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
Debts Not Discharged in Chapter 7
Sometimes not all your debts are discharged—legally written off—in Chapter 7. Some you might want to pay; others you legally can’t discharge. Two blog posts ago we ended by saying that most general unsecured debts get legally written off—“discharged”—in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, but that there are some exceptions. We’ll get into those exceptions now. These exceptions include … Read More
How Chapter 7 Deals with General Unsecured Debts
In a Chapter 7 case your unsecured debts are either priority or general unsecured. Chapter 7 legally writes off all or most of the latter. Last time we said there are two kinds of unsecured debts, “priority” and “general unsecured”: “Priority” debts are those that the law treats as special for various reasons. Past-due child support and unpaid recent … Read More
Practical Bankruptcy: Protecting Your Co-Signer under Chapter 7
Chapter 13 has a very special way to protect your co-signer, the co-debtor stay. But sometimes the simpler Chapter 7 is more effective.