Category: Bankruptcy

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One of the most common question people ask bankruptcy lawyers is what happens if you marry someone who has filed for bankruptcy. Many prospective clients have asked Los Angeles based bankruptcy law firm Recovery Law Group lawyers, whether their spouse’s bankruptcy can affect their credit score or their ability to borrow money. Generally, a bankruptcy filed by your fiancé in the past is not going to affect your credit score (either current or future). Your credit history is not affected by your marriage, in fact, marriage often leads to an increase in the joint credit of the couple.

However, if your spouse had previously filed for bankruptcy, it can affect your borrowing capacity. For married couples, the combined credit score is a measure of how much they can borrow. Thus, if your spouse has a low credit score, the combined credit score will be lowered. If you wish to borrow a large sum of money, you can opt to have a co-signer who has higher credit score. Sometimes, banks offer programs where you can opt for mortgage with a co-signer and if you make proper payments for a year, you can refinance the mortgage without the co-signer’s name.

Alternately, you could make efforts to increase the credit score. This can be done by taking a secured credit card. Regular and timely payments made on this card will help in improving the credit score of your spouse, provided the card company reports your payment history to credit bureaus. If you want to know more about your mortgage and credit score ratings, you can call 888-297-6023 to consult experienced bankruptcy lawyers.

Call: 888-297-6203

Filing for bankruptcy requires you to list all your assets and liabilities on your bankruptcy schedule. This is used to determine which of your assets can be exempted and can be kept by you during bankruptcy proceedings and which will be liquidated by the bankruptcy trustee to pay your creditors. To keep any property, you need to specify it in your bankruptcy schedule by providing the exemption provision you are using to protect it, say Los Angeles based bankruptcy law firm Recovery Law Group lawyers.

Many times, people are either unaware or forget what an asset is. This might cause problems later in their bankruptcy case. Some of the commonly overlooked assets which are often not included in bankruptcy schedule and as a result could lead to confiscation of asset by bankruptcy trustee include:

• Unpaid insurance claims
• Class action lawsuits
• Accumulated vacation pays
• Liquor license
• Trademarks
• Season tickets
• Timeshares
• Security deposits

A 341 hearing where debtor is asked about the assets and liabilities by the bankruptcy trustee is often when bankruptcy filers realise that there are other assets which might be in their name (joint property held by someone else). If the property has less equity, it won’t be a problem, however, if there is a lot of equity involved, it could affect your bankruptcy chapter. You might not be eligible for chapter 7 bankruptcy with all these additional incomes and assets.

Sometimes, people assume that certain things are assets whereas they aren’t. This can be in case of homes and cars. Whether they are an asset, or a liability depends on not their worth, but what you still owe on it. If the property is worth less than what you owe for it, it is not an asset for you but for the secured creditor. In such a case, the debtor should not use their exemption for maintaining the asset. To know which of your belongings are an asset and should be protected through exemption, you can consult with experienced bankruptcy lawyers by calling 888-297-6023.

Call: 888-297-6203

If you are struggling with debts and are unable to pay off your creditors, bankruptcy might be a great way out. However, you might need to gather information about the same, since people are generally unaware about it. You will be surprised, say lawyers of Los Angeles based bankruptcy law firm Recovery Law Group to find that federal government informs you of necessary bankruptcy related information on its official website USCourts.gov. however, it is always important to hire experienced bankruptcy lawyers if you wish to get rid of your debts through bankruptcy. Though all information related to bankruptcy is available on official website, only lawyers can provide you a successful discharge. Call 888-297-6023 to discuss your case with experienced bankruptcy lawyers and get all your debts discharged.

The bankruptcy code passed by Congress in 1978 provides knowledge of all laws which are used to govern bankruptcy cases. The Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure are a set of procedural standards which are followed by all local district bankruptcy courts wherever bankruptcy proceedings take place. Bankruptcy case is presided over by a federal bankruptcy judge, however, debtors are required to appear in the court just once. This takes place to determine whether debtor is eligible for bankruptcy filing, whether debts can be discharged during bankruptcy, etc.

The bankruptcy code provides details of various bankruptcy chapters:

1. Chapter 7 – is also known as liquidation bankruptcy. All assets and property of debtor are taken over by bankruptcy trustee. Debtor can protect some assets through exemptions. Non-exempt property is sold off by trustee to repay creditors. The creditors are paid according to their status (secured, unsecured priority and then unsecured nonpriority debts).
2. Chapter 9 – is used by municipalities like towns and cities to reorganise their debts. This is equivalent to a government chapter 11.
3. Chapter 11 – is used by individuals and businesses to pay creditors without having to close their business. It is done with a court-approved reorganisation plan which ensures creditors get their dues with the business remaining operational.
4. Chapter 12 – is used by fishermen and farmers to get rid of their debts through a reorganisation plan.
5. Chapter 13 – reorganisation plan for people of other occupation. Both these chapters (12 and 13) ask debtors to repay their debts through 3-5 years repayment plan. They can keep their non-exempt property too if the creditors are paid their due.
6. Chapter 15 – chapter is for dealing with property that a debtor owns in a foreign country. Generally, such cases are referred as “cross-border cases.”

Having a bankruptcy lawyer by your side can be an asset, irrespective of which chapter of bankruptcy you file. They can tell you the best way to protect most of your assets while getting majority of debts discharged.