Debts that become out of control can be a heavy burden for any consumers.
Simple Check to Test your Eligibility for Filling Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
March 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Most people who file for bankruptcy choose Chapter 7 instead of Chapter 13 because it's fast, effective, easy to file, and doesn't require payments over time. Chapter 7 bankruptcy usually takes the least time to complete. The process is over in about 4 to 6 months, commonly requiring only one trip to the courthouse by the person filing for bankruptcy to emerge debt-free.
However not every persons who are seeking of getting debt free by filling bankruptcy will be eligible to file under chapter 7. If you remaining income after subtracting what you will spend on certain allowed expenses and monthly payments for child support, tax debts, secured debts such as a mortgage or car loan, and a few other types of debts is sufficient to support the payment under chapter 13 repayment plan, then, you will not allow to file bankruptcy under chapter 7.
Check Your Eligibility Criteria
The first step to check your eligibility of filling chapter 7 bankruptcy is to measure your average income for past six months against the median income for a family of your size in your state.
Once you have calculated your income, compare it to the median income for your state (You can find the median income by state information from www .usdoj.gov/ust; click the Mean Testing Information). If your calculated average income is less than or equal to the median income of your state, you can file under chapter 7 bankruptcy, else you need to go through another eligibility test, called "Mean Test".
The "Mean Test" based on the outcome from calculated disposable income. To get your disposable income, calculate your average monthly income as describe in above paragraph. From that amount, you subtract both of the following:
Certain allowed expenses such as clothing, transportation, food and so on; in amounts set by the IRS (Note that this amount may be lower than your actual spending).
Monthly payments you will have to make on secured and priority debts. Secured debts such as mortgage and/or car loan; priority debts include child support, alimony, tax debts, and wages owed to employees.
If your total monthly disposable income after subtracting these amounts is less than $100, you pass the means test, and will be allowed to file for Chapter 7. If your total disposable income is more than $166.66 then your will automatically force to Chapter 13 unless your have a solid reason with proven facts that you are facing a special circumstances that aren't reflected in the calculations above. You may be allowed to file under chapter 7, but this is a case by case basic.
What if you disposable income fall in between $100 and $166.66? If your disposable income is in this range, you must figure out whether what you have left over is enough to pay more than 25% of your unsecured, non priority debts such as credit cards, student loans and medical bills. If not, you pass the means test, and Chapter 7 remains an option else you have flunked the means test, and will be prohibited from using Chapter 7.
Summary
You may like most of people prefer to fill the bankruptcy (if this is the option left for debt free) under chapter 7, because it doesn't require you to repay any portion of your debts, as Chapter 13 does. But first thing is your must be eligible and meet the requirement for chapter 7 to opt for this option.
Cornie Herring is the Author from "StudyKiosk-Credit Basics"- http://www.studykiosk.com/creditbasics. "StudyKiosk-Credit Basics" is an informational website on credit basics, debt consolidation and bankruptcy.
Cornie Herring is the Author from "StudyKiosk-Credit Basics"- http://www.studykiosk.com/creditbasics. "StudyKiosk-Credit Basics" is an informational website on credit basics, debt consolidation and bankruptcy.
What Happens During A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Filing?
March 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
When you decide to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the legal process grinds into gear. The petition, the document asking the court to bring you relief under chapter 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, is a simple two page form, signed by all debtors and the attorney. Once this form has been filed and the filing fee paid, you are given a docket number. From then on, all actions by creditors are under stay, except for those that are allowed by motion, in the bankruptcy court. Creditors can not demand money, take you to court over debt or foreclose or repossess your property.
A few days after this filing, you are required to submit a list of all your creditors and their addresses to the court. This document, the Matrix, must be followed within a week by the rest of the required paperwork, including schedules of assets and liabilities, income and expenses, your financial history and your plan for how you wish to reorganize all that under chapter 13, as well as the evidence that you will be able to complete the plan. After this process of initial submission of the Chapter 13 reorganization plan, you have the option of filing amendments to add creditors or modify the schedules or plans. Amendments may, however, involve the payment of additional fees to your lawyer, as well as extra fees to the bankruptcy court.
Unless your case has some contested issues which need to be heard before a judge, you will probably never have to appear in person. Instead, you will meet with a Chapter 13 Trustee, only one to three months after the initial filing of the petition. This is known as a 341 creditors meeting and everyone who is owed money will be invited to attend. At the meeting, the creditors will ask you questions about your financial situation. However, in most cases, few creditors ever attend and the guests are more likely to include only the big creditors and mortgage holders.
Your attorney will have to be at this meeting, to represent you and the person actually asking all the questions and coordinating the meeting will be the Chapter 13 Trustee. After this meeting, if there are no objections against it, all you have to do is to make sure you remit all the payments according to your plan and in a timely manner. Duration of time for making payments will depend upon your income and the size of your debt. By statute, all the reorganization plans must be between 36 and 60 months long. If you have enough income, the Trustee might demand that the plan be 36 months long and a larger portion of the available funds paid to unsecured creditors.
In general, if you have a little extra money one month, save it, rather than trying to pay a larger amount. If you miss a payment at a later date, you will not be given credit for any early payments made previously. However, if your income changes substantially, for a longer time, you need to inform the court and adjust your payments. Always make sure to pay on time. If you do not, one or more creditors or the Trustee will object and your case can be dismissed or converted to Chapter 7 and they may still foreclose with the permission of the court. Since you are already in a bankruptcy, one failed or late payment will leave you no recourse against losing your home. You will lose the protection of the court.
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Bankruptcy
March 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Filing a bankruptcy claim can be a very stressful procedure, specially when you do not really know what chapter to file for. And now with the new law, some individuals will not even have the chance to choose, they will either qualify for both chapters or just for Chapter 13. The idea behind this measure is to prevent wealthy families from filing for Chapter 7: now their options are limited. But those lucky ones who do have the chance to make a choice, are at a loss.
This article seeks to become a guide for those who are more inclined to file for Chapter 7. Here we will discuss the advantages this chapter has over the second most common chapter and the obvious disadvantages related to the latter. Enjoy!
Wonders Of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Chapter 7 is the most common type of bankruptcy and it is filed by most debtors when in need. But what is it about this specific bankruptcy type which makes it so appealing to most debtors? Well, first of all, its simplicity. It is easy to file and quick as you would not believe. We live in a fast turning world in which rapidness is a very valuable feature. For you to have an idea of how fast this claim can be, an average case takes between four to six months in being closed! No wonder why this chapter is so popular, huh?
Before getting your hopes up, you should know that not all types of debt can be discharged or wiped off your credit report. But this does not have much to do with the type of chapter you are going to file (there are some exceptions). Some debts cannot be written off at all, these are, for example, tax related debts, some types of student loans (usually those owed to the state), child support debts, spouse maintenance debts, etcetera.
Downside Of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
We all know that the disadvantages of an object or a procedure cannot be counted as advantages of another, but in this case, I will make an exception. It is undeniable that Chapter 13 carries many advantages to it and has worked wonders for many debtors, but of course it depends on your particular situation.
In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, as opposed to Chapter 7, debts have to be paid off. There is no way around this. Repayment plans are planned out and debtors must stick to it in order for their debts to be discharged (once completely paid off, of course). These repayment plans may last up to five years. As discussed before in this very same article, time is a very important issue for many individuals, and having to put up with a bankruptcy case for such a long time might not appeal to a lot a debtors, specially if they are in need of a fast fresh start.
To Sum Up
Contrary to what you must think, I do not lean towards any of the two chapters. I believe it is a very personal decision which must be thought over carefully in order not to make mistakes you might regret in the future. This is not a issue which should be taken lightly. In any case, get advice from a lawyer: there is nothing better than discussing your options with a professional.
Lara Sawyer is a professional loan advisor used to solving bad credit problems and helping people secure home loans, carloans, personal loans, unsecured credit cards, home equity loans, refinance mortgage loans and plenty of other financial products. Whether you want to learn more about Debt Consolidation Care and Small Bad Credit Loans or find information about other loan types, just visit: http://www.fastguaranteedloans.com/
Explaining Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
March 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The term "Chapter 7 bankruptcy" is a term that is thrown about a great deal in the media, but clear and concise explanations of the term are usually not offered. Because of this, there is some confusion of what exactly chapter 7 bankruptcy actually is and this confusion sometimes leads to people making critical errors in judgment when the individual contemplates such a filing.
Certainly no one wants to become involved in bankruptcy proceedings. There is good reason for this. In order to enter bankruptcy proceedings, a person will have to have debts that greatly exceed his or her net worth and, in addition, have no visible or viable means of paying back the debts. When a person or corporation finds itself in such a position, there becomes the need to file for bankruptcy protection.
This is a legal situation and it requires the courts to rule in the matter. There are a number of different forms of bankruptcy such as chapter 11 bankruptcy and the more common chapter 7 bankruptcy. Since chapter 7 bankruptcy is more common for individuals, it is important that a detailed explanation of what chapter 7 bankruptcy actually is.
The Definition Of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
According to the law and the United States court system, Chapter 7 bankruptcy refers to liquidation of assets that are not legally exempt from liquidation in order to pay off creditors and debtors. Chapter 7 is an option open to individuals, businesses, partnerships and corporations. There is, however, a special clause open to the individual within the framework of this chapter filing that is not available to the other entities. That special clause is known as a "discharge." What a discharge refers to is the freeing of the individual from certain debts.
Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
On a baseline level, those filing for Chapter 7 must provide copies of tax returns; executed contracts and leases that have been expired; financial affairs statements; proof of assets and liabilities; and copies/schedules of current expenditures and income. For individuals there are additional items that must be provided to the court as well. These items include copies of credit counseling reports and repayment plan programs, employer payments and statements of income, interest payments on student loans, etc.
This is, of course, a brief overview and more detailed information is provided by the government and federal courts at the website uscourts. However, trying to figure out Chapter 7 protection by yourself is not advised and it would be far more prudent to seek the advice of a legal professional as well.
You can find many more Bankruptcy related articles at Bankruptcy Marketing
For all your Bankruptcy needs, please visit http://www.need-bankruptcy-info.com