To optimize your consultation with us, you should itemize: your current income sources; major financial transactions for the last two years; monthly living expenses; secured and unsecured debt; and property (all assets and possessions, not just real estate).  You should also collect your tax returns for the last two years, deeds to any real estate you own, your car titles, and the documents for any loans you may have.

Secured debt is any loan or debt for which the borrower pledges some asset as collateral for the loan.  Secured debts are secured by an asset, such as a house or car. The asset serves as collateral for the debt.  Therefore, if the borrower fails to repay the loan as promised, the lender has the right to seize (foreclose or repossess) the asset.  The lender may commence litigation, seek garnishment of wages and report the delinquency to credit reporting agencies.

Unsecured debt is any loan or debt that is not secured by an underlying asset or collateral. Because the debt is not secured by an asset, the lender generally cannot claim your assets for the debt.  Usually, lenders will send the account to a collection agency, commence litigation, seek garnishment of wages and report the delinquency to credit reporting agencies.  Credit cards, student loans, medical bills, child support and pay day loans are the most common form of unsecured debts.

It depends. Certain debts are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Under both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, most taxes, child support or spousal support obligations, court fines, criminal fines or restitution, educational loans, debts not listed on your bankruptcy petition, loans you got by knowingly giving false information to a creditor and amounts charged to credit cards during the few months immediately before you file bankruptcy cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy.

Your ability to keep your home depends on the amount of equity you have in your home.  In a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, a Trustee will sell all of your non-exempt property and distribute the proceeds to your creditors.  All exempt property can be kept.  Under the New York Homestead Exemption, a debtor can protect the equity in a house, co-op or condo that is used as a primary residence up to $170,825 if the property is in the counties of Kings, Queens, New York, Bronx, Richmond, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, Westchester, or Putnam; $142,350 if the property is in the counties of Dutchess, Albany, Columbia, Orange, Saratoga or Ulster; and $85,400 if the property is in any other county in the state of New York.  Married couples are allowed to double their exemption, thus, a couple may exempt up to $341,650, $284,700, or $170,800, depending on the county

In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, a debtor is allowed to keep all of his/her property.  However, the debtor would be required to pay the non-exempt property value to its creditors under the repayment plan.

Yes. Filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be used to stop a house foreclosure anytime before the auction sale of the property.  The mortgage debt of the homeowner will be consolidated with all outstanding debt and divided into up to 60 separate monthly payments.  The bank will not be allowed to foreclosure on the property as long as the homeowner is making these monthly payments.

Most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases do not require you to appearance in court. However, you will have to attend a Meeting of Creditors approximately thirty days after you file for bankruptcy. The meeting is held with a bankruptcy trustee in the bankruptcy courthouse. The Chapter 7 trustee will ask you questions concerning your financial affairs, the circumstances leading to your bankruptcy filing, and raise any questions about the documents filed on your behalf.  Creditors usually do not attend the Meeting of the Creditors; however, they are entitled to attend and ask you questions as well. Generally, you will not be required to do anything after the meeting, unless a creditor or the bankruptcy trustee files a motion or adversary proceeding against you. If this happens, then you will be required to appear in court. If you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may be required to appear before the judge to have your Chapter 13 plan confirmed.

In order to file a bankruptcy, you are required to attend an approved credit counseling session within 180 days of filing.  Upon completion of the credit counseling, you will receive a certificate of completion, which must be filed with the all other bankruptcy forms in your case. A list of approved credit counseling agencies can be found here (Add link: https://www.justice.gov/ust/credit-counseling-debtor-education-information).  We can also assist you in finding an online course prior to filing.

After your case is filed, you must complete an approved course in personal finances. This course will take you about two hours to complete. A list of approved credit counseling agencies can be found here (Add link: https://www.justice.gov/ust/credit-counseling-debtor-education-information).  In a Chapter 7 case, you are required to complete the course within 45 days of the date first scheduled for the Meeting of CreditorsPre-Discharge Financial Management Course. you should sign up for the course soon after your case is filed. If you file a Chapter 13 case, we will inform you when you should take the course.

While a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy can remain on a debtor’s credit report for a period of ten years from the filing date, filing for bankruptcy may actually be beneficial to rebuilding your credit. This is because bankruptcy will usually eliminate all or most debts. Your debt to income ratio will improve. This in turn will permit creditors to extend credit to you and allow you to rebuild your credit over time. Furthermore, because a Chapter 7 debtor cannot file another Chapter 7 bankruptcy for eight years, creditors may consider you to be at a lower risk of defaulting on your debts. Keep in mind that any credit obtained shortly after a bankruptcy will not be at favorable interest rates. However, if you wisely obtain credit that you can afford to repay, your credit score will improve over time.