The decision to file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy comes after thoroughly evaluating one’s financial situation as well as options for bringing debts under control. Most likely you will be deciding which chapter to file only after weighing the pros and cons of each option.
The fact that most people choose to file a Chapter 7 doesn’t mean that that this solution is the best solution in all cases. Indeed, Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be better suited to provide the protection and debt-relief for debtors with property they want to protect .
Usually people who file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can combine the automatic stay feature with a the debt restructuring plan to re-establish their financial stability. When these features are combined with extended property protections, it becomes an attractive option for anyone seeking to avoid repossession or stop foreclosure.
To further help you understand why a repayment plan may suit you best, here’s a list of 12 reasons why many people favored a Chapter 13 bankruptcy:
NO. REASON N Read more…
A recent plan submitted by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is garnering greater support than their previous bankruptcy exiting plan. The revised reorganization plan proposes giving creditors 21.1 cents to the dollar as opposed to the 21.4 cents proposed in the previous plan.
The new plan is believed to give less to bondholders and more to banks and hedge funds. Lehman has approximately $325 billion in claims from creditors and has acquired around $65 billion in assets since their bankruptcy filing.
Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in September 2008. The filing is the largest bankruptcy filing in the history of the United States.
If you or someone you know is considering filing for bankruptcy protection, contact the Birmingham personal bankruptcy lawyers of Greenway Law, LLC at 205-324-4000 to discuss your situation with an experienced and compassionate bankruptcy attorney.
Lee Steinberg files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Recently, sports agent Lee Steinberg filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The agent is famous for representing top athletes like Troy Aikmen and inspiring the 1996 film Jerry Maguire and its main character.
Steinberg currently owes $1.4 million in a lease for a property in Newport Beach. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing lists total debts between $1 and $5 million, and only one asset of $475,000 in stock.
The sports agent said he accumulated debt while he was in rehab to recover from an alcohol addiction, and his business suffered as a result of these debts. Steinberg says he has been sober since 2010.
When debt becomes so overwhelming that a person is reduced to a substandard lifestyle and debilitating mental torment, bankruptcy may be the only way out. Declaring bankruptcy is an ordeal almost as bad as the indebted state itself. However, enduring such an ordeal and coming back may be indicator of future super star quality. Way one to start a comeback would be landing a personal loan after bankruptcy. Seeing it through according to the contract will indicate your reliability and creditworthiness.
Waiting in the Wings
One thing you should consider before declaring bankruptcy would be to take out a personal loan to consolidate your debt. This will pay off all your creditors, which is a great credit score booster. And your monthly payment will probably be far less than the aggregate of all your past creditors. You should start your search for such a loan by shopping on the web. Many folks have taken big hits on their credit scores because of these financially unstable times and many private lenders have stepped into this hot market. Read more…
While Bankruptcy is one of the most cost-effective and efficient legal means of walking away from an underwater or foreclosed home available, it is also, under the right circumstances, a better means of saving a home in danger of foreclosure than other non-bankruptcy strategies, such as mortgage modification.
Surrendering a home in bankruptcy enables you to walk away from the property without fear of either future collections or of a negative taxable consequence, without any negotiation with the bank holding your mortgage required. If you live in a so-called “deficiency state” like Michigan, lenders can pursue you for the balance of your debt on a mortgage after a foreclosure in most circumstances. A bankruptcy prior to walking away will prevent that from happening.
However, you may not want to walk away from your home. If your home is underwater or over-mortgaged only because of the presence of a second or even third mortgage on your home, it may be possible to remove those secondary mortgages with a Chapter 13 reorganization bankruptcy. If yo
TLC singer T-Boz seeks bankruptcy protection
Last month, former TLC singer 41-year old Tionne Watkins, or T-Boz, filed for personal bankruptcy with $768,643 in debt.
The bankruptcy filing shows that most of the singers debt is related to mortgage payments on a $1.2 million home. Watkins, a four-time Grammy award winner, and the rest of TLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1995 at the height of their popularity.
Now, the singer earns about $1,200 a month in royalties for the bands music. Sources report that she is owed around $250,000 in child support from her ex-husband.
Furthermore, the bankruptcy filing reveals that the singers current monthly income is $11,700. The filing also shows that Watkins spends around $8,821 every month.
Did I Reaffirm my Mortgage Debt in My Bankruptcy?
In addition to consumer bankruptcy, my firm does a lot of non-bankruptcy debt relief work for Michigan consumers, some of whom have already filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy with other law firms. Largely, these clients are attempting to save a home through a mortgage modification or other non-bankruptcy negotiation. The first question we have for these clients is: did you reaffirm your mortgage note obligation in your bankruptcy?
A reaffirmation agreement, as I have written about many times before on this blog, is an agreement that is struck during a bankruptcy process between the filing debtor and one of his or her creditors. The reaffirmation agreement must be signed by you (the debtor), your bankruptcy attorney if there is not what is called “undue hardship” (no or negative income left over at the end of the month after your basic household expenses are deducted from your monthly average income as listed on the bankruptcy petition), and the creditor. Dep
Employment issues after filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection
No. All employers whether government or private are prohibited by federal law from firing employees whose bankruptcy becomes known to them while you are working for them. Once your employer learns of your choice of debt relief and, as a result, dismisses you from your job, you may have a bankruptcy discrimination case. But, be aware that if enough time passes and your employer can prove you were terminated due to valid reasons having nothing to do with bankruptcy then it is unlikely that your discrimination case will hold water.
No. Any private employer, who hired you before you filed, must completely ignore the bankruptcy in regard to any decision about your qualifications and suitability for career advancement. The only chance they have to consider your bankruptcy in an employment decision is when they agree to hire you in the first place.
Yes, see last question/answer. But to repeat, this applies only to private companies and their employees. If the job you are applying for is with a local, state, and federal government agency, your job application cannot be treated differently for employment consideration based on a bankruptcy. Of co
Before declaring bankruptcy, it is a good idea to consider alternatives if possible. New bankruptcy laws make it more difficult to produce than used to be. Bankruptcy can be on your credit card to a maximum of ten years. So it’s useful to look for alternatives for bankruptcy. Credit purchases can be a difficulty for many years after the filing for bankruptcy.
Before bankruptcy you should contact your creditors. Instead of this choice, you work on payment options with your creditors. In many cases they are very willing to work with you. It is to their benefit to keep you as a client. The lenders know that other possibilities will be more useful if you do not file for bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy alternatives are useful to think about before you hurry to file for bankruptcy. Read more…