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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New Bankruptcy Means Test Numbers for 11/1/2011

Posted on October 26, 2011 | 9 Comments

The bankruptcy means test median household income numbers for Michigan have been udpated, effective 11/1/2011. The new household median incomes are:

  • 1 person household: $43,677
  • 2 person household: $50,079
  • 3 person household: $58,467
  • 4 person household: $70,237

For each individual in a household over 4, $7500 is added to the median.

This is a slight increase over the prior numbers and may enable more people to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

If you are a southeast Michigan resident and are considering filing for bankruptcy, please contact me at (866) 674-2317 or john@hillalaw.com to schedule a free, initial consultation.

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Posted in Chapter 7, Income, Means Test, Michigan

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A Hidden Advantage of Not Reaffirming: the Freedom to Move

Posted on October 6, 2011 | 1 Comment

Guest Post by Atlanta Bankruptcy Attorney Peter Bricks.

I often grapple with chapter 7 debtors over getting them to understand that they do not really need to reaffirm their mortgage to keep their home.

The primary reasons I emphasize them not reaffirming is that the reaffirmation means the debt is not discharged in the bankruptcy, missed payments can continue to harm the debtors credit, the debtor will be liable in the future for a deficiency balance and the bank can still foreclose if payments are not made in the future anyway, regardless of whether the debtor reaffirmed or not.

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Posted in Chapter 7, Property, Reaffirmation Agreements, Real Estate

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How Much Can my Chapter 7 Banrkuptcy Trustee Can Take from Me?

Posted on October 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases that I handle in my area of Michigan are “no-asset” bankruptcy cases, meaning that, after I  have exempted the filing individual’s personal assets from the bankruptcy estate created by the filing of the bankruptcy petition, there is nothing left available for the Trustee to liquidate (seize and sell off for cash) and distribute to creditors. In fact, the great majority of Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases filed anywhere are “no-asset” cases of this sort.

However, some cases are “asset” cases that do involve a transfer of assets from the filing individual’s ownership to the creditors whose debts he or she is discharging by way of the Chapter 7 Trustee assigned to the case, whose job is to do just that.

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Posted in Chapter 7, Exemptions, Michigan, Personal Property in Bankruptcy, Property, Real Estate

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Home Mortgage Loan Modification and Bankruptcy: Before, During and After Your Bankruptcy

Posted on September 29, 2011 | 6 Comments

The real estate bubble is one the primary culprits behind the rise in individual bankruptcy filings. Currently an astonishing 22.5% of home borrowers have home mortgage balances with negative equity. Many debtors therefore are looking for ways to reduce their monthly payments, if not get out of their home obligation entirely.

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Posted in Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Home Mortgages and Bankruptcy, Mortgage Modifications, Reaffirmation Agreements, Real Estate

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How Can a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Help Me Pay Down my Student Loans?

Posted on September 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

I have addressed the high bar to the discharge of student loan debt in bankruptcy on this blog in earlier posts. It remains true that student loans are very largely not dischargeable in bankruptcy. However, it is not true that bankruptcy cannot assist in managing or even paying down student loan debt.

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy, on the other hand, although it will not “discharge” non-dischargeable student loan debt any more than a Chapter 7 would, can be useful in obtaining relief from student loan payments for a lengthier period of time and managing the eventual pay-down of the debt balance.

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Posted in Chapter 13, Debt Listing, Student Loans

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