The worst thing that could happen to your bankruptcy is for the judge to dismiss your case. When your case is dismissed it means it is thrown out by the bankruptcy court. When that happens, your debts will not be discharged so bankruptcy dismissal must be avoided at all costs. In light of this, it is important to avoid these reasons that could result in your bankruptcy dismissal.
• Filing false information or withholding required information with intent to defraud creditors. If you are not upfront with your assets and liabilities, your case will be thrown out.
• Not submitting all required documents. Information you furnish must be substantiated by relevant and supporting documents, otherwise it may result in a dismissal.
• You file for bankruptcy again too soon after an earlier filing. There is a period of time within which you cannot file for bankruptcy after filing one earlier. Under the law, you can file for Chapter 7 once every eight years but you can do so more often with Chapter 13 bankruptcy. If you do so within the time frame disallowed by the law, it will be dismissed.
• Failure to complete compulsory credit counseling. Credit counseling is a requirement to a successful bankruptcy petition and debt discharge. If you have not complied, the bankruptcy judge will throw out your case.
• You miss payments under your Chapter 13 bankruptcy payment plan. Since you have been given a court-ordered payment plan to clear your debts under Chapter 13 bankruptcy, failure to keep to the plan will result in a dismissal by the court.
• Failure to provide any documents required by the bankruptcy trustee. If your trustee asks you for any forms, statements, bills etc. you must comply. This also includes handing over any non-exempt property requested by your trustee. You fail to do so at risk of your own bankruptcy petition. The trustee has the authority to recommend to the judge to throw out your case.
• On a sound basis, the bankruptcy judge dismisses your case. The bankruptcy judge at this sole discretion is authorized to dismiss your case if he or she feels he has credible reasons to do so.
If your case gets dismissed, you should discuss what to do next with your bankruptcy attorney.
Looking for a qualified and experienced bankruptcy attorney? Call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation and let us help you out.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Mar 1st, 2012. Comment. 
It is not uncommon to get ripped off when making a purchase of certain goods or being overcharged when hiring someone for services. In many industries there are no governing regulations and prices are generally dependent upon market forces. But unlike other industries, the legal industry insofar as bankruptcy is concerned has its fees governed by law.
The bankruptcy judge has the right to determine the fees charged by bankruptcy attorneys to some extent. Section 329 of the bankruptcy code gives the judge this power. In fact, it is legally binding for the bankruptcy attorney to declare his fees to the court. The court then reviews the charges and decides if the fees charged are unreasonable. Being required to do this causes many bankruptcy lawyers not to charge excessively for their services.
But there are no hard and fast figures that determine if a fee charged is excessive. Among the things the bankruptcy judge takes into account in deciding whether fees are reasonable are the complexity of the case, the competence and skill of the lawyer and the amount of work the lawyer did in the case. A long-drawn or complicated Chapter 13 bankruptcy would warrant a higher fee than a straightforward Chapter 7 case. If the attorney solved difficult problems for the client, set out creative strategies or filed correct petitions, the charges can be higher.
If the judge determines that the fees charged are excessive, the onus is on the lawyer to prove otherwise, failing which the lawyer has to lower his fees.
So if you are contemplating filing for bankruptcy but are hesitant to do so because of affordability issues, it’s time to put aside such concerns. Call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation on how bankruptcy can give you a new lease of life financially by eliminating your debts.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Jan 30th, 2012. Comment.
How to List an Omitted Creditor in Bankruptcy
When you file for bankruptcy, you have to submit the list of your creditors to the bankruptcy court. This listing contains the names and addresses of all your creditors. This is the list reviewed by the bankruptcy judge and used to pay off your creditors either through liquidation of your assets in Chapter 7 bankruptcy or payment plan in Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
You will have the opportunity to review the list before it is lodged with the bankruptcy court. During this time, if you notice any inaccuracies or any creditor that has been omitted, you should rectify it with your bankruptcy lawyer.
However, if you overlooked a creditor and submitted the list with one or more creditors missing, you can still have the creditor included. But you have to file an amendment. In most cases, when you file for an amendment you will have to complete a new schedule list to show all creditors including the creditor that was omitted. For this, you will incur an amendment fee.
If you have exited bankruptcy and had your debts discharged and discover you have omitted a creditor, you may still have the debt owed to this creditor discharged provided it was incurred before you filed for bankruptcy. If the creditor attempts to collect on the outstanding debt, you may have to reopen your bankruptcy case.
If you are in such a situation, call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Jan 27th, 2012. Comment.
One of the most dreaded things anyone can face is the foreclosure of their home. This is because foreclosure threatens our basic need for security. But if debts are mounting and you fall behind in your mortgage payments, it is only a matter of time before your bank takes foreclosure action. Is there anything you can do about it? Yes. You can file for bankruptcy protection.
Depending on your situation, a bankruptcy filing may halt foreclosure proceedings. There are two types of bankruptcies for individuals. The first is Chapter 7 bankruptcy which is where your non-exempt properties are sold to repay your debts. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is useful if you are not behind in your mortgage payments but have run into unexpected financial problems like a huge medical bill that you need time to repay. Should you file for bankruptcy under such circumstances, there is a high chance that your Chapter 7 bankruptcy will stall your mortgage payments until you exit bankruptcy. After the discharge, your mortgage will continue as scheduled. This is how Chapter 7 bankruptcy can affect your mortgage and help you avoid foreclosure to your home.
The second type of bankruptcy for individuals is Chapter 13 bankruptcy or reorganization bankruptcy. Under this type of bankruptcy, your bankruptcy debts are put into a repayment plan that can stretch up to five years. Thus, your mortgage will be included in this plan. When you start repaying your bankruptcy debts according to the plan, you can avoid foreclosure. Chapter 13 bankruptcy will be more useful to you if you have fallen too far behind your mortgage payments and your bank has initiated foreclosure proceedings. But there is a proviso.
The bankruptcy court will only grant your mortgage to be included into your bankruptcy assets provided you are not too far into the foreclosure process. If the bankruptcy judge feels that you owe too much to the bank already and that the foreclosure process has gone on for too long, then he or she may strike out your mortgage from the rest of your bankruptcy assets. In such a case, there may be nothing you can do to save your home.
To decide whether you should file for bankruptcy and discuss how your home can be saved from foreclosure in bankruptcy, call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Jan 11th, 2012. Comment.
Although credit counseling is a mandatory step to take in order for you can be discharged from bankruptcy, there are people who question the need for it. This is mainly due to the fact that a significant enough number of ex-bankrupts find themselves in financial problems again and have to file for the second time. Another objection is that credit counseling of a few months cannot realistically undo a lifetime of bad financial habits.
But credit counseling is a compulsory prerequisite for your debts to be discharged because the courts regard it as a means to help the ex-bankrupt stay out of bankruptcy. Since the law makes credit counseling mandatory, you have no choice but to take it. But the more important thing is to make the counseling effective for you otherwise it may not be long before you find yourself face-to-face with the bankruptcy judge again.
To max the benefits of credit counseling there are a few things you should do. Firstly, you should take it seriously and not just go through the motions simply for the sake of getting your discharge. If you have the wrong attitude, all the best information in the world will not help you. It follows that if you take your counseling seriously, you would be eager to absorb all the information your counselor give you. You should not be hesitant to ask questions about anything you do not understand, especially about technical things like how your credit score can be improved post-bankruptcy.
Secondly, take down notes because this helps you remember the points and take action on them. If you take the extra effort to write down what you learn, it will help you unlearn bad spending habits that destroy your financial standing.
And finally, the most important thing to do would be to take action on what you learn. There will be many practical instructions for you to put into practice in your life such as drawing up and keeping to a budget. Make sure you do them as they are for your own good. When in doubt, do not hesitate to ask your counselor for advice. You should take advantage of it his or her expertise and experience. This is the way to maximize the benefits of your credit counseling.
If you need advice on bankruptcy, do not hesitate to call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Jan 9th, 2012. Comment.
