Behm Law Group, Bankruptcy Attorneys

Those who are considering filing for bankruptcy most likely have more than one debt to tackle among their financial obligations. In fact, virtually every bankruptcy filer faces several debts accumulated over years. From mortgages to credit card debt, filers often have a wide range of debts to repay. If these filers pass the Minnesota Means Test, they qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which allows the majority of their debts to be discharged. If you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Marshall, MN, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help you throughout the process of petitioning and filing with professional legal advice and assistance.

When it comes to discharging your debts in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the process is determined by your exemptions, your qualifying debts, and a number of other factors regarding your household status. In a case where the bankruptcy trustee is able to collect money to pay some dividend to your creditors, the question remains of how the money will be allocated. First and foremost, any financial obligations falling into the category of “priority debt” will be paid something before any other debts such as credit card debts, medical debts, etc. receive anything.   11 U.S.C. §507 sets for the priority of how debts are to be paid in bankruptcy cases.

Priority debts will be paid first.  If there is any money left after those debts are paid, then other creditors with lower priority, such as credit card debts or medical debts, will receive a dividend from the trustee. Unfortunately for the filer, most priority debts are not subject to discharge and must be fully repaid.

Priority Debts: Debts involved in individual consumer bankruptcy cases are considered priority if they are categorized as the following:

1. Deposits up to $2,850 for property purchases, leases, or rentals
2. Deposits up to $2,850 for services pertaining to household, family, or personal use that were not provided
3. Alimony, child support, or other familial maintenance and obligations
4. Wages, salaries, commissions, or other compensations owed to employees up to $12,850 per person within 180 days of filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
5. Debts owed to farmers and fishermen up to $6,325 each
6. Income taxes owed within three years before filing for bankruptcy
7. Taxes withheld from employees but not paid to the taxing authorities by employers
8. Any customs, duties, and penalties due to the federal, state, and local governments
9. Personal injury or death claims against you from driving under the influence

With the help of our experienced bankruptcy attorneys, you can navigate your own case when it comes to priority debt, asset liquidation, and debt discharge. For more information about filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Marshall, MN, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today.

The U.S. tax system is complex and affects many aspects of business owners’ and individual consumers’ finances. While intricate and sometimes invasive, taxes are a necessary part of a well-functioning government and economy. Understanding when and where taxes will come into play when you make financial decisions is important to prevent negative consequences such as tax debt. If you are struggling with tax debts along with other severe financial difficulties, bankruptcy might be the right choice. Behm Law Group, Ltd. provides the guidance and counsel you need to successfully file for bankruptcy in Waseca, MN.

Tax debts can be accumulated through a wide range of sources from property taxes to income taxes. When you file for bankruptcy, these debts are broken into two primary categories: priority tax debts and non-priority tax debts.

Priority Tax Debts

The majority of tax debt obligations fall under priority tax debt. This means they generally can’t be discharged the Chapter 7 liquidation process and that they must be paid in full during a Chapter 13 repayment plan. Priority tax debts include income taxes that don’t fall under non-priority requirements, property taxes incurred within a year of filing for bankruptcy, taxes you withheld or collected, some employment taxes, some excise taxes, custom duties, and penalties that have been assessed to any priority taxes.

If you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, your priority taxes will not be discharged in the process and you must repay them in full after your bankruptcy has concluded. If you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your priority taxes must be included in your 3 to 5-year repayment plan and they must be fully repaid.

Non-Priority Tax Debts

Any tax debts that are considered non-priority can be discharged in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy because they will be categorized and handled like all your other non-priority unsecured debts (e.g., credit cards and medical bills). Non-priority tax debts only include income tax debts if they were due at least three years prior to filing, if you filed the return for the tax debt at least two years prior to filing, if the IRS has not assessed your tax liability within 240 days of filing, and if you did not incur the tax debt through fraudulent behavior.

In most cases, filing for bankruptcy with the goal of discharging your tax debts can be a complicated and detail-specific process. The majority of your tax debt might not be able to be discharged in either a Chapter 7 case or a Chapter 13 case.  For example, filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy will not result in the discharge of most priority tax debts, but you will be able to bundle those debt obligations into a manageable three to five-year repayment plan, tailored to your income, in which you will be able to pay them in full and be relieved the associated interest and penalties.

If you are considering filing for bankruptcy in Waseca, MN and want to learn more about how your taxes and other debts are handled, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200.

If you’re an individual struggling financially in the United States, you have several options to resolve your debts effectively. These options include bankruptcy, which in many cases is a far more beneficial option than other remedies such as debt settlement or debt consolidation. Individual bankruptcy options commonly take the form of asset liquidation/debt discharge or debt reorganization, known respectively in bankruptcy terms as Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. If you choose to file for bankruptcy in Worthington, MN, Behm Law Group, Ltd. provides legal advice and assistance in navigating the process from start to finish.

With either bankruptcy chapter, any individuals, companies, or organizations to which you have debt obligations are categorized into types of creditors based on the kind of debt owed. These categorizations will determine how your debts are handled and how your creditors may be paid in your bankruptcy case.

One type of debt that is commonly encountered in bankruptcy cases is priority, unsecured debt. This kind of debt is generally treated more preferentially than general, unsecured debts.  Priority creditors will often file proofs of claim regarding the debts you owe.  In a chapter 7 bankruptcy case, priority, unsecured debts will not be discharged and a debtor will remain liable on those debts after a chapter 7 bankruptcy case is concluded.  In a chapter 13 bankruptcy case, priority, unsecured debts must be paid in full in order for a chapter 13 repayment plan to be approved by the bankruptcy court.

Creditors with priority claims will often have debts that are directly linked to the well-being of another person or organization. This includes debts owed to employees, child support and other spousal support obligations, contracted amounts owed in return for promised services, taxes, and settlements for injuries caused by intoxicated or substance-influenced motor vehicle accidents.

These claims are treated in accordance with the chapter regulations that delegate how all other debts are handled in a case.

Chapter 13: Priority claims in a Chapter 13 case determine in part how the filer’s repayment plan will be structured. In most cases, these debts will be handled in a process similar to secured debts. This means filers might be required to repay priority debts in full during their 3 to 5-year repayment plan period.  However, unlike secured debts, priority claims are not paid interest.

Chapter 7: In a Chapter 7 case, debts are processed in terms of discharge and exceptions to discharge.  As indicated above, the claims of priority, unsecured creditors will not be encompassed by the discharge issued by the bankruptcy court at the end of the case.

If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy in Worthington, MN, it’s important to understand how your creditors will be defined and what options they might have in the process. Behm Law Group, Ltd. provides counsel and support for both Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 cases. Contact us at (507) 387-7200 today for more information.

If you find yourself in a position where filing for bankruptcy is the most logical course of action for you and your family or for your business, you will also find that you have creditors to who will fall into different categories and that creditors in the different categories have different rights.  When you think of creditors in bankruptcy, you should think of them being listed in their different categories as on a totem pole.  Behm Law Group, Ltd. provides legal assistance to help you throughout the process of filing for bankruptcy in Mankato, MN, and to protect and direct you in the face of your creditors.

When you file for bankruptcy, your creditors must file proofs of claim with the bankruptcy court to show, as a matter of public record, the type or category of debt that you have with each of them and how much you owe to each of them. These claims can fall into the following three categories.

Secured Claims: These claims should be viewed at the top of the totem pole.  When your creditor has a lien on your property (or a security interest), they can file a secured claim. Mortgages and car loans are common examples of debts with security interests attached. If you default on these types of debts, your creditors can enforce their liens and reclaim the property (i.e. house, vehicle, washer/dryer) securing their liens. Chapter 7 filers must specify in a bankruptcy form called the “Statement of Intention” whether they want to surrender property/collateral to a creditor or continue making debt payments and retain the property/collateral. Chapter 13 filers can continue paying off the debt secured by the property/collateral with their established repayment plan and in some cases even eliminate the lien their creditors have on that property/collateral.

Priority Claims: These claims should be viewed in the middle of the totem pole.  Where unsecured claims are on dischargeable debts with no secured collateral, priority claims are non-dischargeable debts with no secured collateral. “Non-dischargeble” means that they are not subject to being wiped away or discharged.  These debts are unsecured debts but they are debts that Congress, for certain public policy reasons, determined should not be subject to discharge.  For example, child support debts, some tax debts, and criminal fines are generally not subject to discharge in a Chapter 7 case. Creditors to whom you owe these types of debts file priority claims when you file for bankruptcy relief. Because these debts are not discharged, you must keep paying them even if you file for Chapter 7, and they must be completely repaid with your chapter 13 repayment plan if you file for Chapter 13. Creditors with priority claims will be repaid before those holding unsecured claims, but after those with secured claims.

Unsecured Claims: These claims should be viewed at the bottom of the totem pole as they have a lower priority than secured claims and priority claims.  These claims are only applicable to debts with no secured collateral. Most frequently, these debts include medical bills, personal loans, and credit card debt and are almost always discharged with a Chapter 7 case. With Chapter 13 cases, your non-exempt assets and your disposable income determine the repayment plans for these debts. Creditors with unsecured claims are often paid last and paid least.

If you are considering filing for bankruptcy in Mankato, MN, and you would like to learn more about how Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help you throughout the process, contact us today at (507) 387-7200.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the most frequently filed individual consumer case type. This type of bankruptcy discharges your debts in exchange for the liquidation of your non-exempt assets. While the loss of some property in return for the dissolving of certain debts is a possibility, such is not the case for most filers because they can use bankruptcy exemption allotments to protect their assets.

To qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you must satisfy the Means Test, which measures your income-to-debt ratio. If your income-to-debt ratio is lower than the state median of a similar household, you are eligible to file for Chapter 7. If you are considering filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Jackson, MN, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can provide support, guidance, and legal protection throughout your case.

In Chapter 7, the majority of your unsecured debts will be discharged. This commonly includes credit card debt and medical bills, but may also range into more unusual debts like personal loans and income taxes. There are also various forms of government debts that are unsecured but might be treated as priority debs in your case.

SSA Overpayments: If you were accidentally given overpayments on your social security checks, you may be required to repay that debt if the SSA notices. If you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, however, this debt will be treated as an unsecured debt. The SSA may file an objection to the discharge of this type of debt on the grounds that you defrauded the SSA, but more likely, the debt will be discharged.

County/City Fees: Certain fees you owe to your local government may be discharged in part. This typically includes first-time fines, tickets, and other fees. For example, if you were required to pay a government-employed contractor to tear down an illegal structure on your property but could not make the payment, that debt would likely be discharged. If you paid a private contractor to tear it down but were fined for failing to tear it down in a timely manner, that contractor debt will likely be discharged, but the fine may or may not be discharged.

Fines: Strictly speaking, government fines are not discharged. The only exception to this rule is if the debt was gained in reimbursing the government for money that entity spent or lost separately from the fines you were charged. For example, you are billed for the removal of a tree on your property but the government over-estimated the cost of that removal. The over-fine will be discharged in a Chapter 7 case.

If you have government debts, they will most likely be discharged in Chapter 7, but there are a few exceptions. To learn more about how debts are treated in bankruptcy or to get started on filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Jackson, MN, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 or stephen@mankatobankruptcy.com today.

There are many reasons to file for bankruptcy—from resolving credit card debts to reorganizing a mortgage into a repayment plan. And bankruptcy can be a highly effective way to fix financial problems that would otherwise fester and grow worse. Because every part of the bankruptcy process is handled through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, filing for bankruptcy is a protected legal process and one of the most effective immediate and long-term solutions for financial difficulties. If you are struggling with debt in your life as an individual or a business, filing for bankruptcy can help. For those with a low income or a failing business, Behm Law Group Ltd. can work with you to build and file a successful case for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Pipestone, MN.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a liquidation process for individual consumers or businesses. In exchange for debt discharge, Chapter 7 trustees can sometimes sell certain assets you own and return the value gained to your creditors. This process may seem like a drastic measure, but the court protects you from losing any properties that you need for day-to-day life (home, car, etc.) with exemption allowances. Plus, your debts connected to unsecured loans will also be discharged (credit card debt, hospital bills, etc.).

In addition to debt recovery, filing for bankruptcy provides several other financial and legal remedies. One more unusual legal issue that can be resolved through bankruptcy is any lawsuit your creditors file because of your lack of debt payments. These suits become judgement lawsuits in a bankruptcy case, and they can be treated in one of two ways.

1. Your lawsuit progress is halted as soon as you file for bankruptcy and is eventually dissolved in your Chapter 7 case. This occurs if your lawsuit is connected to a low-impact debt. For example, credit card debts, car loans, medical bills (with an exception addressed later), personal loans, mortgages, and more are all low-impact debts when they are put into the light of a pending lawsuit and bankruptcy case. When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, these lawsuits are halted and you will not be held responsible for any costs.
2. Your lawsuit progress is halted as soon as you file for bankruptcy, but is deemed a high-impact case and is not dissolved in your Chapter 7 case. High-impact cases typically involve actions you made that directly affected another person’s health, life, or well-being. For example, common high-impact suits connected to a debt you owe include those involving your payment of alimony or child support, any fraud or criminal activity, your drunk or reckless driving that caused injury, or other causes of injury to another person (two reasons your medical bill-related debts might be non-dischargeable). These cases can also be connected to priority debts like tax debts.

If you are considering filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Pipestone, MN, and have a lawsuit connected to a debt, contact Behm Law Group Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 to learn more.

With the decline that our economy has seen over the past six months, it’s not surprising that many individuals and businesses have had to take on more debt or have had difficulties meeting their debt payments. If you have been struggling to make monthly ends meet, and have been for some time, it may be beneficial for you to consider the debt relief filing for bankruptcy can provide. For those with stable incomes who want to retain their properties, Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a valuable option. Behm Law Group, Ltd., provides legal advice and assistance for individual consumers and business owners who want to take full advantage of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in St. Peter, MN.

Because Chapter 13 bankruptcy works as a reorganization process, it restructures your debts into a repayment plan with scheduled monthly payments lasting three to five years. This repayment plan is designed to fit your budget and can effectively resolve the majority of your debts without you having to lose any of your property.

Although Chapter 13 bankruptcy is supposed to fit your financial circumstances while allowing you to operate on a daily basis, it can make your spending limitations extremely tight. Sometimes it may be necessary to incur even more debt during the three to five years you spend within a Chapter 13 plan. Fortunately, it’s possible you can roll these new debts into your current repayment plan, allowing for a more manageable structure in the payment of all your debts together.

Post-Petition Debt Types

The debts you are allowed to incur while in a Chapter 13 plan that won’t force your case to be dismissed are tax debts and consumer debts.

• Tax debts may be treated as priority debts (and must be repaid in full) if your creditors petition for priority claim status.
• Consumer debts are only allowed as post-petition spending if you receive court approval. The court often approves post-petition debts if they are incurred on behalf of your household well-being (not for your business).

If you fail to get court approval to incur a post-petition debt, you will be required to pay it outside of your Chapter 13 repayment plan. If you do get court approval, however, you can later request to have the debt rolled into your repayment plan as a priority, secured, or unsecured debt depending on the type of agreement between you and the creditor. To have the debt included in your plan, your creditor and trustee must each accept your request, and your creditor must submit a proof of claim and a statement of agreement.

If you are considering filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in St. Peter, MN, and want to learn more about post-petition debts or how a repayment plan is structured, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd., at (507) 387-7200 today.

Debt laws vary from country to country, and within the U.S., those laws even vary from state to state. The legal minutia around the debts you owe can quickly become complicated even within Minnesota regulations, but when out-of-state debts and foreign debts are introduced, those difficulties can increase ten-fold.

These complications may never become a problem for the debtor if they continue to make regular payments month to month, but if the debtor misses payments or chooses to file for bankruptcy, it can be extremely difficult to wade through those legal waters without professional help. If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy in Pipestone, MN, and you have foreign debt in addition to your U.S. debts, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can protect you from creditor action and guide you through the process.

If you hold foreign debt, it can be discharged in your bankruptcy case. However, that debt is only officially discharged if your foreign creditors domesticate and enforce that debt.

Enforcing Foreign Debt

When you move from another country, your creditors in the original country cannot pursue collection actions unless they domesticate that debt, or you return to that country. This rule applies to bankruptcy as well, which means that if you want to discharge a foreign debt, your creditors must domesticate that debt or drop the debt completely. It may be easier to convince your creditor to domesticate a debt if they’ll gain some reimbursement from asset liquidation or a repayment plan.

Domesticated in Bankruptcy

If your foreign debt is domesticated, it will be handled in bankruptcy depending on the type of chapter you file. If you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, your non-exempt assets with value in excess of your allowable bankruptcy exemptions are liquidated and your debts are discharged. Complications with foreign debts arise if the country you owe debt in has differing bankruptcy laws. In most cases, these issues are related to the portioning amount of the values from liquidated assets, but this is an issue the courts will resolve for you.

When you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, similar issues arise with your foreign creditors in the repayment plan structure. Chapter 13 works to restructure your debts into a manageable repayment plan where you repay priority and secured debts in full and all other debts in predetermined portions from 0%-100%. If your foreign debts are unsecured, the courts may have issues deciding how much you’ll repay those creditors when their country’s legal system dictates higher or lower repayments.

Your foreign debts can be resolved in your case, but it’s important to understand how they’re enforced and what complications may arise in bankruptcy. To learn more about filing for bankruptcy in Pipestone, MN, or to get started on your case, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today.

Of the two common bankruptcy options available to individual filers, Chapter 13 is the more varied and personalized code applicable to your debts. The repayment plan established when you file for Chapter 13 is unique to your own case, and it may be very different from the repayment plan of another individual. The financial situation—the balance of debts, income, and assets—of the individual dictates how the repayment plan is structured. Behm Law Group can offer legal advice and assistance to help you determine how your repayment plan will affect you during your petition for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Windom, MN.

To understand how your repayment plan will resolve your financial situation, you must first look at how each type of debt is considered in Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

 Priority debts are always included in a repayment plan. This means you will have to pay back the entirety of all your priority debts. The benefit of having a repayment plan is that this payback will happen little by little, usually at no interest, with payments that fit your unique financial situation. Priority debts include child support, alimony, and tax debts incurred in the last 3 years, compensation owed to your employees, or money you owe to an employee fund. These debts are not subject to discharge with any form of bankruptcy.

 Secured debts are an optional part of your repayment plan. These debts include properties you owe payments for, such as vehicles or homes. If you want to keep any properties bound by secured debt, you will have to include the present value of the property securing that debt in your repayment plan and repay that value over time.  Sometimes the value of the property securing a debt is a lot less than the amount of the debt itself.  In such a case, you only have to pay the actual value of the property. For example, if you owe $15,000.00 on a vehicle that is presently worth $5,000.00 and the debt on the vehicle is more than 910 days old, all you would have to pay is $5,000.00.  Tax liens are also considered secured debts that you must pay back within a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan.

 Unsecured debts vary the most when it comes to determining the right repayment plan for you. What you will pay back on unsecured debts is decided based on the balance of your nonexempt properties with your disposable income and the total period of your repayment plan. These unsecured debts include credit debt, medical bills, and several other forms of consumer or non-property debts.

As a side note, you will also have to pay the entirety of your bankruptcy fees for the process of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This includes trustee compensation and any fees due to your bankruptcy attorney.

The comprehensive help that Behm Law Group, Ltd. offers with our expert bankruptcy attorneys can be key in guiding you through the process of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Windom, MN. For more information, contact us at (507) 387-7200 today.

Health insurance is expensive in the United States, largely because it is a highly privatized industry being unduly regulated by the federal government, which results in the federal government mandating many types of coverage that many people don’t want and don’t need. Providers of health insurance do their best to create plans that protect their clients’ well-being, but that comes at a great cost for a variety of reasons. If you do not have access to health insurance because the monthly health insurance premiums and the mandatory deductibles are so high, a sudden high medical expense might create severe debt. If you are struggling with medical bills and other debts, Behm Law Group Ltd. can help you navigate the process of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Worthington, MN.

Much debate has occurred about the percentage of bankruptcy cases caused by medical debt. Finding evidence of whether bankruptcy cases due to medical bills are on the rise is difficult because there are often several factors that lead to a case.

To understand the causes of a Chapter 13 case, it’s important to know exactly how this type of bankruptcy case functions and how it can be applied to certain financial circumstances.

Chapter 13 is a reorganization bankruptcy process. When you file for Chapter 13, you will work with your attorney to create a proposal for your debts to be reorganized into a repayment plan lasting three to five years. If your income is lower than the state median for a similar household, you will have a three-year plan, and if it’s higher than the median income, you’ll have a five-year plan. In your repayment plan, you’ll typically repay secured debts in full (i.e., mortgage or car), your priority debts in full (i.e., most tax debts, criminal fines and any debts technically exempt from bankruptcy), and your unsecured debts in part (i.e., credit card debt and medical bills). The amount you’ll pay of your unsecured debts depends on the amount they would receive from the hypothetical liquidation of your non-exempt assets in the event you had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief instead.

Put simply, the conditions for a Chapter 13 case to be effective are a steady income on behalf of the filer, debts that will be partially or fully discharged in the case, and the willingness of the filer to make regular payments for the duration of their plan.

Because medical bills are often discharged in full in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case and because those bills are often so high that they still affect those with steady incomes, the rise in medical debts today may be creating an equal increase in Chapter 13 cases.  Some studies show that up to 65% of bankruptcies yearly may be a result of medical debt. While it is difficult to discern an exact, single cause of a bankruptcy case, many reports show that medical debt is among the driving causes.

/areas-worthington.phpIf you are struggling with medical and other debts, contact Behm Law Group Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 for more information about filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Worthington, MN.