Thursday, April 28, 2011

Common Reasons for Filing Bankruptcy

If you are a Maryland resident who is faced with Credit7s that you cannot repay, then you may consider filing for bankruptcy in Maryland. By filing for bankruptcy in Maryland, you may be able to stop collection actions by banks and Credit7 collectors. This can prevent your wages from being garnished, your car from being repossessed and protect your home from foreclosure proceedings.

If you do intend to file for bankruptcy in Maryland, you should seek advice from an experienced Maryland bankruptcy attorney. A Maryland bankruptcy attorney can guide you through this often complicated process.

Reasons for Filing for Bankruptcy in Maryland

There are actually many reasons why you might decide to file for bankruptcy in Maryland.

Some of these reasons include:

  • To eliminate the obligation of Credit7 - this is one of the main reasons to file for bankruptcy in Maryland. Upon successful completion of the bankruptcy process, you will eliminate many of your unpaid Credit7s and get a fresh Credit0 start.
  • To protect your home from foreclosure proceedings - by filing for chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may prevent the foreclosure of your home. This will not eliminate your mortgage payment, but it will allow you to restructure your payments and make them over an extended period of time.
  • To stop harassment from Credit7 collectors - Credit7 collectors can be very aggressive and often their collection actions may border on harassment. Once you file for bankruptcy in Maryland, Credit7 collectors will be forbidden from contacting you about your Credit7s.
  • To get Counseling1 from your medical bills - if you have too many medical bills, bankruptcy in Maryland can relieve you from this tremendous mountain of Credit7.
  • To consolidate your student loans - by filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can consolidate your student loan Credit7. While these Credit7s cannot be eliminated, you can restructure these Credit7s and pay them over an extended period of time.
  • To prevent the loss of your utilities - if your home is in risk of foreclosure, then your utilities may be terminated. When foreclosure is prevented, the potential loss of your electricity and water is prevented, as well.

A Maryland bankruptcy attorney can help you begin the process of filing for bankruptcy in Maryland. This will allow for a smoother bankruptcy filing process, as your attorney can field all calls from creditors, court representatives and Credit0 institutions. This will allow you to concentrate on restructuring your outstanding Credit7s and starting fresh with a healthy view toward a new Credit0 future.

If you are a Maryland resident who is faced with Credit7s that you cannot repay, then you may consider filing for bankruptcy in Maryland. By filing for bankruptcy in Maryland, you may be able to stop collection actions by banks and Credit7 collectors. This can prevent your wages from being garnished, your car from being repossessed and protect your home from foreclosure proceedings.

If you do intend to file for bankruptcy in Maryland, you should seek advice from an experienced Maryland bankruptcy attorney. A Maryland bankruptcy attorney can guide you through this often complicated process.

Reasons for Filing for Bankruptcy in Maryland

There are actually many reasons why you might decide to file for bankruptcy in Maryland.

Some of these reasons include:

  • To eliminate the obligation of Credit7 - this is one of the main reasons to file for bankruptcy in Maryland. Upon successful completion of the bankruptcy process, you will eliminate many of your unpaid Credit7s and get a fresh Credit0 start.
  • To protect your home from foreclosure proceedings - by filing for chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may prevent the foreclosure of your home. This will not eliminate your mortgage payment, but it will allow you to restructure your payments and make them over an extended period of time.
  • To stop harassment from Credit7 collectors - Credit7 collectors can be very aggressive and often their collection actions may border on harassment. Once you file for bankruptcy in Maryland, Credit7 collectors will be forbidden from contacting you about your Credit7s.
  • To get Counseling1 from your medical bills - if you have too many medical bills, bankruptcy in Maryland can relieve you from this tremendous mountain of Credit7.
  • To consolidate your student loans - by filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can consolidate your student loan Credit7. While these Credit7s cannot be eliminated, you can restructure these Credit7s and pay them over an extended period of time.
  • To prevent the loss of your utilities - if your home is in risk of foreclosure, then your utilities may be terminated. When foreclosure is prevented, the potential loss of your electricity and water is prevented, as well.

A Maryland bankruptcy attorney can help you begin the process of filing for bankruptcy in Maryland. This will allow for a smoother bankruptcy filing process, as your attorney can field all calls from creditors, court representatives and Credit0 institutions. This will allow you to concentrate on restructuring your outstanding Credit7s and starting fresh with a healthy view toward a new Credit0 future.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Changes to Bankruptcy Policy Mean More People Will Have to Pay After Declaring Themselves Bankrupt

From the 1st of December 2010 the policy surrounding the amount a bankrupt person is required to pay towards their Credit7s was changed. We consider how this change will affect people who are declaring themselves bankrupt.

If you declare yourself bankrupt, the official receiver will review your income and living expenditure budgets. Any money left over once all of your essential and reasonable living expenses are paid is called disposable income.

Before the 1st of December 2010, if your disposable income was anything up to ?100, you would have been allowed to keep this money.

If your disposable income was over ?100 you would have been required to pay up to 70% of this towards your Credit7 for a period of three years in the form of an income payment agreement (IPA).

These policies have now changed. From the 1st of December 2010, if your disposable income is above ?20, you will be required to pay all of this towards your creditors for a three year period.

Why change?

One of the reasons for the change is possibly to bring the bankruptcy payment policy more in line with the requirement for an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA).

If you carry out an IVA, you will be expected to pay all of your disposable income towards your Credit7s. To allow someone to declare themselves bankrupt and keep up to ?100 of their disposable income could therefore have been regarded as unfair.

However even after the changes, if you are asked to pay an income payment agreement after declaring bankruptcy, this will only last for three years compared to five years of payments in an IVA.

The other view is that, the courts simply need to collect more money towards the administration of bankruptcies. In the wake of the Government's cuts, my feeling is that this is not far from the truth.

Bankrupt before December

One of the questions raised by the change in policy is what happens if you were bankrupt before December 2010?

If you were declared bankruptcy before 1st Dec and currently have an income payment agreement in place this will continue as normal. If during the three year period, your circumstances change, the amount you pay will still be reassessed based on the old policy

However, if you were bankrupt before December 1st and are not yet subject to an income payment agreement, if you circumstances improve, the new criteria will be used and you are far more likely to get an IPA.

One concern about this is that it is likely to deter people who are already bankrupt from trying to improve their Credit0 situation.

This is a fair argument. However in reality this will only affect a relatively small number of people and the government is more concerned about the potentially huge number of people who are likely to declare themselves bankrupt in the coming months and years.

Not an easy option

Although the recent changes will put more onus on people who have declared bankruptcy to repay some of their Credit7, bankruptcy must still be seen as sensible solution for many people.

Credit9 is written off after twelve months and if you cannot afford to pay anything towards the money you owe, you will not have to.

However, bankruptcy should never be seen as an easy option and expert advice should always be sought before deciding to go down the bankruptcy route.

From the 1st of December 2010 the policy surrounding the amount a bankrupt person is required to pay towards their Credit7s was changed. We consider how this change will affect people who are declaring themselves bankrupt.

If you declare yourself bankrupt, the official receiver will review your income and living expenditure budgets. Any money left over once all of your essential and reasonable living expenses are paid is called disposable income.

Before the 1st of December 2010, if your disposable income was anything up to ?100, you would have been allowed to keep this money.

If your disposable income was over ?100 you would have been required to pay up to 70% of this towards your Credit7 for a period of three years in the form of an income payment agreement (IPA).

These policies have now changed. From the 1st of December 2010, if your disposable income is above ?20, you will be required to pay all of this towards your creditors for a three year period.

Why change?

One of the reasons for the change is possibly to bring the bankruptcy payment policy more in line with the requirement for an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA).

If you carry out an IVA, you will be expected to pay all of your disposable income towards your Credit7s. To allow someone to declare themselves bankrupt and keep up to ?100 of their disposable income could therefore have been regarded as unfair.

However even after the changes, if you are asked to pay an income payment agreement after declaring bankruptcy, this will only last for three years compared to five years of payments in an IVA.

The other view is that, the courts simply need to collect more money towards the administration of bankruptcies. In the wake of the Government's cuts, my feeling is that this is not far from the truth.

Bankrupt before December

One of the questions raised by the change in policy is what happens if you were bankrupt before December 2010?

If you were declared bankruptcy before 1st Dec and currently have an income payment agreement in place this will continue as normal. If during the three year period, your circumstances change, the amount you pay will still be reassessed based on the old policy

However, if you were bankrupt before December 1st and are not yet subject to an income payment agreement, if you circumstances improve, the new criteria will be used and you are far more likely to get an IPA.

One concern about this is that it is likely to deter people who are already bankrupt from trying to improve their Credit0 situation.

This is a fair argument. However in reality this will only affect a relatively small number of people and the government is more concerned about the potentially huge number of people who are likely to declare themselves bankrupt in the coming months and years.

Not an easy option

Although the recent changes will put more onus on people who have declared bankruptcy to repay some of their Credit7, bankruptcy must still be seen as sensible solution for many people.

Credit9 is written off after twelve months and if you cannot afford to pay anything towards the money you owe, you will not have to.

However, bankruptcy should never be seen as an easy option and expert advice should always be sought before deciding to go down the bankruptcy route.