About Bankruptcy
ABOUT BANKRUPTCY FILING AND THE COURT
IN FORMATION WHICH WILL BE CONTAINED IN CLERK’S NOTICE REQUIRED BY BANKRUPTCY CODE SECTION 342(B)
CHAPTER 7: Liquidation: Total Court Fee: $306.00
Chapter 7 is a proceeding for the liquidation of a debtor’s estate. Under Chapter 7, a trustee is appointed to liquidate all of Debtor’s non-exempt assets. The trustee then distributes the assets in accordance with the priorities established by law to the creditors. The debtor ordinarily obtains a discharge. Debtors may file for relief under Chapter 7 only if they are eligible therefore. Circumstances which may preclude a debtor from seeking relief under Chapter 7 include: earning of current monthly income (CMI) in excess of the applicable median amount, CMI such that disposable income is in excess of an amount necessary to pay $10,000 to unsecured creditors over a five-year period or $6,000 over a five-year period if that amount is equal to 25% of the debtor’s unsecured debt. These tests apply to debtors whose debt is principally consumer debt.
CHAPTER 13: Repayment of All or Part of Debts of Individual with Regular Income Total Court Fee: $281.00
Chapter 13 is designed for individuals with regular income who are temporarily unable to pay their debts but would like to pay them in installments over a period of time. You are only eligible for Chapter 13 if your debts do not exceed certain dollar amounts set forth in the Bankruptcy Code. You are required to seek relief under Chapter 13, rather than Chapter 7, if your filing under Chapter 7 would constitute “abuse” within the meaning of the Bankruptcy Code.
Under Chapter 13, you must file a plan with the Court to repay your creditors all or part of the money that you owe them, using your future earnings. Usually, the period allowed by the court to repay your debts is three to five years. Your plan must be approved by the Court before it can take effect.
Under Chapter 13, unlike Chapter 7, you may keep all your property, both exempt and non-exempt, as long as you continue to make payments under the plan. After completion of payments under your plan, your debts are discharged, except for the following debts: trust fund taxes; taxes for which returns were never filed or filed late (within two years of the petition date); taxes for which you made a fraudulent return or evaded taxes; fraud and false statements; undisclosed debts; defalcations by a fiduciary; domestic support payments; student loans; drunk driving injuries; criminal restitution and fines; and civil restitution or damages awarded for willful or malicious actions causing personal injury or death.
NOTICE TO “PERSONS ASSISTED”
REQUIRED BY BANKRUPTCY CODE SECTION 527(a)
Under federal law, we are considered a “debt relief agency” and you are considered an “assisted person”. We are required by section 527(a) of the Bankruptcy Code to give you the following notices:
All information that you are required to provide with a petition and thereafter during a case under the
Bankruptcy Code must be complete, accurate, and truthful; All of your assets and all of your liabilities must be completely and accurately disclosed in the documents filed to commence the case, and the replacement value of each asset (as defined in section 506 of the Bankruptcy Code) must be stated in those documents where requested after reasonable inquiry to establish such value; Your current monthly income, the amounts specified in Section 707(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code, and in a Chapter 13 case, your disposable income (determined in accordance with Section 707(b)(2)), must be stated after reasonable inquiry; and The information that you provide during your case may be audited. Failure to provide such information may result in dismissal of the case under this title or other sanction including, in some instances, criminal sanctions.