Yes you can. But keep in mind that this has to be done as soon as possible and before receiving a discharge. When a bankruptcy petition is amended to add new creditors, regardless of what type (credit cards, car loans, personal loans) they are, the debtor’s motion to amend to add creditors should be allowed by a court order. In addition, the court should file a notice to add creditors giving the new creditors a reasonable time (usually approximately two months) after amendment to object to the debtor’s discharge. If this notice to add creditors is not filed by the court after the motion to amend is allowed, the subsequent filing of this notice by the court can extend the deadline for objections after an order of discharge.
July 28th, 2010 by Administrator
The deadline for objections to a debtor’s discharge in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is usually a time period of approximately two months after the date of the creditors’ meeting. This means that the debtor would have to wait at least this minimum two month period in order to thereafter receive an order of discharge from the court. A creditors’ meeting successfully resulting in a trustee’s report of no distribution (the debtor has no non-exempt assets and has not transferred property out of their estate) is a good indication that there would not be objections to discharge expected.
July 28th, 2010 by Administrator
Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtors are required to list the value of their personal property on their petition, as theirs is a “no asset” case. Debtors often have questions about how to value “used” items of property that would have depreciated in amount after purchase. Bankruptcy attorneys are currently required to provide any clients they meet with as a mandatory disclosure the BAPCA required notice of instructions for providing the required information [s. 527(c) of the Bankruptcy Code]. These instructions provide further guidance specifically for personal property that serves as the collateral for a debt listed on the petition. The value would be “determined based on the replacement value of such property as of the filing date of the bankruptcy case without deduction for selling or marketing costs.” The instructions actually guide debtors to either retail stores selling such used items or “if you can’t find a store that sells similar items in similar condition, the next best source for an objective appraisal is probably eBay or a similar online market.”
July 21st, 2010 by Administrator
The public has been eager for “financial reform” in the wake of a severely weakened real estate market and a slowdown in economic growth so sudden that many institutions within and associated with the financial industry required government assistance. Mortgage applicants will now be required to be on more solid footing, as lenders will now be required to fully document a borrower’s income before agreeing to provide a mortgage loan. Lenders will also be required to determine that borrowers can otherwise repay their loans. While it is unfortunate that homebuyers wound up in situations where they could not afford their loans, with these reforms it is unlikely there will in the future be the wave of debtors facing a mortgage deficiency after foreclosure or short sale. It is also likely that certain credit accounts might be given preference by retail merchants for the lower transaction fees associated with them. This will hopefully give consumers more choices and perhaps encourage debtors to keep their accounts in good standing.
July 20th, 2010 by Administrator
Among the exceptions to debts allowed to be relieved through a bankruptcy filing are student loans, debts owed to the government and family court-ordered payments. However, a recent Colorado state ruling may allow more leniency for the latter. According to the Colorado Supreme Court in Weis v. Weis, No. 09SA216, June 7, 2010 (Lawyers USA No. 993-1977), a contempt action against a spouse who had agreed to pay a share of joint debts did not qualify as an exception to the automatic stay provisions of the Bankruptcy Code as either a criminal action or an action to collect a “domestic support obligation.” The debtor in this case had in fact filed a Chapter 13 petition which would have required her to enter into a repayment plan for her debts owed, but the court refused to find an exception to the automatic stay as there were not funds outside of the bankruptcy estate available to cover these amounts.
July 20th, 2010 by Administrator
