The thought of losing one’s credit cards is a terrifying idea for some that are struggling with debt.  In fact, such a fear prevents many people from actually filing for bankruptcy.  The big fear is that bankruptcy will haunt them for life and prevent them from obtaining credit in the future.  Everyone dreams of purchasing a home or purchasing a vehicle.  Filing for bankruptcy and getting a fresh start will actually put someone in a greater position to obtain credit in the future.  As I always say to quote the band Genesis, “you’ve got to get in to get out.”  Thus, you must file in order to have a chance going forward.  The short conversation listed below is from the television show Legal + Click Here For Read More

Numerous Requirements There are numerous requirements that must be met by a debtor in a chapter 7 bankruptcy case. The debtor must complete a credit counseling session within 180 days of filing the petition. The debtor must complete a two hour personal financial management instruction course sometime after the case is filed but prior to the case being discharged. The debtor must provide the most recent federal tax return. The debtor must provide two months’ worth of pay advices immediately preceding the filing of the chapter 7 bankruptcy case. The debtor must appear at a 341 meeting of creditors and provide any additions or corrections that the panel trustee is requiring. In a select number + Click Here For Read More

There are many ways to treat a vehicle when filing chapter 13 bankruptcy. Not one answer fits every case. In fact, the answer is going to vary depending upon whether or not the debtor is current on the vehicle, whether the vehicle was purchased within the last two and half years, and whether or not the debtor needs to restructure that debt in essence. Let's examine the first scenario. If the debtor has a vehicle purchased within the last two and half years and he is current on that vehicle, then I would recommend that he continue to pay for that vehicle outside of the chapter 13. By doing so, he will avoid the interest rate that the trustee charges as an administrative expense on his + Click Here For Read More

Vehicle Impounded In Record Numbers During the last 10 days, I have seen a huge uptick in the number of Chicago residents who have had their vehicles impounded. This most certainly has to do with the city of Chicago and its effort to bring in revenue from parking ticket debt. When clients don't pay their parking tickets, they find themselves on the boot list. Once they are booted and unable to remove the boot within 24 or 48 hours, the vehicle gets impounded by the city of Chicago. I have noticed a groundswell of clients who are hiring my law firm for chapter 13 to recover their auto from the pound without paying the city anything up front. Why Chapter 13 Bankruptcy? Chapter 13 is a very + Click Here For Read More

Seasonal Worker I recently met with a gentleman who was employed by the union as a contractor. He had long stretches of unemployment and other stretches of high employment. He wanted to hear from me as to when was the right time to file chapter 7 bankruptcy. His situation is somewhat unique. He will work for stretches of time ranging from 2 to 6 months where his income is very high. He then has long periods of time when he has no income at all. It is during those months where he receives unemployment insurance benefits. At the time we met, he was in between jobs but expected to start imminently another stretch run which would last 2 to 3 months. It is clear that the right time to file + Click Here For Read More

The following snippet is from the Legal Action television show which airs on Comcast Cable in the suburban Chicago market.  Attorney David Siegel talks about the types and amounts of property that can be kept while filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief.  Interviewer:  When I do Chapter 7, fresh start, is there any property that I can keep? David Siegel: Yes.  You can keep a lot of property in a Chapter 7, which is why it’s a good idea to disclose everything to your attorney.  For example, real estate; an individual can protect up to $15,000 worth of equity in real estate.  If it’s a joint case, husband and wife, they can protect up to $30,000 worth of equity.  They can protect all of + Click Here For Read More

Please be aware that in recent weeks several current bankruptcy clients from multiple law firms in the Chicago area have been victimized or attempted to be victimized by a fraud scheme. This is how the fraudulent effort plays out in essence. There are two specific individuals that play a part in this scheme. The first is a person who alleges to be a bankruptcy attorney from the law firm that the debtor hired and the other party alleges to be a creditor who must be paid. This all takes place in the evening after the law firms have closed and where verification becomes problematic. The fraud scheme starts with the criminal obtaining bankruptcy case information from the public access + Click Here For Read More

David Siegel:   Of course, the creditors have an opportunity to show up at this meeting, and witness it, ask a few questions, possibly tell the trustee about something that they may know about the debtor.  For example, if there’s property in Wisconsin that was not disclosed or an old Corvette that miraculously didn’t make the schedules.  It’s an opportunity for the trustee as well as creditors to examine the debtor under oath.  Creditors can also set up their own meetings.  That’s called a 2004 examination. In some cases the trustee does not have enough time to let the creditor ask questions forever, and the trustee will say bring your own motion, have a 2004 exam, you can examine the debtor + Click Here For Read More

While there are thousands upon thousands of questions pertaining to bankruptcy that I field every year, it seems that I hear three specific questions most often. I want to take the time to share the answer to those questions today. The three questions are: 1) How much is it to file? 2) Will I be able to keep my home and car? 3) How soon can I get credit again? How much does it cost to file? The answer to this question is it depends. It depends upon the attorney you hire, the complexity and nature of your case, the type of creditors that you have, the experience level of your attorney and the overall practice set-up for that bankruptcy law firm. For this reason, the only number + Click Here For Read More

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is complicated. They are difficult cases from the standpoint of debtors, creditors, bankruptcy attorneys and at times the bench. For this reason, things don't always proceed smoothly the first time through the process. Like anything else, there is a learning curve to doing things. For debtors, the learning curve can be drastic. For example, the debtor needs to commence making timely payments to the chapter 13 trustee as well as to certain creditors in certain cases. Debtors have found this to be difficult in that they were struggling to make payments to creditors prior to filing. In a chapter 13, we are asking the debtor to all of a sudden be perfect. In some cases, + Click Here For Read More