When you file for bankruptcy, you’re seeking relief from your debts, but you’re also declaring and disclosing all your assets, liabilities and income. You must submit your petition and complete 10 different schedules, a complete statement of financial affairs and calculate a means test. The purpose of the means test is to see whether or not you can file a chapter 7 bankruptcy.

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Can you even begin to imagine the courage Dr. King had? I cannot. I only wish I had a sliver of the courage Dr. King had to stand and speak the truth in the face of pure hate and division. Dr. King said any society that has hate and division is a sick society. How prophetic are Dr. King’s words today in the face of unspeakable hate and division? And yet, in the face of adversity, there are signs of brotherly love. We have witnessed forgiveness for unspeakable acts of hate and racism by the victims of racism and hate.

Many people who file bankruptcy rely upon the support of regular child support or alimony payments to meet their basic needs, and many are owed large amounts of past due child support or alimony from the other parent. Bankruptcy law generally protects a debtor’s right to receive these domestic support benefits but this right is not absolute. When a debtor in Minnesota files bankruptcy, they may choose to use either “Federal exemptions” (those provided in the Federal Bankruptcy Code) or “State exemptions” (those provided for under the Minnesota Statutes and other applicable Federal law) to “exempt,” or legally protect their property from being taken to pay creditors. This is important because debtors in a chapter 7 bankruptcy case may have to surrender money or property that is not exempt to the trustee to pay their creditors. It is also important in a chapter 13 case, as the more property that is not exempt, the higher their monthly payment, because they are required to pay to their unsecured creditors, at minimum, the value of the nonexempt property.

Many people are entitled receive tax refunds each year for overpayments to the IRS and Minnesota State Department of Revenue from taxes withheld from their paychecks. Sometimes, these refunds can be quite substantial. A debtor’s right to receive a future tax refund is considered property of the “bankruptcy estate.” In a chapter 7 bankruptcy case, property of the bankruptcy estate is all of the debtor’s money and property that is subject to being taken by the bankruptcy trustee to pay the debtor’s creditors. In many cases, most, if not all, the debtor’s money and property is “exempt,” or legally protected from being taken to pay their creditors.

When you file bankruptcy your creditors will receive a notice of filing. This goes out to all of the creditors listed in your bankruptcy case. On this notice of filing there are certain deadlines listed that your creditors, the trustee, and you will need to abide by. The following are the deadlines listed on the notice of filing:

In a legal “Trust,” money, or other property, that is owned by a “Beneficiary,” is controlled by a “Trustee” (not to be confused with a bankruptcy trustee), whose responsibility it is to distribute the property to the Beneficiary in accordance with the terms of a written “Trust Agreement.” The person who creates the legal trust, via the Trust Agreement, is called the “Settlor,” and there can be multiple Settlors, Trustees, and Beneficiaries.

A chapter 7 bankruptcy is a liquidation bankruptcy, consequently non-exempt assets in a chapter 7 bankruptcy are liquidate or debtor may be able to purchase their non-exempt assets back from the bankruptcy estate. In a chapter 7 bankruptcy, the debtor has a limited amount of time to purchase back their non-exempt assets or relinquish the assets to the bankruptcy estate. If a debtor is unable to purchase back their assets from the estate or is unwilling to give up their non-exempts the debtor may consider filing a chapter 13. (Your attorney will let you know which assets in your case are non-exempt).

Occasionally debtors will find themselves in a situation where they are continuously being hounded by creditors. The debts have been sold and resold and many times debtors are not even sure who they owe funds to anymore. Unfortunately, this can make those debtors vulnerable to scams. If a debtor receives a call from an aggressive creditor demanding payment and the creditor is offering a substantial discount the debtor may be tempted to take the deal-even though the debtor does not know the exact source of the debt.

     If you live in Minnesota, and you are struggling with a debt problem, you can solve your debt problem for good in 2 steps:

If you are considering filing bankruptcy, you likely are wondering what you will have to do in order to file. At Life Back Law we make the process easy for those considering filing bankruptcy.

 LifeBack Law Firm is Minnesota’s bankruptcy law firm, since 1972. We have been protecting Minnesotans from their creditors since 1972 and we can protect you too. Our entire focus, from the time we come to work until the time we go home, is protecting Minnesotans just like you from their creditors. How successful are we at doing our job? Ask the people who left us over 1,400 Google reviews and they will tell you how they were treated and what getting their lives back meant to them. Each month, hundreds of Minnesotans just like you reach out to LifeBack Law Firm for help with a debt problem. We protect each and every one of these people who retain LifeBack Law from their creditors and we can protect you too.

     How can a person tell for sure if they should file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy? A tall tale sign is if you are thinking about Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, a lot. In fact, if you are reading this blog now you might be need to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Why do I say this? Well, many people try to avoid the “b” word, so if you start looking for the “b” word that means you are seriously looking at filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. What is a great resource to research Minnesota bankruptcy? Go to Minnesota’s largest bankruptcy law firm’s website at www.lifebacklaw.com. You will be impressed with three levels of information about Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

Filing for bankruptcy is very often the best option for someone who is in a financial position where they are unable to afford to pay their ongoing bills and expenses in addition to their debts. When this happens, a person should try their best to continue paying their necessary ongoing expenses and bills, such as their mortgage payment, car payment, utility bills, and groceries. These needed expenses are more important than paying on old debts, especially if a person is planning on filing for bankruptcy and getting rid of those old debts anyways.