Bankruptcy Steps

Many chapter 7 bankruptcy cases follow the same step-by-step process. There may be some variation among attorneys as to who you are talking to, such as whether you will be talking to the attorney or staff during meetings after the initial consultation, but most of the steps are the same among bankruptcy attorneys. The following steps are the norm among chapter 7 bankruptcy cases.

Step 1: Free consultation

Most bankruptcy attorneys offer a free consultation. The free consultation is your opportunity to get answers to your questions and learn whether bankruptcy is right for you. At the end of your consultation you will be quoted a fee and can hire the attorney at that time.  To learn more about a free consultation with our Sacramento bankruptcy lawyer visit sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us

Step 2: Bankruptcy Homework

Contrary to popular myth, bankruptcy attorneys do not have a magic wand they can wave that will create all of your bankruptcy documents without any information supplied by you. To draft all of the documents that will be filed in your bankruptcy the attorney will need substantial documentation from you. You will need to supply 6 months of pay stubs, bank statements, etc.

Step 3: Review

The attorney or staff will review your documents with you before they draft your petition, statement, and schedules.

Step 4.... Watch the video to find out the rest.

 

Precarious situations you can avoid by seeking the help of bankruptcy attorneys

Guest post by Andy Masaki 

For many debtors, deciding to file for bankruptcy can be a time-consuming and intimidating decision. Bankruptcy is a legal process through which you can eliminate your debt and get them discharged to start a fresh life. Since this is a legally binding process that requires specialized knowledge and practice, you should avoid taking the plunge alone. There are bankruptcy attorneys who can offer you help in order to let you complete the bankruptcy process successfully. People sometimes wonder what bankruptcy attorneys can do for them, and if you too are wondering about the ways in which a bankruptcy attorney can help you, check out some precarious situations that you can easily avoid by seeking the assistance of a bankruptcy attorney.

·         Inability to make the decision about debts that you should discharge in bankruptcy

The most common consumer bankruptcies are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. When you make the decision to file for bankruptcy, you may be confused about which debts to choose to discharge through the process and which debts to repay or reaffirm. Making the wrong decision will come back to haunt you in the long run, and you might end up killing your fresh start before it began. You can avoid such situations by hiring a bankruptcy attorney as they will help you choose the debts you may discharge and tell you which ones to reaffirm. They will check your present financial condition before helping you.

·         Inability to decide which kind of bankruptcy to file

There are debtors who fail to choose among Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 as they’re unaware of the pros and cons of each chapter, and unaware of the way in which each type is executed. In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you tend to discharge all your unsecured debts and with Chapter 13 you’re able to buy yourself enough time throughout which you’re able to repay a certain portion of your debts. If you hire a Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney, he might have the right experience to inform you about the ins and outs of each kind of bankruptcy so that you can make an informed decision.

·         Harassment from your creditors and debt collection agents

Although the automatic stay bars all kind of collection calls from the debt collectors and the creditors, there are still some who keep on calling your employer and your friends and family members. But if you hire a Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney in your state, he will ensure that the creditors and the debt collection agents call him and not his client. This will alleviate the stress of attending harassing calls and explaining the reason behind your non-payment of bills.

So, we see that bankruptcy entails a long legal process before debts may be discharged. Hiring a Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney will always help you stay in the right direction. However, you should shop around and choose a trustworthy attorney who has your best interests in mind. 

Can I discharge a social security disability overpayment in bankruptcy?

Generally, yes.  Social security disability overpayments are generally dischargeable in bankruptcy like any other unsecured debt.  They are not nondischargeable penalties owing to a governmental unit or tax obligations.  However, social security disability payments cannot be discharged in bankruptcy if the overpayment was a result of fraud or a false statement.  Section 523 of the bankruptcy code excepts fraudulently incurred debts and debts incurred by a false statement from discharge.  Consequently, if the overpayment was the result of a material misrepresentation perpetuated by you, then you run the risk of the overpayment being nondischargeable in bankruptcy due to fraud.

Learn more about fraudulently incurred debts in bankruptcy or visit our bankruptcy lawyer's page at www.sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us

Do I have to pay off all of my unsecured debt in chapter 13 bankruptcy?

Not usually.  However, whether you will have to pay off 0% or 100% of your unsecured debt will depend upon your disposable income and the best interest of creditors test.  By extension, whether you will have to pay of all of your unsecured debt in bankruptcy will depend upon your income, expenses, value of assets, and exemptions.

Bankruptcy Lawyer @ sacramentobankruptcylawyer.us

In chapter 13 bankruptcy your unsecured creditors must get whatever they would be entitled to in chapter 7 bankruptcy.  What this means is that your general unsecured creditors must get at least the present value of your non-exempt assets.  Furthermore, you must dedicate your disposable income to your repayment plan, and the calculation of disposable income depends on whether your current monthly income exceeds the state median income for a household of your size.  These calculations and legal tests are beyond the scope of this article, but you can learn more about the best interests of creditors test.

What are my options with a student loan garnishment in bankruptcy?

Filing for bankruptcy will stop the garnishment of your wages for student loans, but the chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy will not absolve you of the debt unless you can prove that your student loan debt is an undue hardship.  To establish an undue hardship you will have to prove 3 elements established in Brunner v. NY HESC.  Those elements are:

"(1) that the debtor cannot maintain, based on current income and expenses, a "minimal" standard of living for herself and her dependents if forced to repay the loans; (2) that additional circumstances exist indicating that this state of affairs is likely to persist for a significant portion of the repayment period of the student loans; and (3) that the debtor has made good faith efforts to repay the loans."

In light of the difficulty of satisfying this test, few student loan debtors have been successful in discharging their student loans in bankruptcy.  In particular, the requirement that your circumstances are likely to persist for a significant portion of the repayment period has proved to be a high hurdle to clear, as repayment obligations can exceed 20 years.

You can learn more about student loans in bankruptcy

Chapter 13 bankruptcy can provide some minor relief if your wages are being garnished for student loan debt.  In chapter 13 bankruptcy your wages will not be garnished during your 3 to 5 year chapter 13 plan, but you will likely be unable to satisfy the entire balance within the time period so your debt will continue after your bankruptcy has been concluded.

If you recognize that this country is facing a student loan crisis, write to your elected officials and demand debt relief; demand an easier path to discharging student loans in bankruptcy.

Can my bankruptcy attorney refuse to speak with me?

An attorney licensed in the State of California must meet their professional obligations, including the duty to keep their client reasonably informed of the status of their case.  If your attorney is refusing to keep you updated as to your case, or if they have failed to respond to your reasonable request for an update, they may have violated a rule of professional conduct.  In turn, you may file a complaint with the California State Bar and/or fire your attorney.  Once you fire your attorney you will terminate your attorney-client relationship.  Furthermore, you will probably have to hire another bankruptcy attorney to represent you in bankruptcy.

Before you file a complaint against your attorney, be sure they have actually failed to keep you informed.  If the attorney took a day or two to return your phone call on a minor matter, their conduct probably did not rise to the level required for a violation of professional ethics.  Hence, be sure that your attorney has really refused or completely failed to respond to your reasonable requests for information before you consider taking action against them.

Will I lose my property in bankruptcy?

Whether you lose your property in bankruptcy will depend upon several factors.  First, in chapter 7 bankruptcy you may lose non-exempt property.  However, in chapter 13 bankruptcy you will be able to keep your property with a few exceptions (ex. best interest of creditors test).  Second, California exemption law will dictate which categories of property up to certain amounts can be protected in bankruptcy.  If the value of a certain category of property exceeds the allowed exemption amount provided for that category, the property can be sold in bankruptcy.  Likewise, if you have property that is not covered by a California exemption, the property is non-exempt and can be sold in chapter 7 bankruptcy.

To determine whether your property will be sold in bankruptcy speak with an experienced bankruptcy attorney.

Investigating Bankruptcy Attorney Reviews

Sometimes bankruptcy attorneys post fake reviews online to boost their rankings.  Just as restaurants might impersonate a satisfied client and leave a 4 star review on Google Local, so to do some bankruptcy attorneys who are willing to compromise their ethics for page rank post fake reviews online.  These attorneys (or their SEO contractor or staff) will create a social media account for a fictional person and use that account to leave a review of their own firm. Sometimes these fake reviews are easy to spot; if there are 10 reviews posted within 2 days, chances are they're fake.  Sometimes the reviews must be investigated before they can be labeled as fake; if the social media account responsible for the review has a stock profile photo, no "about" information, and has done nothing else than leave the 1 review, chances are the review is fake.  The consequence of these fake reviews is that consumers must be more savvy before they pick up the phone and call a bankruptcy attorney.

How to spot a fake bankruptcy attorney review

Sometimes these fake bankruptcy attorney reviews are easy to identify.  If the attorney had 0 reviews on Monday but suddenly has 10 reviews on Tuesday, we can safely assume that the attorney had something to do with the sudden influx of reviews.  More stealthy attorneys will create fake social media accounts to post 1 review for their own firm.  The consumer in these instances must click on the social media account responsible for the review to determine whether the review is fake.  Again, if the profile photo looks like a model and the account has no personal information or activity except for the 1 review, that review is likely B.S.

Why some bankruptcy attorneys write mediocre content

Some bankruptcy attorneys are guilty of writing mediocre content to increase the page rank of their website.  These shallow articles shamelessly interject keywords and are clearly written more for search engines than people.  The author of this post is guilty of this very crime as can be seen in "how to find a Sacramento bankruptcy attorney" and "why some Sacramento bankruptcy attorneys are expensive."  Readers of these articles will tire of the useless repetition of the term "Sacramento bankruptcy attorney" and will shortly click-away from the SEO fluff.  Admittedly, these articles would be far more engaging and readable without the prevalent use of high-traffic geographically-targeted keywords, but sadly would not be considered by search engines to be very relevant for the same keywords in their absence.  For instance, if the above articles dropped "Sacramento" from their title and body the articles would not rank well for the keyword "Sacramento bankruptcy attorney," and the theme of the site would be less about Sacramento bankruptcy attorneys and more about bankruptcy attorneys in general.  Since local bankruptcy attorneys are only (and can only) target their local area, these geographic keywords are a necessary evil: without them their site will not rank well for local terms, but with them their site may rise to the top of the coveted 1st page of Google.  With silo architecture these articles may stand a better chance of propping up the local bankruptcy attorney's homepage.  Therefore, some bankruptcy attorneys write mediocre content to increase the page rank of their website and thereby generate local business.