Almost never. You do need to attend a 5-to-10-minute meeting, accompanied by your attorney, which is usually straightforward.
The Extraordinary Tools of Bankruptcy: Recovering Money After It’s Garnished
If you lost money through garnishment during the 90 days BEFORE filing bankruptcy, that money may be returned to you or a favored creditor.
The Extraordinary Tools of Bankruptcy: Undoing Judgment Liens
Bankruptcy doesn’t just write off debts. It can undo bad things that a creditor has done to you. Like a judgment lien on your home.
The Extraordinary Tools of Bankruptcy: Make Your Creditor Pay Back Money Taken from You
Filing bankruptcy doesn’t just stop creditors’ present and future collection efforts against you. It might recoup money you’ve already lost.
Practical Bankruptcy: The Disabled Veteran, Active Duty, and Homeland Defense Exemptions from the “Means Test”
Skip the “means test” and qualify for Chapter 7 if you fit within these military-related exemptions. But they ARE narrow ones.
The Basics: The Chapter 13 “Meeting of Creditors”
The “meeting of creditors” is for finding any kinks in your payment plan, and hopefully straightening them out.
The Basics: The Chapter 7 “Meeting of Creditors”
In most Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” cases the “meeting” is short and straightforward. But you do need to take it seriously.
The Basics: Who’s Who and What They Do in Your Bankruptcy Case
What are the roles of the debtor, the creditors, the bankruptcy clerk, the judge, the Chapter 7 and 13 trustees, and the U. S. Trustee?
The Basics: You Can’t Finish Your Bankruptcy without “Debtor Education”
The same way that you can’t START a bankruptcy case without “credit counseling,” you can’t FINISH without “debtor education.”
The Basics: The “Credit Counseling” Requirement
“Credit counseling” is not really counseling. It’s not difficult, but a necessity before you can file a bankruptcy case.
Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13–It’s a Matter of Time
Put aside all the detailed advantages and disadvantages of these 2 options. The core difference is how each uses time in your favor.
Who’s Who in Bankruptcy
You’ll be much more comfortable during your bankruptcy case if you know the system’s cast of characters.
The Chapters of the Book of Bankruptcy
Everything about bankruptcy revolves around its Chapters.
If You Filed Bankruptcy Just Before the 2005 “Reform,” When Exactly Can You File Again?
You can file a new case 8 years after filing before (so, now or very soon), or possibly only 6 or 4 or 2 years after, or maybe even with no delay.
If You Filed Bankruptcy Just Before the 2005 “Reform,” You Now Can, or Likely Soon Will Be Able to, File Again
After filing bankruptcy, you hope you never have to do that again. But it’s good to know that you can if you need to.