The Complete Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy Guide PDF
Preview The Complete Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy Guide
Ch 7 Bankruptcy Cvr 2/8/07 10:18 AM Page 1 E V E R Y T H I N G Yo u YOUR EASY-TO-FOLLOWACTIONPLAN N e e d t o U s e t h e N e w B a n k r u p t c y FOR FINANCIALRECOVERY L a w s t o Yo u r The A d v a n t a g e Ready-to-Go forms with step-by-step instructions Complete Past-due notices, harassing phone calls and court actions can all be stopped, and The Complete Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy Guide will show you how. It gives you exactly what you ned to stop living day-to-day and regain control C Chapter 7 of your finances once and for all. The plain-English instructions it provides will guide you through filing your own bankruptcy and finding that fresh start you deserve. Protect your Future Start Building Good Credit Put your financial future back on Get on the road to financial fredom by Personal track by ending garnishments and raising your credit score, changing bad attachments, and protecting your habits and managing your resources retirement money. more effectively. Cease Collection Agency Stop Repossessions and Harasment Lawsuits Bankruptcy Use the bankruptcy law’s automatic Keep your car and other personal stay provision to get creditors off your property by using exemptions you are back. entitled to take. Guide Quiet Creditor Calls Protect Your Home and Family Stop annoying phone calls and Save your home from foreclosure or stop prevent future harassment. an eviction from putting your family out on the street. HAVE ALL YOUR DEBTS FORGIVEN ➤ E x e m p t i o n s ➤ S t a t e - b y - S t a t e L a w s TO TRULY START FRESH ➤ A l t e r n a t i v e s ➤ C h e c k l i s t s Ask Your Bookseller About This ➤ F e d e r a l G u i d e l i➤nWe so r k s h e e t s Other Bestselling Title SPHINX® PUBLISHING Personal Finance $18.95 U.S. AN IMPRINT OF SOURCEBOOKS, INC.® $24.95 CAN wwwN.ASPEpRhVIiLnLEx,LILeLgINaOl .IScom ISBN-13: 978-1-57248-594-5 £9.99 UK HAMAN ISBN-10: 1-57248-594-9 E D W A R D A . H A M A N A T T O R N E Y A T L A W THE COMPLETE CHAPTER 7 PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY GUIDE ISBN-13: 978-1-57248-573-0 ISBN-10: 1-57248-573-6 UPC EAN Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page i The Complete Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy Guide Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page ii Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page iii The Complete Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy Guide Edward A. Haman Attorney at Law ® SPHINX PUBLISHING AN IMPRINT OF SOURCEBOOKS, INC.® NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS www.SphinxLegal.com Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page iv Copyright © 2007 by Edward A. Haman ® Cover and internal design © 2007 by Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embod- ied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc. Purchasers of the book are granted license to use the forms contained herein for their own personal use. No claim of copyright is made to any government form reproduced herein. All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc. First Edition: 2007 ® ® Published by: Sphinx Publishing, An Imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Naperville Office P.O. Box 4410 Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410 630-961-3900 Fax: 630-961-2168 www.sourcebooks.com www.SphinxLegal.com This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. From a Declaration of Principles Jointly Adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations This product is not a substitute for legal advice. Disclaimer required by Texas statutes. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Haman, Edward A. The complete Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy guide / by Edward A. Haman. -- 1st ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-1-57248-717-8 ISBN-10: 1-57248-717-8 1. Bankruptcy--United States--Popular works. I. Title. KF1524.6.H35 2007 346.7307'8--dc22 2007000856 Printed and bound in the United States of America. SB — 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page v Contents Using Self-Help Law Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Section 1: Bankruptcy and the Legal System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 History and General Information The Legal System Bankruptcy Law and Procedure Section 2: Lawyers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Needing a Lawyer Selecting a Lawyer Working with a Lawyer Firing Your Lawyer Section 3: Avoiding Bankruptcy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The Effects of Bankruptcy Income and Expenses Worksheet Property Worksheet chapter Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page vi the complete chapter 7 personal bankruptcy guide vi Debt Assessment General Guidelines Alternatives to Bankruptcy Section 4: Preparing for Bankruptcy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Basic Legal Requirements Arranging Your Finances Section 5: Gathering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Income Expenses Property Debts Legal Research Section 6: Forms and Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Qualifying for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Understanding Legal Forms Voluntary Petition Application to Pay Filing Fee in Installments Application for Waiver of the Chapter 7 Filing Fee Schedule A—Real Property Schedule B—Personal Property Schedule C—Property Claimed as Exempt Schedule D—Creditors Holding Secured Claims Schedule E—Creditors Holding Unsecured Priority Claims Schedule F—Creditors Holding Unsecured Nonpriority Claims Schedule G—Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases Schedule H—Codebtors Schedule I—Current Income of Individual Debtor(s) Schedule J—Current Expenditures of Individual Debtor(s) Summary of Schedules Declaration Concerning Debtor’s Schedules Statement of Financial Affairs Chapter 7 Individual Debtor’s Statement of Intention Chapter 7 Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means- Test Calculation Debtor’s Certification of Completion of Instructional Course Concerning Personal Financial Management Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page vii contents vii Master Address Lists and Mailing Matrix Filing with the Court Clerk and Notifying Creditors Creditors’ Meeting Court Hearing and Discharge Section 7: Special Circumstances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Amending Your Paperwork Changing from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 Lien Avoidance Redemption Reaffirming a Debt Lawsuits Pensions and Retirement Plans Section 8: After Your Discharge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Handling Your Finances Obtaining Credit Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Appendix A: Exemptions (Federal and State) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Appendix B: Checklist and Worksheets . . . . . . . . . . 169 Appendix C: Blank Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page viii Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page ix Using Self-Help Law Books Before using a self-help law book, you should realize the advantages and disadvantages of doing your own legal work and understand the challenges and diligence that this requires. The Growing Rest assured that you will not be the first or only person handling Trend your own legal matter. For example, in some states, more than 75% of the people in divorces and other cases represent themselves. Because of the high cost of legal services, this is a major trend, and many courts are struggling to make it easier for people to represent them- selves. However, some courts are not happy with people who do not use attorneys and refuse to help them in any way. For some, the atti- tude is, “Go to the law library and figure it out for yourself.” We write and publish self-help law books to give people an alternative to the often complicated and confusing legal books found in most law libraries. We have made the explanations of the law as simple and easy to understand as possible. Of course, unlike an attorney advis- ing an individual client, we cannot cover every conceivable possibility.
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