A debt for an independent contractor’s commissions can be a priority debt, but only if the contractor meets an extra, tough condition. Our last blog post was about conditions in which wages, commissions, or benefits owed to an employee are “priority” debt. But what if your debt was not to an employee but an independent contractor? Especially in today’s … Read More
Debts for Employee Wages
Debts for wages, commissions, and employee benefits may be priority debts, more likely paid. It depends on the timing and amount of the debt. Our last dozen blog posts have been about “priority” debts. These are special unsecured debts that bankruptcy law treats better than the rest, called “general unsecured” debts. (Secured debts are a third main category … Read More
Example: Catch up on Past-Due Support
This example shows how well Chapter 13 can protect you from aggressive collection of past-due support and give you a safe way to catch up. Today we put what we explained in the last three weeks of blog post into a sample Chapter 13 plan. It shows how powerfully Chapter 13 helps you if you owe past due child … Read More
How to Catch up on Unpaid Support with Chapter 13
If you owe unpaid support, Chapter 13 gives you a sensible, affordable, and sane way to catch up, while protected from support enforcement. The last two weeks we’ve shown how Chapter 13 can stop the collection of unpaid child and spousal support. First we talked about how this benefit is much better than Chapter 7 can provide. Then we … Read More
Conditions to Stop Past-Due Support Collections
Chapter 13 is better than Chapter 7 if you need to stop the aggressive collection of past-due support, if you meet some ongoing conditions. Last week we showed how Chapter 13 stops the collection of past-due child and spousal support, while Chapter 7 doesn’t. But we ended by emphasizing that anyone can quickly lose this huge benefit of Chapter … Read More
Chapter 13 and Unpaid Child or Spousal Support
If you are behind on child or spousal support, Chapter 13 is better because it stops collection of this unpaid support. Chapter 7 doesn’t. Last week we discussed situations in which Chapter 7 would help if you’re behind on child or spousal support payments. We made clear that Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” provides only limited help. Mostly it gives you relief … Read More
Chapter 7 and Unpaid Child or Spousal Support
If you are behind on child or spousal support, Chapter 7 writes off all or most of your other debts so that you can catch up on your support. If you are behind on child or spousal support payments Chapter 7 may or may not be a good solution. Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” is the most common type … Read More
An Income Tax Chapter 13 Plan
An income tax chapter 13 plan lets you to pay the IRS whatever you can afford, avoid some or all penalties, and stop interest from accruing. Today we put the facts of last week’s blog post into a Chapter 13 plan, showing how it actually works. You’ll see how Chapter 13 saves you money and avoids stress as you … Read More
Income Tax Penalties and Interest in Chapter 13
Chapter 13 can save you money with both already accrued and ongoing income tax penalties and interest. So you pay less and finish faster. Last week we got into the advantages of paying priority income taxes through a Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” case. Those are the usually-recent income taxes which cannot be written off (“discharged”) in bankruptcy. Today … Read More
Pay Income Tax Debts through Chapter 13
One of the smartest ways to pay your priority income tax debts—ones that can’t be discharged, written off—is through Chapter 13. Last week we discussed the advantages of paying priority debts through a Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” case. We referred to recent income taxes as one of the most important kinds of priority debt. Today we show how … Read More
Pay Priority Debts through Chapter 13
One of the smartest ways to pay your priority debts—including recent income taxes or child/spousal support arrearage—is through Chapter 13. Priority Debts under No-Asset and Asset Chapter 7 Our last two blog posts described how Chapter 7 can sometimes be a sensible way of dealing with priority debts. (Those are ones you can’t “discharge”—legally write off–the most common being … Read More
Priority Debts in an Asset Case
If you have a Chapter 7 asset case, your bankruptcy trustee collects and sells your asset and pays your priority debt with the proceeds. Our last blog post was about what happens to priority debts in a no-asset Chapter 7 case. Most consumer “straight bankruptcy” Chapter 7 cases are no-asset ones. This means that the bankruptcy trustee does not … Read More
Priority Debts in a No-Asset Case
In a Chapter 7 no-asset bankruptcy case, the trustee collects nothing from you and pays nothing on your debts, including your priority ones. Most Chapter 7 Cases Are No-Asset Cases Chapter 7—“straight bankruptcy”—is the most common type of consumer bankruptcy case. They are generally the most straightforward, lasting about 4 months start to finish. Usually everything you own is … Read More
Priority Debts in Bankruptcy
In bankruptcy some debts are treated much, much better than others. Priority debts are treated much better in various important ways. Debts Are Different So the Law Recognizes Some Differences The law does not treat all debts the same. That’s because you have different kinds of creditors that you owe for very different reasons. The law tries to be … Read More
Challenged Co-Signed Debt
If you have a co-signed debt, your discharge of that debt may be challenged by either the cosigner or the underlying creditor. Last week we discussed obligations on co-signed debts, both to the joint creditor and to your co-signer. In that discussion we assumed that both those obligations could be discharged (written off) in bankruptcy. But what if the … Read More