IMPORTANT NOTICE: IF YOU ARE CONTEMPLATING BANKRUPTCY, CERTAIN TYPES OF TRANSACTIONS WITH YOUR ASSETS OR YOUR DEBTS COULD CAUSE YOU TO BE UNABLE TO FILE BANKRUPTCY, SIGNIFICANTLY DELAY YOUR FILING, OR NEGATIVELY AFFECT YOUR CHOICES. IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU SPEAK TO COUNSEL, BEFORE MAKING ANY DECISIONS ABOUT YOUR TRANSFERRING OR ENCUMBERING YOUR ASSETS ACQUIRING ASSETS, OR PAYING OFF YOUR DEBTS IN ANTICIPATION OF FILING BANKRUPTCY!
As a bankruptcy attorney in Minnesota, I have been providing debt relief for clients through bankruptcy for many years. If you wish to discuss your situation, please call to set an appointment or for my free telephone consultation. My legal fees for a non business Chapter 7 are very competitive so call to ask.
The bankruptcy chapter that you file under depends on your income and financial situation. Most people prefer to file under Chapter 7 which generally requires no payments to creditors. If you cannot qualify to file under Chapter 7, you may be able to file under Chapter 13 each of which are described below.
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing is referred to as a “liquidation” but in reality you will usually not lose anything unless you have assets which exceed your exemptions. Even then you will be given an opportunity to "buy" them for their fair value from the trustee if you choose. Many assets owned by the debtor, including significant equity in your homestead, are exempt and those the debtor may keep. Under the new bankruptcy provisions, a preliminary determination is made as to whether the debtor is under certain threshold income and budget levels. If so, the debtor will file for a discharge of debts under Chapter 7 and will generally not have to make any payment to creditors. In a Chapter 7, if there have been no valid objections to discharge, the debtor is granted a complete discharge of his or her unsecured debts within approximately three to six months.
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing is required when the debtor’s income exceeds the debtor’s actual and allowed budget by the set standards. If it does, the debtor's excess monthly income over the allowed monthly budget is determined and the debtor is required to propose a plan to pay that sum to the trustee for a period of three to five years. Even in that case, the total payments made in a Chapter 13 are usually only a portion of the debtor’s total unsecured debt. At the end of the plan payment period all remaining unpaid unsecured debt is discharged.
Upon the filing of a Petition in bankruptcy under either provision, in most cases, the bankruptcy law imposes an automatic stay on most creditors against the collection and/or enforcement of their respective debts for various lengths of time.
In a Chapter 7 filing, you must to pay the legal fees and filing fees in full prior to filing. However, unless you have an urgent need to file immediately, you can pay some down and take the time needed to obtain the rest of the funds. In a Chapter 13 filing usually only the down payment is made in advance and the rest of the fees are paid as part of your payments in the three to five year Chapter 13 Plan.As a Minnesota Attorney, I offer my legal services to bankruptcy clients in Burnsville, Apple Valley, Eagan, Lakeville, Farmington, Rosemount, Savage, Prior Lake, Shakopee, Lonsdale, Jordan, Belle Plaine, Chaska as well as all people residing in Dakota County, Scott County, Carver County, Rice County, Ramsey County and Hennepin County.
I am required by the law to tell you that this law firm is a debt relief agency. I help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.