After the creditor recovers a money judgement (usually by default), the creditor will seek to execute this judgement.  Wage garnishments are common way for creditors to enforce the judgement.  Since wage garnishments threaten your ability to survive, there are exemption statues at both the state and federal level exempting from garnishment a portion of your earnings.  The Federal Wage Garnishment Law applies throughout the United States and provides two limits: (1) a floor preventing any wage garnishment for low income workers; and (2) a maximum percentage that may be garnished for high income workers. The garnishment floor is 30 times federal minimum wage per week.  If you make less than 30 times the federal minimum wage per week, all your wages would be exempt. If you earn over 30 times the minimum wage per week a creditor could garnish the excess up to 25% of your disposable earnings. (“Disposable” wages are the earnings that remain after deducting all withholdings required by law)

In a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy if you are leasing a vehicle, it is not potential property of the bankruptcy estate and cannot be liquidated. If you own your car or are loaning the vehicle, we determine the amount of equity you have in it. Once determined, we use the applicable exemptions to protect $4,000 (federal) or $4,800 (Minnesota) of equity. If there is more equity than can be protected, an arrangement may need to be made with the trustee to avoid liquidation of the asset; such as a payment plan.

Have you ever wondered how creditors react when you file for bankruptcy? What emotions do they experience? Do they feel angry, betrayed, or perhaps indifferent? The truth is that most creditors, especially large institutions, have a surprisingly unemotional response to bankruptcy filings. Let's delve into the reasons behind this and address some common concerns about creditor reactions.

This the name of a book published by Minnesota’s LARGEST bankruptcy law firm—Kain & Scott. We think the title of the book says it all. We know how much courage it takes to face an overwhelming debt problem for good. And when you summon that courage, the professionals you reach out to for help should honor your courage with kindness, helpfulness, professionalism, and exceptional customer service.

People who are deciding if they should file a bankruptcy case often are concerned about whether they will be able to retain property that they own as they make their way through a bankruptcy case. It’s an understandable concern. Bankruptcy law sets out a list of property that is “exempt” - that is, the property can be retained by the debtor without the property being administered by the bankruptcy trustee. In chapter 7 cases, debtors have to either turn over to the chapter 7 trustee property that is not exempt or repurchase the property from the trustee. 

Never, and I mean never, call an out of state company to file bankruptcy in Rochester, MN. There are some out of state companies that solicit Rochester, MN residents to file bankruptcy with them. When you see their ad and call the number you end up in a different state. Don’t fall for it. Hang the phone up and call a Rochester, MN based bankruptcy law firm.

Meet Jamie (Fake name). Jamie called us in desperate need of help. You see, his wages were being garnished and Jamie and his significant other just had a baby. Jamie needed all of his wages to keep the roof over his family’s head and to feed his family. Having his wages garnished meant that Jamie was facing a situation where he couldn’t pay rent and pay his bills and keep food on the table.

Bankruptcy carries with it a stigma.  It is seen as a refuge for the “deadbeat” - an easy way for someone who knowingly and voluntarily entered into a credit agreement to shed a legal obligation to pay a debt.  So many of the people I meet with to discuss their financial situation express to me that meeting to talk about filing bankruptcy is really their financial last resort - that they have gone to great (and sometimes financial painful) steps to avoid having to make the appointment to start a bankruptcy filing.

 First of all, congratulations on filing bankruptcy and getting your life back! That is wonderful. If you file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, the timeline from when you file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy until you get your discharge is about 4 months. However, that does not mean that your case is over.

You will sometimes hear bankruptcy lawyers talk about the “wild card” bankruptcy exemption and you wonder what that is. When you file bankruptcy, debtors are required to disclose all their assets on schedules. You are also required to select exemptions if you want to exempt, or protect, your assets. Section 522(d) of the Bankruptcy Code lays out the exemptions you can select under the Federal Bankruptcy Exemptions. You can chose none of the exemptions if you wish to, but we would not recommend that.

If you live in or around St. Cloud, MN and you are thinking about filing a Chapter 7 or 13 Bankruptcy, look no further than St. Cloud, MN’s LARGEST Bankruptcy law firm. When you visit www.kainscott.com, you will be visiting Minnesota’s LARGEST Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcy website. Easy to understand information on what is bankruptcy, what is the bankruptcy process like in Minnesota, and how much will bankruptcy cost me in St Cloud, MN, are all right there for you to review in the comfort of your home.

You read this correctly. Debt consolidation is a complete waste of time. There are numerous problems with debt consolidation. Let me count the problems.

There is no doubt in my mind that Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 trustees in Minnesota have their favorite bankruptcy law firms. They likely also have their list of bankruptcy lawyers and bankruptcy law firms they are not so fond of. How does Kain & Scott know this to be true? We attend bankruptcy hearings all across the state of Minnesota and we talk to these trustees regularly.  We also see the commotion of lawyers and their clients at these hearings having conversations about why the schedules are not correct and why they now have some problems.

I want to make sure you understand I think bankruptcy is a wonderful tool that can be used to get your life back. I have personally witnessed thousands of Minnesotans get their lives back over many years and I can attest to you, they all were very thankful that bankruptcy exists to allow them to move on from a nightmare in the form of overwhelming debt.

If Donald Trump can file bankruptcy, so can you. There have been presidents who have filed bankruptcy before and there have been thousands of actors and actresses and comics who have filed bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a legal tool that can be used to get rid of debt. If you start a business, and things don’t go well, bankruptcy is there to help out. One of the policy reasons behind bankruptcy is we want people taking risks and starting businesses because when they succeed it is good for the economy.

After the creditor recovers a money judgement (usually by default), the creditor will seek to execute this judgement.  One common way that creditors seek to satisfy the judgement is by recovering property belonging to the debtor that is held by a third party-often a bank or employer.  The creditor will serve this third party with a writ of execution and the third party will have to file a “return” identifying any property that belongs to you and is held by the third party. You will be given a copy of this return and will have an opportunity to claim exemptions or make other objections before the property is turned over to the creditor.