You’ve decided to file bankruptcy to get rid of your outstanding debt. But, you owe your parents money and don’t want to include them in your bankruptcy. So, you decide to pay them back and then file. While your intentions are good, you’ve made a common mistake of making an insider preferential payment.

Gambling is an addiction brought on by a combination of psychological, societal, and familial factors. The repercussions of gambling affects you, your family, your job and other important parts of your life. Serious gamblers take out personal loans, use their retirement accounts, savings, and even borrow against their home or car loan.

If you have been unable to pay your debt back for some time, your creditors may seek legal action against you to collect that debt. Usually, when you miss a payment, your creditors will they start with phone calls, then letters, or e-mails, and they get more aggressive.

After some time, they will start a lawsuit and you will know by receiving a summons and complaint. If you receive a summons and complaint, do not ignore it like a phone call or regular letter!

With the possible exception of your home, your car is usually your most important asset. You need it to get to work, buy groceries, take your child to their doctor appointment, etc. When you file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may be able to keep your car, but that depends are a number of factors.

Since mid-2020, an eviction moratorium has been in place to assist renters due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This has been a great lifesaver for renters, but the moratorium won’t last forever and your obligation to pay rent will continue when the moratorium ends.

A common question I hear when clients decide to move forward in a bankruptcy is – will I lose my home or will I lose my car? A lot of the time the answer is, no. If there’s a secured loan attached to your property and I’m able to apply the applicable law to protect the equity, then you won’t lose it. Of course, some secured creditors want you to sign a reaffirmation agreement.

Bankruptcy is a last option for many people. Before making a decision to file, most people will struggle with their rent or mortgage and other bills. Due to ongoing stress, mistakes will occur, such as paying a credit card bill instead of an electric bill or paying the monthly balance on a personal loan instead of their home owner’s association fee.

Filing a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy can be a scary process, but in the right hands of a proper attorney, it doesn’t have to be. Let’s say you file and now you want to know what happens after you’ve filed.

First, the automatic stay is applied when your case is filed. This stay prevents your creditors from pursuing any further collection activity, including lawsuits or garnishments.

Since mid-2020, an eviction moratorium has been in place to assist renters due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This has been a great lifesaver for renters, but the moratorium won’t last forever and your obligation to pay rent will continue when the moratorium ends.

Imagine having job security, being able to pay your bills, and life being just fine. Then, you lose your job and you can’t keep up with your bills and all of the sudden you’re sued for not paying your credit card or a creditor bringing you to court for breaching your contract to them. This happens all the time.

As you may know, a chapter 13 bankruptcy is a reorganization bankruptcy where you establish a repayment plan that usually lasts 5 years. Typically, the repayment plan is based on a budget that is created by looking at your net income and then your expenses.  One of the many benefits of a chapter 13 bankruptcy is the availability to lower or “cram down” a debt from the current loan balance to the value of that debt.

Bankruptcy is a last option for many people. Before making a decision to file, most people will struggle with their rent or mortgage and other bills. Due to ongoing stress, mistakes will occur, such as paying a credit card bill instead of an electric bill or paying the monthly balance on a personal loan instead of their home owner’s association fee. They may even skip one or two mortgage payments to pay an unsecured debt.

A garnishment is when someone, usually a creditor or someone you owe money to, goes into your bank account or paycheck to obtain money that you owe.

On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law. Part of this law expended the existing child tax credit for tax year 2021.

Instead of applying up to $2,000 per qualified child, the amount was increased to $3,600 for a child under the age of 6 and $3,000 for a child aged 6 – 17. In addition, a household would receive half of either $3,600 or $3,600 in direct monthly payments between the months of July and December 2021.

In this discussion, I am going to focus on Minn. Stat. § 550.37, subd. 12 and 12a, referencing how bankruptcy can affect manufactured homes and vehicles in Minnesota.

I am going to skip over subdivision 11, which covers “beneficiary associations” because this law was found unconstitutional. See the court decision, In re Tveten, 402 N.W.2d 551 (Minn. 1987).

Individuals looking for a fresh start seek a bankruptcy to get rid of their overwhelming debt. They may be able to file under a chapter 7 or chapter 13, or they may be eligible for just a chapter 13.