Receiving a motion to dismiss while in a bankruptcy can be a scary or anxiety-inducing situation. A motion to dismiss (often abbreviated as an MTD) could result in your bankruptcy being dismissed prior to the discharge taking place, which is rarely ever an outcome that you would like to see occur. Thus, when you receive notice of a motion to dismiss, you may often wonder whether avoiding dismissal is possible and what steps you must take to ensure that dismissal does not occur.
To answer this question, we must first analyze why a motion to dismiss might be filed. The Trustee’s office typically files motions of this kind in response to something which they feel fundamentally impairs the case, and its ability to proceed towards discharge. While they can be filed in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies, it is more common to encounter them in Chapter 13.
Such a motion may be filed by the trustee for a variety of reasons. In a Chapter 13, the most common reasons that a motion to dismiss may be filed are either that the scheduled plan payments have fallen behind or that a necessary document has not been provided to the trustee’s office. Conversely, the most common reason that a motion to dismiss might be filed in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is that non-exempt assets belonging to the bankruptcy estate have not been turned over in the required timeframe.
Regardless of the reason that a motion to dismiss has been filed, they can typically be resolved without dismissal so long as the underlying issue targeted in the motion is addressed. If a motion has been filed for non-payment, catching up on the payments or filing a cure order will often resolve the matter. In contrast, a motion to dismiss for failing to turn over non-exempt property can typically be addressed by providing the property. In either instance, your attorney will be a critical resource in ensuring that the motion to dismiss is efficiently and fully addressed. Your attorney will be able to fully explain the basis of the motion, and will work with you to make sure that the motion is addressed in a timely manner.
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When contemplating the bankruptcy process, it is only natural to wonder what the path to success will look like, and how any hurdles along this path can be navigated. Luckily, our attorneys are highly experienced in identifying, explaining and addressing any such hurdles that could appear during the process, and would be more than happy to meet with you to outline the roadmap to success that so many of our happy and satisfied clients have navigated with us. So, when the time is right, or when you are ready, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Minnesota’s most kind and helpful bankruptcy law firm by going now to www.lifebacklaw.com.
