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Why Filing for Bankruptcy is an Effective Long-Term Solution for Credit Repair in Marshall, MN

Every day, American adults are faced with the cost of living no matter where they’re located or what job they have. A large portion of the cost of living we all face is the existence of debts as a regular factor in many parts of our lives. From mortgages to cars, we all hold some debt that requires monthly payments. Without a structured budget and plan for repaying the debt in accordance with other monthly expenses, it’s easy to accumulate more and more financial pressure. If you find yourself facing unmanageable debt and don’t know what path to take to recover, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can give you the help you need to file for bankruptcy and start the process of long-term credit repair in Marshall, MN.

 The Truth About Bankruptcy & Credit Repair

Filing for bankruptcy has a poor public image when it comes to credit repair. While this is in part a realistic concern for those considering filing, it has often been overshadowed by the long-term benefits it provides. Bankruptcy is a highly effective, government-sanctioned remedy for resolving and recovering from a wide variety of debts.

 

Whether you choose to file for debt reorganization or liquidation bankruptcy as an individual consumer or a business, you can start down the path to stabilizing your finances while learning about how debts and incomes function in your life.

 

Consider the following facts that occur when you file for bankruptcy:

 

The Bad:

  1. Bankruptcy will damage your credit score. Based on the FICO credit score calculation model, filing may lower your score from 100 to 200 points.
  2. Records of a bankruptcy filing will stay on public record for up to ten years, depending on which chapter you file for.

 

The Good:

  1. Despite affecting your credit negatively at first and being on your public record for years, the damaging effect that filing for bankruptcy has on your credit will start to diminish immediately after filing.
  2. Your credit score may be improved to its original standing or recover to an even better score within a few years of filing. Some filers even report a restored credit score five years after filing.
  3. Whether you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and have debts discharged in exchange for asset liquidation or choose Chapter 13 debt reorganization and a three to five-year repayment plan, you can start rebuilding your credit right away.
  4. Rebuilding your credit during and after bankruptcy takes as little effort as budgeting, making debt payments on time, taking note of what you learn in pre-bankruptcy credit counseling, and making cautious spending choices.
  5. When bankruptcy is removed from public record, it can never affect your credit or financial standing again.

 

Bankruptcy is designed to help the individual consumer or business recover from debts and re-enter the economic system as a valuable participant. It is not designed to trap debtors or leave Americans destitute, despite popular belief.

 

If you’re ready to resolve your debts for long-term credit repair in Marshall, MN, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today.

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Qualifying as a Family Farmer or Fisher to File for Chapter 12 Debt Repayment Bankruptcy in Owatonna, MN

Agricultural industries in the U.S. have changed dramatically over the last fifty years, developing to meet the needs of a growing population and global market while battling many other obstacles. Today’s agricultural industrial complex is equipped to provide abundant food year-round to virtually every community, but because of its structure, it has also made it difficult for family farmers and other family agricultural businesses to stay afloat. For family farmers or family fishermen struggling to make ends meet, Behm Law Group, Ltd. offers legal advice and assistance to file for Chapter 12 debt repayment bankruptcy in Owatonna, MN. We can help you understand why bankruptcy is a valuable option to recover from financial problems that affect your family and business alike.

 

The U.S. Bankruptcy Code offers Chapter 12 debt repayment bankruptcy as a system tailored to fit the unique requirements and livelihoods of American family farmers and family fishermen. This bankruptcy chapter works similarly to Chapter 13, taking the filer’s debts and income into consideration and, with fairness to the creditors involved, restructuring those debts into a manageable three to five-year repayment plan.

 

However, Chapter 12 differs from Chapter 13 in several ways that make it more suitable to filers who make their living through their own farming or fishing practices. These benefits range from greater debt allowances to cramming down secured debts, but in order to gain the advantages Chapter 12 debt repayment bankruptcy provides family farmers and family fishermen, you have to qualify to file.

 

What Makes a Chapter 12 Candidate?

 

To prevent abuse when filing for debt repayment bankruptcy, the bankruptcy code outlines strict conditions for filers to qualify as family farmers and family fishermen. These requirements include:

 

  1. You or you and your spouse together own and operate a commercial farming or fishing enterprise.
  2. The income you gain from your farm or fishing operation must be over 50% of your total gross income as a household. This is measured from the previous tax year or from the previous three tax years (the latter is only applicable for family farmers).
  3. The total of your debt directly connected to your operation (property, equipment, seed and supply contracts, vehicles, tax debts, etc.) can’t be higher than $4,153,150 for a farm or $1,924,550 for a commercial fishery or fishing business.
  4. If you are a family farmer, you must have 50% of all your debts as an individual or household directly connected to your farm.
  5. If you are a family fisherman, you must have 80% of all your debts as an individual or household directly connected to your fishing enterprise.

 

If you’re unsure whether you qualify for a Chapter 12 debt repayment bankruptcy, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help you examine your finances to determine if the debts and income connected to your farming or fishing operations meet the requirements.

 

Don’t wait to recover from severe debt and restabilize your family’s farm or fishery. Contact us today at (507) 387-7200 to learn more about your options for Chapter 12 debt repayment bankruptcy in Owatonna, MN.

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Understanding Personal Guarantees and Liability When You File for Business Bankruptcy in Luverne, MN

If you own a small business anywhere in the U.S., your livelihood depends on countless factors ranging from market competitors to economic recessions. Maintaining a business with a steady flow of income and output of products or services is difficult, even with a strong foundation. No matter how old or young your business is, it’s possible to face financial struggles. If you’re having a hard time making debt payments from month-to-month, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help you decide whether filing for business bankruptcy in Luverne, MN, is the right choice for your business.

Filing for business bankruptcy is a highly effective way to recover from severe debt. When you file for a business bankruptcy, you can choose Chapter 7 and liquidate your assets (shutting down your business in the process), or you can file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and propose a restructuring of your debts into a manageable repayment plan (allowing your business to continue operating as you repay debts under the supervision of a bankruptcy trustee).

Whichever type of bankruptcy you file for, your trustee will rigorously examine your case for information about your past finances, business format, debts, income, living expenses, and contract agreements with your creditors. This examination determines how your assets will be liquidated and your debts discharged or restructured. Once your trustee has all the necessary information submitted with your petition and you have met all pre-bankruptcy requirements (credit counseling, bankruptcy fees, Means Test, and 341 hearing), the liquidation process will being in a chapter 7 case or you will propose a repayment plan in a chapter 13 case.

Behm attorneys can work with you to draft a repayment plan taking into account all your debts (priority, secured, and unsecured) and determine which debts you are liable to repay in full or have discharged in part from 0%-100%. One concern many business owners have in bankruptcy is whether they’ll be personally liable for the debts their business cannot repay. In the majority of cases, you will be personally responsible to pay debts your business can’t because it’s likely you made a personal guarantee agreement with your creditor when the loan was given.

Personal Guarantee: When you make a business loan agreement, the creditor needs to know they are protected in the event you cannot repay that debt. To resolve this issue, most creditors will not extend loans to businesses without requiring the owner to sign a personal guarantee agreement stating they are responsible as an individual to repay that debt in the event their business can’t meet payments.

Personally Liable: In short, you will be personally liable for your business debt when you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy if:

  1. You have a sole proprietorship
  2. You have a partnership
  3. You made a personal guarantee on a debt

To learn more about filing for business bankruptcy in Luverne, MN, or to find out about personal guarantees and debt liability, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today.

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Walking Through the Steps of Building a Petition to File for Bankruptcy in Mankato, MN

In today’s world, it’s rare that any individual adult lives debt-free. In fact, many dedicate over a quarter of their income to payments on a range of debts from credit cards to mortgages. This often leads to a delicate financial balance that can easily turn into an unmanageable situation. If you’re struggling to meet monthly debt payments, it’s possible bankruptcy is the next best step to recover from crippling financial imbalance. With the help of the expert attorneys at Behm Law Group, Ltd., you can file a strong case for bankruptcy in Mankato, MN, and start on the road to long-term financial stability.

Filing for bankruptcy can be a difficult process without the right professional guidance. It can even be tough to gather all the information necessary to build your case without mistakes. Behm attorneys are here to work with you every step of the way, whether you’re filing for Chapter 7 liquidation or Chapter 13 reorganization.

The best way to work through filing for bankruptcy in Minnesota is to go step by step in building your petition. Your bankruptcy petition will serve as the foundation of your case throughout the following processes and court judgement.

 

Step by Step

  1. The first step to building your bankruptcy petition is to gather the necessary documents and evidence of your financial information. You can download a full list of the documents and bankruptcy forms the court will require. In general, this includes information on your income, employment, debt history, credit, vehicles, home and living situation, tax returns, retirement and other accounts, and student loans, child support, and other obligations exempt from the bankruptcy process.
  2. Next, you’ll have to undergo
  3. credit counseling through a court-approved agency. Typically, these counseling sessions only take an hour or two from your time, but the court will not accept your petition without a certificate of proof showing you attended credit counseling within a 180-day period prior to filing.
  4. When you have submitted all the required information including your credit counseling certificate, you’ll have to pay a bankruptcy fee or submit a request to have the fee waived. You can also submit an application to pay the fee in installments.
  5. Finally, if you plan to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you’ll have to take the Means Test, which determines your qualification for liquidation. To pass the Means Test you have to have an income lower than the state median for a similar household or a debt-to-income ratio that results in that level of net income.

 

Once you’ve completed these steps with the guidance of an experienced bankruptcy attorney, you can file your petition. If accepted, there will be more step by step actions to take and requirements to meet. What follows a bankruptcy petition will often prove to be a complicated process, no matter how straightforward a case may be. The counsel and advice of a bankruptcy attorney is critical to filing a successful petition and working through the full process.

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

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Why Some Debts Are Exempt from Your Case When You File for Bankruptcy in Windom, MN

For hundreds of years, bankruptcy was wrongfully associated with morally unsound citizens who could not manage their finances. The reality, however, is that people are stuck with debt because of a wide range of circumstances. Today, individuals can accrue debt from more sources than ever before—from credit cards to student loans to medical costs. You are not alone if you are struggling to meet debt payments each month, and like many other debtors in the United States, you can recover financial stability in your life by filing for bankruptcy. With the help of Behm Law Group, Ltd. in Windom, MN, you can decide which type of bankruptcy is right for you and build a strong case to resolve your debt.

Filing for bankruptcy is a viable solution for many debts but be aware that some debts are not dischargeable through the bankruptcy process. The majority of debts the common U.S. individual holds can be included in all bankruptcy formats, including Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. These bankruptcy formats include debt from credit cards, medical bills, mortgages, bad checks, old utility bills, and car loans—all debts that cause individuals to file for bankruptcy at the highest frequency.

Unusual Debts When You File for Bankruptcy

Debts that may not be discharged when you file for bankruptcy range from unusual debts, like malicious misconduct debts, to even the most common type of debt in America, student loans. Sometimes student loans can be discharged but one must actually commence a law suit against the student loan company and prove to the bankruptcy court that the student loan will impose a financial undue hardship going forward. Such law suits can be both expensive and protracted.

Exempt Debts

The following list of debts is not comprehensive, but covers the most prevalent in the United States that are typically not discharged in the bankruptcy process:

  1. Student Loans Where Undue Hardship is Not Proven
  2. Child support and alimony debts
  3. Most tax debts
  4. Some debts owed to government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency for environmental hazards
  5. Reckless or malicious misconduct debts (for example, a debt in a lawsuit against you for injuries caused by drunk driving)
  6. Other forms of restitution debt
  7. Wages owed to your employees

So why are these specific debts not discharged in the bankruptcy process when so many others are? When considering each type of debt individually, the answer is a complex legal issue that takes into consideration other debts, other parties involved, location, and much more. However, if we take a look at all these debts together, we can see they have one thing in common: All these debts directly affect the well-being of another person or the well-being of the government as an entity that protects and supports the individual American.

If the bankruptcy process allowed the discharge or restructuring of these debts, it could significantly harm another person who has no direct responsibility for the cause to file for bankruptcy. While there are certain exceptions that include some of these debts in your bankruptcy case, they are most often excluded to protect innocent people in your life and the government that, in turn, protects people across the country.

Find Professional Help When You File for Bankruptcy

If you are uncertain whether or not you should file for bankruptcy in Windom, MN, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 to learn more about the process and your own situation today.

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Bankruptcy Fees Today and Special Fee Circumstances for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Pipestone, MN

Filing for bankruptcy may seem like a drastic measure, but it’s actually a highly effective way for individuals to recover from severe financial difficulties and regain stability in more ways than one. The process of bankruptcy is designed to benefit both the debtor and the creditors involved in the case with a court administered application of either asset liquidation in return for debt discharge or debt reorganization into a manageable repayment plan. Whether you’re struggling with unexpected, sudden debts or you have accumulated debts over time, Behm Law Group, Ltd. provides the legal counsel and support you need to file a successful case for Chapter 13 bankruptcy or Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Pipestone, MN.

No matter what type of bankruptcy you file for, liquidation or reorganization, the court will require you to meet several requirements in order to submit your petition, including paying the current bankruptcy fees.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Fees

The filing fee itself for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $335.  If your case is closed and you have grounds to reopen it later, you will have to pay another $335 fee.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Fees

To file a Chapter 13 petition, you’ll be required to pay a filing fee of $310. To reopen a Chapter 13 case, you’ll have to pay another fee of $310.

Any additional bankruptcy fees and information about putting together your petition are provided on the U.S. Court website, including all the necessary forms and files you need to file.

If you’re struggling so severely that even these initial bankruptcy fees are outside of your budget, the court offers two options. You can apply to pay the filing fee in installments or you can apply to have the filing fee waived completely. In order to qualify for an installment plan you have to state your inability to pay the fee upfront and you must be able to pay it within no more than four installments. To qualify for a waived fee your income must be 150% below the Minnesota poverty line and you must be unable to pay an installment plan.

In the event you can’t pay the bankruptcy fee upfront, it’s almost certain that you’ll have to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Because of case requirements and the fact that you’ll still repay some of your debts during a Chapter 13 repayment plan, filers with incomes too low for even bankruptcy filing fees are not expected to choose reorganization as a viable bankruptcy option. Conversely, if you have an income high enough to pay the bankruptcy filing fee, you may well not qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

To learn more about the fees involved in filing for Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Pipestone, MN, or to get started on your case, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today.