Category Archives: Bankruptcy Process

Does the Death of a Debtor Stop a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Case?

Posted on March 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

It may sound logical that, if you pass away after filing a bankruptcy case, your banrkutpcy proceeding will terminate along with you. This is not so, however. A bankruptcy case will continue after the death of a filing debtor in either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 context, though there are steps your attorney might take to either shepherd the case through to a successful, post-mortem discharge or to terminate or dismiss the case, if necessary.

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Posted in Bankruptcy Laws, Bankruptcy Process, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Exemptions, Michigan, Property

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Are Property Taxes Priority Debts in Bankruptcy?

Posted on March 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

In Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, debts are classified according to certain categorizations established by the Federal Bankruptcy Code: administrative, secured, priority unsecured, and unsecured. These classifications are especially important in Chapter 13 bankruptcies, in which the class of a debt determines in what order and to what extent the debt is paid by the Chapter 13 Trustee through the Chapter 13 payment Plan.

Priority unsecured debts are paid second-to-last in a Chapter 13 Plan, and, in either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a “priority” classifications generally means that the debt is non-dischargeable.

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Posted in Bankruptcy Laws, Bankruptcy Process, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Debt Listing, Home Mortgages and Bankruptcy, Michigan, Tax debt

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Can I Still Pay My Child’s Private School Tuition in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

Posted on February 22, 2012 | 1 Comment

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy, as I’ve described here in prior posts, is essentially a monthly payment plan in which some and sometimes all of your debts are paid according to what, in theory, you can afford to pay after your basic household expenses are met each month. In other words, you pay in a Chapter 13 what you have left over each month of your available income after paying your household bills.

The question, from the point of view of the Chapter 13 Trustees who are assigned to your case by the Bankruptcy Court after your case is filed and whose job it is to review proposed Chapter 13 Plans and either approve or object to them, is: what is a necessary household expense?

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Posted in Bankruptcy Laws, Bankruptcy Process, Chapter 13, Expenses, Michigan, Tuition

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What Is My Redemption Period in Michigan if I Have More Than 3 Acres of Land?

Posted on February 6, 2012 | 3 Comments

As of December, 2011, the amount of acreage owned is no longer a factor in determining the length of the post-foreclosure sheriff’s sale redemption period in Michigan. Prior to December, 2011, foreclosure of land more than 3 acres required a “redemption period” of 12 months as opposed to the 6 months required for non-abandoned property of less than 3 acres.

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Posted in Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Laws, Bankruptcy Process, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Eviction and Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, Home Mortgages and Bankruptcy, Michigan, Real Estate

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How Can I Save My Home with a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

Posted on January 9, 2012 | 3 Comments

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.

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Posted in Bankruptcy Process, Chapter 13, Foreclosure, Home Mortgages and Bankruptcy, Michigan, Mortgage Modifications, Real Estate, Short Sales

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What Is Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

Posted on January 5, 2012 | 3 Comments

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a “reorganization” bankruptcy rather than a complete liquidation of debt as in a Chapter 7. A Chapter 13 is, basically, a payment plan enforced by the Federal Bankruptcy Court upon all of your creditors, whether the debt is a “dischargeable” debt like a credit card or “non-dischargeable” debt like a child support arrearage or recent income taxes owed. Contrary to popular belief, you are not required to pay back 100% of what you owe to your creditors in a Chapter 13.

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Posted in Bankruptcy Process, Businesses in Bankrutpcy, Chapter 13, Home Mortgages and Bankruptcy, Income, Michigan, Property, Tax debt

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Is There Really a Stigma to Filing Bankruptcy?

Posted on December 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

One of the concerns most frequently expressed to me in consultations with potential Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy clients in my southeast Michigan practice is whether their reputations will be ruined by the filing of a bankruptcy. It is almost universally believed, I gather from my clients, that a bankruptcy, once filed and once known of by the general public, will result in both a sullied business and personal reputation and also in a complete inability to get credit of any sort of years to come.

These are serious concerns for people who do see bankruptcy as a way out of what very realistically may be a hopeless financial situation but also a potential impediment for moving forward afterward.

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Posted in Bankruptcy Planning, Bankruptcy Process, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Michigan

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Can I File for Bankruptcy if I Reside Outside of the United States?

Posted on December 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

A bankruptcy can be filed in any of the Federal judicial districts in the United States which is deemed to be the proper “venue” for the case under Federal law, and, under Federal law, that venue, or location for filing, is any Federal jurisdiction “… in which the domicile, residence, principal place of business in the United States, or principal assets in the United States, of the person or entity that is the subject of the case have been located for the one hundred eighty days immediately preceding such commencement, or for a longer portion of such one-hundred-and-eighty-day period than  in any other district.”

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Posted in Bankruptcy Laws, Bankruptcy Process, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Michigan

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Getting a Refund in a Chapter 13: Will Your Trustee Let You Have It?

Posted on December 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Guest Post by Atlanta Bankruptcy Attorney Peter Bricks.

Many people use the tax return system as a pseudo savings account. They count on getting a federal and state refund every year and immediately use all the money to pay for all the necessary home upgrades, car repairs, medical bills, etc.. that they have been waiting to fund all year.

Put those same people as debtors in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and they should consider altering that strategy. For starters, depending on your district, your confirmed plan probably requires you to turn over your tax refund to your bankruptcy trustee.  That doesn’t necessarily mean the debtor will not get his/her refund, just that it’s no guarantee and might require a motion for the court’s approval to retain the tax refund. (Note that, in the Eastern District of Michigan, tax refunds ARE required to be turned over to Chapter 13 Trustees for the life of a Chapter 13 Plan. – JMH)

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Posted in Bankruptcy Process, Chapter 13, Michigan, Tax debt, Tax Returns and Bankruptcy

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Do I Have to Report my Same-Sex Partner’s Income in my Bankruptcy Petition in Michigan?

Posted on April 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

In Michigan, filing bankruptcy while living with a same-sex partner is not appreciably different than filing while living with a non-marital, opposite-sex partner as Michigan is not among the states offering same-sex marriage. The same elements in the Bankrutpcy code that test eligibility for Chapter 7 and that determine Chapter 13 Plan payments apply in either case—or fail to apply in either case.

Specifically, a non-marital, romantic living-situation impacts a bankruptcy filing in a couple of specific ways, namely, with regard to income and with regard to household size.

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Posted in Bankruptcy Laws, Bankruptcy Process, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Income, Marriage and Bankruptcy, Means Test, Michigan

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