Utah Bankruptcy Legal Questions

The answer to this question depends on what chapter of bankruptcy you file under, what state you live in, and other facts in your case. Under a chapter 7, you will have to exempt your property in order to keep it. Some states have a wild card exemption which allows you to exempt anything under a certain dollar amount. If the equity in your investment property is less than or equal to the wild card exemption amount, you will be able to keep it. In a chapter 13, you may be allowed to keep the investment property as long as the income you receive from it is minimal. But all of this depends on the actual facts of your case. If, for instance, your equity in the property is above the exemption amount, and the amount you would pay into a chapter 13 is less than your non-exempt equity, you will not be eligible for a chapter 13 at all. You should consult with a local bankruptcy attorney before making any decision.... Read Answer

The renting of an instrument forms what is called a security interest in the instrument itself. Even though the fees associated with the rental agreement can be discharged in bankruptcy, the debtor will have to return the instrument. I would never consider this to happen automatically and you should contact the bankruptcy trustee in order to get your instrument back. If you do not receive a notice that you are a creditor of the person filing bankruptcy, contact the bankruptcy court and get the information needed about that person's bankruptcy in contact the trustee. You should also consider attending the 341 meeting of creditors, to just be on record that you want your property returned. As soon as the automatic stay of the bankruptcy is over, you will be able to obtain your instrument back. If you do not want to wait for this time to elapse, you can file a motion for relief from stay, this will remove the automatic stay and you can get your instrument back right away. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. 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 LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://massachusettslawyeronline.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob, #student, #loans, #education, #IRS, #taxes... Read Answer

If you can no longer pay your bills, because of lack of income, this is exactly the situation that chapter 7 bankruptcy was created to address. Since you don't have any money to settle your debts with your creditors, you should seek relief from chapter 7 bankruptcy. Your medical bills are considered unsecured debt and will be able to be discharged in bankruptcy. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. 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 LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://www.fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob, #student, #loans, #education, #IRS, #taxes... Read Answer

When you say revoked, do you mean your case was dismissed?  I'm not clear on what you mean by revoked.  It's not a bankruptcy term. If your case was dismissed you would have been provided notice of any deficiencies and given an opportunity to cure them and oppose the Motion to Dismiss. In any event, assuming your case was dismissed and you did not receive a discharge of debts, there isn't anything preventing you from filing a new bankruptcy case under any chapter for which you are eligible. However, if your case was dismissed within the past 12 months, then the automatic stay--which prevents your creditors from taking any collection action against you during the bankruptcy case--will only be in effect for the first 30 days. Obviously you should be discussing this with a qualified bankruptcy attorney in your area. 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 Answer

There is nothing stating that you have to wait to file the divorce, if you're jointly filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy. As long as you're married at the time of signing, that is all that matters in a chapter 7 bankruptcy or chapter 13 bankruptcy. Remember chapter 7 bankruptcy is usually last between 4 to 6 months from the time of filing the petition until you receive your bankruptcy discharge. In most states a divorce takes between six months to a year, or more. So until you actually receive a divorce judgment, the divorce process really has no bearing on if you can file joint chapter 7 bankruptcy case. As a practical matter I would always wait until the divorce is over to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, as you may be placed and a financial situation you have not considered before their divorce has been completed. But as long as you're still legally married at the time of filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy, there is no legal reason to wait to file for divorce.   I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. 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 LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147... Read Answer

The automatic stay protects you. The judgment creditor has to file an Adversary Proceeding in the Bankruptcy Court alleging the debt is not dischargeable in your bankruptcy filing (i.e., based on fraud). It may be a easy since they already have a state court judgment based on fraud, but they have to file the Adversary Proceeding within 60 days of your creditors' meeting to survive the bankruptcy discharge. The automatic stay is effective until you get your discharge, or the file and ask permission for relief from the automatic stay.... Read Answer

You will have to ask the court to sell the house if it is in your plan. However, if you excluded the house from your plan and are paying them directly the court may not exercise jurisdiction over a sale. Did you have an attorney? That would be the easiest answer. If not you should seek assistance, especially if the house payments are in your plan, or you had an arrearage in the plan.... Read Answer

Based upon your facts I believe that the judgment creditor can go after the money and monthly income from a reverse mortgage. I say that because without the reverse mortgage in place what you have is equity in a home that a judgment creditor can lien and execute on to pay the judgment. You do have a homestead exemption of $30,000.00 for each person who is a titled owner and living in the home as their primary residence. If you claim your exemption then in my opinion the judgment creditor would have to know that there is equity above and beyond the exemption amounts. If you have a reverse mortgage I'm guessing the amount of equity is greater than the Utah homestead exemption. The way to stop this creditor would be to file for bankruptcy relief and the Chapter would depend upon how much equity, income you have etc.... Read Answer

In order to stop the eviction for the time being, you will need to properly notify the eviction court of your bankruptcy filing. Once the current owner of the property obtains an order from the bankruptcy court or when your bankruptcy is discharged, the eviction can resume. Too bad you chose to pursue this without an attorney.... Read Answer

Nope.  The way to determine which debts were discharged is to ask your attorney.   My article on how to determine debts discharged in bankruptcy may also be of assistance to you. There are many exceptions to discharge and it is impossible for the court to determine which of your debts fall into which category, which have met certain criteria for discharge, etc.  Some debts require you to take affirmative action to determine their dischargeability (such as student loans).  Others are never dischargeable (such as taxes for tax years within 3 years of the bankruptcy filing, or for which a return has not been filed), and others are dischargeable without anything having to be done. 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 Answer

If you have an attorney that filed the Chapter 13 for you then you need to ask him or her. If you filed it yourself you need to make sure the mortgage company has notice of it. Once you prove to the mortgage company you filed they will stop it automatically unless you filed the case after the sale. If you filed the case after the foreclosure sale, the Chapter 13 will not help you keep the house.... Read Answer

Was the potential 2012 tax refund listed as an asset on your bankruptcy papers and exempted?  If so, and the Trustee did not object within 30 days following the date your meeting was CONCLUDED with the Trustee, then it is yours to keep.   Otherwise, it belongs to the Trustee. You need to determine the above, including the date the 341(a) meeting was concluded (if it was concluded), in order to have your question answsered. I have no idea what the "motion to object" you reference is about or who filed it, so I cannot express an opinion on that. 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 Answer

Your question as stated doesn't really make sense.  If the Chapter 11 plan provided for certain payments to be made in a certain time and the payments were not made, then you have grounds to seek relief in the bankruptcy court, which may include revocation of the debtor's discharge. You need to consult with a bankruptcy attorney in Utah 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 Answer