Bankruptcy Blog - Chapter 13

If your ex-spouse filed a Chapter 13 case in the bankruptcy court, often it can harm you, even more than if he or she had filed a Chapter 7. But there are many other situations when a Chapter 13 filing doesn’t hurt you, and often can actually help you a lot.  Here are some of those good situations.

Although at first a Chapter 13 payment plan may not seem to be a good way to deal with student loans, in fact it has a number of important advantages over Chapter 7. This blog outlines those advantages.

Whether you can file a Chapter 7 case depends partly on whether your recent income was above or below the “Median Family Income” published by the U.S. Census Bureau. A couple months ago these income benchmarks changed. Because of the ravages of the tough economy, in most parts of the country these “Median Family Income” amounts went down instead of up as they consistently had in the past.  What does that mean for you if I want to file a Chapter 7 case?

A short sale of your home will more likely succeed when it done as part of an organized strategy in conjunction with filing a bankruptcy case.

Last week we showed how a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing gives you a way to take care of your divorce obligations, such as ongoing and back child support, plus debts which the divorce decree ordered you to pay.  But using Chapter 7 to accomplish this only works in simple situations and where the support arrearage and other debts are relatively small. Otherwise, Chapter 13 is often a much better option.

The number of people filing bankruptcy has been skyrocketing throughout this long recession—no surprise there. And a higher proportion of them are filing Chapter 7s instead of Chapter 13s. How come? And what does this mean for you?

When a business goes out of business, its owners can be left owing many of the tax debts of that business. Have you recently shut down a business and are concerned about whether you are personally liable on any of the taxes of the business? Or have you been closely involved in the finances of a business in which you were NOT an owner, and that business was shut down and still owes taxes? Finally, are you considering shutting down your business but need to know how to deal with its remaining tax debts?

In our blog two weeks ago we talked about some of the most basic and important home-saving tools in Chapter 13:  1) the “automatic stay,” 2) curing mortgage arrearages, and 3) catching up on property taxes. In last week’s blog we talked about some of the more sophisticated tools that Chapter 13 may be able to provide for your home: 1) junior mortgage “strip-off,” 2) judgment lien “avoidance,” and 3) cure and release of income tax liens. This week we wrap up this series with a set of tactics that pull all this together. You might want to read the other two blogs before this one.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy helps you save your home with a set of different powerful tools. In fact so many that we will discuss just some of the most important ones here in this blog, and then more in next week’s blog.  As helpful as these home-saving tools are, they each come with conditions and limitations. Knowing these pluses and minuses helps you get the most out of a Chapter 13 case.

Although Chapter 11 and 13 are often effective tools for saving your business, there are some businesses which even these cannot help. If you have a business which may need to be shut down, you are likely wondering how to do so while minimizing the harm to you. Under the right circumstances, and with smart legal planning, filing bankruptcy for the business alone or for you personally can achieve that goal.

Last month we wrote a blog called "I Need a Divorce and a Bankruptcy: Which Comes First?" In it we addressed that question by looking at some scenarios that our clients have faced. Now in this blog we assume that you are definitely getting a divorce but your spouse has threatened to get out of the divorce obligations to you by filing a bankruptcy right afterwards. Can you protect the rights in your divorce degree and prevent them from being hurt by bankruptcy?

Do you have a business that has been hit hard by the bad economy but could otherwise be a solid money-maker, if you could just get some relief from your creditors? Don’t want to file a bankruptcy because you’ve heard you’ll lose your business? A Chapter 13 case can greatly reduce your monthly debt service AND you can keep running your business. It may be the right legal tool to help your business survive now and thrive in the future.

Turmoil in the economy sadly often leads to a higher divorce rate. Unemployment and underemployment and the intense stresses these can bring to married life push many past the breaking point. Then divorce often leads to bankruptcy, and even more so during this troubled economy.

We know that dealing with the breakup of a marriage and with major financial problems at the same time can be extremely difficult. It can be downright debilitating. How do you know where to even begin? If you think you need a divorce AND may need a bankruptcy, which is best to do first? Does it sometimes make sense to try to "clean up" your finances with a bankruptcy filing before the divorce?

This summer the Oregon legislature unanimously passed and Governor Kulongoski signed into law a significant increase in the homestead exemption. In the meantime, during the last year or two home values have significantly decreased for hundreds of thousands of Oregon homeowners. These two happenings have created important opportunities for those who know about them.

If you cannot pay your bills, dealing with your creditors can be overwhelming. As much as you want to pay them, the collection agents don't seem to care, and debts quickly turn into garnishments of your wages and bank accounts. Bankruptcy gives you immediate relief from all this through a federal court order called the "automatic stay."

Bankruptcy law gives the financially struggling business a number of tools to help the business survive. Bankruptcy can also help a business close in an orderly way.  Here are the main tools bankruptcy provides for helping you and your business.

As adjustable rates continue to rise, more of both subprime and prime borrowers are choosing to simply walk away from their homes.