COVID 19 has changed a lot of things for a lot of people. If you have a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy plan that was confirmed prior to March 27, 2020, you may have the ability to extend your plan. Under the CARES ACT, Congress extended the maximum Chapter 13 plan to 84 months from 60 months. But this only applies to those people who already have Chapter 13 plans confirmed as of March 27, 2020. Also, there is a sunset provision in the Act. You must have a plan confirmed by March 27, 2021 to qualify for the extension. 

At Kain & Scott we authored the book on bankruptcy and attorneys, “Filing Bankruptcy Sucks, Your Lawyer Should Not”. Isn’t this a great title for a bankruptcy book? I love it! It speaks to exactly how one feels about bankruptcy and lawyers who help you through it. Just the thought of filing bankruptcy for some can send them into a full blown panic attack. I get this. The thought of filing bankruptcy can be daunting and very scary. At Kain & Scott, we honor the courage it takes for you to file bankruptcy. We honor that courage by having the most helpful and kind bankruptcy team of staff and lawyers in the state of Minnesota, period! 

There is a benefit to filing bankruptcy that so many people miss. And after they file the bankruptcy and get a discharge they are surprised to learn of this benefit. You see, so many people mistakenly believe that bankruptcy ruins your credit, and maybe forever. The truth is, just the opposite occurs. People are always surprised to learn that they are able to get credit after bankruptcy. I speak to numerous people who a year after bankruptcy are buying homes, cars, and get credit cards and other lines of credit. They should not be surprised by this at all. You see future lenders don’t care if you fail to pay your creditors, what they really care about is are you going to pay us back if we lend you money?

Many of your neighbors and friends have turned to Kain & Scott for help in resolving a debt problem in Minnesota. They trusted us to take care of them in their time of despair. When we crushed their debt burden and treated them well they left us glowing reviews. We do not take these reviews for granted at all. We cherish them all and are reverent to them all. You see, at Kain & Scott we are here to serve humans in their time of need and despair and convert them into feeling the most hope they have felt in years. It is a beautiful thing to take someone from a place of despair to sheer joy and hope again.

You may hear your attorney throw out quite a few terms in your bankruptcy case. What do they all mean?

In Legal Lingo in Bankruptcy, we discussed common terms you may hear in a bankruptcy. 

Be careful of any out of state companies who are trying to solicit you into filing bankruptcy through them, sort of. I say through them sort of because they really don’t handle your bankruptcy case. Instead, some of these companies or purported law firms refer your case back to a Minnesota licensed attorney. How the fees you pay are split between the out of state company and this Minnesota based lawyer is not clear. What is clear is that there is a fee split between the two entities. You don’t need an out of state company to refer you to a qualified Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer. In fact, some of these lawyers are definitely not the most qualified bankruptcy lawyers in Minnesota. 

In Minnesota, our clients want their lives back. They want the suffering from overwhelming debt to end and they want a new beginning. In my opinion, you don’t have your life back until 1) your debt is gone in bankruptcy and 2) your credit is repaired using Kain & Scott’s FREE 90 day credit repair program. Now, we can eliminate your debt in either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. Both bankruptcies have their pros and cons. Every person’s case is different and no two cases are the same. Sometimes people profile like one or the other except for that one fact that makes them the opposite case you would think. For example, suppose a person profiles like a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy except they are 5k behind on the house loan and they desperately want to keep the house? With that additional fact, they might be best suited to a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy where we can cure mortgage arrears over time and keep their home.  

Section 525 of the Bankruptcy Code does stipulate protections against discriminatory treatment for bankruptcy filers. The code provides that a, “governmental unit may not deny, revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew a license, permit, charter, franchise deny employment to, terminate employment of…” a bankruptcy debtor. 11 U.S.C. § 525. Additionally, no private employer may terminate employment or discriminate against a debtor solely because the debtor filed bankruptcy.

Creditors file a motion for relief, when they want relief from the automatic stay. Typically this is done if the creditor wants to take collection steps against the bankruptcy filer. For example, this could be proceeding with foreclosure, repossession, or other forms of collection.  

One of the biggest concerns when our clients file a bankruptcy is regarding what will happen to their home. The amount of equity a client has in their home, determines how we will proceed with protecting their assets using the bankruptcy code. If a single debtor has more than $25,000 of equity in their home, we will use Minnesota exemptions to protect it. Minnesota exemptions can protect upwards of $400,000 of equity in a home—and that exemption is referred to as the homestead exemption. With the protection in place, our clients need to be aware of exempt assets and non-exempt assets. What does that mean? Assets refer to the items you own, exempt means they are afforded protection and non-exempt means they do not fit under a protected category according to Minnesota bankruptcy law.

A mortgage and the intervening terminology involved can be difficult to understand. We wanted to highlight a few terms that tend to pop up when people are considering bankruptcy or are already in an active bankruptcy. Learn all you can about your mortgage lender and develop a mutual relationship so that if unforeseen circumstances do arise, they will graciously assist you.

What is a bankruptcy estate?

Law firms send bankruptcy solicitations when they identify individuals facing financial distress, often through public records like foreclosure notices or lawsuits. These solicitations aim to inform you of your legal options, including bankruptcy, which could offer debt relief or protection from creditors.

Filing bankruptcy in Minnesota has never been easier or smooth for a prospective bankruptcy client. During COVID 19, the bankruptcy courts and United States Department of Justice have relaxed a lot of guidelines as to the bankruptcy process. For example, you used to be required to attend what we refer to as a 341 meeting or a first meeting of creditors after you filed bankruptcy. Now, this meeting is conducted either telephonically or by zoom. 

Creditors and collection agencies can be a mixed bag. You never know if you will receive someone understanding and nice or someone who is less than understanding about your situation.