Indiana Bankruptcy Legal Questions

I would suggest contacting your state or local bar associations and lawyer referral services to see if they have any such programs with pro bono attorneys.   You can file by yourself, but it is never advised as the success rate is very low and could cause extreme problems.    Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of California Board of Legal SpecializationHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr  ... Read Answer

The cost to file a bankruptcy varies depending on a number of different factors, including your location, the complexity of your case and, of course, the quality of your attorney.  I have no idea what the fees charged by attorneys in Indiana are, but here in Southern California, the fees for a Chapter 7 range anywhere from around $500 to over $4,000, plus court fees.  A lot depends on what type of representation you want.  Do you want to go to a bankruptcy "mill" that has no idea who you are and processes thousands of cases and don't really care if they screw up?  Then you can pay the lower amount.  I'd say most attorneys land in the $1,500-$2,500 range here in So. Cal.  Probably a bit less in Indiana. A while back I wrote about the dangers of hiring low cost bankruptcy attorneys.  You may wish to click on that link to read that. The best way to find out the going rate in your area is to have consultations with bankruptcy attorneys there.  Most offer free initial consultations. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of California Board of Legal SpecializationHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read Answer

Sure.  Bankruptcy is a matter of public record.  There is no law preventing information contained in a public record from being disseminated. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of California Board of Legal SpecializationHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read Answer

That depends on what you want to do with the property, and what your plan provides.  If you want to keep the property, you obviously must keep making payments on the mortgage and catch up on any past due amounts through your plan.  If you are letting the property go to foreclosure, then you can stop making the payments, but must include the additional income in your repayment plan to your creditors. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of California Board of Legal SpecializationHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read Answer

Once your bankruptcy case is closed, which occurs at some point after your discharge is granted, if the Trustee has not sold any of your assets you can then use them for whatever purpose you wish, as they will have been "abandoned" back to you by operation of law. Whether someone will give you a loan or not, and at what rates, is another story altogether.  There is certainly no harm in applying, but experience shows most people need to wait a couple of years before banks will start lending to them for a home, but that of course depends on how you've rebuilt your credit during that period and other factors. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of California Board of Legal SpecializationHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read Answer

I'm not sure what you mean by "included".  Did the tenants file the bankruptcy or did the owner of the home file?   Either way, absent a state law provision to the contrary, the tenants are required to pay rent. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of California Board of Legal SpecializationHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read Answer

I assume you're talking about a Chapter 7 filing.  Chapter 7 is almost never necessary for a corporation to file since corporations do not receive discharges of debts in a Chapter 7.  But to answer your question more directly, the Trustee in the holding company bankruptcy would have access to the LLC's assets (assuming the holding company owns 100% of the LLC) and can liquidate them for the benefit of creditors, but would have to pay the LLC's creditors first from that pool of funds before paying to the holding company's creditors. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of CaliforniaHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr  ... Read Answer

Barring exceptional circumstances, taxes cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy. You should contact a local bankruptcy attorney to determine if your situation would allow a discharge of back taxes. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.  ... Read Answer

In order to discharge student loans in bankruptcy under the current laws, you must prove "undue hardship".   What that entails depends on how the courts in your jurisdiction define that term.   For information on how it is handled in a majority of areas, including California, visit http://www.bklaw.com/chapter7/student_loans.html. While it is very difficult to prove the necessary elements for student loan undue hardship discharge, it is not impossible and while I have no idea what Asperger's Syndrome's symptoms are, if it affects your ability to earn money and is a more or less permanent affliction, it can certainly help with the evidence you will need. You need to consult with a bankruptcy attorney in your area for a more thorough analysis of your options. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of CaliforniaHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read Answer

I am assuming that this is a chapter 13 bankruptcy your speaking of and not a chapter 7 bankruptcy, as you referred to making payments to creditors. The only way to remedy this situation is to get your complete bankruptcy information and present that with the proof you have of when payments were made and contact all four of the credit reporting agencies and dispute each and every claim individually. This is a long and time-consuming process, but there is no other or easier way to do it as bankruptcy court is in no way connected to the credit reporting agencies. You may want to contact the lenders who placed the incorrect information there, but unless you have a lawyer who is going to seriously threaten them with a lawsuit, I can almost guarantee you you'll get nowhere that way. So unless you're willing to sue these companies, which is not very easy, although federal statue allows you to under circumstances such as this. The easiest way would be for you to contact each and every credit reporting agency and dispute every single incorrect piece of information. What happens is that they will ask the creditor to prove that that debt or payment history is correct and if the creditor does not respond then it is taken off your record. Furthermore, if you provide them information that proves that the information is incorrect they will also remove it from your record. I will warn you again this is a very long and very time consuming ordeal, but it's the only way to do it. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where I practice. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.   Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO & ASSOCIATES, LLCAttorneys At Law www.massachusettslawyeronline.com 126 Shove Street Unit 202 Fall River, MA 02724 Office: 888-269-0688Cell: 508-801-6747FAX: 877-475-8147 Twitter Facebook Manta  ... Read Answer

Debt and divorce have nothing to do with each other, that gets you are referring to are in no way affected by a divorce decree. If your ex racked up bills on accounts that were still in both your name after the divorce was finalized but before the accounts were closed, the divorce decree does not in any way protect your credit history or protect you from creditors. You could go back to divorce court and file a contempt action against your acts, but this still will have no effect on the creditors that you owe money to. Basically you need to deal with the debt and at the same time go back to divorce court and have the judge force your acts to pay for the bills she incurred after the divorce was final. If your wife files bankruptcy then she will be discharged from the debts in question, but you will not be protected under her bankruptcy. Although since the bills were made fraudulently under your name, as the divorce was final and then the bills were made, then you could contest to them at her bankruptcy hearing in state that she should still owe them, but Vista still not absolve you of the debt. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where I practice. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.   Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO & ASSOCIATES, LLCAttorneys At Law www.massachusettslawyeronline.com 126 Shove Street Unit 202 Fall River, MA 02724 Office: 888-269-0688Cell: 508-801-6747FAX: 877-475-8147 Twitter Facebook Manta  ... Read Answer

I don't know what you mean by "go with someone else".  Do you mean a different lender?  If they are behind on their mortgage payments, they can use a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to catch up on the past due amounts over a period of time (usually 60 months), as long as they can stay current with their ongoing mortgage payments.  Of course they must have sufficient income to do all that.  They need to have a consultation with a bankruptcy attorney in their area. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of CaliforniaHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read Answer

I'm not sure I completely understand your facts.  Is this "small business" a corporation, or simply a dba of yours?  Are you concerned about your personal liability on the business debts? Filing bankruptcy for yourself personally will get rid of any personal liability you have for debts which are discharged in your case.  This includes any and all debts you owe from a business.  If the business is a separate entity (such as a corporation), you must list that entity as an asset on your individual bankruptcy papers.  As far as filing a separate bankruptcy for a separate corporation/entity, it's probably unnecessary if the business is not operating, but I don't have enough facts here to advise you on that. You may find my information at http://www.bklaw.com/business_bankruptcy.html instructive on this. Hope this helps. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991. http://www.bklaw.com/ bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr  ... Read Answer

While it depends on the value of your uncle's interest in the property, which you have not disclosed, as well as which chapter he files under, the quitclaim transfer you allude to would likely be considered a fraudulent transfer under both federal and state law, and the Trustee in a bankruptcy case could sue the transferees (those that receive his interest) for the value of the transfer.  It could also leave your uncle facing a Complaint to Deny his bankruptcy discharge as a result. Bad idea.  I don't recommend it. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991. http://www.bklaw.com/ bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read Answer

Undue hardship is very difficult to prove.  The elements that need to be proved vary depending on the case law of the courts in your jurisdiction, but for most courts you have to show: 1. that you cannot maintain, based on current income and expenses, a 'minimal' standard of living for yourself and your dependents if forced to repay the loans; This is usually the easiest prong to satisfy. 2. that additional circumstances exist indicating that this state of financial affairs is likely to persist for a significant portion of the repayment period of the student loans; and, 3. that you made good faith effort to repay the loans. This does not just include making payments on the loans. It requires doing things over time such as making efforts to increase your income (which includes going back to school to get additional degrees or experience), consolidating loans with the Direct Loan Servicing Center, and other similar efforts. The above is known as the "Brunner Test" named after an appeals court decision by that name. Courts do have the authority to issue partial discharges of student loans, in cases where the debtor shows the ability to repay some, but not all, of the loans. This is a huge improvement in the ability to possibly discharge some of these debts, but all three of the above factors must be still be met. It is very difficult to prove all the necessary elements. You should consult with a bankruptcy attorney in your area for more details. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991. http://www.bklaw.com/ bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr  ... Read Answer

The Trustee has a right to request any information at all related to your finances and bankruptcy case.  The discharge has nothing to do with the Trustee's duties or the timing.  I don't really understand your question regarding "monies spent catching up" .  Is the Trustee asking for tax return information for 2011?  If you were entitled to a refund for a period prior to filing your bankruptcy case, then the Trustee is entitled to that unless you exempted it in your bankruptcy papers. In short, there really isn't enough information to answer your question.  You should consult with an attorney in your area to more fully assess your situation and see if there is really an issue here that you need to deal with.   Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991. http://www.bklaw.com/ bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr... Read Answer

Nobody is going to stop you from pulling your own teeth, performing your own surgical operations, etc. You can do it by yourself, it's just not advisable. If you purposefully misstate information or fail to disclose information and assets, that is a crime punishable by fine and/or prison time.... Read Answer