Bankruptcy is not for everyone and anyone who practices bankruptcy law responsibly and ethically will not try to “sell” someone on the process. It is appropriately viewed as a last resort. It is not something to be afraid of but it needs to be approached with a degree of healthy respect. There is, however, no denying the significant impact the COVID-19 outbreak is having on global, national, and local economies. With the dramatic rise and fall in demand of various goods and services, the temporary closure of many operations, travel bans, trade constriction, and the detriment of the virus itself, the economy may be looking at numbers even worse than the housing crisis of 2008.
Many economic experts projected from the beginning of March that businesses of all shapes and sizes would be impacted by the damages wrought during the COVID-19 outbreak. If you are a local business, you may not be alone if you’re considering filing bankruptcy to find debt relief. With the help of Behm Law Group, Ltd., you can find protection and long-term debt relief in Waseca, MN through Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Whether you file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 will depend on several things. First, only sole proprietors or partnership companies in which the owners are personally responsible for business debt may file for Chapter 13 reorganization bankruptcy. The process of Chapter 13 bankruptcy restructures business and personal debts together into a manageable repayment plan lasting a three- to five-year period depending on your debt and income. If you qualify for Chapter 13, you can maintain business operations and slowly repay your debts on terms that are more favorable to you.
If you don’t qualify for Chapter 13 or if you can accept that your business may have to be closed down, you have the option to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This process will liquidate your non-exempt assets in exchange for the discharge of debts. While you might not be able to keep your business running, you will likely be able to protect and retain things like your home and car and other necessary assets from liquidation. In chapter 7 bankruptcy, the exemptions allowing you to protect and retain assets are quite generous. In the vast majority of cases, people are able to keep all of their assets and the only things that they lose are their debts.
A comprehensive outlining of what is happening to the economy throughout the COVID-19 outbreak was done by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). This informational article describes the impact COVID-19 has had through the very beginnings of the global outbreak on the economy including the drop in exports out of China, the fall of tourism, the demand for sanitary products, and much more. If you’re seeing an impact on your business operations due to the coronavirus and trickle-down global effects, you’re walking a fine line with practically every other business in the world. Relief from that impact can be found in bankruptcy.
To learn more about finding debt relief in Waseca, MN through bankruptcy, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. today at (507) 387-7200 or stephen@mankatobankruptcy.com.
