The video below talks about the automatic stay in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.  This is basically the protection from creditors that the filer is seeking. What is the Chapter – rather what is the automatic stay and is applicable in a Chapter 13? I know we talked of one of our other shows with respect to Chapter 7. We talked about the automatic stay. But is it applicable here, to Chapter 13 as well? David Siegel: It is. The automatic stay is what you get upon filing which basically tells creditors they cannot take certain collection actions. The automatic stay is everything the client is looking for. It stops the foreclosure dead in its tracks. As long as the sheriff’s sale hasn’t + Click Here For Read More

This video discusses the pre-filing requirements for someone looking to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  They are similar, but not exactly the same as the requirements for filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy. What are the prefiling requirements for Chapter 13? David Siegel: Well, the first thing you have to do for Chapter 13, you have to provide your most recent federal, four years of federal tax returns. Jesse Barrientes: Four years? Why four years? David Siegel: Well, legislature felt that under Chapter 13, you should have to provide four. That’s not the case with other Chapters of the Bankruptcy Code but Chapter 13 is different. They want four years of federal tax returns. So if you have + Click Here For Read More

This video talks about under what circumstances someone would want to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  Each case is different and each case needs the be evaluated to ensure that filing is going to accomplish the requested goal of financial relief. David Siegel: When would somebody want to file a Chapter 13? Jesse Barrientes: Well, to save a car or to save the house in arrears. We have a lot of mortgage issues going on. Sometimes people just need to kind to get a foothold on things. Maybe they haven’t been the best at managing their money and I find that there’s a lot of people – it really doesn’t matter. I’ve seen people that come in of all different types of income levels and have + Click Here For Read More

The video below describes how Chapter 13 works.  This is just the starting point to what Chapter 13 can accomplish for those with financial issues. David Siegel: Okay, so what happens in a Chapter 13? How does it work? Jesse Barrientes: Well, in a Chapter 13, what happens is all of your assets kind of just go in one place. That’s what you call your estate. And depending upon what those assets are, the bankruptcy trustee kind of makes or pays off the secured and unsecured. With the Chapter 13, you have to be able to pay off 100% of your secured debt and as little as 10% all the way up to 100% of your unsecured debt within 36 or 60 months. So three or five years, that’s what they call + Click Here For Read More

The transcription below is from the Chapter 13 video explanation the general nature of what Chapter 13 bankruptcy is all about. David Siegel: You know, whether things are rolling in this country or whether they’re going downhill, there’s always a need for the Chapter 13, the reorganization, to find a way to pay back and get a fresh start to a certain extent. Let’s jump right in. What is Chapter 13 bankruptcy? Jesse Barrientes: Chapter 13 is a consolidation essentially is what it is. I also want to mention, there are a lot of companies that provide consolidation services, so-called. And my experience with them hasn’t been so good only because Chapter 13, right, is sanctioned by federal + Click Here For Read More

Current Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Client I have a client that is currently in a chapter 13 bankruptcy case, but is struggling to make her plan payments. The trustee has filed a motion to dismiss the case for failure to make timely payments. My client is approximately $1500 behind even though her trustee payments are being deducted out of her pay. This is primarily due to the fact that she was in between jobs and during that lapse in employment, she did not pay the entire plan payment on her own. Faced with the dilemma of the trustee's motion to dismiss, the client came to see me with regard to her options.  Option One One of the options of course is to get caught up with the trustee and save + Click Here For Read More

This post is specifically directed to consumer bankruptcy attorneys located in the Chicago area. The American bankruptcy Institute is holding their seventh annual Chicago consumer bankruptcy conference to be held on November 11, 2014. The conference will take place at the University of Chicago Gleacher center. The conference will focus on current issues affecting debtors and creditors and consumer bankruptcy cases. Faculty members will include bankruptcy Judges Janet S. Baer, Donald R. Cassling, Catherine J for Furay, Thomas M. Lynch and Eugene R. Wedoff as well as experienced local chapter 7 and chapter 13 consumer attorneys and panel trustee's. You can click the link below for more + Click Here For Read More

Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyers Chicago bankruptcy lawyers want to have their clients’ bankruptcy cases be determined to be no asset cases by the panel trustees. This rather simple expression means that the debtor is not going to lose any property while going through the bankruptcy process. As a bankruptcy lawyer, my goal is to get a person out of debt without having that person give up any property. When the trustee makes a finding of no assets, he is closing the book on the case and is seeking no other interest in the debtor's estate.  Fear Of Losing Property Many people are afraid to file for bankruptcy because they think that they are going to lose their property. It's a very + Click Here For Read More