On October 17, 2005, new bankruptcy law went into effect, changing the process of filing for bankruptcy throughout the United States. This new shift in law requires additional steps to be taken by the attorney and the debtor but has been geared toward benefiting the debtor. The following details explain the changes in the law and how they will affect anyone considering bankruptcy.
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Documentation
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The documentation required for filing for bankruptcy has been increased, asking the debtor to provide additional information thoroughly detailing all of their income and expenses. If expenses exceed the IRS allowance, a ‘special circumstances’ document must be submitted explaining the reasons for the extra expenses. A statement of accuracy must also be submitted with the special circumstances document. The additional documentation makes the task of filing take more time but provides more accuracy to a debtor’s financial dilemma. This could result in more debt relief.
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Counseling
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In an attempt to decrease the number of people filing for bankruptcy, the new law requires that debtors receive counseling from an approved credit counseling agency within six months prior to filing for bankruptcy. The purpose of the counseling is to ensure that people are not making an uninformed decision to file for bankruptcy. It is also the hope of the court that counseling will provide alternative options for those who truly don’t need to file.
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The Means Test
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Before the new law, consultations with an attorney would allow the client to choose what type of bankruptcy they felt suited them best. However, the new law is framed to reduce the number of Chapter 7 filings by only allowing people who fall under their median state income, adjusted for family size and inflation, and people who meet rigorous standards under the means test to file for it. The rest of the people who don’t meet these standards must be evaluated by a series of complex, mathematical formulas that change annually to match new median incomes and expense standards. Clients who do not qualify through the means test will be required to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The new law also extended the Chapter 13 term from a three- to five-year term, to a mandatory five-year term. Throughout the mandatory five-year term, the client must be supervised and represented before they can receive their discharge.
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The effects of the new law make the process of filing for bankruptcy more complex, requiring attorneys to specialize in bankruptcy law. To completely understand how the new bankruptcy laws in your state can impact your debt and affect your life, speak with a local bankruptcy lawyer.
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The effects of the new law make the process of filing for bankruptcy more complex, requiring attorneys to specialize in North Carolina bankruptcy law. To completely understand how the new bankruptcy laws in your state can impact your debt and affect your life, speak with a local bankruptcy lawyer. If you live in North Carolina, you want a North Carolina bankruptcy lawyer who understands how the law effects you. To get in touch with a North Carolina [...]
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New Bankruptcy Law Explained
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Debt That Cannot be Discharged Via Bankruptcy
In the same manner that certain assets are typically not included as part of a consumer’s chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, there are also certain types of debt and financial obligations which cannot be discharged via bankruptcy. These types of debts are exempt from bankruptcy law, and you still need to pay them, whether or not you file for bankruptcy protection.
For example, one type of financial obligation that cannot be discharged via bankruptcy is child support. If you have gone through a divorce or some type of divorce or separation settlement and you are required to pay child support or child maintenance by court order, the act of filing bankruptcy will not discharge this responsibility for you to continue paying it. Child support payments are exempt from any type of bankruptcy filing that the consumer might do, whether chapter 7 or chapter 13.
Another type of financial obligation that is exempt from being discharged by bankruptcy is an IRS lien. What happens with an IRS lien is that you owe income tax payments from one or multiple years. At a certain amount of money owed, the IRS will put a lien on your house or some other type of asset that you own, or in lieu of that possibility, may garnish your wages via your employer. This type of IRS lien, in addition to being exempt from a bankruptcy discharge, is also on your credit report for about 10 years as a huge blemish, which would be in addition to the blemish on your credit report from your bankruptcy filing. These types of red flags on your credit report can make it more difficult (although not impossible) to get approved for new credit in the future.
Another type of debt that is exempt from a bankruptcy discharge is a court order that may have awarded another company or individual a specified amount of money via a lawsuit brought against you. Since judgments such as these cannot be discharged, you should know if you have any of these pending against you that you have not been paying on, because they will not be discharged via bankruptcy.
If you are significantly behind in one or more debts with your existing creditors, chances are good that in time, one or more of those creditors will file a lawsuit against you to collect that outstanding balance that you owe them. This takes time and most creditors are not anxious to go to this extreme to collect money owed to them, but it cannot be ignored since most of them, in time, WILL go to that extent. If such a lawsuit occurs BEFORE you file for bankruptcy, then that will be a court order to pay the specified amount to that creditor, and that will NOT be discharged via your bankruptcy filing, since their lawsuit occurred before you filed. The bottom line here is that you need to take some action, because you could find that filing bankruptcy is not going [...]
What Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Law Entails
Chapter 11 bankruptcy law is also known as the reorganization code applicable to partnerships and corporations. It allows for businesses to make a plan on how to pay off their debts without having to sell their property. This comes as an opportunity for businesses to keep on operating even when they are in a financial crisis. Partnerships and corporations are eligible to file under this chapter in court. It may be voluntary, meaning that the debtor will file the petition, or involuntary where creditors who meet some standard file the petition.
To have the court accept the bankruptcy petition, he should also attach financial documents of the previous years operations. They must have gone through credit counseling on how to manage the debt. A fee is paid to the court clerk to cover filing charges and to pay the trustee. These can be paid in installments for not more than one eighty days after filling the petition. Once a voluntary or involuntary petition has been filed, he assumes the position of a “debtor in possession” meaning that he is still in control of the property.
For the bankruptcy petition to be accepted in court, he should also file a reorganization plan and a disclosure statement which includes information on the assets, liabilities and the business affairs. This enables the creditor to have an informed perspective on the reorganization plan filed.
Chapter 11 identifies the debtor under a corporation or a partnership as a separate entity from the business and as such personal property is not at risk. However, for a sole proprietor, he is part and parcel of the business and therefore personal property may be at risk.
