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
Bankruptcy and Your Debts
Bankruptcy resolves your debts. How it does so depends on whether your debt is secured, priority, or general unsecured. Your debts are the reason you are reading this. You want to know how bankruptcy would deal with your debts. Will bankruptcy write off all your debts? Can you keep paying some of your debts like a vehicle loan or … Read More
When Gift-Giving Is a Fraudulent Transfer, and When It Isn’t
Gift-giving, including selling something for much less than it’s worth, can be a problem in a latter bankruptcy. But usually it’s not. Most people filing bankruptcy have neither a need nor the desire to hide anything from their creditors. There’s no need because most people’s assets are already protected through state and federal laws. There’s no desire because most … Read More
Unexpected Benefit: Resolve Your Preference Problem through Chapter 13
You can avoid the risks involved with dealing with the Chapter 7 trustee if you resolve your preference problem through Chapter 13. Our last several blog posts have been about the problem of preference payments: 3 weeks ago we introduced the problem resulting from paying a favored creditor before you file bankruptcy 2 weeks ago we discussed avoiding the … Read More
Unexpected Benefit: Negotiate Out of a Preference Mess
Your lawyer can likely negotiate with your Chapter 7 trustee to prevent the forced repayment of your prior payment to a relative or friend. Our blog post two weeks ago introduced an uncomfortable problem: preference payments to a friendly creditor. (Please read that blog post before reading this one.) Then last week we discussed two possible solutions to this … Read More
Unexpected Benefit: Ways to Resolve a Preference Mess
A possible preference mess is the forced repayment of your pre-bankruptcy payment to a relative or friend. Here are two solutions. Last week’s blog post introduced an uncomfortable problem: preference payments to a friendly creditor. (If you haven’t already please read that one before reading further here.) The Solutions We ended that blog post by listing and giving short … Read More
Unexpected Benefit: Prevent the Forced Repayment by a Favored Creditor
Prevent the forced repayment of a pre-bankruptcy payment to a relative or friend. If other solutions don’t work, Chapter 13 usually will. Our last two blog posts have been about one of the more confusing parts of bankruptcy: the law of preferences. This law says that if a creditor takes or receives money from you within the 90 days … Read More
Unexpected Benefit: Use Money from a “Preference” to Pay a Special Debt
Preference law allows you to use money that you paid a creditor before bankruptcy to pay another creditor, one that you want to be paid. Last week we introduced the law of preferences. This law says that if a creditor takes or receives money from you within the 90 days before you file your bankruptcy case, the creditor may need … Read More
Unexpected Benefit: Force a Creditor to Return Your Money
Filing bankruptcy stops garnishments and collections, but it also may be able to make a creditor return your money recently taken from you. Bankruptcy’s “automatic stay” is one of the most immediate and powerful benefits of filing bankruptcy. It immediately stops almost all creditor collection actions against you, your income, and your assets. See Section 362 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. … Read More
Avoid a Fraudulent Transfers through Good Timing
Giving a gift, or selling for less than true value, can cause problems when done before bankruptcy, but usually only if the amount is large.
Avoid Preference Payments through Good Timing
Sometimes in bankruptcy doing the honestly right thing can cause you major problems. Making preference payments is a good example of this.
Fraudulent Transfers
“Fraudulent transfers” have similarities to “preferences.” They are both worth understanding because they can cause unnecessary hassles.
Get Your Bankruptcy Trustee to Pay a Priority Debt
You can put a “preferential payment” to work for you if you owe a “priority” debt–back child or spousal support, or recent income taxes.
Putting Preference Law to Work for You
Make your bankruptcy trustee work for you by retrieving your recent payments to, or garnishments by, creditors–to your benefit.
Avoiding the “Preference” Headache
Prevent your trustee from giving you a big headache if you paid a debt to a friend or relative during the year before filing bankruptcy.
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