Have you heard the phrase “bankruptcy protection” and wondered how a bankruptcy could protect you? Most potential bankruptcy clients usually have a sense of what filing a bankruptcy means, but are often unsure of how the process actually works. One common question that potential clients have is "How does filing a bankruptcy protect me?"

Under the Internal Revenue Code, the general rule is that the discharge of a debt is a form of gross income. The forgiveness of a debt does sound nice, but it does come with some consequences. For example, if a creditor forgives a debt of $20,000, you would have an additional $20,000 for taxable income. At a conservative tax rate of 15% you would owe an additional $3,000 in federal income taxes for that year.

Schedules A/B of the bankruptcy petition requires the debtor to list and describe all real estate that the debtor has an interest in. This includes: life estates, remainderman interests, interests in mineral rights, and partial interests in real estate.

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.

A common concern for people considering filing for bankruptcy is whether they will be restricted from buying or selling property, or taking out more debt, during their bankruptcy case. Whether these types of transactions are permitted partially depends on whether they file a chapter 13 or chapter 7 bankruptcy case.

Say you have a vehicle, that for whatever reason, you do not want to keep anymore. Maybe it needs significant repair, maybe you can’t afford it anymore, or maybe you just do not want it. Whatever the reason, you may be wondering whether you can get rid of the vehicle and its loan in bankruptcy? The answer is yes.

A common concern for people who are filing for chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy is whether others will find out about their bankruptcy, and if so, whether they will get discriminated against for filing. One concern people often have is whether friends or family members will discover that they filed for bankruptcy.

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.

As a general matter, homestead exemptions are to be liberally construed in favor of the exemption. All presumptions are to be made in favor of preservation and retention of the homestead. This is good news for a bankruptcy filer who wishes to protect/exempt their homestead when filing bankruptcy.

The effect of claiming an exemption is to technically exclude property from the bankruptcy estate.

When I meet with clients who own their home, protecting their loved ones and their family home are the number one concerns. As far as protecting your home in bankruptcy goes, Minnesota is one of the best states in the country as far as protecting your equity. Currently, you can have up to $450,000.00 worth of home equity and not lose any of it in filing for bankruptcy relief.

A Motion to Dismiss your chapter 13 case is generally brought by the chapter 13 trustee. This motion is usually brought by the trustee to dismiss your case, because of failure to follow some sort of provision in your plan or the bankruptcy code.

Commonly, Motions to Dismiss are brought for the following reasons, failure to make your plan payments, failure to turn over tax refunds or other property of the bankruptcy estate, and failure to provide your tax returns.

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.

There are lots of reasons that people file for bankruptcy. One very common reason is because they have lots of medical debt. Medical services can be very expensive, particularly for those who have no or little insurance. Medical debt is considered general unsecured debt, just like credit cards and personal loans that are not secured by any collateral. This type of debt can be completely wiped out by a bankruptcy discharge.

You are sitting at home, at your kitchen table, and you are working your way through a pile of bills that need to be paid. Some of these bills are past due. When you whip out the calculator and add all of the credit card debt, medical bills, and unsecured lines of credit, you get a total of $75,000.00 with monthly payments that total $3,250.00 to service just the minimum payments on all of the debts.

Is chapter 13 bankruptcy in Minnesota something you should start considering?

Recently, I started watching a new television series call Ted Lasso and I was quite wonderfully surprised. This is a show about positivity, kindness, and thoughtfulness. Even faced with the ugliest of characters, Ted Lasso continues his crusade of positivity. This is a message we should all embrace.

Whether a bankruptcy can wipe out debt owed to the government is one question that many people have when considering filing for a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. Whether a bankruptcy discharge will eliminate this type of debt depends on the specific nature of the debt owed to the government. One common form of government debt is tax debt. Tax debt is generally not dischargeable in bankruptcy.