Bankruptcy Legal Questions

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is a powerful tool enabling homeowners to cure mortgage defaults and keep their homes.  However, as you observed, it does require a financial commitment.  The plan payment is determined by several factors, only one of which is the amount of the default. If you have equity in your home over and above the liens, any such liens, other than the mortgage, must be paid in full during the plan.  If you do not have equity, the judgment liens may be crammed down and converted to unsecured debt.  If you have no non exempt assets, and your disposable income is only sufficient to cure the arrears, the judgment liens can be removed and discharged following your completion of the plan. My first thought whenever a client is delinquent is to suggest loan modification.  I don’t know if you explored that, but it is a cheaper, easier method of curing the default and managing your cash flow by curing or deferring the default instantly and reducing the mortgage payments.   I trust this has been helpful, and, if you live in the Delaware Valley, feel free to call or email me on a free initial basis.     Best Regards,   Matthew R. Nahrgang, Esquire 35 Evansburg Road, Ste 400 Collegeville, PA 19426 (610) 489-3041 o (610) 489-3042 fax nahrganglaw.com... Read Answer

There may be some confusion which would require a conversation to resolve.  If you are in a Chapter 7, I don’t understand why the case has been open so long as a Chapter 7 usually is completed within 4 months.  A Chapter 13 involves a payment plan of 3-5 years.  The time frame you referenced does not fit either normal practice. Additionally, if it is a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 , and you are seeking to buy, the Motion would be to Obtain Credit which is not a letter from the Trustee but a pleading requiring court approval.    I trust this answers your questions and, if you live in the Delaware Valley, feel free to call or email me on a free initial basis. Best Regards,   Matthew R. Nahrgang, Esquire 35 Evansburg Road, Ste 400 Collegeville, PA 19426 (610) 489-3041 o (610) 489-3042 fax nahrganglaw.com... Read Answer

Assuming that the bankruptcy court did not issue an order barring you from filing again within a certain period of time, yes you can file another Chapter 13. If you have lived in Alaska for at least three months, you will need to file in Alaska - not in North Carolina. I suggest having a consultation with a bankruptcy attorney where you live.... Read Answer

I'm not sure what you mean by bad bankruptcy, but I presume you mean it was dismissed.  "Charge off" means that the credit grantor wrote your account off of their receivables as a loss, and it is closed to future charges. When an account displays a status of "charge off" it means the account is closed to future use, although the debt is still owed.  So, yes, they can still get a judgment if the statute of limitations has not run out, they can still renew their judgment if they received one already, and they can garnish your wages or levy your bank account. ... Read Answer

The short answer to your inquiry is NO.  When you file bankruptcy, you must list ALL debts and ALL property you own.  You can not focus solley upon one specific obligation.  That said, you need to look at your entire financial situation, including your income, the property you own, and whether you own the property wilth someone else, before filng for bankruptcy.  you should consult with a local bankruptcy attorney to determine if a bankruptcy filing is the right course of action for you.  ... Read Answer

There are a lot of important facts missing from your question. The first questions that should be answered are: Which Chapter of bankruptcy did you file?  If it was a Chapter 7 case, did the Trustee administer any assets?    If it was a Chapter 7 and no assets were administered (which is the case 95% of the time), and assuming you received your discharge, and the debt you state was left off was a dischargeable debt (for example,  a debt not incurred through fraud or a student loan, or recent tax debt), then the debt was discharged. In this case, even if it was your attorney's fault that the debt was omitted, there are no damages because the debt was discharged. If you filed a Chapter 13 or 11 case, or if your Chapter 7 case had assets administered, then the debt would not have been discharged.    Neither I nor anyone else on here can make a determination about whether this constitutes malpractice since I do not have all the facts as to why it was omitted.   However, you presumably signed your bankruptcy papers (under penalty of perjury) and, assuming the attorney provided you the papers to sign, the omission of the creditor is at least as much your fault as it is the attorney's.  ... Read Answer

If you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in which you give all your assets to the court trustee and the court trustee would sell your house to pay the debts, then your credit will be dinged for years.  That does not seem to be a reasonable decision.  You would do better to sell your house and then pay off your bills because then your credit would not be reduced.  Of course, if you had a job, then you could file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in which you would keep your house and then just work out a plan to pay part of the debt depending on your "disposal income" meaning the balance left over after paying the necessities of living, house payment, food, gas, etc.   ... Read Answer

No, you do not need to reaffirm your mortgage, and yes it is probably too late to reaffirm it now.  You still own the home, and there is still a mortgage on the home.  All the mortgage means is you must continue to make the mortgage payments to keep the home.  You can sell or refinance the home at any time.  Your nine year old bankruptcy is likely irrlelevant to your credit by now.... Read Answer

You need to have a personal consultation with a consumer bankruptcy attorney to get a specific answer. It depends upon if you have any joint debts or not and if the house is titled under both names or not. In addition, the tax listed value of your home is probably lower than the actual market value in today's real estate market. Do NOT file Chapter 7 without an attorney. In many instances filing a Chapter 7 does not have to be done immediately and an attorney can advise you on the pros and cons of filing Chapter 7 now, versus waiting to file until the real estate market cools off. In addition, the Chapter 7 Trustee has the authority to make deals with creditors to accept offers on your home for an amount that may preclude you from receiving your full exemption value. In general terms, if both you and your husband are on the deed to the home, each of you gets a $35,000 exemption, so if you file Chapter 7 together, there would be $70,000.00 exemption available. What your specific exemption would be depends upon the factors I mentioned above. Many consumer bankruptcy attorneys offer free consultations. If you already had a consultation with one attorney, consider getting a second opinion. Good luck.... Read Answer

You cannot "reinstate" a previously dismissed case for that reason (it is possible to reopen a closed case for certain other reasons). Depending upon how recently you previously filed bankruptcy and the circumstances of your choice to dismiss the other two cases, you may not be permitted to proceed with another case now - epecially if you failed to make Plan payments or failed to appear for the Meeting of Creditors, or failed to file all schedules, etc. on time. I certainly do not recommend that you try to file again without an attorney because if the Court views this third filing an an abuse, you could be barred from filing again for any reason for a significant period of time.... Read Answer

You can do it but the payment to your father will be undone as a preference.  You can’t prefer one creditor, particularly an unsecured creditor as I assume your father is, over another within 90 days of filing bankruptcy or, in the case of an insider,  1 year.  This is particularly true where one of the creditors losing out is a secured creditor, as I assume the bank is. ... Read Answer

If the debt was listed, it was discharged.  The creditor does not lose the right to repossess the colateral and likely closed the account and retained the collateral upon entry of the discharge order and final decree closing the case.  If there was property for the trustee to liquidate to pay creditors, the secured creditor may not have filed a claim because they were paid in full from the collateral.... Read Answer

None of your concerns about the accuracy of your co-buyer forms in their bankruptcy matter to you. Those inaccuracies, if any, cannot affect your right to keep the car if you continue to make your payments. The only thing that could happen that would affect your right would be to fail to make your payments or if there were non-exempt equity that a chapter 7 Trustee would seek to liquidate. The latter is unlikely if you owe more on the vehicle than it's worth. ... Read Answer

Your personal loans secured by collateral can be included in your bankruptcy case. If you file for Chapter 7 relief, you will have the options of reaffirming the debt (continue to pay as if no bankrutpcy was filed) or redeeming the collateral (make a single lump sum payment for the current fair market value of the collateral).  Redemption is really the way for you to go. Use E-Bay valuations for the personal property you put up as collateral and you should be able to buy it back pretty cheaply. ... Read Answer

The only way to quckly get the lien removed would be to contact the creditor and find out how much they will settle for her to pay to remove the lien.  It's hard to believe that she did not previously know about the lawsuit.  She may not have known about the lien but she probably knew about the lawsuit.  She could contest the Judgment but such was suppose to be filed within six months of the judgment; therefore, there's only a 50/50 chance of having the judgment removed after spending $5,000 to $10,000 in attorney's fees and costs.... Read Answer

I don't think you need a new attorney right away, but you probably need to hire one very soon. If your Chapter 13 Plan is going smoothly, you don't need an attorney. If your income changes, if you need permission to sell property or if you need permission to incur debt, a Motion needs to be filed and most often, scheduled for hearing. You will need the help of an attorney to get these things done. Most bankruptcy attorneys will take over representation for a deceased attorney for a very low fee. Be sure to attend your status conference. Good Luck.... Read Answer

If the vehicle is surrendered before you file bankruptcy, it is likely it will be reported as a respossession.  Once you file, it should then report as included in bankruptcy.   If you file and surrender the vehicle in the bankruptcy, it should not be reported as a repossession, but as included in bankruptcy.   Discussing this with an attorney practicing bankruptcy law in your state would be in your best interest, as there may be options to allow you to exempt both the house and motorcycle.  ... Read Answer

Many times in a small law office employees have multiple roles. This may include imparting to clients minor standard legal advice with the approval of the attorney which is nevertheless valuable to the client.. This person may serve as both receptionist and as a paralegal. In this situation it is appropriate to be billed for this advice if the so called receptionist is acting additionally as a paralegal in giving legal advice. This is a benefit to you as the attorney could have taken the phone call and billed you at a higher hourly rate. Attorneys are encouraged by the bankruptcy courts to employ paralegals for this purpose in order to reduce the cost both to the Debtor and the bankruptcy estate.... Read Answer