Virginia Bankruptcy Legal Questions

Where to file personal bankruptcy is usually determined by the current state of residence.  The state where your son has lived for the majority of the last 6 months is a proper place to file, and probably the most convenient.  He may be able to file in Virginia if he is just residing out of state temporarily and considers Virginia to be his permanent place of residence or domicile.... Read More

Sorry, but it is fraudulent to use credit when you have no intention of paying.  The bankruptcy law presumes that any credit purchase of a luxury item for over $500 in the 3 months leading up to bankruptcy (or any cash advance over $750 in the 70 days leading up to bankruptcy) is fraudulent and requires that it be paid back.  You can also get in trouble for other purchases, such as having your entire debt to the creditor not be discharged.  ... Read More

For the information that you've provided, chapter 7 bankruptcy would be your best choice. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is more for small business owners who want to get back on their feet, chapter 7 is for consumer debt. A consumer can take advantage of chapter 11 bankruptcy, but I see nothing in your question that would indicate any reason for you to attempt to file a chapter 11. Not to mention Chapter 11 bankruptcies cost almost 10 times what a chapter 7 bankruptcy costs and legal fees. 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 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob, #student, #loans, #education, #IRS, #taxes... Read More

Filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy, can help you in the long run in many ways. It will help you restore your credit sooner than if you paid off your bills. This is because your bills are discharged in on your credit report you know longer have them weighing you down against the income you have. The better your credit report is, the better so many other aspects of your life will become, from car insurance, to interest on the loan and finally the interest on purchasing a house. Yes bankruptcy will be reported on your credit history report for 10 years, but that is not the only consideration in a credit history report. If you have a lot of unsecured debt that you cannot pay for, and want a fresh start bankruptcy is the way to go. How much it costs and legal fees usually varies depending on the state you live in, anywhere between $750-$2500 is what you'll be paying for legal fees, and then you have your bankruptcy court filing fees, and the cost of the counseling courses. 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 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob, #student, #loans, #education, #IRS, #taxes... Read More

After you receive a discharge in a chapter 7 bankruptcy case you must wait for years before filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy case and eight years if you wish to file another chapter 7 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://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 More

I'm not sure what "chart" it is you are using as your source of legal information, but either it is inaccurate or you are misintepreting what it says. Being above median for your household size does not mean you have to file Chapter 7.   In fact, the opposite is usually, but not always, true. If you are above the median income, you then have to go through what is called the "means test" to determine if filing a Chapter 7 case would be considered a "presumption of abuse".   That presumption can be overcome depending on the specific facts of your case. This is an incredibly complicated analysis and not something any non-bankruptcy attorney can do competently (and there are even many bankruptcy attorneys who have trouble with it). To answer your specific question, if your income is below the median income, then you will most likely qualify for Chapter 7 UNLESS your actual current income/expense budget is showing a significant surplus.   For example, let's say you're married and your average household monthly income for the 6 calendar months prior to filing your bankruptcy case is $3,500.  Clearly this is below the median income in most (if not all) states.   But if you have very low monthly expenses, let's say $1,200 per month (I know it's unlikely, but this is just an example), then after taxes are deducted from your income, you may still be showing a surplus in your budget, which may be an obstacle to doing a Chapter 7 case. In short, you need to have a consultation 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 More

Garnishments automatically expire but apparently your employer continued to withhold money and send it to the attorney. The attorney sent back the unauthorized payments. However, if the attorney is paying attention, he/she would have gone to court and got a 2nd garnishment to start when the first one ended. By stringing the garnishments together, they never expire and they'll be able to withhold the entire amount you owe.... Read More

If you overpaid the Trustee should send you a refund. This could be done before discharge is actually entered. In my jurisdiction, Southern District of California, the Trustee will send a letter stating that all of the required payments have been made, that no further payments should be made, and if excess was received it would include a check for the amount.... Read More

Why do you need it?  There really isn't any such thing.  Proving a negative is very difficult. You can sign up for PACER at  https://pacer.login.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl  and then do a search under your name and SSN.  That isn't 100% accurate, but should give a pretty good indication, but then again I have no idea why you would need an official statement showing you never filed for bankruptcy. Does someone have evidence that you DID file?... Read More

The amount of years that a US bankruptcy trustee can look back is six years. Although different transactions are looked at differently within those six years. If you sold all home at fair market value to someone you did not know and paid off all debts associated with at home, the most likely the bankruptcy trustee would never even consider this. In your situation you gave property to a child. This is basically handing a piece of property over to a family member so it will not get taken when you file bankruptcy, or at least that is the way the bankruptcy trustee is going to look at it and they will go back and they will undo that transaction and most likely sell off your property. Unless your son took out a mortgage and pay fair market value for the property, then that case they won't touch it. But in most transaction such as this it's usually a gift and also usually in anticipation of filing bankruptcy in the future. This is the reason the bankruptcy courts allow the US bankruptcy trustee six years to look back, as they consider this a fraudulent transaction, regardless of what your intent was when you gave the property away, as you could've just sold it and paid off some of your debts. 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 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob... Read More

I assume you're referring to relief from the automatic stay.  The automatic stay is what prevents creditors, including mortgage companies, from taking collection actions against you during your bankruptcy case.   If you fall behind on your payments (and for other reasons sometimes) the bank can seek "relief" from the automatic stay to allow them to pursue whatever remedies are available to them under your state's laws (such as foreclosure).  ... Read More

The amount you pay to credit cards in a chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan is not based on the equity you have in your home. The repayment plan must include all outstanding and delinquent payments owed on secured property, such as a home with the mortgage or a car with a loan on it. In a chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan the only debts you must pay in full are those on secured property with collateral used to secure or the note or loan. What you will pay on unsecured debts such as credit cards and medical bills, shall be what is remaining in your income and what you can afford, and then the bankruptcy court will either confirmed the plan or deny the plan and give you reasons for such denial. But in any case the equity in your home does not play a role in the amount you must pay on unsecured debt in a chapter 13 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://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147  ... Read More

The question if you should file bankruptcy really is one that you need to determine for yourself. If you can pay all your debts and it will not affect you adversely and you can still live your life, then you should not file bankruptcy, bankruptcy should be your last resort when you're bills are completely overwhelming you and even paying all the minimums you will not have a chance to get back on your feet. In your particular situation if you are already going to court, or to have a judgment against you, and they're going to be garnishing your wages then most likely you should file bankruptcy. But the question is if you should or can file bankruptcy are two distinctly different questions I usually advise any client that is getting orders to go to court, or he has a judgment in court, or is having their pay garnished typically should file bankruptcy. But this does not cover bringing your matter to a competent bankruptcy attorney in having that attorney evaluate your entire situation. 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 More

If you are asking if you will lose your personal assets, I must be assume you are not discussing a chapter 13 bankruptcy, as you may retain your assets such as your house, car and anything else in a chapter 13 bankruptcy which allows you to repay your debts not simply discharge them. So I must assume your discussing chapter 7 bankruptcy, if your concern is the loss of your personal assets. The simple answer is it depends. It depends on the exemptions allowed in your state. Where I practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the rest of the states of New England, they allow both federal exemptions and state exemptions. You will want to Google the state exemptions for the Commonwealth of Virginia to determine which personal assets you will be able to exempt from your chapter 7 bankruptcy and retain. In states such as Massachusetts they are very generous exemptions and things such as cars and up to $11,000 in home furnishings and many other personal assets may be retained. When looking at your chapter 7 bankruptcy exemption list for your state consider garage sale prices for all items, except for homes and cars, for homes I would check the silo or Yahoo to determine the price of your home and for vehicles Kelly blue book is usually the standard. If your exemption does not cover the amount of the personal asset you will most likely lose it in chapter 7 bankruptcy the liquidation unless there is a mortgage or loan which you will continue to pay, as you cannot have assets liquidated that have a lien by a bank, if you do not wish to repay the mortgage or loan on your car the bank will reclaim the property, not the bankruptcy trustee.   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 www.botelholawgroup.com 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147... Read More