Posted on

Successfully Getting Credit During Repayment of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Mankato, MN

 

Bankruptcy is often viewed as a last option for those with extreme debt and low income, but there’s more than one kind of bankruptcy available to individuals and businesses. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the type of bankruptcy that fits the description that’s most often associated with being bankrupt due to the liquidation of the filer’s non-exempt assets. Chapter 13 bankruptcy, on the other hand, is a completely different process that works to reorganize a filer’s debts. If you’re struggling to meet debt payments but don’t want to possibly sacrifice non-exempt assets in a liquidation process, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can provide the legal support you need to file a strong case for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Mankato, MN.

 

If your income to debt ratio is higher than the Minnesota median income for a household of your size, you cannot qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Even if your income is low enough to pass the Means Test, you may still choose to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and keep your estate intact. In this case, you’ll work with an attorney and trustee to draft a repayment plan that is suited to your situation.

 

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan is a highly effective way for those struggling with debt to sort through their finances under the guidelines of a three to five-year bankruptcy period. Despite the many benefits of a repayment plan, however, the period it fills is a long time. During that three to five-year period, you might experience several life changes including anything from a new job to moving into a new home. Your repayment plan could be altered to accommodate those life changes, but there are occasions where you need to operate outside of your bankruptcy plan. One common example of this is when the filer is in need of getting a loan.

 

There are few reasons an individual working through a Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan may need to seek a loan, and because of your overall financial history, your trustee may or may not approve any loans you try to obtain. However, there are times when you need a little boost, whether you’re starting a business that’ll gain more revenue in the long-term or if you have a real emergency.

 

Gaining credit during your repayment plan period depends on several factors:

 

  1. Whether you receive the required court authorization and trustee approval.
  2. The type of credit you’re attempting to obtain (consumer or business).
  3. How a new loan will alter your repayment plan.

 

Generally, you may be granted permission to obtain a loan based on household emergencies. Home repairs, medical emergencies, vehicle repairs, or disaster recovery are some primary examples.

 

If you’re working through a repayment plan or considering filing for bankruptcy in Mankato, MN, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help. To learn more about the legal support and advice our attorneys offer, contact us at (507) 387-7200 today.

Posted on

Limits on Handling Medical Debt with Bankruptcy in Worthington, MN

With medical insurance getting more expensive each year and procedures becoming more technically-advanced with new equipment and medicines, individuals can easily accumulate overwhelming medical debt very quickly. While studies may debate whether severe medical debt is directly causing an increase in U.S. bankruptcies, the fact remains that it’s often a correlating problem most filers experience. Because the bankruptcy process is structured to discharge or reorganize medical debts, it’s a viable option for those who can’t pay their medical bills. With the help of Behm Law Group, Ltd., you can recover from medical debt and successfully file for bankruptcy in Worthington, MN.

Medical debt can happen gradually as chronic treatments rack up bills or all at once if an unexpected medical emergency occurs. No matter the circumstances leading up to unmanageable medical debt, those debts are treated the same in bankruptcy cases. All your medical bills are considered to be unsecured nonpriority debts in your case. To put this in perspective, your credit card debts are categorized as unsecured nonpriority debts as well.

How your unsecured nonpriority debts are handled depends on the type of bankruptcy you file for.

Chapter 13 works to reorganize debts that aren’t exempt from the bankruptcy process into a new repayment plan. Secured debts are repaid in full along with select priority debts, but your unsecured debts—like the medical bills you owe—are often only partially repaid if they’re required to be repaid at all.

Chapter 7 works to liquidate your assets to repay your creditors in return for the discharge of most debts. This discharge includes your unsecured debts and allows immediate full relief from medical bills.

Limitations on Discharges

Relief from medical bills is guaranteed if you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy by passing the Means Test. All your unsecured debts will be dissolved in return for major liquidation of your assets. In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, there are some limitations on the relief you can receive for your medical bills. Because your medical debt is lumped into one category with all your other unsecured nonpriority debts, they’re all subject to the same limitation. This limit manifests as a cap on the amount you can include in your repayment plan. Currently, you may file for Chapter 13 if you have under $394,725 in unsecured debts. This amount will change in April of 2019 to meet standards of income and overall economic adjustments, but for now, you can resolve all your debts in a new repayment plan if you meet this and other Chapter 13 requirements.

 There may be some limits to the possibility of recovering from severe medical debt by filing for bankruptcy, but the majority of cases are highly effective in providing a solution for those struggling with hospital bills and more. For more information about filing for bankruptcy in Worthington, MN, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today.

Posted on

How Filing for Bankruptcy in New Ulm, MN Improves the Economy for All

If you’re struggling with meeting monthly payments on your credit cards, car, medical bills, and even your mortgage, you may be a candidate for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is often negatively viewed as a social taboo, but the reality of bankruptcy is largely a positive one. Those who file for individual or business bankruptcy are offered a fresh start, and those filers actually provide positive influences on our national economy. With the help of Behm Law Group, Ltd., you can start your financial recovery today and successfully file for bankruptcy in New Ulm, MN.

The process of bankruptcy was designed to benefit all parties involved with a fair and balanced relief of debt for the filer and as much of a dividend as possible to their creditors. Administrated through government regulations and overseen by a bankruptcy trustee, the ultimate goal of offering debtors the choice of filing a bankruptcy is to keep the economy afloat.

The U.S. economy cannot function without consistent, widespread consumerism. Without spending from individuals at all income levels, our economic structure would start to collapse. In a nutshell, bankruptcy allows those who couldn’t afford to participate in consumerism because of their debt to begin supporting the economy again. This could mean an individual starts to spend money again or a business is able to continue selling its products.

The Economy Feedback Loop

Whether it’s in recession, booming, or simply stabilized, the economy works in a feedback loop. The more we spend, the more businesses can grow which creates more jobs, national income, and products to keep spending money on. If we’re unable to spend or borrow because our debts and income levels prevent us from being consumers, the more and more the economy will recede. Bankruptcy works to remedy the potential that individual consumers and businesses cannot contribute to the economic feedback loop in positive ways. Relieving debts and repaying creditors provides a viable solution to what may quickly become the main factor of a severe economic downturn.

If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy, in many ways you’ve taken the first step to supporting our national and global economies in a positive way.  When debtors balk from filing for bankruptcy because of the fees involved or how it may affect their credit, they’re in fact possibly setting up our country for even poorer financial conditions down the road.

Contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today to find out more about successfully filing for bankruptcy in New Ulm, MN.

Posted on

Properties Excluded from an Estate when Filing for Bankruptcy in Owatonna, MN

If you’re struggling to meet debt payments on a regular basis and have been for some time, you may find yourself in over your head financially. Fortunately, U.S. law offers a way back to the surface and an opportunity for a fresh start through the process of bankruptcy. Navigating this nuanced system alone is a large feat, but with the help of Behm Law Group, Ltd., you’ll have the guidance and support you need to file a strong, successful case for bankruptcy in Owatonna, MN.

When you choose to file for bankruptcy, the long-term benefits are numerous, and you receive certain immediate advantages as soon as you file (automatic stay, for example). However, the benefits that bankruptcy provides come with the rest of the process, including the examination of your debts and the categorizing of your properties and accounts into a bankruptcy estate.

No matter which type of bankruptcy you file for, the bankruptcy estate plays an essential part in your case. In a Chapter 7 case, the estate determines what your trustee can liquidate in exchange for your debt being discharged. In a Chapter 13 case, the bankruptcy estate can determine the structure of your debt repayment plan and the amount you will have to repay to your creditors. While most of your properties and accounts are included in the bankruptcy estate, there are some exceptions.

What’s not in the bankruptcy estate?

  1. Any property or accounts you acquired after the date you file your bankruptcy petition. Keep in mind, however, that you must notify your bankruptcy attorney of any property that you acquire within 180 days of the date that you filed for bankruptcy relief. Your bankruptcy attorney will speak with the bankruptcy trustee administering your bankruptcy case to determine whether how much, if any, of such property may be subject to seizure.
  2. Child support arrears owed to you from another party.
  3. Joint bank accounts that your name is on along with the name of some other party (if the proceeds in such an account don’t actually belong to you).
  4. Withheld wages for employee benefits and health insurance programs.
  5. Education funds that are tax deferred.
  6. Funding from tuition programs qualified under the 2005 bankruptcy act and Coverdell account—if those funds are deposited at least one year prior to filing for bankruptcy or are for the benefit of your child, stepchild, step-grandchild, or foster child. Any funds deposited two years prior to bankruptcy are exempt from your estate, and you can exempt up to $5,850 from your estate if it was deposited between the one and two-year period.
  7. Last but not least, the majority of retirement funds are exempt from the bankruptcy estate.

The process of bankruptcy is designed to give debtors recovery and relief and not to punish or leave them without anything to their name while repaying something to their creditors as best as possible. While many of your properties are included in the bankruptcy estate, you’ll still have ample opportunity to exempt and protect most of your assets.

To learn more about filing for bankruptcy in Owatonna, MN, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today.

 

 

Posted on

When the Automatic Stay Doesn’t Apply and Navigating Through It With a Bankruptcy Attorney in Marshall, MN

When you file a petition for bankruptcy, your case will immediately see the effects of an automatic stay. Whether you qualify for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy or choose to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can benefit from the court-ordered halt to creditor action that takes the form of an automatic stay. The power of an automatic stay can provide a wide range of advantages to the filer in addition to its ability to prevent creditor harassment and further missed debt payments. Halting wage garnishments, evictions, foreclosures, and more are possible under the restrictions of an automatic stay. With the help of a Behm Law Group, Ltd. bankruptcy attorney in Marshall, MN, you can successfully navigate the rest of your case.

While the benefits that an automatic stay provides are numerous, there are some circumstances where it doesn’t apply. Primarily, you cannot receive the full benefits of an automatic stay if you’ve filed for bankruptcy more than once within a year.

  1. Limited Automatic Stay Period: If you’ve filed for bankruptcy once before in the same year, you will have an automatic stay period limited to 30 days the second time you file. This is because the court will assume your second case is filed in bad faith and may be dismissed. With the help of Behm attorneys, you may be able to prove your good faith to the court and receive the full automatic stay period for the creditors you need to prevent from collecting.
  2. No Automatic Stay Applied: You will not be granted any automatic stay period if you have already filed twice or more in a year and then file again. With three or more bankruptcies, the court still presumes that you’re filing in bad faith and will not provide a stay to halt any of your creditors. Again, you can work with our attorneys to prove your case is not in bad faith with accurate and plausible evidence.

If you have the evidence to prove your bankruptcy case is filed in good faith, our attorneys will work to draft your motion for requesting that your automatic stay be granted in full. You may not be granted the stay if your previous case was dismissed because you failed to file certain documents or if your financial situation has not changed since the last time you filed. Additionally, if you’ve filed for bankruptcy within the year and now choose to file jointly with a spouse, the restrictions on an automatic stay apply only to you.

If you aren’t granted an automatic stay in your bankruptcy case, your best means to successfully file for bankruptcy is with the help of a professional attorney. Without the stay, creditors can continue to collect debt payments and may even attempt to take action against your property. To get the help and support you need when you file for bankruptcy, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 and get started today with an expert bankruptcy attorney in Marshall, MN.