Missouri Bankruptcy Legal Questions

Missouri has a specific exemption to protect mobile homes in bankruptcy. I will need to know the value of your mobile home as well as some other information before I can give you a definitive answer. I recommend calling my office to schedule a free consultation if you are in the St. Louis area. Otherwise, find a capable attorney in your area. Most bankruptcy attorneys will offer free initial consultations. Whether or not you can keep a vehicle depends on the amount of equity you have. A single filer has a $3,000.00 auto exemption. Joint filers have a $6,000.00 auto exemption. There is a good chance that your cars will not be an issue. -John Schleiffarth... Read More

Each case in unique so I do not quote prices without a consultation first. I do suggest coming in for a free consultation, or at least contacting me by phone so that I can learn more about your particular situation. I can certainly help you and I would be happy to meet with you! -John Schleiffarth ... Read More

Hi Dorothy, When filing chapter 7 bankruptcy in Missouri you have several options to consider when dealing with your car: (1) you can give up the car; (2) you can reaffirm on the car (keep the car and continue with your current payments); or (3) you can redeem the car (pay cash for the fair market value of the car, keep it, and own it ). If the car is already paid for you do not have to worry about the options above. If filing single, your car exemption is $3,000.00. That means you can have $3,000.00 in equity that the court will no touch. If filing married, you have a $6,000.00 car exemption. A bankruptcy Trustee may decide to sell your car and use the money to pay back your creditors if a significant portion of the value is not exempt. You should meet with a bankruptcy attorney to discuss your options in your particular situation. There are some other exemptions you may be able to add on to protect the value of your cars. -John Schleiffarth  Tel: (314) 561-9690... Read More

To summarize your facts as I understand them: 1. You filed a bankruptcy case under some chapter (not disclosed) 2. You received a discharge of your debts 3.  On the date your bankruptcy case was filed you may or may not have had a claim of some kind against someone who you later "took to court" after your bankruptcy for something they did or owed you. 4.  You sued that person and prevailed.   If the above is accurate, (your facts are very sparse and unclear)  then wnat you can do depends on when the claim you had against this person arose.  If it arose before your bankruptcy case was filed, then you were required to list that potential claim on Schedule "B" of your bankruptcy papers.  If you did that and exempted it, then you can keep the money you received.  If not, it belongs to the Trustee in your case (assuming you filed a Chapter 7 case.  Chapter 13 or Chapter 11 would be different). Also, if the claim arose before you filed your bankruptcy case and you didn't list it, that is grounds for possible future revocation of your discharge if discovered by anyone, since it is essentially fraud against the bankruptcy court.  You need to discuss this with your attorney as soon as possible. Finally, if the claim arose AFTER you filed your bankruptcy case, then you are free to keep the judgment proceeds.  Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991. http://www.bklaw.com/ bankruptcy blog: http://bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr  ... Read More

You are not owed money by the party who filed bankruptcy, so you do not have a claim against her bankruptcy estate.  If you have evidence that she committed fraud in her bankruptcy papers, you can point that out to the US Trustee's Office but it's not going to get you anything.   The opposite is true:  you owe money to her and, depending in which bankruptcy chapter she filed (you don't disclose that information), the Trustee in her case may seek to collect that judgment from you unless she exempts it under applicable law. In order to contest your judgment, you must file an appeal in the small claims court in the time frame required for that (I have no idea what that is) but first you must obtain permission from the bankruptcy court to do that.  This is done by filing a Motion for Relief From the Automatic Stay.  You will need an attorney for that.   It is rare that judgments are overturned on appeal.  What legal basis do you believe the small claims court erred in its ruling?  You really need to hire an attorney in your area to discuss all these issues. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991. http://www.bklaw.com/ bankruptcy blog: http://bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr ... Read More

I like to remind people that bankruptcy does not discharge debts.  It discharges the debtor from the personal obligation to repay debts.  But the debts still exist.  If another person also owes the money, they still have to pay it.  If the debt is secured by property, the lien can still be enforced.  A house cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.... Read More