You may have heard the words disposable income come up when you have researched bankruptcy. Disposable income is what is left after you take your income and minus all reasonable and necessary expenses. In terms of bankruptcy, what does it actually mean and can it impact you?

The prospect of having to file for bankruptcy can be daunting and intimidating, especially for someone who has never filed for bankruptcy, or maybe, has never even been in court before. Most bankruptcy cases are very routine and are relatively simplistic in terms of the process. Those filing standard bankruptcy will not have to go to court in the traditional sense or like a criminal prosecution with a jury. Instead, those filing attend a creditor's meeting at a courthouse, or during COVID-19, remotely.

For most people, considering “when” you should file bankruptcy can be as important as the decision of “if” you should file for bankruptcy.

I posted recently about the composition of a chapter 13 payment. A number of factors – not simply a budget calculation – go into determining the final payment amount. And that recent post only covered some of the considerations. Here are some more things to keep in mind in determining what a monthly chapter 13 payment will be.

In some cases, the amount that has to be paid over the lifetime of a plan – attorney fees, trustee fees, auto loan payments, mortgage arrears, tax arrears, etc. – works out to a higher monthly payment that a debtor can afford right now. Does that mean that a chapter 13 simply won’t work in this situation? Not necessarily.

A debt reorganization bankruptcy, also known as chapter 13 bankruptcy, allows people in debt to restructure their finances and dedicate their future “disposable income” towards repaying past debts. In bankruptcy payment plans, the debtor(s) has the ability to restructure their debts, prioritize what is important, and make a single monthly payment which then gets divided up to prescribed parties by a bankruptcy trustee.

Kain & Scott has been protecting Minnesotans from their creditors since 1972. We have ironed out the process for filing bankruptcy in Minnesota to make it the smoothest possible for our guests. At Kain & Scott, we have no worksheets to fill out and our staff HELP you all the way. We don’t sign our guests up and say good luck to them. No, at Kain & Scott, from the very moment you reach out to us, we hold your hand through the whole process.

We know it took courage for you to reach out to us for help. We honor that courage by delivering the most kind, helpful, professional, and exceptional customer service of any bankruptcy law firm in Minnesota. How do we know this to be true? Kain & Scott is Minnesota’s HIGHEST Google reviewed bankruptcy law firm in Minnesota.

The good news about Chapter 13 bankruptcy is that your life does not need to remain at a standstill once we file your case. You are allowed to live! Get married! Get pregnant! Move! We can always adjust your Chapter 13 plan through what is called a motion to modify the plan.

“What effect will filing bankruptcy have on my credit score?” is probably the most common question I get during my first consultations with Minnesotans. My response starts with: “what is your current credit score now?”

11 U.S.C. § 341 provides: “Within a reasonable time after the order for relief in a case under this title, the United States trustee shall convene and preside at a meeting of creditors.” It further provides: “The court may not preside at, and may not attend, any meeting under this section including any final meeting of creditors.”

At Kain & Scott, we promise you, “we don’t judge you, we HELP you get your life back!” To us, getting your life back means eliminating debt and repairing your credit using Kain & Scott’s FREE 90-Day Credit Repair Program. So debt gone + repairing your credit = life back.

How do we eliminate unwanted debt? Easy, we turn to either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy to help eliminate unwanted debt. Following your discharge, we send you through Kain & Scott’s FREE 90-Day Credit Repair Program, valued at up to $3,250.00.

The Minnesota Working Family credit is a refundable credit for working individuals whose income is below a certain level. This credit can reduce what you owe and could result in a refund. You must be a full year or part year Minnesota resident and not prohibited from claiming the IRS Earned Income Tax Credit. The credit amount depends on your income, filing status, and number of qualifying children.

In today’s world, it can be easy to feel like you are alone. I actually think that “loneliness” is one of the biggest health challenges we face in the world today. Prior to the pandemic, we were already tail spinning our way into a world where we communicate virtually (think Facebook, Twitter, and a myriad of other ways). Once the pandemic hit, our tail spin has become a complete vertical drop into the virtual abyss. The farther away we get from human to human contact, the worse it becomes.

The co-debtor stay is a nice feature of chapter 13 bankruptcy. When an individual files a bankruptcy case, there is an automatic “stay” that is put in place by the Bankruptcy Court. The automatic stay prevents creditors from collecting against a bankruptcy debtor. In chapter 13 that stay can also, in many cases, extend to co-signers and joint account holders. As long as the chapter 13 case is pending, other people obligated on debts that are “in” a chapter 13 case can be protected by the same automatic stay.

Financial problems can generate so much stress that it is difficult for a lot of people to collect financial information – embarrassment and anxiety can cause good people to shut down by not opening mail, answering phone calls or even checking bank balances because of the paralyzing fear that the news is going to be bad.

Still, if someone decides that filing a bankruptcy case is in their best interest, the lawyer representing the client has to prepare a bankruptcy petition and schedules that accurately reflect the client’s financial situation.

Both the Federal Bankruptcy Code and Minnesota State law contains a number of provisions that protect the funds in a debtor’s bank account, along with other property from being taken to pay creditors. Property protected, under law, from creditors is considered “exempt.” In a chapter 13 bankruptcy.

In Minnesota, you are allowed to exempt or protect proceeds stemming from the death of your spouse or parent up to $50,000. You may protect or exempt $12,500 more for each dependent or child. If you have received funds from an unfortunate event such as this and are considering filing bankruptcy, consider letting Kain & Scott help you protect your property and funds.