BANKRUPTCY

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Robbie Young can help you with your Chapter 7 bankruptcy needs. If you are over your head in credit card debt or medical bills or if you are hounded by creditors or having your wages garnished, then Robbie Young can help.

ABOUT BANKRUPTCY

Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding for people or businesses who have outstanding debts that they are unable to pay. Bankruptcy offers a fresh start by forgiving debts that the individual or business are unable to pay while providing for repayment in situations where assets or income are available to pay something to creditors.

There are 5 different chapters of bankruptcy depending on the type of debtor filing and the type of relief sought. Chapter 12 is for farmers. Chapter 9 is for municipalities (cities and towns). Chapter 11 is for large businesses. Chapter 7 is the liquidation chapter for consumers. Chapter 13 is the reorganization chapter for consumers.

Most people are filing under either Chapter 7 or 13. I generally recommend Chapter 7 for most people. If you want to keep an asset like your house or car, you have to pay for it. Otherwise, it wipes away your obligation for most types of debt. Chapter 13 requires you to make payments to a trustee for 5 years of all disposable income. I normally only recommend a Chapter 13 if someone has a lot of equity in their house, are behind on the house payments, and want to keep the house. Most Chapter 13 bankruptcies fail because something happens during the 5 years, and the people are not able to keep up payments.

WHO CAN FILE?

Any person who lives in; is domiciled in; has a business in; or owns property in the U.S. may be a debtor. Only a person is eligible to file under some of the Chapters. There are restrictions against filing if you have had a bankruptcy case dismissed in the past 180 days. There are restrictions against filing if you have filed for bankruptcy in the past 8 years.

WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO FILE A CHAPTER 7 CASE?

You must obtain credit counseling from an approved company prior to filing. A Petition, Schedules, Statement of Intentions, Statement of Financial Affairs, and Means Test documents must be completed and filed with the Court along with a filing fee. The attorney must verify information, which most attorneys pay for a credit report to meet this requirement when completing the above documents. After filing, you must attend an approved financial management course. You must attend a “Meeting of Creditors” to answer questions from the trustee appointed to your case and any creditor who decides to attend (most creditors do not attend). Creditors and the Trustee have 60 days to file any objections from the date of the meeting. If no objections are filed, then the Discharge Order will be granted. (This is a simplified description to give you a very basic idea of the process). From the time of filing, the case will usually be completed in 4 to 5 months. However, the most difficult part for most people is getting copies of all the documents and information needed to complete all the forms.

WHAT IS THE AUTOMATIC STAY?

The automatic stay is an injunction that automatically goes into effect upon the filing of the bankruptcy petition to stop all telephone calls, garnishments, and any other form of debt collection. The automatic stay does not stop criminal proceedings, paternity actions, or some alimony/child support proceedings.

WHERE DO I FILE?

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the State of Arkansas is located in Little Rock. Bankruptcy Judges travel to various Federal Courthouses, including Jonesboro, to hear cases. However, all records are kept at the Little Rock office. However, Bankruptcy Courts have moved to a paperless system of electronic case management. Your attorney will file documents electronically.

WHAT INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS DO I NEED?

There are a lot of forms to complete to file bankruptcy. The following documents are commonly used to complete those forms:

• Most recent credit card statements.

• Most recent medical bill from each provider.

• Most recent statement for house loan, car loan, and any other loan.

• Tax returns for the past 4 years.

• Pay stubs to calculate income for past 6 months.

• Divorce Decree if child support or alimony is owed.

• Most recent letter from any collection agency.

• Any Complaint or Judgment involving a lawsuit for the collection of a debt.

• Any documentation involving a repossession.

• Copy of driver’s license and social security card.

While student loans are generally not dischargeable by bankruptcy, you must still list them on your bankruptcy forms. WHAT IS CHAPTER 20 BANKRUPTCY? There really is no such thing as a Chapter 20 bankruptcy. However, this is lawyer slang for when a person files a Chapter 7; obtains a Chapter 7 discharge; and then file for Chapter 13 relief (7 + 13 = 20). Why would someone do this? The Chapter 7 wipes away all unsecured debt, and then the Chapter 13 is used to as a repayment plan to bring the home loan current.

We charge $599.00 plus costs for a single filer for a chapter 7 bankruptcy and $699.00 plus costs for a couple to file chapter 7 bankruptcy. There may be additional fees in some specific circumstance, but these amounts would be provided to you at the initial consultation. There is no fee for the initial consultation to see if you qualify for bankruptcy relief.

401 S. 3rd St. | Paragould, AR 72451 | P.O. Box 123 | (870) 236-7673