The North Carolina Bankruptcy Information Blog

Since the real estate reckoning of 2007 launched what would become a global economic meltdown, average Americans just like you have been taking advantage of the sure-fire safe havens of personal bankruptcy. But part of successfully joining the more than 1.5 million people who will file in 2011, is planning for life following the fruition of that bankruptcy.

In fact, with so many people facing income deficiencies due to underemployment or unemployment in 2011, it’s work revisiting the best advice for an effective bankruptcy. Here’s part two of a two-part series picking up where we left off with the TOP TEN tips for making a 2011 bankruptcy work for you:

(6) Calling All Lenders.…

Since the real estate reckoning of 2007 launched what would become a global economic meltdown, average Americans just like you have been taking advantage of the sure-fire safe havens of personal bankruptcy. But part of successfully joining the more than 1.5 million people who will file in 2011, is planning for life following the fruition of that bankruptcy.

In fact, with so many people facing income deficiencies due to underemployment or unemployment in 2011, it’s work revisiting the best advice for an effective bankruptcy. Here’s part one of a two-part series exploring the TOP TEN tips for making a 2011 bankruptcy work for you:

(1) Talking Through Your Bankruptcy Tale.…

When you’re drowning in debt, and dodging your creditors, you may feel stuck—forced to eliminate your financial trappings as soon as possible and by any means necessary. But, in the process of dispensing with debt through the benefits of bankruptcy, it’s vital that you deal with that debt deliberately and follow certain rules pre-filing in order to assure that your financial future is as fruitful as possible.

Remember, making poor decisions before bankruptcy may prevent you from getting debt relief. As such, it’s always best to avoid the following pre-bankruptcy:

Transferring assets to someone else.
When you’re filing for bankruptcy, you may feel inclined to transfer assets, either to make yourself look like a better (more desperate) candidate with fewer assets or to try to hold onto property that might otherwise be placed in what’s called the “bankruptcy estate.” The short answer is: don’t.…

Need to file bankruptcy or think you might? Then, you will be interested in this.

The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt is offering to get people filed for “$0 Money Down”. That’s right, “$0 Money-Down”. No upfront fees. No upfront costs.

Just for the record, this is not a loan and “no credit is needed” because this plan pulls on the power of Chapter 13 of the U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 13 is one of the 2 major chapters of the Bankruptcy Code under which most consumers generally file.

If filing bankruptcy is right for you and if you qualify for “$0 Money-Down” (and lots of people can), you can get your bankruptcy case filed for “$0 Money-Down”.…

If you’re like so many Americans experiencing tough economic times, you may feel completely overwhelmed by your current financial situation and unsure as to what options actually exist to alleviate it. Maybe you’ve been unable to modify your mortgage, hit with the costs of an unexpected medical situation, dealing with high interest credit cards or are navigating through the pitfalls of unemployment or underemployment with little understanding of how to pull yourself out of the subsequent a financial hole.

At times like these it’s often important to get “back to the basics,” separating fact from fiction in order to make an informed decision that can get you back on track for a better financial future.…

@font-face { font-family: “Times”; }@font-face { font-family: “ＭＳ 明朝”; }@font-face { font-family: “Cambria Math”; }@font-face { font-family: “Georgia”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in It’s that time of year again: baseball season. The smell of freshly-cut grass, the crack of the bat, the seventh inning stretches to the sound of the organ and the smell of a hot dog.

It’s also time for another great bankruptcy metaphor.

A personal bankruptcy can be just like a baseball game. Bankruptcy is ultimately an adversarial process during which there are many players on the field competing to achieve a fair and balanced result.…

Recent gains for marriage equality in states like Iowa and New Hampshire have been met by a lot of legal questions for those who are actually considering marriage with their gay and lesbian partner. Similarly, recently proposed legislation that would prohibit marriage between gay and lesbian couples in North Carolina is shedding a new spotlight on the confusing differences in relationship recognition in state and federal laws and the true legal challenges facing these couples throughout the Tar Heel State and entire country.

These legal hurdles for gay and lesbian spouses include added barriers when these couples seek the benefits of bankruptcy.…

In the last century, it was not uncommon to hear of average Americans, understandably wary of a then-fledgling banking industry, hiding personal fortunes under household mattresses instead of placing them in various accounts.  And yet while wads of cash are even less common in today’s tough economic times—times when banks coincidentally are mistrusted more than ever—the idea of Americans hording whatever they have for a “rainy day,” is not. Even as incomes continue to fall, personal saving is up, with many families throughout the nation’s now taking a measure of austerity as their personal mantra in throughout this recessionary era.

But what happens when possessing a large sum of cash or savings coincides with filing for a personal bankruptcy?…

Amid the lingering national housing crisis, many renters may have felt that they had gotten away relatively unscathed in these tough economic times, avoiding underwater housing prices, high interest mortgage fluctuations, and the fear of foreclosure from lenders eager to toss unwary debtors from their humble (or not so humble) homes.

But in 2011, many renters should be aware of a new worry of their very own in the coming year: tenants who get behind on their housing payments will begin negatively impacting their own credit rating. That’s right. According to Lynnette Khalfani-Cox of WalletPop, Experian, one of a trio of primary credit bureaus, has recently started collecting consumer rental payment information for the purposes of including that very data in its credit reports.…

While unexpected circumstances and scenarios often cause American debtors to consider the bankruptcy option, a disability, often combining mounting medical costs with a sudden loss of an otherwise dependable income, can make for an especially strong case for seeking the benefits of bankruptcy. The good news is a personal bankruptcy is an often safe solution for eliminating some (or all) of the associated debts from a disability. Unlike the process for qualifying for federal disability benefits, no medical criteria are necessary for a disabled person to seek the safe havens of a personal bankruptcy filing.

In terms of eliminating debt for your disability under the former, Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it is important to understand that this type of “liquidation” bankruptcy is designed for debtors with limited assets who are looking to discharge some or all of their unsecured debts.…

The Supreme Court’s recent holding in the bankruptcy case of Ransom v. FIA Card Services, N.A., means new challenges regarding allowed expenses for Chapter 13 debtors.  In an eight to one opinion, the Court recently affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that a debtor may not deduct “vehicle ownership” costs when computing his Chapter 13 plan payment if that debtor happens to own his vehicle “free and clear.”

In layman’s terms, this means that a person filing bankruptcy under Chapter 13 cannot reduce his payments to unsecured creditors by claiming “ownership costs” for a car on which he owes no money.  In this case, the petitioner, Jason Ransom, filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and claimed a $471 monthly expense in his Chapter 13 payment plan for automobile ownership costs.…

The holidays. A time for figgy pudding, partridges zipping around pear trees and maids milking barn animals. Those are well and good signs of happiness and all, but we’re here to dole out gifts that really sparkle under the tree, the kind that keep on giving and never need be returned. We give you, joyous reader, the 12 Days of Bankruptcy.

On the first day of bankruptcy, the bankruptcy code gives to you: an automatic stay. This gem of a benefit to bankruptcy ceases all pending lawsuits filed against you by creditors upon the approval of your petition. You will probably still have to pay any tax lawsuits or student loans that you have out there, but hey, this is only the first day!…

In retrospect, we’re all able to see that the recent economic downturn was sparked by a housing crisis full of unscrupulous sub-prime lending that easily spread to prime mortgages as unemployment rates rose. And, as many of you already know, the result of this collapse in the American housing market was a historic increase in the number of mortgage foreclosures, many in neighborhoods that had not previously had any issues with vacant or abandoned properties.

Today, vacant and abandoned properties sit in communities across the nation, driving down home prices and otherwise marring the market for those seeking to sell their inhabited spaces.…

In every great relationship, transparency is essential. And a perfect match is often a partner willing to share their past relationships, their financial status as well as what they’re thinking. Similarly, in every fruitful bankruptcy, honesty is key. In fact, it is mandatory. So, if you’re bankruptcy bound, it’s always best to understand early on that, at the outset of your filing, you must act in good faith, revealing all salient points with both your bankruptcy attorney—the person or persons who represent you in your case—as well as your bankruptcy trustee—the person who administrates your case.

This “duty to disclose” can come in several forms and cover some of the most important parts of your bankruptcy process.…

Are you feeling too broke to break out of debt? Too often, Americans just like you, already suffering under the intense strain of rising mortgage costs, consistent credit card debt, mounting medical bills, employment woes, and other blights on their bank accounts, are also suffering under the misconception that an experienced bankruptcy attorney is, for them, financially out of reach.

Well, it’s finally time to halt the hesitation, dismiss the deterrents, and suffer no more; because, in fact, the opposite can be true in the world of bankruptcy law. Days, weeks, and months wasted without speaking to a qualified bankruptcy expert like those at The Law Offices of John T.…

As the economic meltdown lingers, layoffs continue and jobs remain hard to come by, many skilled and experienced Americans are turning to entrepreneurship to make ends meet. But, while it is a good time to take your financial future into your own hands in business, it is also important to understand that self-employed individuals who fall on hard times at any point in the business-building process can also take their financial future into their hands through bankruptcy.

Just like wage-earners, businessmen and women, and the unemployed, bankruptcy can be a smart option for self-employed individuals struggling to stay current in the current recessionary climate.…

If, when examining your credit card debts, mortgages payments or other loans, you find you are in arrears, but also have regular income to catch up with those back payments (just not all at one time), you may find that Chapter 13 bankruptcy is your best first step in protecting your biggest assets and income. As such, filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy stops creditor harassment and restructures your debt into a more manageable payment plan—allowing debtors like you to pay back what they owe over time, often at a percentage of the cost.

But what if you find yourself facing new debt following the establishment of your Chapter 13 plan?…

In most discussions of bankruptcy, there are few mentions of the rising costs of motherhood/parenthood, especially considering the current economic state of affairs, whereby families are sometimes forced to choose between clothing, feeding and educating a child and their responsibilities of paying mortgages, car notes and consumer debt.

 As a result, it’s as good a time as any during this especially tough economic era to take a closer look at how mothers, guardians, and caregivers are crunching the numbers when it comes to giving their child the very best, and what that means when, at the same time, that parent is forced to seek the protections of a personal bankruptcy. For example, what might spending for a school expenditures and activities and/or a college education mean when it comes time to file and face bankruptcy’s two basic evaluations?…

By it’s very name, a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy sounds like a process that would leave you not only without any debt, but also without any property or assets left over to show for it. As a result, many people considering Chapter 7 bankruptcy worry about losing their biggest asset—their home—in the process. As such, even folks who desperately need the debt protections afforded by Chapter 7, more often than not delay their bankruptcy filing, waiting for another solution that could also allow them to hold onto their home.

If this is your own personal justification for avoiding a personal bankruptcy under Chapter 7, fear not.…

In an era of meteoric unemployment rates, looming layoffs and job uncertainty, income can be a tough thing to talk about these days.

But for those men and women seeking the priceless protections of a bankruptcy—many for the same unfortunate economic reasons listed above—talking about income is at the very core of a successful bankruptcy filing.

Under current bankruptcy law, debtors just like you who are seeking bankruptcy must complete what is known as a Statement of Financial Affairs. On it, you are asked to disclose all earned income: from average employment pay to profits from the operation of a business.…