Married persons will have to gather this information for their spouse whether or not they are filing a joint petition, independent individual petitions, or even if only one spouse is filing. In the situation where just one spouse files, the income and expenses of the non-filing spouse must be present so that the court, the trustee and creditors can evaluate the household’s financial situation.

On the list of schedules that an individual debtor will filethere is a schedule of “exempt” property. The Bankruptcy Code allows an individual debtor (4) to shield some property against claims of creditors because it is exempt under federal bankruptcy law or underneath the laws of the debtor’s home state. 11 U.S.C. – 522(b). Many states have taken advantage of a provision in the Bankruptcy Code that allows each state to adopt its own exemption law instead of the federal exceptions. In other jurisdictions, the individual debtor has the option of picking between a federal package of exemptions or the exemptions in existence under state law. Thus, whether or not certain property can be exempt and can be kept by the debtor is frequently a question of state law. The debtor should consult an attorney at law to determine the exemptions that can be found in the state where the debtor lives.

Filing a request under chapter 7 “automatically stays” (stops) a lot of collection options versus the debtor or even the debtor’s property. 11 U.S.C. – 362. But filing the petition does not stay some types of actions listed under 11 U.S.C. – 362(b), and the stay is probably effective simply for a few days in some situations. The stay originates by operation of law and expects no judicial action. Given that the stay is in effect, creditors generally wouldn’t set off or continue on legal cases, wage garnishments, or even phone calls insisting payments. The bankruptcy clerk gives notice of the bankruptcy case to all creditors whose names and addresses are provided by the debtor.

Somewhere between 20 and 40 days after the petition is submitted, the case trustee (described below) will hold a gathering of creditors. Generally if the U.S. trustee or bankruptcy administrator (5) schedules the meeting in a place without regular U.S. trustee or bankruptcy administrator staffing, the gathering will be held at most 60 days after the order for relief. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 2003(a). During this meeting, the trustee puts the debtor under oath, and both the trustee and creditors could perhaps inquire. The debtor has to go to the conference and answer questions with reference to the debtor’s financial affairs and property. 11 U.S.C. – 343. In case a couple have filed a joint petition, they together must go to the creditors’ meeting and answer questions. Within 10 days of the creditors’ meeting, the U.S. trustee will report to the court whether the case has to be presumed to become an abuse under the means test described in 11 U.S.C. – 704(b).

It is indispensable for the debtor to cooperate with the trustee and to supply any financial data or information that the trustee asks for. The Bankruptcy Code will require the trustee to ask the debtor questions at the meeting of creditors to ensure that the debtor understands the wide ranging risks of seeking a discharge in bankruptcy for example, the impact on credit report, the ability to file a petition under a completely different chapter, the consequence of receiving a discharge, and also the effect of reaffirming a debt. Some trustees offer written details on these topics at or leading to a meeting to make certain that the debtor understands this information. To be able to preserve their independent judgment, bankruptcy judges are banned from attending the meeting of creditors. 11 U.S.C. – 341(c).

So as to accord the debtor full-scale relief, the Bankruptcy Code will allow for the debtor to convert a chapter 7 case to a case under chapter 11, 12, or 13 (6) so long as the debtor is qualified to be a debtor in the new chapter. However, a stipulation of the debtor’s voluntary conversion is that the case has not previously been converted to chapter 7 from another chapter. 11 U.S.C. — 706(a). Thus, the debtor won’t be permitted to convert the case routinely from one chapter to another.

For help with a Macon GA chapter 13 bankruptcy , call a Macon bankruptcy lawyer. A Macon Georgia bankruptcy attorney could give you the help you need.

Filed under: Finance

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