Category: Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is one of those things in life, like so many other legal processes, that’s easier said than done. It’s a complex process with many opportunities for misstep, yet little room for error. If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy with a high income and a desire to keep many of your assets, Chapter 13 is your best option. However, because the process is so nuanced, there are many ways things could go wrong. Behm Law Group, Ltd. provides the help you need to successfully file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Waseca, MN.

A major part of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy involves creating a repayment plan that your bankruptcy trustee will approve. This can be a difficult task, and without the help of a knowledgeable legal aide, your plan might be rejected for any number of reasons.

Plan Rejection

Your bankruptcy trustee will—in no uncertain circumstances—reject your Chapter 13 repayment plan if any of the following points are true to your situation:

1. You don’t have a high enough income to continue meeting your monthly repayment installments.
2. Your plan period isn’t the correct length to match your income. If your income is lower than the Minnesota median, you’ll have a three year plan. If your income is higher than the Minnesota median, you’ll have a five year plan.
3. Your plan doesn’t include complete payments to debts you’re required to pay back, such as your priority debts.
4. Your plan doesn’t include the dedication of all your disposable income to your unsecured creditors.
5. Your plan doesn’t pass the Best Interest of Creditors test.
6. Your plan isn’t considered in Good Faith by your trustee or the courts.
7. You haven’t given all of the documents that decide your debt repayment requirements.
8. You’ve missed payments on a previously-approved plan.

If your plan is rejected, you’ll have the opportunity to fix your errors and file again, or you can attempt to negotiate the reasons for rejection with your trustee. Of course, if you choose to work with the experienced bankruptcy attorneys at Behm Law Group, Ltd., it’s highly unlikely your plan will be rejected.

For more information about rejected plans and filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Waseca, MN, contact us at (507) 387-7200 today.

Bankruptcy in the U.S. is designed to give debtors methods of working through their financial obligations in a way that offers more leniency and payment options when repaying accumulated debt. Whether you file for reorganization or liquidation types of bankruptcy, you’ll be given a set of options that will help solve your debt case. However beneficial bankruptcy is to the filer, the process must also be equitable to the creditors involved. Behm Law Group, Ltd. offers legal advice and assistance that will help you navigate through your petition for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Fairmont, MN.

If you file for reorganization bankruptcy, it’s likely you’ll be filing for Chapter 13. In this case, you’ll be working with a bankruptcy trustee to establish a repayment plan. The results of this plan will allow you to reorganize how you repay your debts, changing the amount that must be repaid and the time period in which it’s repaid. Your plan can make your debts vastly more manageable given your financial situation, but it’s required to also meet the best interest of your creditors.

Whether your repayment plan is fair to your creditors or not is a status determined by the Best Interest of Creditors Test.

Best Interest of Creditors Test

In a nutshell, you must repay priority debt creditors, such as tax creditors or child support creditors, the full amount you owe. This is a standard for all Chapter 13 cases. What varies from case to case is the amount you’ll repay to your non priority unsecured creditors, such as medical debts and credit card debts. This is where the Best Interest of Creditors Test comes into play. What the test measures is how much you’re repaying to your creditors, and if that amount is fair. The bottom line is that your repayment plan must repay, at minimum, the amount that creditors would have received from your liquidated assets if you had filed for Chapter 7 instead. This in turn depends on your property values and the exemptions you can claim.

Not only does the test decide whether you’re meeting your creditors’ best interests, but it also partially determines how much you’ll pay to priority unsecured creditors in your repayment plan.

The Best Interest of Creditors Test is most effective in determining if you’re meeting the minimum requirement for amounts repaid to nonpriority unsecured creditors. It doesn’t take your disposable income into account, but that amount will be considered outside of the test to determine the maximum amount you must repay. For legal help with your repayment plan and working through filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Fairmont, MN, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd.at (507) 387-7200 today.

If you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and reach an approved petition and repayment plan, it’s guaranteed that you must use all of your disposable monthly income to meet your monthly debt repayment requirements. Before you file your petition, however, there are approved ways to lower your monthly requirements by lowering the amount categorized as disposable income. Working with a bankruptcy attorney during this time is important to ensure your safety against accidental fraud associated with transferring incomes. Behm Law Group LTD. provides the legal advice and assistance you need throughout the process of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Redwood Falls, MN

One way to decrease your monthly payments by lowering your disposable income is by dedicating some of that income to charitable donations.

Charitable Deductions:

In order to reduce your disposable income with charitable donations, your donation expenses have to meet certain standards set by the US Bankruptcy Courts. First, the charity of your choice must be qualified under the tax code as a legitimate, government-approved religious or charitable organization. You can also donate to the government for public use of your funds, to your church, or to tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charities. Second, the donations must come from your own disposable income and not through other means under your control, such as your business or trust fund. Additionally, the donation must be monetary and the organization can’t be politically involved in legislative affairs or candidacies.

Fraudulent Transfer:

You may deduct up to 15% of your gross annual income for charitable donations to reduce the disposable income and lower monthly payment requirements in a Chapter 13 repayment plan. Any amounts over that 15% donated prior to filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be considered as breaking the fraudulent transfer law. This means that your bankruptcy trustee can take back the amount over 15% from the charity you chose for those donations. You will also have to prove you’ve been making regular donations to an approved charity to have the full amount of your expenses deducted from your disposable income.

In the months leading up to your petitioning for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Redwood Falls, MN, you can do a lot to optimize your repayment plan. With our bankruptcy attorneys advising you along the way, you can keep your petition legitimate as well as getting the most out of what Chapter 13 bankruptcy has to offer. For more information, contact Behm Law Group LTD. at (507) 387-7200.

If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy, you’ve probably started to do some research of your own and learning about your options. If you think you may qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you might have already discovered that a long road of meeting financial and legal obligations set by the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, your bankruptcy trustee, and your creditors is ahead of you. Navigating these requirements is crucial to successfully working through a Chapter 13 petition and completing a repayment plan, but it can be a difficult process without the help of a well-versed professional. Behm Law Group, LTD. can provide that help with our experienced bankruptcy lawyers in Fairmont, MN

One stipulation you must continue to meet if you’re about to begin your repayment plan is the Best Effort requirement.

What is “Best Effort?”

Essentially, the Best Effort requirement demands that you must be able to prove you will use the entirety of your disposable income—any income you do not spend on taxes, household needs, transportation, or other debt payments—on meeting your monthly repayment plan installments. Specifically, your disposable income must be used to make payments to nonpriority unsecured creditors in your repayment plan.

Nonpriority Unsecured Debts

Your nonpriority unsecured debts (such as credit card debt, personal loans, and medical bills) may not always be paid back in full like your priority debts. The amount you pay back to your nonpriority unsecured creditors is again determined by your average income. If your income average over the six months prior to filing for bankruptcy falls below the Minnesota median income, the length of time you have to repay your nonpriority unsecured debts back can be as short as 36 months or 3 years; your creditors, accordingly, would receive lesser amounts. If your income is higher than state median, the length of time you have to repay your creditors must be 60 months or 5 years. In such a case, your creditors would receive larger amounts.

With the right guidance it’s easy to meet the Best Effort requirement and still have deduction options for your disposable income. Behm Law Group, LTD. can provide that guidance in the months leading up to your petition and throughout the process of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. For more information about how our experienced bankruptcy lawyers in Fairmont, MN can give you the best legal advice and assistance with your bankruptcy case, contact us at (507) 387-7200 today.

Your disposable income plays a large part in determining your path when it comes to filing for bankruptcy as an individual. This income is taken into consideration with your debts and the value of your assets and properties. The result decides whether you qualify for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. If your results don’t pass the Means Test, you may opt to work with a bankruptcy trustee to build a repayment plan and file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. If you’re considering filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in St. Peter, MN, Behm Law Group, Ltd.  can provide legal assistance with your repayment plan and your petition.

A debt repayment plan with Chapter 13 bankruptcy is designed to reorganize your standing debts while keeping things balanced and fair between you and your creditors. You can’t propose a repayment plan to your trustee and the courts, however, if you don’t prove your good faith in repaying debts in full within a five-year period.

Good Faith:

Filing your petition for Chapter 13 bankruptcy covers most of the required information, forms, and schedules for the process, but you must also provide your proposal for a repayment plan. The outline of your plan proposal describes your monthly payments towards priority debts, secured debts, and unsecured debts, and the term in which the selected amount of those debts will be repaid. This is where your “good faith” comes in.

In order for your petition to be fully-approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, your bankruptcy trustee must be able to approve your good faith in using all your disposable income to meet your monthly repayment requirements.

Lacking Good Faith:

There are several reasons why your bankruptcy trustee may determine that you’re not in good faith for your repayment plan. Most of the time, if you’re lacking good faith, there will be some inconsistencies with your income, deductions, or petition. For example, if your current monthly income is subject to change during your repayment period and you do not notify the courts, your plan may be denied. If you’re found lacking in good faith, you may respond with an explanation, and your trustee may reexamine your standing.

Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help you navigate the process of determining a repayment plan and holding a good faith standing when you file your petition for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in St. Peter, MN. If you’re considering bankruptcy contact us at (507) 387-7200 today.

Most individuals considering filing for bankruptcy have two main options: filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. In the case of Chapter 7, a filer has qualified for this type of bankruptcy after passing the Means Test, determining that their debts and financial obligations outweigh their disposable income and estate value. The process of Chapter 7 liquidates assets, uses asset value to repay creditors, and discharges debts. However, even if a high income prevents qualification for Chapter 7, accumulated debts can cripple finances. If you cannot file for Chapter 7, you may choose debt reorganization with Chapter 13 bankruptcy. For any type of petition, Behm Law Group, Ltd. can help you through the process of filing for bankruptcy in Mankato, MN.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is designed to take your monthly reasonable and necessary living expenses and weigh them against your monthly “net” take home income and the value of your assets. This type of bankruptcy reorganizes your debt repayment, effectively restructuring the process by which the creditors are paid to the best possible advantage to you.  Generally, unsecured creditors (credit card debts, medical debts, etc.) and priority creditors (tax debts, child support arrearages, etc.), receive no interest, no late fees, or any other default fees through the Chapter 13 process.

Because Chapter 13 cases vary so widely, it can be difficult for prospective bankruptcy candidates to apply the basic description of debt reorganization onto their own situation. Though the provisions of a Chapter 13 repayment plan may change from case to case, there are some constants across the board.

Amount to Pay

With most debts, a Chapter 13 repayment plan doesn’t change the amount you have to pay each particular creditor.  Rather, you make one monthly payment to a Chapter 13 trustee and the trustee divides that payment among your creditors pursuant to the provisions of your Chapter 13 plan.  The debts you will have to pay in full can include:

1. Priority debts, such as alimony, child support, tax debts, and wages owed to employees.
2. Mortgage delinquencies, if you plan on keeping your home throughout the bankruptcy process.

Other debts, however, may only be partially paid. This portion can be between 0% to 100% of what you originally owed the creditors. What you will have to pay is determined by your nonexempt estate value, your disposable income available to repay debt, and the period of your repayment plan.

Repayment Plan Length

Simply put, your income level directly determines the period of your repayment plan. There are two basic options when it comes to balancing your income with your debt repayment.

1. If your monthly income is higher than the monthly median income in Minnesota for a household of similar size to your own, you will be required to file a five-year repayment plan.
2. If your monthly income is lower than the monthly median income in Minnesota for a household of a similar size to your own, you may opt for either a three-year plan or a five-year plan.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy may seem more complicated than Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but for many, it’s exactly the right choice for financial recovery. For more information about filing for bankruptcy in Mankato, MN, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200.

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.

Last weekend throughout the New Ulm, Minnesota area and across the country, folks set their clocks ahead one hour. Time has been a topic of conversation throughout the last week as we’ve been adjusting to new times for daylight and nightfall and work to recover lost sleep.

When it comes to your personal bankruptcy filing, time is also an important topic of conversation. Do you know how long it takes to undergo a Chapter 13 filing or how many days you have to wait before initiating your petition?

In today’s post, we’ll examine a few important aspects of your personal Chapter 13 bankruptcy timeline:

180 Days: After going through a counseling session with an attorney, the credit counseling certificate of completion you receive is good for 180 days. If you don’t file within this 180 day time frame, the certificate of completion will expire and you will have to re-take the credit counseling course and pay the course fee again.

30 Days: Once bankruptcy has been filed, the first payment to your bankruptcy trustee will be due within 30 days.

45 Days: In about forty-five days, the court will hold a formal creditor meeting. This will be an opportunity for you to testify under oath about information regarding your bankruptcy filing.

Two Hours: This is the length of the required bankruptcy education course once your case has been accepted and discharged.

Three to Five Years: With Chapter 13 cases, this is the typical amount of time it takes to formally discharge bankruptcy. This is also contingent on the successful completion of the predetermined pay schedule.

Time is of the essence in the New Ulm, Minnesota area. If you’re considering a personal bankruptcy filing, or if you feel like Chapter 13 may be the best option for you, it’s important to understand the length of time required for such a case.

For further information regarding your bankruptcy case, or to learn more about the process of filing, contact the professionals at Behm Law Group Ltd. today.