When a debtor files Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy , a bankruptcy trustee is appointed to the case. The bankruptcy trustee is an independent contractor who works for the Office of the U.S. Trustee in the Department of Justice. Below are a few of the responsibilities of bankruptcy trustees: The bankruptcy trustee is [...]

Bankruptcy Mistake #1 - Failing to work with a qualified bankruptcy attorney.  Bankruptcy is not a D.I.Y. project.  If you make a mistake in trying to file your own bankruptcy you don't get a "do-over" and you want be joking about it with your friends afterwards.  Bankruptcy law is complex and creditors have been known [...]

Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1009 typically gives a debtor the right to amend their schedules any time before the bankruptcy case is closed. The bankruptcy rule reads "a voluntary petition, list, schedule, or statement may be amended by the debtor as a matter of course at any time before the case is closed. The [...]

Trying to dig one's self out of a financial black hole can seem daunting.  Paying various creditors while underemployed can seem nearly impossible, especially when most of your creditors aren't willing to budge or compromise.  But then again, that's the beauty of bankruptcy.  Many debtors try for years to repay creditors using all different types [...]

Anxiety and confusion are understandable emotions when filing for bankruptcy, especially when you're told that you must attend the "meeting of the creditors."  Sounds scary doesn't it?  But it's not as scary as it sounds and there's no reason to be anxious.  The meeting of the creditors or 341 hearing is simply a meeting between [...]

Creditors Have the Power to Force a Company into Bankruptcy, But Only Under Certain Conditions Here's what you need to know: A company can be forced into a bankruptcy if they have failed to make payments on debts. Creditors usually don't begin to push a company into bankruptcy until a significant number of payments are [...]

One of the most powerful aspects of bankruptcy is the automatic stay . The automatic stay puts the brakes on aggressive creditors who want to seize your assets and income. With the automatic stay, creditors are prohibited from enforcing judgments, using wage garnishments , filing lawsuits, or in any way attempting to collect on the [...]

After facing a whopping $2.3 million business debt,  Georgia's republican gubernatorial hopeful Nathan Deal has vowed that he will not file bankruptcy. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday that Deal and his wife, Sandra, owe the money after they invested $2 million in 2005 with their daughter and son-in-law in a sporting goods business that went [...]

How to Have a Better Life After Bankruptcy The benefits of bankruptcy don't stop at the discharge; they extend far beyond into the years after you exit bankruptcy.  Bankruptcy is about forging a new path, a new financial destiny that is free from the burdens of old debts and obligations that were impossible to pay.  [...]

J. Levin's Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation will not free him from a $750,000 court-ordered judgment designed to compensate the family of a teenager the debtor killed seven years ago. Levin, 47 -- who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2004 and was sentenced to 52 weekends in jail -- shot Mark Drewes, his 16-year-old neighbor, in [...]