Author: mlt

In the U.S., bankruptcy is an option for individual consumers and small businesses alike. Despite the access that all parties have to the bankruptcy code, today’s bankruptcy laws have many precautions to prevent filers from taking advantage of the system. Whether you commit fraudulent behavior purposefully or accidentally during your case doesn’t matter to the court when it comes to a case dismissal. Avoiding difficulties during your case can be as simple as taking advantage of the services a trained bankruptcy lawyer provides. At Behm Law Group, Ltd., we offer expert legal advice and we can be of assistance to you when you file for bankruptcy in Pipestone, MN.

The differences between mistakes and fraud are not always considered in the outcome if the court decides to dismiss your bankruptcy case, but there are still two standing descriptions of how your case can be dismissed: “with prejudice” and “without prejudice.”

Dismissal with Prejudice

If you’ve displayed willfully fraudulent behavior or purposefully disobeyed court orders, your case may be dismissed with prejudice. Your case could also be dismissed and you would be prohibited from filing for bankruptcy relief again for 180 days if you requested a dismissal of your bankruptcy case after a creditor filed for relief from the automatic stay.  Learn more about dismissal with prejudice here.

Dismissal without Prejudice

While your case is still dismissed, you land yourself in a slightly better situation if it’s dismissed without prejudice. The biggest difference between dismissal with prejudice versus dismissal without prejudice is that you can file a bankruptcy case again immediately if your previous bankruptcy case was dismissed without prejudice. However, there may be limitations set on the automatic stay when you choose to file for bankruptcy relief again.

You may have your case dismissed without prejudice if you made a mistake on your petition such as a missing or incorrect form, missing pay stubs and other supporting documents, not paying court fees, and not attending a credit counseling course or other mandatory meetings. You can also have your case dismissed without prejudice if you stop making payments on a Chapter 13 repayment plan or if you’re not eligible for any form of bankruptcy.

Because filing for bankruptcy is such a complex legal process, it’s generally in your best interests to make use of the services qualified legal professionals offer. For the help our experienced attorneys provide when you file for bankruptcy in Pipestone, MN, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today.

While Chapter 7 bankruptcy is designed to help individuals and small businesses with low incomes and dischargeable debts, Chapter 13 is more beneficial to those who may have higher incomes yet still struggle with financial obligations. Because in most cases you cannot qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with an income higher than the Minnesota median income level, Chapter 13 can be your saving grace for relieving debt and restructuring your finances in a manner that is suited to your income. If you’re considering filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Waseca, MN, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can offer legal advice and assistance throughout the process.

The process of debt reorganization that takes place during a Chapter 13 case requires the examination of your different debts to determine how they can be handled. One aspect of your debts and your property that is analyzed is the subject of liens your creditors may have on your house, vehicle or other property.  Creditors with such liens have debts that are secured or collateralized by your property.  If you don’t pay the creditors, they can take their collateral, sell it and use the sale proceeds to retire the debts you owe them.

If your creditors have a secured liens on your property, you’ll have to continue repaying those debts directly to those creditors during your Chapter 13 repayment plan. However, there are some ways you can strip secured liens from the property serving as collateral, thereby turning them into unsecured debts. In most Chapter 13 repayment plans, only small percentages of unsecured debts are paid back.

Strippable Liens

 If there is a “junior” lien on an asset you own, you may remove that lien and turn the secured debt into unsecured debt.  A common example of a junior lien is a second or third mortgage on your house.  For example, if you own a house that has a market value of $150,000.00 and there is a first mortgage with Creditor A in the amount of $155,000.00, a second mortgage with Creditor B in the amount of $25,000.00 and a third mortgage with Creditor C in the amount of $10,000.00, you have total mortgage debt in the amount of $190,000.00 against an asset that is worth $150,000.00.  The house is collateral for all three mortgages.  However, the mortgages with Creditor B and Creditor Care junior liens to the mortgage held by Creditor A.  They are lower in priority with regard to foreclosure rights or collection rights to the property.  The mortgages with Creditor B and Creditor C are wholly unsecured mortgages because the entire market value of the house is less than the amount of the mortgage held by Creditor A.  If Creditor A were to foreclose its mortgage on the house, Creditor B and Creditor C would get nothing because the entire foreclosure sale proceeds would be extinguished through payment on the mortgage held by Creditor A.

When you have wholly unsecured junior mortgages or junior liens on your house, such liens can be stripped off of your house through the Chapter 13 bankruptcy process.  When a junior lien is stripped, the subject mortgage debt, is treated as an unsecured debt.  It is no different than a credit card debt or a medical debt.  This means that you do not have to fully repay the debt.  It will be completely discharged when your chapter 13 bankruptcy is concluded.

Understanding when you can and cannot strip a junior lien can be difficult without the guidance of a qualified legal professional. Take advantage of the expert counsel our bankruptcy attorneys provide for your bankruptcy case. Contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today for more information about filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Waseca, MN.

In most cases of bankruptcy, the individuals or businesses that file are struggling with multiple types of debt. These debts can involve mortgages, credit card debt, tax debts, and even personal loans. If you’re finding it impossible to meet payments on your debts, filing for bankruptcy might be right for you. Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help you decide, based on your own situation, whether you should file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy or Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Fairmont, MN.

If you’re overwhelmed by debts that can be discharged in a successful Chapter 7 case, then liquidation bankruptcy is most likely the best choice. Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases are often most effective when a large portion of your debt types are secured debts.

Secured Debts

Secured debts involve property. In short, if you’ve agreed to make payments on a property that you have rented, borrowed, or bought, you have a secured debt on that property. When secured debts are treated in a Chapter 7 case, they’re most beneficial to all parties involved. This is because the debt can be discharged, relieving you of all payment obligations to that debt, and the property asset involved in the debt can be liquidated to repay your creditor. However, even during a Chapter 7 case, there are several ways a secured debt can be handled.

Surrendering Secured Properties

If you choose to surrender your properties involved in a secured debt, you’ll simply return them to your creditor. Under the protection of Chapter 7 bankruptcy, this surrender will remove your creditor’s lien on the property and erase your liability to the loan when the debt is discharged. This is the most common action under Chapter 7 for secured debts.

Redeeming Secured Properties

If you wish to retain the property involved in a secured debt (for example, if you want to keep your car or house), you can choose to redeem it. This requires you to pay your creditor the value they would request for replacing the property without taking the interest you owe on the debt into account. If you owe a large amount more in loan interest than the property itself, this may be a beneficial choice.

Reaffirming Secured Debts

Finally, you may choose to reaffirm a secured debt after your bankruptcy case is concluded. In most cases, this will reinstate your original debt on the property and loan, but you may attempt negotiation with your creditor for a lower debt. This protects creditors from reselling your property at lower costs than you owe, and it allows you to keep your property with an opportunity to negotiate lowered debt obligations.

If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy, you have to choose which type of bankruptcy will be most beneficial given your financial situation. Contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. today for expert legal advice and assistance with Chapter 13 bankruptcy and Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Fairmont, MN.

The benefits of filing for bankruptcy vary between the different chapters. If you choose to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you benefit from the fresh start it provides after your discharge order is issued by the court in about ninety to one hundred and twenty days. If you choose to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you benefit from a restructuring of your debts into a manageable repayment plan and you will receive a discharge order discharging your debts after your repayment plan is concluded in three to five years. However, for individual consumers filing for either chapter, there is some overlap of the different benefits each type of bankruptcy provides. If you are considering filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Redwood Falls, MN, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help you find ways to gather benefits that you might get during a Chapter 7 case as well.

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is designed to restructure your debts into a new repayment plan that will last from three to five years. A common misconception about this restructuring is that the filer will continue to repay all of one’s debts in full over the payment plan period. This is true in some cases but most debts will only be partially paid.

Debts Discharged

While all of your priority unsecured debts, such as most tax debts and child support debts, must be paid in full in a Chapter 13 case, there are some nonpriority unsecured debts that will only be partially paid and then the balance will be discharged.

1. Personal Loans: Any personal loans from friends, family, or acquaintances are considered unsecured nonpriority debts. These “loose contract” loans will be only partially paid with Chapter 13 bankruptcy; however, if they are secured by property or other assets, the creditors may take back those assets if you do not pay the loans back.
2. Credit Card Debt: This is the most common type of unsecured nonpriority debt that filers hold when entering bankruptcy. With Chapter 13, that credit card debt can be wiped out after being partially paid through the chapter 13 repayment plan.
3. Some Tax Obligations: The majority of your tax debts must be repaid at a decided percentage with your Chapter 13 repayment plan. However, if you have very old tax debts, they can be considered nonpriority unsecured debts and be discharged with Chapter 13.
4. Medical Bills: Medical bills can be crippling, but when you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, those debts will be discharged if they were accumulated when your insurance did not completely cover your medical care.
5. Other: If there is a judgment against you for negligence or contract breach involving a certain nonpriority unsecured debt, it’s possible such a debt can be discharged in Chapter 13. Debts involving injury to another person caused by drunk driving will not be discharged.

If you are considering filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Redwood Falls, MN, or if you are struggling with these kinds of debts among other financial obligations, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help. Contact us at (507) 387-7200 today for information about how bankruptcy can work for you.

When you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you’ll be required to meet a varying roster of requirements throughout the process for your case and repayment plan to continue from stage to stage. If you met the stipulations set by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code necessary to move your petition into the next stage, you’ll begin the restructuring of your debts into a suitable repayment plan. Because building a proposal for a repayment plan that your trustee will accept is the most difficult stage of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the help of a bankruptcy attorney is critical at this point. Behm Law Group, Ltd. offers the legal advice and assistance you need for a successful petition for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Redwood Falls, MN.

One of the many requirements that your repayment plan proposal must meet for approval is the passing of the Feasibility Requirement. Your trustee will examine your plan proposal to ensure you can meet your outlined payments month to month. While it is essentially a way of determining if your plan is viable given your current and projected future financial situation, the term “feasibility” holds two meanings in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.

Feasibility for You

Whether or not your plan is feasible is determined in part by your own financial situation. If you can meet payments, your plan is feasible. If your income changes and you can no longer meet payments, your plan becomes infeasible. The Feasibility Requirement may be tested against your situation several times throughout your 3-5 year repayment plan. What the filer understands as the “Feasibility Requirement” most often depends entirely on one’s financial abilities, but in some cases, it can refer to another type of feasibility.

Feasibility for Your Trustee

The Feasibility Requirement in a Chapter 13 case can also depend on Mathematical Feasibility. Mathematical Feasibility (or Disbursement Feasibility) comes into consideration after the filer passes their own requirements for the Feasibility Requirement. If you can feasibly complete your repayment plan, your trustee must also consider the disbursing of payments to creditors. Because some plans are proposed based on inaccurate information, trustees must calculate the sum transactions. The necessary output to the creditors might not always be equal to the input in the filer’s proposed plan. If this is the case there’s a mathematical infeasibility, and the plan cannot be confirmed until the inaccuracies are rectified.

The process of proposing a repayment plan when filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Redwood Falls, MN, can be somewhat complicated and difficult. Don’t hesitate to contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 for more information about the counsel and support our experienced attorneys can provide.

If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy, you should understand that you must not only fully disclose all property that you own either entirely or in which you have any partial ownership interest but also provide your attorney sufficient documentation substantiating any such ownership interests/claims.  You must provide your attorney with copies of all titles, deeds, real estate mortgages, life insurance policies, retirement account documentation, homeowner’s insurance policy information, vehicle loan promissory notes, financial statements, tax assessment statements, tax returns, copies of judgments and all other like documentation.  Generally an attorney will require you to provide your financial information for the past 3 years. This means you’ll have to provide all personal records along with your public records. Because gathering your financial information correctly can be difficult without experience and legal knowledge, the help of a bankruptcy attorney is essential. Behm Law Group, Ltd. offers professional legal support and counsel that can help you throughout the process of filing for bankruptcy in St. Peter, MN.

While you gather your personal records for your attorney to consider in relation to your case, you should also consult with the local court administrator’s office, court recorder’s office and county tax assessor’s office to examine any public records you may have against you. Records such as deeds, county tax assessor valuations for any real estate you own, judgment liens and title certificates for vehicles are public records.

Another example of a public record of your financial history is a property lien or mortgage lien.

What is a Property Lien?

Property liens are a matter of public record and they legitimize and provide notice of the claim your creditor has on your property to secure the money you owe to that creditor.  It is used by a creditor to provide public notice to other creditors that it has first secured standing on certain property you own.  In other words, it is announcing to all other creditors that it is first in line to collect its debt against the property.  For example, if there is a mortgage on your home regarding money you owe to a bank, the mortgage will be publicly listed in the county recorder’s office.  Any other bank who may want to lend you money will search the county recorder’s office and see the property lien to the first bank.  Any such bank will understand that it will not be able to utilize your house as collateral for any financing it extends to you to the detriment of the first bank.  If it does elect to extend financing to you and if it does want to use your house as collateral, the property lien to the first bank will provide the second bank notice that it will be second in line to the first bank if you default on your payments and it proceeds to initiate foreclosure proceedings against your house.  Liens work to protect a creditor’s claim on the property if you file for bankruptcy relief. A properly filed property lien is enforceable against any and all parties in a bankruptcy proceeding.

A bankruptcy filing does not extinguish the creditor’s property lien.  If you want to retain your house through a bankruptcy proceeding, you must continue to pay on any outstanding property liens against it.  Any equity or value above the amount of any property liens can be protected from your creditors, however.  For instance, if your house is worth $100,000 and you owe $20,000, you have $80,000 worth of value or equity.  You can protect the $80,000 equity/value against all of your creditors and against the bankruptcy trustee but you must still pay the underlying $20,000 to the bank that holds the property lien.  If you don’t pay the underlying $20,000 property lien, the bank that holds the property lien can still initiate foreclosure proceedings against your house.

With the help of a bankruptcy attorney you can easily access public records concerning your finances to determine if you have any property on which your creditors have claimed property liens. It’s important to be aware of any liens on your property, especially if you’re filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

For more information about property liens and to learn how Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help you file for bankruptcy in St. Peter, MN, contact us at (507) 387-7200 today.

In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee and United States Trustee have more control and authority over the process.  In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, however, the journey can be much more complex and requires more time and effort from you. Because you play such a significant part in determining the results of your Chapter 13 case, working with a legal professional can guide your hand in a way that will give you a plan that you can benefit from as much as possible. Behm Law Group, Ltd. can provide you with expert legal counsel with the filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition in Jackson, MN.

One of the most important parts of your Chapter 13 case that you’ll play a part in deciding is your repayment plan. In the process of reorganizing your debts in a Chapter 13 repayment plan, you are required to propose a payment plan based on your income, your living expenses and the claims or debts/amounts you owe to your creditors.

Claims

Chapter 13 bankruptcy claims are essentially the amount of debt claimed to be owed by the debtor to the creditor. These claims can be made by a debtor and a creditor alike, and they are used to determine the amount to be repaid to each creditor during the repayment plan term. Debtors can file claims based on their own estimates of what they owe their creditors.  Also, debtors can file claims on behalf of creditors if creditors either forget or refuse to do so.  Creditors can also file claims to denote how much they were owed by the debtor when the bankruptcy case was filed.  The Chapter 13 trustee pays creditors according to their claims.  If creditors do not file claims, they don’t get paid anything by the trustee.  When the claims of debtors and creditors differ, formal claim disputes can arise.

Creditor vs. Debtor

Claims of the creditor and the debtor may be in dispute. If a debtor doesn’t know the correct amount one owes to a creditor and then files a claim based upon only the debtor’s personal estimate, the impacted creditor can dispute that claim and change the outcome of a Chapter 13 repayment plan.  A creditor can file its own claim which could be significantly higher than the debtor’s estimate.  In such a case, that creditor would receive a larger payment every month from the Chapter 13 trustee.  Similarly, a debtor can dispute a claim a creditor makes if a debtor has viable proof of inaccuracy. When disputes are settled, a final plan is established. However, the plan may be further altered if the bankruptcy trustee appointed to administer the case doesn’t agree with the repayment structure.  For instance, the trustee may think that the chapter 13 plan does not pay a sufficient dividend to one’s unsecured creditors. Further, the trustee may disagree with the amounts of the monthly expenses claimed by a debtor.  The trustee may also believe that a debtor’s income has been understated.  The trustee can petition the bankruptcy court to alter the terms of your chapter 13 plan and the trustee could request that the payment amount be increased.  If a debtor and the trustee disagree about the payments or other terms of a debtor’s chapter 13 plan, the matter is submitted to the bankruptcy court for determination via a contested confirmation hearing.

If you plan to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, taking advantage of the help of an expert bankruptcy attorney can change the outcome of your repayment plan. For more information about how Chapter 13 works, or for legal advice and assistance with your petition for bankruptcy in Jackson, MN, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today.

Working through a debt reorganization is a complicated process. All aspects of your financial situation, including the details of your income, property, debts, and expenses must be taken into account. Most individuals who choose debt reorganization file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The long process of building a repayment plan with Chapter 13 bankruptcy in New Ulm, MN, can be difficult, but Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help you avoid issues that may lead to the dismissal of your case.

To have your debts reorganized into a Chapter 13 repayment plan that fits your financial situation and remains fair to your creditors, you have to pass a number of requirements. One of these stipulations is that you must pass the feasibility requirement in order for your bankruptcy repayment plan to be confirmed or approved by the bankruptcy court. Your trustee will expect you to be able to continue making payments regularly throughout your plan. The trustee will question your ability to pay and will analyze the feasibility of your chapter 13 repayment plan in the event of the following:

• Meeting the First Payments: Because your plan will be put into effect within 30 days of your filing as a sort of “test” before it’s confirmed, you may be required to make 3-6 payments to your trustee before your plan is actually set in stone. It’s likely you can make these payments if you have worked through the plan with a bankruptcy lawyer, but in some cases, plans are dismissed even before confirmation—often because a filer’s financial circumstances have changed.
• Balloon Payments: During your repayment plan period, it’s possible your trustee will request a future “balloon payment.” Balloon payments occur at the end of a chapter 13 plan term.  Balloon payments are necessitated where you may have missed a few monthly payments or you may have made only partial payments during some months.  At the end of the chapter 13 plan period, a large balloon payment of the remaining balance of your accumulated payments must be met for your plan to remain feasible.
• Income Change: Because Chapter 13 plans span 3-5 year periods, it’s possible for the filer’s income to change during that period. If your income increases, you may be required to increase payment amounts each month. If your income decreases, your plan feasibility will come into question, and your trustee will investigate your ability to keep meeting payments.  Your plan payments could also be lowered.
• Asset Sales: In the event you choose to sell an asset and use the proceeds gained to meet payments in your plan, your trustee may investigate the market values and have input in the selling of asset, especially if the market is poor. If you cannot make a payment without making the asset sale, the feasibility your chapter 13 plan may come into question.

There are several other reasons you may not pass the feasibility requirement for your repayment plan when you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in New Ulm, MN, but with the support and counsel of Behm Law Group, Ltd., you can avoid many difficulties of the process. For more information, contact us at (507) 387-7200 today.