – within 180 days – of filing their petition with the courts. This credit counseling has to be done through government approved credit counseling agencies which will carefully review your entire financial situation and determine whether or not bankruptcy is the right option for you to take. In fact, the bankruptcy court will not accept your petition unless you have a certificate issued by an approved credit counseling agency saying that you have undergone this counseling. The result is that you will have to have real experts review your situation and offer viable alternative to bankruptcy before you can even file a petition for Chapter 7 relief.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 also instituted a means test that determines whether or not you even qualify to file for bankruptcy. Prior to this, anyone could file for bankruptcy relief, and the court had the discretion to determine whether or not it was warranted, but the 2005 law did away with this. Now, if the court determines that your means are too high to qualify for bankruptcy protection you no longer qualify for this at all. The result is that bankruptcy is now sincerely a measure of last resort, and most people that qualify and get the approval of their credit counselors really have no other options available. 

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/bankruptcy-articles/how-to-avoid-bankruptcy-1917201.html

About the Author

It is best to be proactive to address bankruptcy issues before they occur. Speaking to a bankruptcy lawyer can really make sense if you have debt issues. Learn how to get at Orange County Bankruptcy Assistance at http://www.consumerbankruptcyattorney.com

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Bankruptcy Search

October 19, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Sample Bankruptcy Search

Cheap Bankruptcy Lawyers - How to Quickly Find Them in 10 Minutes or Less

Author: Roilee Mandeville

Are you planning to file bankruptcy but you're not sure if you can afford to employ a lawyer? Everyone who is in bad debt problem would like to know how to find a cheap bankruptcy lawyer. Well, here's how to do it in ten minutes or less.

Online Resource #1:

Use Yahoo! Local located in local.yahoo.com

Key in the search phrase "cheap bankruptcy lawyers" in the first search field. Then key in your location on the second box and click the "Search" button or press "Enter". Yahoo! will then give you a result of attorneys that matches your search term. You will also see a map with markers on it. Click any of the marker and you will see the actual web site address, phone number, and local address . You can also perform the above procedure using Google Maps located in maps.google.com

Online Resource #2:

LexisNexis' Martindale-Hubbell Attorney Network located in www.attorneys.com

This is LexisNexis' online version of Martindale-Hubbell comprehensive lawyer directory. Under Step 1, key in your zip code. You need to click the [+] sign for Bankruptcy under the "All Areas of Law". It should expand, now select "Consumer Bankruptcy" and click the "Search" button. You should have your list of consumer bankruptcy lawyers. If the list is too few, then you can use the zip codes of adjacent cities near you.

Online Resource #3:

National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) located in www.nacba.org

This is a exclusive organization dedicated to serving the needs of consumer bankruptcy attorneys and protecting the legal rights of consumer debtors in bankruptcy. When you visit the home page of NACBA, click the "Find attorneys near you!" banner located at the right sidebar. After the search page loads, key in your hometown or city and state in the search box. You must choose one radio button under the "Location (within)" label, for example 20 miles. Click the "Search" button. It should give you a location map with markers and a list of lawyers and law firms that are inside the area coverage that you selected. If the list is too many, you can narrow down the results by selecting a smaller area coverage under the "Location (within)" label, for example 5 miles.

Some Warning On Choosing A Bankruptcy Attorney

An attorney can either represent the creditor or the debtor. Make sure the bankruptcy attorney that you are getting is a "pro consumer" and not a "pro creditor." Remember that bankruptcy is not an easy matter, you do not want your attorney to miss the intricacies and complexeties that could save you money and property in the long run. Never assume that free or cheapest is better. Experience always counts.

A Quicker Solution:

Are the above procedures too difficult for you? If you do not have enough time to call and visit bankruptcy lawyers then try the simple 3-stage process of finding cheap bankruptcy lawyers. Check the instructions on how to easily locate your low-cost bankruptcy attorney using a free service located at http://www.bankruptcylawyersandattorneys.com/cheap-bankruptcy-lawyers.html

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/bankruptcy-articles/cheap-bankruptcy-lawyers-how-to-quickly-find-them-in-10-minutes-or-less-650484.html

About the Author

Roilee Mandeville is the author of "Cheap Bankruptcy Lawyers: A Faster Way of Finding Them Online", a free 10-minute guide on how to quickly get a reasonably priced bankruptcy lawyer to prepare your bankruptcy petition.

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After Bankruptcy

October 16, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Credit Report Repair by Credit Building

Tips To Improve Your Credit Score After Bankruptcy

Author: Thomas Jhon

When the court declares a person as bankrupt, it has direct adverse effects on his/her credit record. If you are one of those who are facing this painful situation, you must know that life does not end with bankruptcy. There are still plenty of ways to improve your credit score after bankruptcy. However, in order to know how to do that, you must first have a good understanding of how getting bankrupt affects FICO score. Lack of awareness may prove to be very costly for you. Once you get the right picture about that, you can easily figure out the steps you need to follow to improve your situation.

Effects Of Bankruptcy On Credit Score

If you are in a situation where filing for bankruptcy seems to be the only option, you are very much likely to have a very low credit score at this point. But, it is important for you to keep in mind that when you are declared as bankrupt, a large part of your credit record is deleted. Most of the negative items, such as late payments are removed from your report. The deletion of all these negative items offsets the mention of bankruptcy on your credit report to a great extent. It means your credit score after bankruptcy is not going to fall much further down. You will see a very little difference – if at all there is a difference.

You Are In A Different Category

Another thing that is very important for you to understand that the FICO score system has special provisions for people in bankruptcy. You will be put into a separate category, where the past financial history will not be taken into account to determine credit score after bankruptcy. Only the future use of credit is taken into consideration.

Monitor Your Credit Record

Monitoring of your credit record is very crucial at this stage. There are three major credit agencies and you can get a free copy of your FICO report annually from each of them. The idea behind monitoring is to make sure that your report is free from any kind of errors or omissions.

Pay Your Bills In Time

If you are serious about improving your credit score after bankruptcy, you must make it your top priority to pay all your bills in a timely manner. Any default at this stage is going to be very expensive for you. Even if you are in a situation where you think you are going to run late on payments, you must contact your lender and ask him to make some arrangements.

Likewise, you must also pay down your outstanding debts as soon as possible, as it will help you achieve a better credit score after bankruptcy at a faster pace.

Article Source: http://www.sooperarticles.com/law-articles/immigration-law-articles/tips-improve-your-credit-score-after-bankruptcy-25633.html

About Author:
Having been declared bankrupt by the United States bankruptcy court, you are bound to have adverse effects on your credit record. after bankruptcy. You may also look forward to paying your outstanding debts as soon as possibledebt consolidation loan.

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