Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Discharge There are certain eligibility requirements in reference to getting a discharge under the bankruptcy code. Let’s begin with the most common form of bankruptcy which is a chapter 7 fresh start. Chapter 7 is when someone, an individual typically, has very little in the way of personal assets but has a+ Read MoreThe post Eligibility For A Bankruptcy Discharge appeared first on David M. Siegel.

The most important thing about filing bankruptcy is the initial consultation with a bankruptcy attorney. It is not the price. It is not the location of the office. It is not the number of cases that the attorney has filed over the year. It is not whether that attorney is advertising on television. It is+ Read MoreThe post Filing Bankruptcy: The Initial Consultation appeared first on David M. Siegel.

Not A Failure Filing bankruptcy does not have to be looked upon as a failure. Bankruptcy can be looked upon as an opportunity to get a fresh start or to reorganize debt under existing federal bankruptcy laws. I don’t believe anyone sets out to file for bankruptcy. However, certain events happen in life that leads+ Read MoreThe post Is Filing Bankruptcy A Form Of Failure? appeared first on David M. Siegel.

There are specific time restrictions on when you can file certain bankruptcy cases.  For Chapter 7, you can only receive a discharge of certain debts every eight years.  There are also complex rules for filing Chapter 13 subsequently to a Chapter 7.  In the video below, we talk about Chapter 7 in particular and how+ Read MoreThe post How Often Can You File Chapter 7 Bankruptcy? appeared first on David M. Siegel.

Protecting Life Insurance When filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy, you are allowed to protect a certain amount of personal property. One of those items of personal property is life insurance. Life insurance is treated two different ways when filing bankruptcy. The first involves term life insurance. Term life insurance provides for a death benefit. What+ Read MoreThe post Is My Life Insurance Policy Protected IF I File Bankruptcy? appeared first on David M. Siegel.

VirginiaDebtRelief.org, one of those “Avoid Bankruptcy” outfits–is unusual because they claim to be rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau. These debt settlement operations work the same way–people stop paying their cards, put some money away for settlement, the company settles a couple small ones, collects a fee, and then the consumer gets sued on […]The post Is VirginiaDebtRelief.org really BBB rated A+ by Robert Weed appeared first on Robert Weed.

Chicago clients are concerned about utility bills and how a bankruptcy filing affects their services. They are happy to know that they can get service to continue to or have it turned back on if it was disconnected. The video below talks about ComEd in particular, but it applies to gas service and telephone service+ Read MoreThe post Bankruptcy Filing & Your Utility Services Such As ComEd appeared first on David M. Siegel.

Depending on the budget, you might have to pay back 100% to your unsecured creditors in a chapter 13 bankruptcy case. The trustee appointed for your case is going to interview you at a 341 meeting of creditors. One of the main purposes of this meeting is to determine whether or not you are putting+ Read MoreThe post Chapter 13 May Pay Back At 100% appeared first on David M. Siegel.

  In this chapter 7 case, the trustee moved to set aside a transfer by the debtor of her 1/2 interest in real property to a corporation owned by her husband, which transfer occurred 7 months prior to the bankruptcy.  The property was initially purchased in the name of the Debtor and her spouse, with an intent to lease to the corporation; but instead the corporation made the mortgage payments on the property.  The Debtor argued that this created a resulting trust, but the bankruptcy court rejected the argument and ordered the corporation to reimburse the trustee $43,400.  The district court reversed, finding a resulting trust was created under South Carolina law.  The 4th Circuit reversed the district court.  In re Pfister, 2014 WL 1492713 (4th Cir., 2014).    Under 11 U.S.C. 541(a)(1) the bankruptcy estate includes all property the debtor owns as of the moment the case is filed.  The trustee can reclaim property fraudulently transferred prior to the filing pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§544, 548.  Constructive fraud may be a basis to reclaim the property.  11 U.S.C. 548(a)(1).  Constructive fraud occurs when within two years prior to the bankruptcy an insolvent debtor transfers property for less than reasonably equivalent value.  11 U.S.C. 548(a)(1)(B).    However, the property to be reclaimed may not exceed the property interest the debtor actually owned.  Thus, when a trust severs the legal and equitable interests in property, a debtor may have bare legal title without equitable ownership in the property.   The corporation alleges since it made all the payments on the mortgage, which provided the funds for the purchase of the property, it had equitable ownership in the property leaving the debtor with bare legal title.  The transfer of her bare legal title to the corporation seven months prior to the filing was hence a transfer of an asset of minimal value.  South Carolina law normally presumes that when real estate is conveyed to one person and the consideration is paid by another, it is presumed a resulting trust is created.  However, the presumption does not arise where the conveyance is taken to a wife, child, or other person to whom the purchaser is under a legal obligation to provide.  In such a case, the transfer is presumed to be a gift.  The 4th Circuit found that since the corporation paid for property deed to the debtor and her spouse, and since the spouse was the sole owner of the corporation, South Carolina law presumes the purchase was intended as a gift by the spouse to the Debtor.   The presumption can be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that a gift was never intended.  This can be shown by clear and convincing evidence that 1) it paid for or committed to pay for the property, 2) with an intent to own it, 3) on the date of purchase.  Where the intent to own the property does not arise at the same time as the deed, then the resulting trust cannot be created.  The 4th Circuit found that at the time of the initial purchase of the property the corporation did not commit to pay for the property.  Equally important is the fact that at the time of the purchase the parties intended a rental arrangement, thus evidencing an intent that the corporation would be a tenant rather than the owner of the property.  

What Happens to Utility Bills in Bankruptcy? When debts pile up, it can become overwhelming to pay any bills. And during the summer especially, Arizona utility bills can be astronomical. And because utilities are very important, you may wonder what will happen to your service if you file a bankruptcy petition. Will you still have […]The post What Happens to Utility Bills in Bankruptcy? appeared first on Tucson Bankruptcy Attorney.