Personal Bankruptcy Laws For Dummies

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ISBN: 9780471773801 | 0471773808
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 1/4/2006

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With tips on understanding -- and surviving -- the new bankruptcy laws If you're considering bankruptcy, you need straightforward answers and reliable advice. This handy guide covers it all -- so you can get your finances in line and your life back on track. This updated new edition covers everything you need to know about the new bankruptcy law and includes even better resources. Don't get desperate -- get out of debt instead! Discover how to * Weigh the consequences of bankruptcy * Manage your spending * Find professional help you can trust * Decide on the right type of bankruptcy * Pass the means test * Keep more of your stuff

Introduction

(1)

About This Book

(1)

Conventions Used in This Book

(1)

What You're Not to Read

(1)

Foolish Assumptions

(1)

How This Book Is Organized

(1)

Part I: Bankruptcy: The Big Picture

(1)

Part II: Avoiding Bankruptcy

(1)

Part III: Keeping Your Stuff

(1)

Part IV: Getting Rid of (Most of) Your Debt

(1)

Part V: Strategies for a Successful Bankruptcy

(1)

Part VI: Enjoying Your Fresh Start

(1)

Part VII: The Part of Tens

(1)

Icons Used in This Book

(1)

Where to Go from Here

(2)

Part I: Bankruptcy: The Big Picture

(108)

Considering Bankruptcy

(18)

Viewing Bankruptcy in a Historical Context

(2)

Debunking Bankruptcy Myths

(4)

People who go bankrupt are sleazy deadbeats

(2)

Bankruptcy is the easy way out for folks who can pay their bills

(1)

Bankruptcy threatens the ethical foundations of our society

(1)

Honest folks pay a ``tax'' to support those who are bankrupt

(1)

Understanding What You Can Gain Through Bankruptcy

(4)

Stopping creditors in their tracks

(1)

Wiping out most of your debts

(1)

Catching up on back mortgage and car payments

(1)

Filing bankruptcy to pay some debts over time

(1)

Using bankruptcy to pay all your debts

(1)

Knowing What You Can Lose in Bankruptcy

(1)

Considering Alternatives to Bankruptcy

(1)

Introducing the Different Types of Personal Bankruptcy

(2)

Liquidations (Chapter 7)

(1)

Consumer reorganizations (Chapter 13)

(1)

Weighing the Consequences of Not Filing Bankruptcy

(2)

Claims secured by your car

(1)

Claims secured by your home

(1)

Student loans

(1)

Support obligations

(1)

Fines and restitution

(1)

Taxes

(1)

Lawsuits

(1)

Using the Statute of Limitations

(1)

Stopping the Bleeding

(20)

Realizing You're Not Alone

(1)

Preventing Further Damage Now

(2)

Comparing Your Income with Your Spending

(7)

Focusing on how much income you have

(1)

Coming to grips with where your money goes

(5)

Assessing Your Spending Habits

(3)

The devil's in the details: Scrutinizing your expenses

(1)

Are you a spendaholic?

(1)

Getting a Handle on What You Own

(3)

Figuring Out How Much You Owe

(4)

Meeting the Players

(10)

Finding Professional Help

(4)

Answering why a lawyer is a must

(1)

Finding a good lawyer

(1)

Understanding what to expect from your lawyer

(1)

Paying the piper

(2)

Getting to Know the Players

(6)

Bankruptcy judge

(1)

Case trustee

(2)

U.S. Trustee

(2)

Creditors

(1)

Deciding Which Type of Bankruptcy Is Best for You

(12)

Deciding Whether to Fly Solo or As a Married Couple

(1)

Looking at Your Probable Bankruptcy Choices

(4)

Straight bankruptcy

(1)

Debt repayment plans

(2)

Deciding Between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13

(5)

Recognizing when Chapter 7 is best

(1)

Considering Chapter 13 as your number-one option

(4)

Considering Other Types of Bankruptcy

(1)

Large reorganizations

(1)

Reorganizations for family farmers and fishermen

(1)

Adding Chapters 7 and 13

(1)

Changing Your Mind

(1)

Confronting the Means Test

(22)

Putting the Means Test in Perspective

(1)

Taking the Median Test

(6)

Computing your income

(4)

Comparing your income to the median

(1)

Deducting Your Expenses and Taking the Means Test

(11)

IRS National and Local Standards

(1)

Other necessary expenses

(4)

Specific BARF deductions

(2)

Deductions for certain debt payments

(3)

Figuring Out How Much of Your Debts You Can Pay

(1)

Passing the Means Test by Showing ``Special Circumstances''

(1)

Considering Ways around the Means Test

(1)

Getting Kicked Out of Chapter 7 for Abuse

(1)

Getting from Here to There: The Bankruptcy Process

(24)

Navigating the BARF Maze

(2)

Getting Organized Before Talking to a Lawyer

(5)

Doing your financial homework

(3)

Tracking down your creditors

(2)

Meeting Your Lawyer for the First Time

(1)

Arranging for Credit Counseling

(1)

Completing the Paperwork

(1)

Filing Your Bankruptcy Case

(1)

Using the Automatic Stay

(4)

Exceptions to the automatic stay

101

(1)

Situations where the automatic stay does not apply due to a prior bankruptcy

101

(2)

Receiving Notice of the Creditors' Meeting

103

(1)

Supplying Copies of Tax Returns

103

(1)

Attending the 341 Meeting

104

(1)

Signing Up for Your Financial Management Course

104

(1)

Working Your Way through Chapter 7

105

(5)

The 341 meeting in a Chapter 7 case

105

(2)

Dealing with secured creditors

107

(1)

Amending paperwork

107

(1)

Adding creditors

107

(1)

Sweating out key deadlines

108

(1)

Attending a discharge hearing

108

(1)

Closing no-asset cases

108

(1)

Administering asset cases

109

(1)

Anticipating complications

110

(1)

Working Your Way through Chapter 13

110

(2)

Filing your plan and beginning your payments

110

(1)

The 341 meeting in a Chapter 13 case

110

(1)

Confirming your repayment plan

111

(1)

Going through valuation hearings

111

(1)

Filing annual reports

111

(1)

Looking at the claims process

112

(1)

Comparing the Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Process

112

(3)

Part II: Avoiding Bankruptcy

115

(38)

Considering Alternatives to Bankruptcy

117

(18)

Appreciating the Negative Consequences of Bankruptcy

118

(2)

The drawbacks of bankruptcy

118

(1)

Reasons not to file bankruptcy

118

(1)

Reasons to delay filing bankruptcy

119

(1)

Looking at Remedies Other Than Bankruptcy

120

(7)

Budgeting

120

(1)

Allowing your family to bail you out

121

(1)

Selling your assets

121

(1)

Transferring credit-card balances

122

(1)

Restructuring home mortgages

123

(3)

Tapping your retirement plan

126

(1)

Choosing Which Bills to Pay First (If at All)

127

(3)

Deciding whether to pay your mortgage

129

(1)

Considering whether to make car payments

129

(1)

Dealing with alimony and child support payments

129

(1)

Deciding whether you should pay your taxes

129

(1)

Negotiating with Your Creditors

130

(1)

Workout agreements

130

(1)

Threatening bankruptcy

130

(1)

Considering Credit Counseling Services

131

(2)

Simply Ignoring Creditors

133

(2)

Handling Bill Collectors

135

(10)

Taming the Toothless Tiger: The Bill Collector

136

(1)

Invoking Federal Law

137

(4)

When debt collectors can contact you

138

(1)

Where debt collectors can't contact you

139

(1)

When debt collectors may contact others about your debt

139

(1)

Dirty tricks are outlawed

140

(1)

Your remedies under the FDCPA

141

(1)

Tapping State Laws

141

(1)

State statutes

141

(1)

Common law remedies

142

(1)

Keeping Your Dukes Up

142

(3)

Negotiating with the IRS

145

(8)

Looking at the Tax Collection Process

145

(2)

Service centers

146

(1)

Automated Collection System (ACS)

146

(1)

Local revenue officers

147

(1)

Making Nice with the Touchy-Feely IRS

147

(4)

Your due process

148

(1)

Negotiating an installment agreement

148

(1)

Knowing when to get professional help

149

(1)

Gaining ``uncollectible'' status

150

(1)

Planning bankruptcy while pursuing an installment agreement

150

(1)

Submitting an Offer in Compromise

151

(1)

Getting Help from a Taxpayer Advocate

152

(1)

Part III: Keeping Your Stuff

153

(46)

Understanding Which Assets Are Off Limits to Creditors

155

(18)

Grasping the Legal Concepts

155

(5)

Digging through the property of the estate

156

(2)

Understanding how exemptions work

158

(2)

Determining the Value of Your Stuff

160

(1)

Understanding How the Courts View Certain Assets

161

(10)

Homesteads

161

(1)

Automobiles

162

(1)

Household goods

162

(1)

Inheritances and life insurance benefits

163

(1)

Divorce settlements

163

(1)

Spendthrift trusts

164

(1)

Rent receipts

165

(1)

Security deposits

165

(1)

Wages

166

(1)

Bank accounts

166

(1)

Severance and vacation pay

166

(1)

Sales commissions

167

(1)

Real estate commissions

167

(1)

Insurance commissions

168

(1)

Suits to recover money

168

(1)

Income tax refunds

169

(1)

Earned income credits

170

(1)

Retirement accounts

170

(1)

Education savings plans

170

(1)

Creating Exemptions

171

(2)

Dealing with Secured Debts

173

(10)

Getting the Lowdown on Liens

174

(1)

Perfecting liens

174

(1)

Seeing liens as double-edged swords

174

(1)

Identifying Different Kinds of Liens

175

(2)

Consensual liens

175

(2)

Nonconsensual liens

177

(1)

Dealing with Liens in Bankruptcy

177

(3)

Freeing your household goods and tools from liens

177

(2)

Redeeming (getting back) your property

179

(1)

Reaffirming your debts

179

(1)

Using the Special Powers Afforded Chapter 13 Filers

180

(1)

Dealing with Rent-to-Own Contracts

180

(1)

Banging the Gavel on Judgment Liens

181

(2)

Saving Your Home

183

(16)

Your Home, Your Castle --- and Sometimes Your Hassle

183

(4)

Figuring out how much your home is worth

184

(1)

Deducting mortgages and other liens that affect your share of the pie

184

(1)

Understanding the homestead exemption

185

(2)

Dealing with Jointly Owned Property

187

(2)

Example 1: When the homestead exemption is larger than your equity

188

(1)

Example 2: When your equity is larger than your homestead exemption

188

(1)

Understanding How Foreclosures Work

189

(1)

Heading off the Homewreckers

190

(6)

Keeping your home in Chapter 7

190

(1)

Keeping your home in Chapter 13

190

(4)

Comparing Chapter 7 and Chapter 13

194

(2)

Using Truth-in-Lending Laws

196

(1)

Coping When Your Dream Home Becomes a Nightmare

197

(2)

Part IV: Getting Rid of (Most of) Your Debt

199

(72)

Lingering Obligations

201

(14)

Recognizing (Possibly) Indelible Debts

201

(5)

Confronting obligations enforceable by court orders

202

(1)

Debts arising after bankruptcy

203

(2)

Unlisted debts

205

(1)

Debts preserved under sections of the Bankruptcy Code

205

(1)

Nondischargeable Debts in Chapter 7 versus Chapter 13

206

(3)

Sweating Out the 60-Day Bar Date

209

(1)

Avoiding the Urge to Borrow to Pay Nondischargeable Debts

209

(1)

Understanding Reaffirmation Agreements

210

(1)

Reasons to reaffirm

210

(1)

Changing your mind

211

(1)

Having Your Discharge Denied or Revoked

211

(4)

Grounds for denial of a Chapter 7 discharge

212

(1)

Grounds for denial of a Chapter 13 discharge

213

(1)

Protecting your discharge

213

(1)

Revoking your discharge

214

(1)

A House of Cards: Wiping Out Credit-Card Debts

215

(8)

Playing the Credit-Card Game

215

(2)

Seeing What Judges See

217

(1)

Examining Your Mind Set When You Incurred the Debt

218

(1)

Forcing the Credit-Card Company to Prove Its Case

219

(1)

Explaining Presumptively Fraudulent Charges

219

(1)

Defending Against False Financial Statement Allegations

220

(1)

Using Credit-Card Advances for Gambling

220

(1)

Bullying the Credit-Card Bullies

221

(1)

Transferring Credit-Card Balances

222

(1)

Give unto Caesar: Using Bankruptcy to Deal with Tax Debts

223

(14)

Getting a Handle on What Happens to Taxes in Bankruptcy

223

(1)

Wiping Out Dischargeable Income Taxes

224

(1)

Paying Nondischargeable Priority Income Taxes

225

(1)

Coping with Nondischargeable Nonpriority Income Taxes

225

(1)

Confronting Unfiled Tax Returns

226

(4)

Coping with Interest and Penalties

230

(1)

Managing Federal Tax Liens

231

(1)

Making the Trustee Pay Your Taxes

231

(1)

Keeping on Top of Postpetition Taxes in Chapter 13

232

(1)

Paying Taxes Before Bankruptcy

232

(1)

Using the Statute of Limitations to Escape Taxes

232

(1)

Facing the Consequences if You're a ``Tax Protestor''

233

(1)

Dealing with the State Tax Man

233

(1)

Addressing Taxes Other Than Income Taxes

233

(1)

Paying trust fund employment taxes

233

(1)

Deciding whether to pay real and personal property taxes

234

(1)

Obtaining Loans to Pay Your Taxes

234

(3)

The Devil Made Me Do It: Fines, Fraud, and Other Foibles

237

(10)

Dealing with Debts Resulting from Fraud

238

(3)

Charges on the eve of bankruptcy

238

(1)

False financial statements

239

(1)

Bad checks

239

(1)

Receiving undeserved welfare and unemployment benefits

240

(1)

Willful and Malicious Behavior

241

(1)

Covering Fines, Penalties, and Restitution Orders

242

(2)

Criminal fines

243

(1)

Restitution

243

(1)

Noncriminal fines and penalties

243

(1)

Motor-vehicle fines

244

(1)

Accepting Responsibility for Drunken-Driving Injuries

244

(3)

Till Debt Due Us Part: Bankruptcy and Divorce

247

(10)

Introducing Key Points

247

(1)

Planning Your Strategy

248

(4)

Exploring your financial obligations

249

(1)

Doing what's best for both spouses

250

(1)

Completing property transfers

250

(1)

Timing it right

251

(1)

Understanding How Support Obligations Are Treated in Bankruptcy

252

(4)

Support obligations in Chapter 7

252

(1)

Support obligations in Chapter 13

252

(2)

Figuring out which obligations are in ``the nature of'' support

254

(1)

Focusing on financial conditions at the time of your divorce

254

(1)

Looking at factors that some courts consider

255

(1)

Understanding How Property Divisions Are Treated in Bankruptcy

256

(1)

Other Grounds for Bankruptcy-Proof Marital Debts

256

(1)

Student Loans and Other Mind Games

257

(14)

Understanding the Student-Loan Industry

257

(1)

Tracing Your Loans

258

(1)

Knowing What They Can Do If You Don't Pay

259

(1)

Managing Student Loans with Bankruptcy

260

(6)

Proving your insufferable need for a break

260

(2)

Wiping out part of your student loans

262

(1)

Paying student loans under a Chapter 13 plan

263

(1)

Using a ``Chapter 20'' strategy

264

(1)

Addressing medical school loans

265

(1)

Getting stuck even when you're only a cosigner

266

(1)

Clicking your clock into The Hardship Zone

266

(1)

Managing Student Loans without Bankruptcy

266

(5)

Consolidating your loans

267

(1)

Requesting a reasonable and affordable payment plan

268

(1)

Getting a deferment

269

(1)

Accepting a forbearance

269

(1)

Going for an administrative discharge

270

(1)

Part V: Strategies for a Successful Bankruptcy

271

(34)

Avoiding Troubles with Your Trustee

273

(10)

Playing by the Rules and Telling the Truth

273

(2)

Accurately Listing Your Assets

275

(1)

Appreciating the Trustee's Ability to Recover Assets

275

(7)

Fraudulent transfers

276

(2)

Preferential transfers

278

(3)

Unperfected liens

281

(1)

Special problems with manufactured homes

281

(1)

Protecting Your Discharge

282

(1)

Living on the Edge in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

283

(22)

Creating a Realistic Plan

284

(2)

Why Chapter 13 plans fail

284

(1)

Paying the bare minimum

285

(1)

Keeping Your Lawyer in the Loop

286

(1)

Blowing It . . . Again? Not!

286

(8)

Suspending your payments

288

(1)

Modifying your plan

288

(1)

Requesting a ``hardship discharge''

289

(1)

Converting to a Chapter 7

290

(1)

Dismissing your Chapter 13 and filing a new Chapter 7

291

(2)

Dismissing your Chapter 13 and filing a new Chapter 13

293

(1)

Tackling Car and Mortgage Payments Outside the Plan

294

(2)

Doing nothing

294

(1)

Proposing a new plan that includes missed payments

295

(1)

Working out drop-dead agreements

296

(1)

Asking for time to sell your property

296

(1)

Addressing Debts Incurred After You File

296

(3)

Nonemergencies

297

(1)

Emergencies

297

(1)

Automobiles

297

(1)

Support obligations

298

(1)

Income taxes

298

(1)

Sinking Your Ship before It Arrives

299

(2)

Tying Things Together

301

(4)

Part VI: Enjoying Your Fresh Start

305

(22)

Repairing Your Credit

307

(12)

Realizing that You've Already Taken the First Step by Filing Bankruptcy

308

(1)

Using the Fair Credit Reporting Act to Your Advantage

309

(1)

Getting Your Credit Reports after Bankruptcy

309

(5)

Getting credit reports for free

310

(1)

Correcting mistakes on your credit reports

311

(2)

Making sure that your credit reports properly reflect your bankruptcy

313

(1)

Obtaining New Credit

314

(2)

Applying for an unsecured credit card

314

(1)

Settling for secured credit

314

(1)

Informing credit bureaus of your good work when the creditor doesn't

315

(1)

Taking it easy when building new credit

316

(1)

Watching Our for Credit-Repair Scams

316

(1)

Establishing Good Credit When You're Married

317

(2)

Staying Out of Financial Trouble

319

(8)

Addressing Compulsive Spending

319

(1)

Admitting that you have a problem

320

(1)

Enrolling in Debtors Anonymous

320

(1)

Building a Consensus with Loved Ones

320

(1)

Establishing common ground with your mate on money matters

321

(1)

Creating realistic expectations from your offspring

321

(1)

Using a Budget

321

(1)

Developing a system for tracking what you spend

322

(1)

Sticking to the plan

322

(1)

Avoiding Temptation

322

(2)

Reducing credit-card solicitations

322

(1)

Removing your name from direct-marketing lists

323

(1)

Reigning in telemarketers

323

(1)

Making a Few Lifestyle Changes

324

(1)

Figuring out your priorities

324

(1)

Thinking about ways to save moneys

324

(1)

Discovering how to live without credit

324

(1)

Discovering cheap ways to have fun

325

(1)

Recognizing Danger Signs

325

(2)

Watching for telltale signals

325

(1)

Living without savings

326

(1)

Using debt-to-income and equity ratios

326

(1)

Part VII: The Part of Tens

327

(16)

Ten Common Bankruptcy Mistakes

329

(4)

Borrowing Money from Relatives

329

(1)

Repaying Money Owed to Relatives

330

(1)

Chipping Away at Debts with a Home-Equity Loan

330

(1)

Draining Retirement Accounts to Pay Debts

330

(1)

Neglecting to Accurately List All Creditors

331

(1)

Concealing Your Assets

331

(1)

Transferring Assets to Keep Them Away from Creditors

331

(1)

Making Payments that You Can't Afford to Make

331

(1)

Thinking that Bankruptcy Is Your Last Resort

332

(1)

Filing Bankruptcy Too Soon

332

(1)

Ten Things You Can Do Right Now to Ease Your Financial Woes

333

(4)

Stop Feeling Guilty

333

(1)

Cut Up Your Credit Cards

334

(1)

Order Your Credit Reports

334

(1)

Keep Track of Everything You Buy

335

(1)

Get Your Name off Any Joint Accounts

335

(1)

Stop Making Partial Payments on Credit-Card Bills

335

(1)

Call a Lawyer Now If You're Being Sued or Foreclosure Is Underway

335

(1)

Find Out How Much Your Home and Car Are Worth

336

(1)

Empty Accounts in Banks Where You Owe Money

336

(1)

Sharpen Your Pencil and Start Filling Out the Worksheets in Chapter 2

336

(1)

Ten Common Questions about Bankruptcy

337

(6)

Will Bankruptcy Damage My Credit Rating?

337

(1)

Will Bankruptcy Affect My Job?

338

(1)

Will I Lose My Home?

338

(1)

Will I Lose My Personal Belongings?

339

(1)

Will I Ever Be Able to Buy a House?

339

(1)

Does My Spouse Have to File Bankruptcy, Too?

339

(1)

Can I Keep Some Debts Off My Bankruptcy and Deal with Them Separately?

340

(1)

Can I Cancel My Bankruptcy If I Change My Mind?

340

(1)

Is Filing Bankruptcy a Long, Protracted Process?

340

(1)

Does It Cost a Bundle to File?

341

(1)

Will BARF Make it More Painful to File Bankruptcy?

341

(2)

Appendix: Homestead Exemption Laws

343

(4)

Choosing between Federal and State Exemptions

343

(1)

Identifying the Federal Homestead Exemption

344

(1)

Surveying State Homestead Exemptions

344

(3)

Index

347

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Personal Bankruptcy Laws For Dummies

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials