New Jersey Bankruptcy Legal Questions

There is no lower limit on the amount of debt you must have. Some people file bankruptcy who have no debts - but they are being sued which would create a debt if they lose. Generally, it doesn't make any sense to file bankruptcy with less than $10,000 or so in debt. If your debts were $1,000 it wouldn't make sense to pay an attorney and court costs of more than $1,000.... Read More

Yes, many state laws apply to bankruptcy. Some affect every bankruptcy, some only become involved in cases with unusual fact situations. Examples of state laws that affect most bankruptcies are; -state laws control property exemptions. -state community property vs. common law property laws control what ownership of married persons debts and property. -state court judgments in matters that affect the bankruptcy are binding on the bankruptcy court.... Read More

You can only double the exemptions on property that is jointly owned. For example, if you're the sole owner of your house, then your spouse's homestead exemption won't apply. But if you and your spouse are joint owners, you get both exemptions. This is pretty much only an issue with things with legal titles, like houses, motor vehicles, bank accounts, pension plans, etc. Things without titles (furniture, appliances, jewelry) are usually automatically treated as jointly owned and the exemption doubles because there's two of you. The obvious question is whether you qualify for the Federal exemptions, most states require that you use state exemptions... Read More

Large landlords have a credit reporting service just for landlords, which reports whether you've paid your rent in the past. Whether they will rent to you depends on your past rentals, not your credit score. Small landlords often don't check further than whether you have a job. So bankruptcy has little or no effect on whether you can rent a new place.... Read More

I strongly recommend that clients get through the divorce first and then do the bankruptcy. But, be sure to disclose to the other side your intent to file for bankruptcy. An alternative is to file a joint bankruptcy petition with your spouse and then the two of you can get a divorce with significant debts eliminated.... Read More

Surrendering real property in a bankruptcy does not effectuate legal transfer of ownership. Legal ownership does not transfer until some other legal action takes place, such as a foreclosure or a sale. A bankruptcy merely resolves your liability under the note associated with the mortgage. The mortgage, or legal instrument that makes the debt secured by the property, remains intact after the bankruptcy discharge. To get the home out of your name, you may want to sell the property or work with the current lien holder to do something like short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure. If you do a short sale, the personal liability associated with mortgage/note should have been discharged by your bankruptcy, so you should not have to worry about the lien holder pursuing you for any any deficiency. I would recommend consulting with an attorney to ensure that the debt was discharged and to assist you in any document review if you are working with the lien holder.... Read More

You can file bankruptcy without your spouse. Only one spouse filing bankruptcy is very common. Your filing should not impact your spouse's credit; however, your filing may cause an issue with any debt that is held jointly and any unprotected ("unexempt") assets. As long as the debt is not joint or some other action was taken by your spouse to assume liability, your spouse will not be liable for your debts after you receive a discharge. Consulting with an experienced bankruptcy attorney will give you an idea if there are any issues. I highly recommend going with your spouse when you consult with an attorney. There may be circumstances where it makes sense for you to file with your spouse. Your filing will require you to provide proof of the total household income. You will have to provide copies of yours and your spouse's pay stubs (or other similar income statements) and tax returns, both of which involve your spouse's personal information. This information is used by the debtor's attorney and Trustee to determine such things as eligibility in Chapter 7, the plan payment in Chapter 13, and potential assets/disposable income related to tax refunds.... Read More

If you are the only one that is responsible for payment of the debt, the debt is of type that is dischargeable in Bankruptcy, and you receive a bankruptcy discharge the creditor cannot then go after your spouse. Having said that, this question is posted in CA and CA is a community property state. What that means among other things is that while you can file an individual bankruptcy without your spouse, all community property must be disclosed and will become part of the bankruptcy estate. In figuring out whether you qualify for chapter 7 discharge, your wife's income and your joint household living expenses will be considered. Consult with a bankruptcy attorney near you. They can help you decide if filing makes sense, whether you are eligible for discharge under chapter 7, whether all of the community property and your own separate property falls within exemptions so that, to put it plainly, you will keep your stuff and not have to pay the debt.... Read More

C corporations can file Chapter 7 bankruptcy but it can't receive a discharge. The corporation would continue to be liable on its debts. The advantage of filing Chapter 7 for a corporation that is going out of business is that the bankruptcy court handles the wrapping up of the business and its assets which eliminates any personal liability of the owner(s) for any claims of the corporation's creditors. A personal Chapter 7 will eliminate your liability on the guarantee of the corporation's note. If the truck is titled to the corporation, it must be sold and the proceeds used to pay the corporation's creditors. If the truck is titled to you, you can keep it.... Read More

First, did you list Aarons Rents as a creditor in your bankruptcy? Or if not, when did you tell them about your bankruptcy. Second, do you know the names of the people who called you and the dates of the calls? If Aarons knows about the bankruptcy and you have some record of dates and people who called. Then you should file a motion for punitive damages in the bankruptcy court. Do this through an attorney, even if you didn't use an attorney for the bankruptcy because Aarons has to pay you attorney fees. If you didn't keep any records, then you chance of winning in the bankruptcy court when your testimony is "I don't remember exactly when they called me or who called but they did it a lot" probably isn't a winner.... Read More

Failing to file a motion as instructed by the client is a possible ethics violation, although not a huge one - people including attorneys sometimes forget things. Lying to the client by sending an email saying you filed the motion, when you actually haven't is a HUGE ethics violation particularly if you follow it up by failing to respond when the client tries to contact you. I would recommend sending a certified (or fedex - anything with a receipt) letter stating the facts that you instructed him/her to file the motion (on date), that he/she emailed the the motion was filed (on date), you have been informed the motion wasn't filed, the attorney now won't return phone calls (or email or whatever the facts are) and you are going to lose your mortgage modification because of this failure. then you have two options - The Nuclear Option - copy the letter to the US Trustee's office at your court and to the disciplinary authority in your area (in Ohio that would be the Disciplinary Counsel of the Ohio Supreme Court or disciplinary board at your local bar association). This will put your attorney in a world of hurt, the US Trustee will probably sue to get him/her to repay the fees you paid him.her and the ethics authority will start an investigation with the goal of disbarment (unlikely) or suspension (likely on these facts). Option Two - give him/her a deadline in the letter to solve the problem and if it isn't solved by the deadline - then file complaints.... Read More

You can sell the house because you are still on the title. However, the property is encumbered by the mortgage. The bankruptcy discharged the debt you owe on the mortgage, but the bank still has a lien on the property. This means that even if you sell it, the bank can then foreclose on the new owner. This would not be good, either for the buyer or for you. Your best option is to contact the bank and attempt a short-sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure. Or file a motion in the bankruptcy court to force the bank to take the property. This last option will only work if your bankruptcy case is still open.... Read More

You need to disclose all debts on your bankruptcy petition. If you fail to disclose a debt, the penalty can be severe. However, you can keep on making payments on this loan if you like. Nothing prevents you from doing so. Just understand that if you stop making payments, your dad will be on the hook.... Read More

It depends. First you need to learn whether the son's debts can even be included in the parents' bankruptcy case. If so, you will have to file an objection to discharge, and then prove that these clients entered into this debt knowing that they would be filing bankruptcy. Generally, any debt entered into during the six months prior to opening a bankruptcy case is suspect. A decent attorney should be able to establish your case. I wouldn't do it alone, though. You should hire a local attorney to represent you.... Read More

In the usual home loan situation, the borrowers own the home and the bank has both a lien on the property and the borrowers' personal contract to pay the loan. Going bankrupt erases the borrowers' personal contract to pay the loan but neither of the other things change. The bank can foreclose on the property and either take it over or sell it to a third party but the bank isn't required to. Banks are in the business of making loans and collecting payments, not taking over and selling houses, particularly long vacant houses that are probably trashed. Back when they went through bankruptcy, they should have worked out a short sale with the bank and gotten rid of the property but at this point, there is little that they can do.... Read More

Don't you think it might have helped if you had indicated what kind of property you are talking about and whether the auction took place 10 days before you filed Chapter 13 or 10 days afterwards? How do you expect a volunteer lawyer to help you when you don't provide any meaningful information about your situation?... Read More