If you receive an inheritance, what does the bankruptcy law say about it? More specifically, if you are given an inheritance after you file for bankruptcy what happens to it? The bankruptcy code has different ways of treating your inheritance depending on which chapter of bankruptcy you file under.
If you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, what happens to the inheritance depends on when the person who gave it to you passed away. If the death of the testator occurred within 180 days prior to your bankruptcy filing, the inheritance you received will form part of your bankruptcy estate and will have to be handed over to the bankruptcy trustee who will use it to pay your creditors. If the testator passed away more than 180 days before you filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, then the inheritance is yours to keep.
Note that the 180 days is counted from the date of death of the person who gave you the inheritance, not the date you received the inheritance. For example, if your distant relative gave you $1 million in his will, and you received it only 1 year after he died, the money will become part of the assets in your bankruptcy if the death occurred within 180 days prior to your bankruptcy filing.
On the other hand, if you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the 180 day limit does not apply. As long as your bankruptcy is still ongoing, the inheritance will form part of your bankruptcy estate and will be used to calculate how much you should repay your creditors. So in the example above, regardless of when you received the inheritance, as long as your debts in bankruptcy have not been discharged, your inheritance is taken into account to calculate your repayment amount.
If you wish to file for bankruptcy to overcome your debt problems, call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on May 21st, 2012. Comment. 
The cost of medical care in terms of both treatment and medication has pushed many people into bankruptcy. About 60% of those who file for bankruptcy protection do so because of insurmountable medical expenses debt. If you are struggling with medical debt, there are some things you can do besides file for bankruptcy.
The first thing you should try is negotiate with your doctor’s hospital or clinic administration. Explain your situation and ask for a discount or negotiate a payment plan. Some hospitals or clinics may grant you your request.
You would most likely have made a claim against your medical insurance policy to pay for your medical bills. You should examine all relevant documents to see if there are any overbilling errors and other mistakes that could have inflated your costs. If your insurer is denying liability due to some technical error, ask help from the hospital or clinic. Obtain an official letter from them confirming the need for you to get medical treatment and present it to your insurance company.
Finally, look into the possibility that there is a non-profit organization or charity group that can help. Often there are such organizations specially set up to fund those with certain serious illnesses like Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Down’s Syndrome, Autism etc.
If you have tried all these ways to raise funds and yet you fall short, then you should consider filing Deal for bankruptcy protection. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can discharge medical debt while Chapter 13 bankruptcy consolidates your debts (including medical bills) into a payment plan where you pay off your debts over 3 to 5 years.
If you wish to discuss bankruptcy as an option for overcoming medical and other forms of debt, call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on May 18th, 2012. Comment.
For most of us, a car is a necessity. Very few people can survive in an urban setting without a car in the 21st century. At the same time, most people own a car through obtaining a car loan. If you fall behind in your car loan repayments, the lender has a right to repossess the car. When you file for bankruptcy, that is what is likely to happen. The lender would demand the car back and sell it at an auction. If the proceeds of the auction is insufficient to cover the outstanding loan, the lender will initiate a lawsuit against you to recover the balance.
So is there a way to keep your car when you file for bankruptcy? Here are some things you can do.
When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can “redeem” the car by paying the lender the value of the car and discharging the rest of the car loan in bankruptcy. On the other hand, if you file for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your car can also be “redeemed” if the car loan is more than 910 days old or if the loan was not used only for purchasing the loan (i.e. a rollover loan from a trade-in).
Furthermore, if you do not have enough money to pay the value of the car to the lender, you may take up a loan to do so even while in bankruptcy. This is good news if you have an upside down car loan (a situation in which the market value of the car is less than the outstanding car loan). You can file for bankruptcy and keep your car.
Another thing you can do to keep your car in bankruptcy is reaffirm your car loan with the lender. This means you confirm with the lender that despite filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you will continue paying the car loan installments. And the lender agrees not to repossess your car as long as you maintain the car loan repayments during bankruptcy.
The only problem with reaffirming your car loan is that if you fall behind on your payments after your bankruptcy is discharged, the lender can still repossess the car and sue you for the balance of loan. in view of this, you should always discuss your reaffirmation agreement with a bankruptcy attorney before entering into one with your lender.
If you wish to file for bankruptcy or discuss matters about bankruptcy, call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on May 16th, 2012. Comment.
If you are a married couple thinking of filing a bankruptcy petition, there are some considerations you should bear in mind before doing so. You may opt either to file a petition jointly as a couple or separately as individuals. If that is the case, which is more advantageous? It usually depends on how your debts are structured.
If most of your debts are in joint names, it makes more sense to file a joint petition for bankruptcy protection. But if your debts are incurred separately, filing individually would make more sense, since your creditors would have accounts with your separately.
Another consideration you should think about is the type of bankruptcy to file under. If you file for a separate Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the filing may not protect your spouse from being contacted by creditors. Chapter 7 bankruptcy brings along an automatic stay on creditors that prevents them from contacting you for payment but it may not protect your non-filing spouse from creditor actions. On the other hand, filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy may entail co-debtor protection while the petition is ongoing.
There are many types of debts that may be in joint names such as credit card debts. These debts can be cleared through a joint bankruptcy filing. A joint filing may also save you money since you will only be charged for one filing.
If you and your spouse are headed for a divorce, you may want to consider filing bankruptcy separately. This would help make things easier when it comes to distribution of assets and debts later. A bankruptcy filing may carry different implications depending on which state you reside in. If you file in a community property state, it is possible for bankruptcy laws to protect the non-filing spouse.
If you wish to discuss your financial situation and explore the possibility of bankruptcy as a way to wipe your slate clean of all your debts, call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on May 15th, 2012. Comment.
If you are under bankruptcy protection or considering filing a bankruptcy petition, you may be wondering how long the whole process would take. Well, the answer to that largely depends on which chapter of bankruptcy you file for. In addition, it usually also depend on the amount of debt you hold. Let’s look at the two applicable types of bankruptcy for individuals – Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is known as liquidation bankruptcy because you have to liquidate certain assets to pay off your debts. Chapter 7 bankruptcy normally takes between 4 to 6 months before all your qualified debts can be discharged if there are no objections filed by any of your creditors. The types of debts that are dischargeable under Chapter 7 are usually unsecured debts such as credit card debts or medical bills. If you have little or no source of income and few assets, it is advisable for you to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Under Chapter 7, you provide a list of all assets and debts to the bankruptcy court. A bankruptcy trustee (who is appointed by the bankruptcy court to administer your bankruptcy) will review your list of assets and liabilities. Then you bankruptcy trustee calls for a meeting with creditors. If everything goes smoothly, the whole process is normally over within 6 months.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also called the workers’ bankruptcy and it is basically a consolidation of your debts by the bankruptcy court. The court assigns you a bankruptcy trustee who draws up a payment plan to clear your debts within 3 to 5 years. Once the bankruptcy court approves of the plan, you start repaying your debts. The advantage of a Chapter 13 is that you do not have to liquidate any of your assets.
To comply with the payment plan, you would normally have to be employed or have a steady source of income. Don’t worry about whether you can fulfill your obligation to pay because the repayment amount would be set by the bankruptcy court in accordance with your level of income. In fact, it is not uncommon for the amount of payment on some of your debts (such as your car loan installments) to be reduced by the court.
Your bankruptcy trustee will also call for a meeting with creditors and then monitor your repayments during the period of your bankruptcy. As long as you keep up with your payments, things will go smoothly and you should exit bankruptcy after your debts have been paid up according to your repayment schedule.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy has helped many people pay off outstanding debt, retain personal property and discharge qualifying debt at the end of the payment period.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on May 14th, 2012. Comment.
