Avoid Personal Bankruptcy

Despite the stigma and possible embarrassment of filing for bankruptcy, many people have mitigating circumstances that make it their only option to avoid repeated court proceedings against them.

Additionally, there are some financial companies that have no trouble offering to issue a person a credit card , usually with a higher interest rate and annual fees attached.

One the reasons companies will offer a credit card is the fact that a person cannot file for bankruptcy for at least seven years after the initial action has been discharged.

Knowing this, these credit card companies have a legal recourse in collecting on any unpaid debt resulting from the cards use. While most debt charged on a credit card is considered unsecured, if the cardholder cannot file bankruptcy, the company can use wage attachment to gain repayment.

There are numerous dangers is obtaining a credit card , beyond the usually higher interest rate, as charges for being late with a payment as well as annual fees can quickly put the person into a bad credit risk again. Read more…

Buying much of anything after bankruptcy can be a challenge, especially when it comes to something like a car. The bankruptcy will stay on your credit for a number of years, making it almost impossible to go through standard lending when you need it most.

However, there is no reason to assume lost hope because you could always qualify for a bankruptcy car loan. There are dealers in the country who work specifically with people who have had credit troubles in the past. They could provide you with the loan you need when you need it most.

A bankruptcy car loan will be difficult to find, but if you have a good job history or at least proof of income, it should not be hard to qualify for. The reason why certain dealers work with people who have poor credit is because they know that other lenders will not be able to.

Thus they get all the business and they can provide their customers with a second chance at building their credit. You can benefit from this as long as you meet some of the minimal lending requirements that the dealership has outside of your credit.

If you apply for a bankruptcy car loan with a dealership, chances are you will actually be getting your loan from the dealership itself. Read more…

Summary

In a 10 page decision signed May 5, 2011, Judge Walsh of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court denied a motion to dismiss and held that the plaintiff Litigation Trustee satisfied the “particularity” requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) and 9(b), despite having his complaint allege that each transfer within a 13 page list of transfers was fraudulent.  Judge Walsh’s opinion is available here (the “Opinion”).

Background

DBSI and certain of its affiliates filed for bankruptcy on November 6, 2008. A plan of liquidation was confirmed October 26, 2010, and a Litigation Trust was formed. The Litigation Trustee was given the power to pursue the Debtors’ causes of action, including bringing lawsuits to recover preference payments and fraudulent transfers.

The Litigation Trustee brought a claim against certain DBSI insiders, including Douglas L. Swenson, alleging fraudulent transfers were made to these insiders prior to DBSI’s bankruptcy. Opinion at *2. As part of a 20

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If you are considering bankruptcy, you’ll need to know what to expect during each phase of the process after filing.

Here’s a basic overview of what to expect during the entire process:

First, you must decide which type of bankruptcy you want to file. Chapter 7 will free you of all of your debt, and allow you to begin rebuilding your credit after a few years. Many people do not qualify for this type of bankruptcy under new government guidelines established in 2005, however, which allow the court to determine if you indeed do qualify. Basically, the law requires you make less than the medium income in your state to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy requires you to pay back all of your debt within a specific timeframe in accordance to a schedule set by the court. While this may sound like a good solution, after all it’s allowing you to pay back everyone you owe, it can be difficult since the court decides how much of your income is used for debt payments, and how much you are able to keep to live on. Their criteria is usually stringent, and doesn’t allow for anything but necessities during the repayment period. Read more…

Around 100,000 people a year get arrested because they owe unpaid bills and ignore a court paper.  Does this happen in Virginia.  Yes!

I’m a Virginia bankruptcy lawyer.  About one-third of my clients don’t come to see me until the sheriff brings court papers to their door.

Then it’s panic time!  Here are questions people ask.

“What do these papers mean?”

“Is it too late to file bankruptcy? ”

And the big question, “Can I go to jail?”

First the good news.  In case you didn’t learn this in school, debtor’s prison was abolished in America in the 1830′s. You can’t go to jail for not paying your debts.

You can’t get arrested for not paying your bills. You can get arrested for ignoring court papers.

Here’s the bad news.  You can get arrested for not appearing in court to answer questions from your creditor.

The Wall Street Journal found that over 5,000 people were arrested for that last year in just nine big counties.   (If smaller counties did the same thing, and I hope they don’t, that would calculate to 100,000 arrests each year.)  Wow!

Can that happen to you?  Yes.  Here are the steps that could get your arre

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Summary
In an 11 page opinion published May 18, 2011, Judge Shannon ruled that, in the context of a motion to dismiss, the officer of a corporation, which is itself a contractor, is not also a contractor by virtue of her position within the corporation. Judge Shannon’s opinion is available here (the “Opinion”).

Background

Donna K. Brady (the “Debtor”) was the principal officer of DK Brady Excavating, Inc. (“DKBE”). As such, she personally guaranteed a credit agreement on behalf of DKBE with Tri Supply and Equipment, Inc. (the ”Plaintiff”). She eventually defaulted under her obligations to the Plaintiff, had a default judgment entered against her in the Plaintiff’s favor, and filed for bankruptcy under chapter 7. Opinion at *1-2.

The Plaintiff initiated the adversary proceeding in which this opinion arose by filing a complaint seeking for an order denying the discharge sought by the Debtor. The Plaintiff made two allegations, one of which survived the motion for summary judgment. This post will focus on the allegation that did not survive the motion for summary judgment. This allegation was

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