Louisiana Bankruptcy Legal Questions

Your best course is to file an action in small claims court for the value of their contribution. As you paid for it, and it benefitted their interest in the property, you are entitled to reimbursement. Once you obtain your judgment, you record it as a lien against their part of the property. This will secure your reimbursement from any sale. You could then execute on the judgment by seizing assets, including seizing and selling their interest in the Gonzales property. Another heir would likely be interested in buying it.... Read More

There are some follow up questions to this question. Did you list the creditor on your petition and in the Creditor's Matrix, did you also include in the creditor's matrix the attorney for the creditor (if one was involved in the lawsuit). I have had a bad experience with an Orange County Sheriff's office who for over 2 months continued to garnish my client even though I had papered the world, so to speak, with the notice of the bankruptcy filing. It stopped eventually and my client did get a refund but of course it was a very difficult situation for them. Whenever I have a client with an existing garnishment I take extra steps to ensure that the parties involved get notified of the bankruptcy as soon as possible. This involves listing the creditor, their attorney(s), and the sheriff's office in the creditor's matrix. But I also fax the Notice to these parties as well. An attorney receives an electronic version of the Notice, so I can send a copy of that within just a few minutes of filing the case. Don't get upset with your employer. They lack the authority to stop the garnishment simply because you gave them a copy of the Notice. Usually the creditor's counsel will take the proper steps and notify the Sheriff's Office withdrawing the Garnishment Order. If creditor or their attorney received a notice but they don't take the steps to notify the Sheriff's office you could go after them for sanctions. If however it's the Sheriff's Office that is backed up with cases, well I don't know, I sure wish I had an answer for that one. Luckily, I only had this happen once.... Read More

I don't understand the 4th sentence of the detail. Your divorce attorney should not have given you bankruptcy advice, and that advice is questionable. Your bankruptcy attorney should have told you to list all potential debts, including this one. I believe you may have misunderstood your bankruptcy attorney about bankruptcy court not recognizing property settlements. That is not the law. If your ex agreed in the property partition to pay this debt, he is bound to pay it, despite his bankruptcy, or reimburse you if you pay it. Check again with your bankruptcy attorney for clarification.... Read More

Discharge of taxes in bankruptcy is very complex area of law and is a subspecialty within the specialty of bankruptcy law. The general rule of law, which does have some minor exceptions, at the moment is that once a substitute return is filed by the taxing agency, the tax is never dischargeable.  The exceptions probably revolve around being able to "correct" the SRF, but again those scenarios are very limited and most of the court cases in the past 5 years are trending towards it never being dischargeable. You need a bankruptcy tax specialist to analyze your case.  I don't know any in Louisiana.  We have a handful here in California.   Morgan King is one, and you may want to check him out, although he may not be able to help since you're in another state. You are asking the right questions though, which is more than most do. Good luck! Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.      ... Read More

whether you can keep assets in a bankruptcy case depends on which chapter you file, the value of the asset in question, and the exemptions available under applicable state law. Exemptions are "protections" for value you have in certain assets such that they are "exempt" from collections.  Every state has different exemptions amounts available. Exemption laws are based on the state where you resided for the 2 years prior to filing your bankruptcy case or, if you lived in more than 1 state during that period, in the state where you resided for the greater part of the 180 days prior to that 2 year period.  You need to have a consultation with a bankruptcy attorney in your area for more details. Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau. ... Read More

That depends on the rules of the court in your district.  Here in the Central District of California, when a Chapter 13 case is dismissed, any funds held by the Trustee are turned over to debtor's counsel who can retain them for their unpaid fees and return the rest (if any) to the debtor. If the case is converted to Chapter 7 and the Trustee is still holding funds paid by the debtor, I'm not totally sure what happens.  My guess is it would also get returned to debtor's counsel or the debtor unless the case is converted in bad faith, in which case it would probably be turned over to the Chapter 7 Trustee. Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.  ... Read More

You should consult a local bankruptcy attorney to determine if and where to file.  Most bankruptcy attorneys offer a free initial consultations to determine if bankruptcy is appropriate. 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 More

While you don't state it, I'm assuming your medical settlement is yielding enough to pay more than 100% of your existing claims, otherwise interest wouldn't factor into it at all. When you receive the settlement is utterly irrlevant to the interest question.  Your rights to the medical settlement accrued prior to you filing your Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, otherwise the Trustee would have no rights to the settlement proceeds.   Thus, if interest is appropriate per the above, it would run from the date your case was filed I presume. You should check with a bankruptcy attorney in your area (assuming you don't already have one) regarding the possibility of amending your exemptions to protect some of the proceeds.   Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.  ... Read More

You need to discuss that with the Chapter 13 Trustee in your case, but it is highly unlikely the meeting can be moved sooner since they are calendared years in advance to accommodate schedules of multiple entities. Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.  ... Read More

This may depend on case law in your jurisdiction.  It may also depend on whether there are sufficient assets to pay more than 100% of all the unsecured claims in your case (including the medical bills).  However, my understanding is that the creditors are only entitled to receive what they were owed on the date your bankruptcy case was filed.  After that, no additional interest or penalties can accrue on unsecured debts. Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.  ... Read More

No.  Eligibility for filing Chapter 7 has nothing to do with how much debt you have.  In fact, if you incur a debt in contemplation of filing a bankruptcy, that is fraud, and the creditor can object to the discharge of that debt on that basis. That having been said, if you make payments on the bank loan for a few years, and then you have a change in circumstances (job loss, change of income) and file bankruptcy,  you may be able to discharge the debt at that point.  The key is what the creditor can prove your intent was on the date you took out the loan you are trying to discharge. 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 More

I'm not sure how easy it is, but using Chapter 13 to stop a foreclosure is certainly a good and commonly used option.  It also provides a means to catch up on the past due amounts and, in some circumstances, you can even eliminate junior mortgages altogether. Best thing to do is consult with a bankruptcy attorney in your area for more information.   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 More

bankruptcy is certainly an option to consider and can help you rebuild your credit more quickly.  I suggest you have a consultation with a bankruptcy attorney in your area for more details.   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 More

Assuming there are sufficient funds to pay all your creditors and the Trustee, then you will receive any surplus after the Trustee has completed his administration of the case and all court approvals for payment have been received.  There is no time limit on this, but it usually takes at least a year to complete.  If you need more certainty, you should contact the Trustee in your case. 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 More

You should get paid any surplus after all creditors have been paid, and the Trustee has been paid his/her fees/costs.  It can take quite some time to get to that point, as the Trustee has to hire accountants to deal with all the bookkeeping and tax return preparation, and then get court approval for the disbursements, etc.   If the bar date for claims was just last month as you indicate, you still have quite a ways to go before you get your "refund".  It can take at least a year or two to administer and close a Chapter 7 case after all assets have been liquidated. You might want to have your attorney contact the trustee to see if he/she can release some portion of what they estimate you will be entitled to after all costs and fees of the estate have been paid, but there's no guarantee they will agree to do that. 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 More