Hi everyone! So you are on line searching for information on the basics of bankruptcy. How does it work? What are the differences between a chapter 7 and a chapter 13? Which bankruptcy looks better on my credit report? These are all great questions right? But, can someone explain them in simple terms? I can! 

One of the most common questions that I get from clients after we’ve gone through the process of preparing a bankruptcy case for filing at Kain & Scott is “what else should I know?”

It’s a perfectly understandable question - our clients have been with us at every step of the process of preparing their bankruptcy petition, schedules and statements.  They’ve spoken with us at the initial stage, where we put together a “game plan” for addressing their financial problems. They’ve been with us as our assistants verify the facts of their case to make sure the information that is on the petition and schedules filed with the court is complete and accurate.  And they’ve sat in with the lawyer on their case to make sure, as the lawyer and clients review the petition and schedules together, that the lawyer is satisfied that there are no legal issues that will create complications in the client receiving a bankruptcy discharge. We process a lot of information, together.  But many clients want to be sure that they’ve been fully informed as to what will happen when their case is filed and what they can expect after filing and after they receive their discharge.

It is odd that I have to say this, but if a Minnesota resident intends to file for bankruptcy in Minnesota, choose a Minnesota BASED law firm. Why do I say this? Because there are out of state law firm’s soliciting Minnesota residents to file bankruptcy using an out of state law firm- some of who refer you back to a Minnesota lawyer who doesn’t have the same bankruptcy experience many other Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys have.

Bankruptcy gives fresh starts to unfortunate yet honest debtors. This fresh start usually comes through a Chapter 13 repayment or a Chapter 7 “liquidation” bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, there is a presumption in the law that criminal and civil fines are related to dishonesty. That’s certainly not always the case. Some people make one poor decision under difficult circumstances. Others got mixed up in a bad situation they did not fully understand. Still others were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the presumption of dishonesty still applies.

Raising a family in Minneapolis is not easy from an emotional or financial perspective. Statistically, wage growth barely keeps up with general inflation. In certain areas, most notably medical bills, wage growth rates are not even close to inflation rates. As a result, thousands of your neighbors file for bankruptcy protection every year. They understand that financial problems, like many other problems in life, only get worse if you ignore them.

Despite some recent changes to the Bankruptcy Code, this law still gives the honest but unfortunate debtor a fresh start. At Kain & Scott, we do much more than help people get this fresh start. We help them maximize the opportunity.

We are so confident we are Minnesota’s Nicest Bankruptcy Law Firm we guarantee it and trademarked it! That is right, we trademarked “Minnesota’s Nicest Bankruptcy Law Firm Guaranteed or 100% Off Your Fees”!*

A law firm that is willing to guarantee their service to you is confident about the service you will receive. So confident, in fact, that we guarantee it or 100% off your fees. Unique? We think so! If you live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and you are thinking about filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, if you are looking for the best customer service in the state of Minnesota, there is no other firm to turn to besides Kain & Scott.

This is probably the single biggest question we get asked at Kain & Scott. What assets will I lose if I file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy? The answer simply put, is in the vast majority of cases filed, most debtors lose no assets at all.

We can protect a lot of assets in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. If your assets are protected we call that “exempt” assets. If your assets are not protected, and the Chapter 7 trustee can take and liquidate your assets, we call those assets “non-exempt”.

Don’t get me wrong, my advice is to error on the side of filing bankruptcy. Getting your life back is real, and it is wonderful losing debt and repairing your credit in Kain & Scott’s FREE 90-Day Credit Repair Program. But, before you file bankruptcy in Woodbury, Minnesota, there are two things you need to know.

All bankruptcy wipes out debt. The type of bankruptcy you need to file usually depends on the type of debts you owe.

David Debtor had some unexpected medical bills last year. His daughter had emergency surgery out-of-network and he ran his car off the road one night. He now owes tens of thousands of dollars that he can’t afford to pay. He tried to retire the debt as best he could. But his payments hardly made a dent and put him behind in other areas. He’s not quite at the desperation point, but he is getting close.

Just before Laertes went off to Paris in Hamlet, his father (Polonius) gave him a slew of fatherly advice. One suggestion was “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.”

But most of us have ignored that advice. We are both borrowers and lenders. So, it’s very important for us to understand how bankruptcy affects both groups. Many of our previous posts focus on the rights of debtors in bankruptcy. That makes sense, because we are a debt-relief law firm. But we also need to examine creditors rights in bankruptcy. Believe it or not, moneylenders are people too.

You have decided to file bankruptcy in Minneapolis but you wonder what the cost of filing bankruptcy is right? That is a legitimate question and one we freely talk about with guests over the phone. If you call us, we are happy to tell you the charges. Many law firms refuse to give you the price over the phone. Why? Because they want to entice you into coming into the office first. We don’t do that to our guests.

Recently, a Bankruptcy Judge sanctioned UpRight law and some of it’s “partners” and banned UpRight and some of its “partners” from filing bankruptcy cases in the Western District of Virginia. UpRight also heavily solicits Minnesotans suffering from overwhelming debt too. I am cautioning every single person I know to be very suspicious of UpRight and its’ business model.

Are you like me in that you hate going to multiple sites just to piece together the information you are looking for on a topic? I hate that. That is why Kain & Scott put together a website at www.kainscott.com so Minnesotans researching bankruptcy in Minnesota could find answers to all their questions in one spot! Novel? We think so!

Making the decision to file a bankruptcy case is never easy; however, bankruptcy may be the best solution to your debt problems.  Bankruptcy offers many advantages that other debt solutions do not offer. Although there are numerous advantages, there are also some disadvantages. To help you weigh your options, our attorneys discuss all of the pros and cons of Chapter 7 during your free bankruptcy consultation.  Below are some of the common pros and cons of Chapter 7 that apply in most cases filed in Minnesota.

In the last two blogs, I’ve written about the issues presented in a bankruptcy case when a small business faces financial difficulty.  And I’ve concentrated on the business, not the business owner, in writing about these issues.  In the last two blogs, I’ve spent some time looking at the issue of whether a business should remain open - it’s a critical first issue for business owners with money problems.  This week, let’s look at the issues that business owners face when the owners have decided to close the business and wind up the financial affairs of the business.

Wage garnishment is a very serious matter because so many Minnesotans live paycheck-to-paycheck. About half of Minneapolis families cannot pay a $400 emergency expense. The really bad news is that this figure is actually lower than it was a few years ago! As outlined below, Minnesota has very aggressive wage garnishment laws. As a result, after just one or two missed payments, many people are caught in a financial vice.

Just like it does in home foreclosure and many other situations, bankruptcy gives families both short-term and long-term solutions to wage garnishment issues. In this way, families really do get the fresh financial start which they deserve and the Bankruptcy Code guarantees.