The short answer to this question is simple: no, you cannot choose which debts are in your bankruptcy and you cannot leave any out. When you file bankruptcy, you must list all of your debts, including any secured debts, domestic support obligations, tax debts, and general unsecured debts. You are asked in both your filing paperwork, and while under oath at your 341 meeting, if you included all of your debts and you need the answer to be a simple: “yes.”

The concept of discharge can prove to be a bit confusing to individuals not directly involved in the field of bankruptcy. Essentially, discharge means the debt is forgiven or canceled, and the creditor has either agreed to the debt being wiped out or the creditor is prohibited from pursuing future payment. Bankruptcy can only cancel debts that exist at the time the petition is filed.

As a refresher, the 341 meeting or meeting of creditors, is a 5-to-10-minute hearing, where the bankruptcy trustee for your case asks you questions. Typically, these questions are yes or no response and are used to verify the information in your case.

When you file bankruptcy, there are certain assets the bankruptcy laws let you protect. The laws are designed so that you aren’t left destitute for filing bankruptcy. One of the assets we can protect are retirement accounts. The laws want to make sure you don’t have to lose money that you will need to rely on years down the road.

Filing bankruptcy is a court action, so it is public, but most people do not keep tabs on the current bankruptcy filings. However, if you have any shared or joint debt with your ex, the answer is unequivocally yes, they will be notified of the bankruptcy filing because they are a co-debtor.

When you do your taxes this year, your 2020 tax returns, you may encounter the Recovery Rebate Credit. The Recovery Rebate Credit is a protected asset in every bankruptcy case, chapter 7 or chapter 13. If you are owed this credit, this is not money that the trustee could ever get their hands on.

Not far down the road from Edina, there is a Kain & Scott fully staffed bankruptcy law office 40 hours per week just inside Eden Prairie, Minnesota. In fact, Kain & Scott has the most full time staffed offices in Minnesota than any other Minnesota bankruptcy law firm, all focused on helping you through your bankruptcy in Edina, MN.

One of the benefits of being an alumnus of Saint John’s University is having access to a daily reflection written by one of the monks at Saint John’s Abbey. Every morning at 1:00 a short reflection by Fr. Don Talafous drops into my email timeline.

The Office is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. In one of the more memorable episodes, Michael Scott tries to “declare bankruptcy” simply by shouting it for everyone in the office to hear. Bankruptcy law dates back to 1542 in England, but even back then, I don’t think shouting that you declare bankruptcy would be enough to put your creditors on notice.

When individuals are faced with crushing debt, and unable to meet their monthly obligations, one of the logical questions they struggle with is whether they should use their retirement funds to pay the debt. There are few things about my job that break my heart more than hearing clients that are at, or close to, retirement age have used their retirement funds to pay their debt.

I commonly meet clients that have really high auto loan payments, who are wondering if we can help by reducing their monthly payments in a chapter 13 bankruptcy. The short answer is Yes, but there are criteria that need to be met.

Bankruptcy can discharge a lot of different types of debt. With debt like a traffic ticket, this is debt that is owed to either the city, county, or the state depending on where the citation was issued. In other words, this is debt owed to the government.

When you have filed and received a bankruptcy discharge in a prior chapter 7 or chapter 13 in Minnesota, timing matters if you want to receive a discharge in a new bankruptcy case.

Read on for the time restraints on filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 after a previous bankruptcy. Take note that the times are different depending on which chapter, chapter 7 or chapter 13, you previously filed.

In Minnesota, contractors, laborers and material suppliers are entitled to file a mechanics’ lien against real estate they have “improved” – by constructing, remodeling or repairing structures on the property – and for which the property owner has not paid. Filing bankruptcy before or after a mechanics lien can cause different scenarios.

Whether there is a minimum debt requirement to file bankruptcy is a common question. The answer is no, there is no legally defined minimum amount of debt you need to file either a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. 

The concept of discharge can prove to be a bit confounding to individuals not directly involved in the field of bankruptcy, especially when it comes to how that debt is taxed or not taxed.

Essentially, discharge means the debt is forgiven or canceled, and the creditor has either agreed to the debt being wiped out or the creditor is prohibited from pursuing future payment. Bankruptcy can only cancel debts that exist at the time the petition is filed.