All items from Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer Bankruptcy and Credit

Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy will soon be an option for people with larger debts. On April 1, 2013 the law will adjust to allow people with unsecured debts of up to $383,175 and secured debts of up to $1,149,525 to file Chapter 13.
Chapter 13 Not For Everyone
Chapter 13 is not for everyone.  By design, not everyone meets the rules for filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 13 bankruptcy law is designed to be limited to simpler, Chapter 13-Debt-Limits-Increasestraightforward debt reorganization. For that reason only people and married couples may file Chapter 13. Your corporation or limited liability company are not allowed to file Chapter 13. The Chapter 13 debt limits are another method of excluding more complex cases from Chapter 13.
Option for More People
Many more people who want to take advantage of the benefits of a chapter 13 bankruptcy and get caught up on back house payments, get rid of second mortgages, or protect property that would be lost in Chapter 7 will soon meet the rules and be allowed to file Chapter 13.



Posted 10 weeks 3 days ago

Tax Refunds & BankruptcyNobody looks forward to filing bankruptcy. Most would say there is never a good time to need to file bankruptcy. Some times are better than others.  A better time to file the bankruptcy is after you receive the refund.
Tax Refunds are not safe in Arizona Bankruptcy
A tax refund owed to you is not protected when you file bankruptcy. The bankruptcy trustee will require that you give him the check. You run the risk of losing the benefit of filing the bankruptcy if you do not cooperate in giving up the refund check.
There is an easy way around this.
The key element is whether or not the IRS owes you the refund when you file the bankruptcy. If you have not received it yet, it is owed. The trustee then has a right to take it from you once you receive it.
So long as it is practical for you to delay filing your bankruptcy until after you have received the tax refund, it won’t be owed to you when you file your case. The trustee cannot require that you hand over that money.



Posted 14 weeks 3 days ago

IRA, individual retirement accounts, are they protected in bankruptcy? I am willing to bet you expected the answer to be yes, individual retirement accounts are protected in bankruptcy. Most bankruptcy lawyers would automatically say yes, IRA accounts are protected in bankruptcy. It is common knowledge that IRA accounts areIs My IRA Protected in Bankruptcy protected in bankruptcy. Do an internet search for–is an IRA protected in bankruptcy– you will see for yourself.
The correct answer is “I don’t know.”
How can that be?
Even the bankruptcy code says that IRA accounts are protected in bankruptcy. Most lawyers would automatically point to Section 522 of the bankruptcy code and argue it is right there in black and white.



Posted 42 weeks 1 day ago

Common Misconceptions about Credit After Bankruptcy
Rebuilding credit after bankruptcy is one of the biggest fears that my clients have. There is so much misinformation about bankruptcyRebuilding Credit After Bankruptcy and credit that most of these fears are not realistic.  Some people believe that filing bankruptcy will mean that they will never be able to get credit again.  Others are convinced that they will not be able to get credit for at least 7 years–how long they think the bankruptcy will be on their credit report. Many don’t care. They know their credit has already “hit bottom” and the bankruptcy won’t make any difference.



Posted 43 weeks 4 days ago

Bankruptcy & Credit: Confusion
Bankruptcy and Credit create more confused advice than any other area of bankruptcy law.  Many people believe that so long as a How Long Does Chapter 13 Stay on My Credit?bankruptcy is being reported on their credit report they will have no hope of buying a house or car.  It’s not true.
Plenty of Conflicting Advice about Bankruptcy and Credit Reports
Many of my clients have told me that they know bankruptcy stays on credit reports for 7 years. Not necessarily true.  Google the phrase: How long does Chapter 13 stay on my credit report.  You might be surprised by how many different answers you get.  Most of the articles will say 7 years.  Not always true.  Others will say 7 years from the date of discharge.  Also not true.  A few will say 10 years.  That is sometimes true, but often wrong.



Posted 44 weeks 9 hours ago

How to Talk About Filing BankruptcyWorried what people will think if you file bankruptcy?
Sally pulls up to the red light, blinking furiously to fight back the flood of tears that threaten to overwhelm her. She’s just left her lawyer’s office and he has advised her that it is time to file for bankruptcy. Until today she had never spoken the word out loud for fear of what it may do to her reputation. As a recently divorced single mom, she has prided herself on being self-sufficient and savvy. “How did this happen to me?” As the light turns green her thoughts switch to her family, her two beautiful twin boys who lover their new dog they rightly named Oreo. “How will I explain to my kids that Oreo will have to go to a new home?” And then there is Mike, her ex-husband, who has remained as a co-signor on the mortgage for the home she lives in with her sons. And then there are her parents, who will have unending questions. “What do I say to them? How do I explain that this is not the end of me?”



Posted 45 weeks 1 day ago

New Rules for Offer in Compromise
Offer in Compromise: Is it Too Good to Be True?
Late-night television ads often make false promises of being able to pay off back taxes with pennies on the dollar. What they were referring to is called a offer in compromise. The Internal Revenue Service rules allow taxpayers to pay less than is owed when it is clear that it is not feasible for the taxpayer to pay the full amount. All the details of the program are included in the IRS’s booklet offer-in-compromise.
IRS Rejects Most Offer in Compromise Proposals
Traditionally, most offer-in-compromise proposals were rejected by the IRS. Yesterday, the Internal Revenue Service announced a new program, an expansion of its “Fresh Start” program, that will make it easier to have an offer-in-compromise accepted.



Posted 51 weeks 2 days ago

If you have run into financial problems and are unable to pay credit card payments you probably expect to hear from the bank. What you don’t expect is to be sued by a company that you never heard of.  It is probably a debt buyer.  This is becoming  common.
Companies known as debt buyers routinely purchased accounts from major lenders and credit card companies. They buy these accounts at significant discounts and make substantial profits attempting to collect the full amount.
When they are unable to successfully collect through the use of collection agents they file lawsuits. Most of these lawsuits are not defended and a  default judgment is signed by the court.
This is where the real trouble starts. Once a judgment is entered creditors can garnish your paycheck.  Arizona law allows a creditor to garnish 25% of your take-home pay.



Posted 1 year 1 week ago

 Will Your Daughter Lose Her CarNaturally we worry about how filing bankruptcy will affect those we care about.  It is common for a parents to have a car, bank account, even a house, in their names because their daughter or son needed help to buy the car, get a bank account, or qualify for the house.
Does this mean that the daughter’s property is going to be at risk if you file bankruptcy?  Usually not.
We have all been brainwashed into thinking that the legal system is all about technical loopholes and “fine print.”  Even lawyers will often latch onto an old rule of law and insist that it controls the outcome.
One of these rules is that ownership is always determined by whose name is on the title.  That may be a starting point, but it does not determine the outcome.



Posted 1 year 1 week ago

Some things just are.  It does not matter whether we think about it, like it or dislike it.  It is what it is.  Spending our time worrying about it does not change it.  Feeling bad because of it does not make it any different.  Wondering what other people think about it has no affect.
Getting a grip on reality is the first step toward finding a solution.  When it comes to money problems it is easy to try to ignore the problem.  That will work for a while.  Others will worry about it.  That doesn’t help at all.  Feeling bad doesn’t help either.
I have met with thousands of people who struggle with debt.  In twenty-five years of meeting with people to discuss their financial problems I have noticed a consistent pattern.
They almost always make the appointment long after the problem has gotten out of control.  Many times they don’t take any action until they have suffered more than any reasonable person should.
Most everyone tells me how the problems started.  What lead to falling behind on payments?  Part of me wants to tell them that it does not matter.  I am here to help deal with what is going on now.  I listen to the story.  In a way it is like most good books.  There is a plot that has been used over and over, but the characters and the setting make it interesting.  Almost every time the financial problems started with something everyone would agree is unfair.
That is one of the realities of life.  Unfair things happen all the time.  We don’t have control over this.



Posted 1 year 2 weeks ago