So, you slipped up and left a creditor out of your bankruptcy schedules. Can you add an omitted creditor after the fact? In the fateful words of a careful lawyer, it depends. Depends on when the amendment is made and what chapter you’ve filed. And the effect of adding a creditor varies. Let’s walk through […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: R is for Retirement
In my bankruptcy alphabet, R stands for Retirement. Retirement plans and IRA’s are safe in whatever chapter of bankruptcy you file. Your rights in an employer’s pension plan or a union pension plan are not even part of the property of your bankruptcy estate. The Supreme Court held almost 20 years ago that ERISA qualified […]
Going To Court In Your Bankruptcy Case
Every bankruptcy debtor must attend the first meeting of creditors in their case. It’s usually the first and only time that your personal appearance is required. What’s the point of going to court The first meeting of creditors has two basic purposes: to have the debtor validate the information in the bankruptcy papers under oath, […]
Where Do I File My Bankruptcy Case?
Remember the kid’s geography game, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Clues took players all around the world to stop a gang of thieves. When it’s debt you want to stop, if you’ve moved around in the past two or three years, the rules of the game are not child’s play. Two issues are […]
Bankruptcy Upsets The Divorce Property Division
The divorce was over. The assets were divided by a final judgment. The house would go to Him, and he would pay Her $75,000 on stated terms. It was the end of a miserable stretch in their lives. Only it wasn’t. Before anyone recorded the judgment of dissolution (that’s Californian for “divorce”), She filed bankruptcy. […]
Ten Essential Nuggets For Creditors in Bankruptcy Notice
You’re looking at bankruptcy official form B9. It arrived in your mail because someone has filed bankruptcy and listed you as a creditor on the schedules of a newly filed bankruptcy case. Most likely, the debtor owes you money or you have an open claim of some sort against the bankrupt. Your rights against the debtor […]
Did You Tell The Whole Truth In Your Bankruptcy Papers?
You must “tell the truth” on your bankruptcy schedules, bankruptcy advice sites intone. Most of us shrug that off: we can’t imagine deliberately lying to a court. But carelessness about bankruptcy schedules abounds. If you give the bankruptcy process just a lick and a promise, the resulting schedules aren’t truthful, not because of lies, but […]
Will A Second Bankruptcy Really Protect?
Immediate protection from collection is at the top of the list for most bankruptcy filers. They want the lawsuit to stop; the wage garnishment to stop; the debt collectors to stop. But, if this isn’t your first bankruptcy case, do you get that protection? What the automatic stay does The Automatic Stay (or “Stay”) protects […]
TImeless Wisdom Doesn’t Apply When Filing Bankruptcy
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”. It’s a time-tested bit of folk wisdom. But applying that kind of thinking when you’re filling out bankruptcy schedules is foolish. Worse, it can get you booted out of court. Count your “chickens” Bankruptcy starts with a list of what you own and what you owe when you […]
When Chapter 20 Bankruptcy Adds Up
You can look a long time in the Bankruptcy Code without finding Chapter 20. Chapter 7 is there; so are Chapters 11 and 13. But no 20. But you find it in bankruptcy courtrooms and in the arsenal of good bankruptcy lawyers. So, what’s up? Chapter 20 is really bankruptcy slang. It’s a Chapter 7 case […]
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