Yes, you can file for bankruptcy if you have recently sold a home. You will, however, need to wait at least 90 days. You may even have to wait a bit longer depending on how much money you had received from the sale. Make sure that you discuss this with your attorney. He or she will probably ask to see a copy of the closing papers so that they can determine how long you may need to wait before filing. Usually the court will not have a problem with you selling your home so recently as long as it was not sold to an insider, such as a family member.
Also be prepared that the bankruptcy Trustee may want to know what you did with the excess money that you received from the sale of your home. Be prepared to be able to explain this. It is a good idea to keep excellent record of where this money goes. Keeping copies of bank statements and cancelled checks will help with this. The court will want to be able to see that the money was used for necessary expenses, such as food, and not on something such as a vacation or other luxury items.
If you try to file bankruptcy immediately after selling your home and you have a large amount of money in the bank, used the money to purchase non-necessities or gave it to family then you may not be able to file for bankruptcy. As always, it’s in your best bet to contact a bankruptcy lawyer in your area to see what they recommend.
00Damon Duncanhttps://www.duncanlawonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/duncanlawlogo.pngDamon Duncan2010-06-26 21:40:472015-04-11 23:04:16Can I File Bankruptcy If I Recently Sold My House?
If you have received notice of a sale date on your home, we strongly suggest you schedule a consultation as soon as possible, since there is considerable information needed to file your bankruptcy prior to the sale of the property and avoid the eviction.
00Damon Duncanhttps://www.duncanlawonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/duncanlawlogo.pngDamon Duncan2010-06-26 21:37:162025-12-23 11:04:08Will Bankruptcy Stop An Eviction from an Apartment or Rental House?
In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the court will send a Notice of Meeting of Creditors within a few days of your filing. This is the official notification to your creditors of your bankruptcy filing and it provides them with the date of the creditors meeting. It also creates the automatic stay which keeps your creditors from taking legal action against you.
If you discover that you failed to list a creditor you owed when your Chapter 7 bankruptcy was filed, you may be able to add the creditor to your bankruptcy prior to your discharge. It is important for you to contact your bankruptcy attorney immediately to see if you can add the creditor to your bankruptcy. If you have not received a discharge, you may be able to add the creditor and still have the debt discharged in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Once the discharge has been entered, you may not add any additional creditors without reopening your bankruptcy.
If you filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and discover that you failed to list a creditor that you owed when your bankruptcy was filed, you should also contact your attorney. Depending on whether your Chapter 13 bankruptcy has been confirmed by the Court will depend on what actions are needed. If your case has not been confirmed, you may be able to simply add the creditor with the bankruptcy court. If your case has been confirmed, it may be necessary for you, through your attorney, to file a motion to modify your bankruptcy and add the creditor.
00Damon Duncanhttps://www.duncanlawonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/duncanlawlogo.pngDamon Duncan2010-06-26 21:33:182010-06-26 21:33:18What If I Fail To List A Creditor On A Bankruptcy?
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) is the new bankruptcy laws enacted by Congress and effective October 17, 2005. Although there are many changes within the act, the most talked about is the Means Test. To reduce the number of people filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the new bankruptcy laws are established to look at the household income for the person filing bankruptcy compared to the median household income within the state the person resides. For example, if a woman is married with two children, and she needs to file bankruptcy after the loss of her job, the new bankruptcy laws will look at the median household income for a family of four within the state she resides. If the family’s income exceeds the median for the state, a Means Test must be performed to determine if she qualifies to file Chapter 7. The Means Test is a fairly complex calculation of household income from the six months prior to the month of filing bankruptcy less some of the debtors actual expenses along with allowed deduction established along IRS guidelines. Again, the purpose of the new law was to reduce the ease of filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In many cases, if you do not qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and still pay only a portion of your unsecured debts – credit cards, medical bill, personal loans, etc.
00Damon Duncanhttps://www.duncanlawonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/duncanlawlogo.pngDamon Duncan2010-06-26 21:25:452015-04-11 23:04:17How Did Bankruptcy Change In 2005 With the New Laws?
Duncan Law was founded by Terry Duncan in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1996. At that time Terry decided to create a law firm that was dedicated to helping those who are facing tough times. In 2009, Damon Duncan and Melissa Duncan joined the firm in the Greensboro, North Carolina office. Together, this family is here to serve you. We know that too often bad things happen to good people. We are here to help.
Duncan Law was founded by attorney Terry Duncan in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1996. At that time Terry decided to create a law firm that was dedicated to helping those who are facing tough times. In 2009, attorney Damon Duncan and attorney Melissa Duncan joined the law firm in the Greensboro, North Carolina office. Together, this family is here to serve you. We know that too often bad things happen to good people. We are here to help.
00Damon Duncanhttps://www.duncanlawonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/duncanlawlogo.pngDamon Duncan2010-06-26 20:57:252015-04-11 23:04:17Why Should I Choose Duncan Law For Bankruptcy?
The bankruptcy code allows for only once spouse to file for bankruptcy. However, at times, it may be wise for both spouses to file to ensure that your assets are completely protected and to make sure that as much debt is wiped out so you can create your fresh financial start for your family.
00Damon Duncanhttps://www.duncanlawonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/duncanlawlogo.pngDamon Duncan2010-06-26 20:53:302019-01-30 15:32:14Do My Spouse and I Have to File Bankruptcy Together?
First of all, keep in mind in order to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy you must be current on everything unless you are willing to surrender the property. Let’s consider the following example: you owe on a debt such as a car loan, but are behind on the payments. You come in for a free consultation, learn that you may be eligible to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and decide you are going to surrender the property to the creditor since you are behind on payments. However, someone has cosigned on the debt with you, and you are wondering what that is going to mean for the other person. He or she (the cosigner) would still be responsible for the full amount that is owed to the creditor. The creditor will typically sell the property an auction and the cosigner will be responsible for the deficiency balance.
If the debt is an unsecured debt (no property as collateral) then the creditor can go after the cosigner for the full amount owed on the debt.
Person Filing Keeps Making Payments
If the person filing the bankruptcy continues to make payments on the debt, the cosigner should not be impacted most of the time. However, this means the person filing needs to keep making their regular payments on time, every month, in order to stay current. If the property is not surrendered in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the cosigner should not be affected as long as the person filing is current on the property.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy:
Person Filing Surrenders Property
If you are filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy and have decided to surrender property, the cosigner will be affected in regards to the debt. Typically speaking, the creditor will still seek the amount owed from the cosigner and hold them responsible for the debt amount after it has been sold at an auction. It’s up to the person filing whether or not to let the cosigner know that they are going to be surrendering the property. However, it’s important to know the cosigner will be responsible for paying back the deficiency balance on the debt.
Person Filing Does Not Surrender Property
In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, if the person keeps making payments on the property and decides not to surrender it, the cosigner will not be affected most of the time. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a repayment plan but as long as the person filing is making payments on the debt, the cosigner should not be impacted. However, there have been rare situations where we have seen someone who has cosigned on a debt with a person who filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and on the cosigner’s credit it shows they are one month behind on payments despite the fact that it is being paid within the Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan. Since the Chapter 13 bankruptcy Trustee does not make the full payment each month (they typically pay 1/60th of the amount owed over the course of 60 months) the creditor may report that the cosigner is behind a portion of a payment. This doesn’t happen often but we have seen it before so we wanted to be sure to make you aware of it.
00Damon Duncanhttps://www.duncanlawonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/duncanlawlogo.pngDamon Duncan2010-06-26 20:42:482015-04-11 23:04:17How Will Bankruptcy Affect Someone Who Cosigned On My Debt?
Depending on the type of bankruptcy you file, you will wait a certain amount of time for your bankruptcy to end and for your debts to be discharged. Watch our Duncan Law bankruptcy video above for more information.
These are common questions that many people have about bankruptcy. In an effort to provide you with information we have provided these frequent questions. However, it is important to realize that each state has different rules and these answers are not meant to be legal advice. Contact a bankruptcy attorney to learn more.
00Damon Duncanhttps://www.duncanlawonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/duncanlawlogo.pngDamon Duncan2010-06-26 20:04:312015-04-11 23:04:17When Will I Know My Bankruptcy is Over?
Bankruptcy usually includes all debts that are accumulated before the bankruptcy petition is filed with the court. If there are new debts that are incurred after you file for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, these are known as post-petition debts and cannot be included in your current bankruptcy.
However, if you were to file another bankruptcy later, the new debts could be included in that petition. There are ways that you can amend your petition to add a creditor after the petition has been filed, but you must be able to prove that this debt was accumulated before the petition was filed.
While in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must get permission from the court in order to incur new debt. This is done through a Motion to Incur Debt. You would need to file the motion to incur debt for anything from obtaining a new credit card to buying a new house. Say you were to get a new credit card while in a Chapter 13 and not tell the Trustee about it. The bankruptcy Trustee could find out and you obtaining debt without the court’s permission could cause problems. This could even possibly cause your bankruptcy to be dismissed! If your bankruptcy is kicked out or dismissed you would be responsible for that new debt as well for the debt that was originally included in the bankruptcy. So, be smart and make sure to ask your attorney what you need to do if you believe you left someone off of your bankruptcy.
The bottom line is you typically will not be able to include post-petition debts (debts incurred after your bankruptcy has been filed) in your bankruptcy.
00Damon Duncanhttps://www.duncanlawonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/duncanlawlogo.pngDamon Duncan2010-06-26 19:58:412010-06-26 19:58:41What If I Accumulate New Debt in Bankruptcy?
