Articles Posted in Chapter 13

By the time many of our bankruptcy clients come to has they have exhausted most of their personal savings, and often their retirement assets. Some people invade these funds — that are intended to provide income in retirement — and use them to try make minimum payments on credit cards and cover living expenses. This is a very common scenario we see for people who have lost their job and unemployment has run out.

In bankruptcy, retirement assets, such as I.R.A.s and 401(k) are generally exempt. If someone intends to file bankruptcy and get a fresh start from their debts it doesn’t make a lot of sense to Continue reading

A common question we are asked by people living in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and surrounding counties is whether they can leave the state after filing for bankruptcy..

The answer is that there is no requirement that a debtor remain physically present in New York continuously after filing for bankruptcy until his or her case is closed. The debtor (person filing bankruptcy) will be required to attend the meeting of creditors in his or her case that is held approximately 30 days after the case is filed. In a chapter 13 case he or she will also be required to attend the confirmation hearing with respect to the chapter 13 plan held approximately four months after the case is filed. In a chapter 11 case there are various status conferences that the debtor may need to attend.
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In prior posts we have covered how a wage earner repayment plan (chapter 13 bankruptcy) works. Many people are interested in filing chapter 13 bankruptcy in Manhattan, Brooklyn or Queens, but are concerned about what happens if they are unable to make all plan payments, or if they decide they don’t want to continue to be locked into a long repayment plan, In this post we will look at the options available to a chapter 13 debtor who is unable to make all plan payments, such as because he or she lost his/her job, or because expenses were higher than planned.

1. Conversion to Chapter 7. A debtor in a chapter 13 case has the right to automatically convert the case to chapter 7 at any time. This is done by filing a Request for Conversion form with the Clerk’s Office. Once the case has been converted to chapter 7 the debtor no longer has to continue making chapter 13 plan payments. The debtor can obtain a discharge of his/her dischargeable debt in the chapter 7. An example of a situation in which someone might do this is if they had filed chapter 13 for a very specific reason, such as to try to catch up on car loan payments or home mortgage payments to prevent loss of the car or foreclosure, but they weren’t able to successfully make the required catch up payments and lost the car or house. In that situation it may not make sense to continue to be in chapter 13 and conversion to chapter 7 may make more sense.
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The purpose of a personal bankruptcy is to get a “fresh start” by obtaining a discharge (wiping out) of debt. To assist debtors in obtaining their fresh start the law allows them to keep a modest amount of property. The property that an individual is allowed to keep in bankruptcy is known as “exempt” property.

New York has opted out of the federal exemption scheme contained in the Bankruptcy Code which means that an individual in New York is only allowed to claim exemptions available under New York law, plus certain federal exemptions other than those contained in the Bankruptcy Code.

Except for the homestead exemption, the exemption scheme in New York has not been updated in a long time and the exemptions are not pegged to inflation or the consumer price index (CPI).
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This is a question that we get asked a lot by our clients and prospective clients. The answer is “that depends” – it depends on what chapter (type) of bankruptcy we are talking about.

1. Duration of a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case
When someone asks how long will a bankruptcy take, they really mean how long is my involvement as debtor (person filing bankruptcy) going to be. The goal of a personal bankruptcy case is to get a discharge. From the debtor’s perspective that can be viewed as the end of the typical bankruptcy case, although the actual case may continue on without affecting the debtor (as discussed further below).

In the typical chapter 7 case involving an individual there are really only three dates we care about. The first is the date the bankruptcy petition is filed with the Bankruptcy Court because that starts the case (and the automatic stay). The second important date is the meeting of creditors, which is usually scheduled about four week after the meeting of creditors. The third date is sixty days from the date first scheduled for the meeting of creditors. That is the very earliest that a debtor is eligible to get her or her discharge (order wiping out debts). However, in actual practice the discharge order takes the Clerk time to process so that the discharge is routinely entered 70-90 days after the date first set for the meeting of creditors. So this means that the length or duration of a typical chapter 7 bankruptcy case is about 100 – 120 days Continue reading

Many people considering filing for personal bankruptcy in New York have not hired a lawyer before and are not sure how to select a lawyer. Since they are not familiar with lawyers and how to evaluate and compare one lawyer with another, they focus on the one factor that they understand – the cost. While cost is certainly one factor to consider when choosing a lawyer, it is not the only factor.

1. Bankruptcy Is More Complex Due to the 2005 Changes in the Bankruptcy Law.

In 2005 as a result of credit card company lobbying the Bankruptcy Code was extensively changed by Congress. These changed created new duties for bankruptcy attorneys and made representation of consumer debtors in bankruptcy cases much more complicated than it was before. As a result, those lawyers who only dabbled in bankruptcy stopped taking new bankruptcy cases. Those lawyers who specialized in bankruptcy cases raised their rates to account for the increased cost and complexity of cases after the 2005 changes.
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This is the third in a three part series of postings in which we examine preference claims in detail. In prior posts we discussed what is a preference claim (Help I’ve Been Sued by a Bankruptcy Trustee in New York, What Do I Do Now?) and the new value defense to a preference claim (New Value Defense to Preference Adversary Proceeding Filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York). In this post we will look at the ordinary course defense.

The ordinary course defense is intended to permit creditors to continue doing business with financially troubled debtors without fear that a bankruptcy trustee will later be able to recover such payments as preferential.

Elements of the Ordinary Course Defense

The ordinary course defense requires that the creditor/defendant show:

a) payment by the debtor
b) to or for the benefit of the creditor
c) made in accordance with the course of dealings between the parties, or

d) made in accordance with applicable industry practices.

The way this works is as follows – image a company in the business of selling machine parts. The company has a course of dealings with the debtor over a long enough period of time, so that there is an established payment history. The company sells machine parts to the debtor on net 30 day terms. The debtor routinely pays the company’s invoices within 30-40 days.
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We are often contacted by former and prospective clients in Manhattan and other boroughs of New York City, and elsewhere, who are faced with a potential eviction involving a commercial or residential lease and wonder what their bankruptcy options are.

1. Bankruptcy Filing Creates Automatic Stay

A bankruptcy filing by the tenant (whether residential or commercial) creates an “automatic stay.” This is a mandatory injunction that arises by operation of law without the need for a hearing or order of the Bankruptcy Court. The automatic stay operates like a legal “Stop Sign” to freeze a creditor’s efforts to pursue collections, litigation or judgment enforcement. The automatic stay operates to protect the debtor and the property of the debtor’s bankruptcy estate.

In the case of a lease, whether commercial or residential, the critical issue is whether a writ of eviction has already been issued from the landlord-tenant court. There is a significant body of case law from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and U.S. Bankruptcy Court (covering Manhattan, Bronx and White Plains) and U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York (covering Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island) that once a writ of eviction has issued from the landlord-tenant court the interest of the tenant in the lease has terminated.
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New York is a destination for many people relocating here for work, school or personal reasons. Many people are surprised to find out how expensive the cost of living is here compared to many other parts of the country. Many people underestimate their costs of housing and other living expenses which causes a lot of problems for their budget.

A common question we get asked is “How long do I have to live in New York before I can file for bankruptcy here?”

The rule is that you have to have lived here more in the past 180 days than anywhere else. So, for example, if someone moved here from Ohio, she would need to live in New York at least 91 days before she could file for bankruptcy here.
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If you have past-due tax debt that you owe to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), New York State Department of Taxation & Finance (NYS Tax), and/or New York City Department of Taxation (NYC Tax) you know that the government authorities can be very aggressive in enforcing back due taxes.

1. Problems & Risk of Owing Past-Due Tax Debts.

If you have past-due taxes the balances continue to grow over time because of interest and penalties. The government can intercept any tax refunds that you are entitled to receive from them and apply the money against your past-due taxes. They can garnish your wages. They can put a lien on your assets. They can seize your bank accounts, car, house and other properties.

2. Bankruptcy Solutions to Tax Problems.

For many people with past-due taxes bankruptcy may be a way to either (a) get their finances affairs in order so they have money to deal with the taxes, or (b) a way to wipe out the taxes.

a) Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Solutions.

In the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on our website Will all my debts get discharged (wiped out) in bankruptcy?) we have provided a general overview of the rules regarding discharging debt in a personal bankruptcy filing. For some people filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy will be a way that they can permanently eliminate their past-due taxes without having to pay them. To figure our whether or not your taxes can be wiped out in bankruptcy you will need to know exactly what taxes you owe and for what years. You can contact the IRS, NYS Tax and NYC Tax and follow their procedures to order copies of your “tax transcript” for each tax year you have an unpaid balance. We have successfully used chapter 7 bankruptcy to help many of our clients permanently eliminate their taxes.
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