Debtors who seek a fresh start through bankruptcy will often have secured and unsecured debt. Usually, the unsecured debt is greater than the secured debt. Debtors generally have significant, unsecured credit card debt. With the advent of online lenders offering quick, unsecured debt to borrowers, those lenders will likely have hold significant claims in bankruptcy…

When a debtor files for bankruptcy, he or she creates a “bankruptcy estate.” In broad terms, this estate is composed of any legal or equitable interest of the debtor in property as of the commencement of the case.  To note, the legislative history indicates that a bankruptcy filing “bring anything of value that the debtors…

Consumers dealing with large debt and minimal prospects of repaying that debt often turn to bankruptcy to get a fresh start. Through the bankruptcy, the debtor can emerge debt-free and not have to live with collection calls and worries. The United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Code”) is confusing. What’s more, there are various types of…

One of the most unique and perhaps most important features of the bankruptcy process is the automatic stay. The automatic stay, in section 362 of the US Bankruptcy Code, halts creditor collection of debtor assets. It is effective as soon as the debtor files for bankruptcy and provides the debtor breathing room to reorganize get…

In 1968, Congress passed the Truth in Lending Act, or TILA, which was the first major Congressional venture regulating consumer credit. “The purpose of this regulation is to promote the informed use of consumer credit by requiring disclosures about its terms and cost. The regulation also includes substantive protections. It gives consumers the right to…

Creditors that hold debts secured by depreciating personal property, such loans secured by cars and boats, are entitled to receive “adequate protection” payments while a debtor undergoes the bankruptcy process. The underlying theme of adequate protection is designed to protect an entity from a decrease in value of its interest in property of the estate…

The U.S. Bankruptcy Code allows individual chapter 7 debtors to redeem certain tangible personal property, when such property is intended primarily for personal, family or household use, by paying the secured creditor the allowed amount of the secured claim. Congress created the right of redemption “to protect debtors against ill-advised reaffirmations and the high replacement…

Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code provides a liquidation process for consumer debtors. It accomplishes the twin objectives of bankruptcy, providing a fresh start to the “honest but unfortunate debtor” and ensuring an equitable and ratable distribution of assets to creditors. A chapter 7 debtor enters bankruptcy with an unmanageable debt load and insufficient…

The Bankruptcy Code provides debtors, unsecured creditors, and trustees the capacity to modify a chapter 13 plan, even after confirmation, due to changed circumstances. Modification, under of a Chapter 13 plan must be made post-confirmation of the plan and pre-completion of payments. A debtor, chapter 13 trustee or creditor holding an unsecured claim may request…

For chapter 13 debtors in general, garnering a discharge is the goal of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which cannot be achieved for at least three to five years. In many cases, a debtor may not achieve a discharge at all. Procedure to Achieve a Discharge Procedurally, a chapter 13 debtor is entitled to a…