Avoiding Paying Prior Employee Debt
If you prefer NOT to pay back present or prior employee debt, bankruptcy can help you use the law to prevent it from being a priority debt.
Priority Debts in No-Asset Cases
Priority debts are largely unaffected by a Chapter 7 case--it does not discharge them, so you need to pay them after finishing your case.
Priority Debts in an Asset Chapter 7 Case
Your Chapter 7 trustee may pay your priority debts--in full or in par--through the proceeds of the sale of your unprotected, not exempt assets.
Chapter 13 Gives the Most Time to Cure Your Mortgage
Chapter 7 provides no mechanism to cure your mortgage. But Chapter 13 does provide a powerful, realistic, and practical way to do so.
Protecting Your Home Equity through Chapter 7
You can protect the equity in your home if the amount of equity is no more than the homestead exemption applicable to residents of your state.
An Example of a “Preference”
A "preference" makes more sense when you see an example. Here's one. This also helps explain how to avoid creating one.
If you pay on or pay off certain debts it may create a preferential payment
Do you feel like you should pay on or pay off a certain debt now, even though you're behind on all your debts? It may be dangerous to do so.
Fraudulent Transfers Around the Holidays
Giving a gift, including selling for much less than an asset is worth, may be a fraudulent transfer--treated as hiding assets from creditors.
An Example Why Passing the Means Test May Be Easier in 2018
Filing bankruptcy before the end of December may help you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Here's an example showing how this could work.
Successfully Completing a Chapter 13 Case
A Chapter 13 case lasts a long time, but can have many advantages. Many of those advantages come only if you successfully finish it.
A Chapter 7 Can . . . Help You Walk Away from Your Business by Letting Your Trustee Sell Your Last Business Assets to Pay Your Special Debts
Give the bankruptcy trustee the headache of dealing with your final business assets
Ten Things You Need to Know About Assets and Exemptions in Bankruptcy
Most of the time, you get to keep whatever you own when you file bankruptcy. These 10 truths tell you how it works.
Creditors to Whom You Feel a Special Loyalty
In bankruptcy it's okay to FEEL differently towards some creditors than others. You can also sometimes ACT differently, but only if you very carefully follow the rules.
What Happens to Your “General Unsecured Debts” in Chapter 7?
Your "left-over debts"--those which are neither secured by collateral nor belong to any of the special "priority" categories--often don't drive the decision about whether to file Chapter 7 or 13. But you still need to know how these "general unsecured debts" are handled under these two options.
Protecting Yourself When Your Business Has to Throw in the Towel
If you're seriously considering closing down a struggling business, you are likely very concerned about personal damage control: how do you end the business without being pulled down with it?
