Tag: Bankruptcy Law

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Bankruptcy during COVID-19

Many people are struggling right now with decreased income, but they have the same bills (maybe even more!) since before COVID-19 started. Some are wondering can they still file bankruptcy. The answer is YES! You are still able to file bankruptcy under these conditions, and we are happy to help you navigate this new world. We can meet with you in person, talk over the phone, or even by video conference for an initial discussion on your options and how to reach your goals.

Many people do everything they can to avoid filing bankruptcy, so by the time we talk to them they are ready to file immediately. Other times, people know a change is coming and want to start planning the next right step.

For so many people right now in Tennessee, the end of July will also bring the end of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments. That is $600 per week that many people will no longer receive. We can start planning now to determine what the next right step is. We do not have to wait until that income stops coming in.

For others, pay cuts are still happening. Layoffs are still newly announced every week. So for people who are living paycheck to paycheck, the time to start planning may be before you actually get the call that your pay has been cut or you’ve been part of the latest rounds of layoffs. You don’t have to wait to start planning.

For some people, we are even able to say that bankruptcy isn’t the best option, and perhaps other options might be good to try first.

Either way, we are happy to discuss your goals and see how we might be able to help. Just give us a call at 731-424-3315 and we will find a time convenient for you to discuss everything and ask all the questions you have so you can make the most informed decision. I look forward to seeing you soon!

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How do you pay for filing a bankruptcy? Can it be done with no money down?

On the list of questions many people ask is “how do I pay for this because I don’t have any money?” As usual, “it depends” is the primary answer. It depends on if you are filing chapter 13 or chapter 7. Let me explain….

In Chapter 13, our court allows you to pay ZERO DOWN on your bankruptcy filing, and you just pay the Chapter 13 Trustee your first month’s plan payment within the first 30 days. So there’s no money down for a Chapter 13 filing! With a Chapter 13 you do pay monthly payments to the Chapter 13 trustee for the secured items you want to keep like your house and car. You can pay that monthly payment out of your paycheck, your unemployment check, your social security check, or get help from friends and family. Also, the trustee has a fairly new option that allows the regular payments to the trustee to be automatically drafted out of your bank account if you’d like. Many people really like this option because it’s one less thing you have to do. And we all need one less thing to do these days.

In a Chapter 7, you can either pay the filing and attorneys fees before we file the case, or you can actually now finance the cost of filing. You just pay it over a period of 12 months with an auto draft from your bank account or debit card. It even works with social security debit cards. Again, this allows for NO MONEY DOWN bankruptcy filing. If that’s something you’re interested in, I can give you all of the details personally.

So you see, either way you go you have options for a no money down payment structure. Don’t let fear of the unknown stop you from reaching your financial goals. If you are in a rut and need a way out, or see that you are about to get into a rut, go ahead and contact us for a free conversation about how we might be able to help you. I look forward to working with you to achieve your dreams!

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Series: What is a Bankruptcy Voluntary Petition Form 1?

While we may generally refer to the entire series of documents we file with the Court as your “Petition”, there is technically a form called the Voluntary Petition (Official Form 1).  For purposes of this series and to cut down on confusion, I’ll call it Form 1.

Form 1 is three pages, and is sort of like the data sheet for your case.  It lists things like your name and address, and what chapter of the Bankruptcy Code you are filing. It also lists an estimate of the number of creditors you have (creditors are the people you owe), an estimate of the value of your assets (assets are the stuff you have), and an estimate of your liabilities (the bills you owe).  There are also several check boxes that are filled in based on your situation to tell the court different things, as well as let the court know that you’ve completed your credit counseling and you’ve lived here long enough to file in this court. Additionally, if you’ve filed bankruptcy before, or if you have a spouse or cosigner in a bankruptcy, then their case information will also be listed on these pages.

Form 1 also contains places where you and your attorney sign saying that everything is correct under penalty of perjury.  You’ll see over the course of this series that there are lots of places you have to sign, and it’s all under penalty of perjury.  Wondering what happens if you don’t tell the truth? See my article here on that.

Here’s a look at what Form 1 looks like:

 

Form 1 Voluntary Petition

 

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Series: What is a Bankruptcy Petition?

You hear us talk about “your Bankruptcy petition” but you may wonder exactly what that is. In short, it’s the group of documents we file with the Bankruptcy Court so you can pay what you have to pay and not pay what you don’t have to pay, as well as get you all of the protection you can have in your case.

In this series of blog posts, we’ll explore what each part of your petition is, what it means, and any other information you might find useful. We will go through each section of the petition piece by piece so that you will have a better understanding of what everything is.

Remember that this will not serve as any legal advice on your situation, this is just a general overview. So if you have questions about your case, you need to be sure to contact your attorney for specific information tailored just for you.

Be sure to check back often for the next article in this series!

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Legal Insurance Plans

Are you a member of a legal insurance plan and need legal assistance? Legal insurance plans often will pay a portion of your attorneys fees, or provide you a discount on attorneys fees. Rarely will a legal insurance plan cover court costs or other non-attorney fees. Most plans ask that you contact the plan provider to obtain an authorization number to provide to your attorney when you make your appointment. Some plans will allow you to make your appointment and then your attorney can confirm your plan status. The best thing to do is contact your insurance provider and obtain any necessary authorizations before making your appointment with an attorney. When you call our office to make your appointment, be sure to let the appointment secretary know which insurance plan you have and your authorization number, and she will set up your consultation to meet with your approved attorney, Alissa Gay.

Attorney Alissa Gay is currently an approved provider for the following plans:
– ARAG Legal Insurance
– U.S. Legal Services
– Legal Shield
– Pre-paid Legal Services

Do you have a different legal insurance plan? If so, contact Attorney Alissa Gay and Alissa will try to work with your legal insurance company to help you reach your goals and use the insurance you’ve paid for.

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Free Bankruptcy Information Session!

Our firm, Teel & Maroney, PLC, will be holding a free Bankruptcy Information Session in conjunction with West Tennessee Legal Services on Thursday, April 17th, 2014. The session will be held at the Jackson Chamber of Commerce (near the Civic Center) from 6pm – 7pm. It will be very casual and we will have time for questions and answers as well. This is open to anyone who has financial concerns and is wondering if bankruptcy might be an option for them. Seating is limited, so we ask that anyone who plans on attending call our office by April 15 to register.
Please pass this information along to anyone you think might benefit from the free information session!

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It’s back to school time! What about those back to school expenses?!?!

As back to school time draws near, so does the looming debt that can come with it. Just think about it. There are pencils, paper, crayons, hand sanitizer, and all that other stuff the teacher puts on a list you have to buy. And then there are the clothes and shoes and backpacks, and the list just goes on and on. And all of that costs money.

It’s not shocking to hear that many people get into credit card or loan trouble around Christmas, but have you thought about people who rely upon credit cards and loans to help get their children ready for school every year? If you are one of those people, you may be wondering what to do now that you’ve used your credit cards and gotten loans to get all of those school supplies and clothes so your kids can go back to school and be prepared. Not only do you have these new bills to pay, but somehow the rent or house payment still has to get paid, plus the electricity, and then there’s food…….

If you are having trouble making your payments (or find yourself in trouble in the next few months when those bills start rolling in), you might need to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer to see what your options might be. Luckily, you already know a lawyer to talk to! Me! I would love to meet with you and talk about your situation, find out what your goals are, and tell you how the bankruptcy laws would apply to your situation. Just email me or call our office at 731-424-3315 and ask for me, Alissa, and we will set up a time for you to come in and have a conversation.

Want more info on bankruptcy? Look around my website at my bankruptcy articles. I’ve posted answers to the questions I get most often. Don’t see the answer you are looking for? Bring your question with you to your appointment and I’ll be sure to answer it!

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Some things to remember while you are in a Chapter 13 case….

Here are a few tidbits of information that I think will come in handy for you while you are in your bankruptcy case:
(disclaimer: None of this is intended to be legal advice. Reading this by itself does not make me your lawyer (ie doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship). Contact your lawyer with questions. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code).

1. When you go to your meeting of creditors, be SURE to bring BOTH your photo ID and your proof of your social security number. If you do not bring BOTH, your meeting will not be held and you will have to come back in about 2 weeks to do it all over again. See my article here about what forms of ID and SS proof are ok.

2. Do not buy anything on credit while you are in your case without first getting the Court’s approval. Have something you think you need to buy on credit? Give your attorney a call to go over the situation and see what you need to do.

3. If you have a claim against someone, or a lawsuit against someone, be SURE to tell your bankruptcy attorney BEFORE you spend any money you get. You need to call your attorney’s office and tell them your situation so they can tell you what needs to be done. Also, if you think you have a claim against someone, go ahead and call your bankruptcy lawyer. They can tell you if you have a claim how the bankruptcy might be affected. Your bankruptcy lawyer might also be able to handle the claim for you, too, so you can keep everything together.

4. Be sure you’ve told your bankruptcy attorney everything, and that everything you’ve told is true. After all, you did sign a paper that says it’s all true under penalty of perjury. What does that mean? In a nutshell, if you lie, you might go to federal prison or face a big fine, or both. (See my article here about telling the truth.) The moment you realize something you’ve said isn’t right, you need to contact your attorney and get it fixed.

5. If you change where you live, where you get your mail, where you get your phone calls, where you get your emails, where you get your paycheck, or from whom you receive money, you need to let your attorney know.

6. Make sure that your employer is sending in the right amount of money each paycheck. It has happened where a payment change was sent to the employer, but the employer didn’t make the change for a month (or longer), and then the client got way behind in the bankruptcy payments and the Trustee wanted to dismiss the case. Don’t be that person! Stay on top of your paycheck, and make sure that when a new income deduction order comes out that your employer promptly makes that change, too! Problems? Call your attorney ASAP so your case doesn’t get messed up.

7. Stay on top of your case. See my article here about how to check your case status online. Do you see something on there that doesn’t look right? Did you get an order that didn’t make sense? Call your attorney and make sure that things are right! If you wait until the end of your 5 year case and then mention something, it’s much harder to get fixed than if you mention it as soon as you see it!

8. Don’t compare your case to anyone else’s cases. While you both may be in a Chapter 13 case, that’s where the similarities end. Everyone’s case is just as different as every snowflake. That’s why you hired a lawyer to make sure it was done correctly! And really, I find that most of those “other people” are not telling you the whole truth about their case anyway. So, don’t listen to them and make sure you understand why your case is the way it is. Call your attorney if you don’t so that you can understand. Knowledge is power, right?!

Be sure to click the follow button so you can have instant access to posts with useful information! For even more access, be sure follow me on Twitter @AttorneyAlissa.
Need a bankruptcy consultation? Give me a call! Contact me here.

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Small business owners whose customers owe money…..

As a small business owner, you may run into this more often than not these days. You contract with someone for a service with a specified price, and when you complete your task the customer asks if they can pay you next month, or maybe in installments. Because you like your customers, and you’d like customer referrals, you agree. But then the next month they ask to pay the following month. So what happens when they just stop answering the phone when you call, or do not respond to the letters you send? That might be the time to call your attorney, me, for some help.

What can I do as your attorney?

For starters, I can handle all aspects of the case for you, which gives you time to do what you do best — run your business! Once I receive all of the information on the file, I will take the appropriate steps to resolve the matter. What those steps are depends on how you want to resolve the case. There are generally several options available on how to handle the case. Based on your needs and goals, I can recommend the best step for you to take to reach those goals. Depending on the contract you have with your customer, your collection costs may be assessed against the customer.

In addition, with our experience as bankruptcy attorneys, we know how to help you recoup as much of your money as possible if your customer has filed bankruptcy, or may file bankruptcy in the future.

There are many laws that apply when collecting a debt. Be sure not to fall into a trap where you end up paying the customer because you did not follow one of those laws!

Do you have customers who need a little reminder that they need to pay you for your services? Give us a call and find out how we can help you collect what is owed to you and help your business succeed!

Contact Jackson, Tennessee attorney Alissa Gay at Teel & Maroney, PLC 731.424.3315.

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Are you or someone you know having financial problems? Maybe bankruptcy is an option!

Are you having financial problems?
If so, you are certainly not alone. With unemployment rates as high as they are, and more employees being asked to do more work for less pay, the not so great economy is somehow affecting nearly everyone. Most people I see for bankruptcy consultations have tried everything else to get them out of their financial situation. They’ve sold everything they can, borrowed from everyone they can, put up all of their cars (and maybe even the tv’s) as collateral for loans, and even pulled money out of their retirement plans. Some have opened new credit cards to transfer balances, some have gotten loans to pay off the first loans they got that they now can’t pay, and some have put their medical bills on credit cards even (don’t ever do that by the way). The constant struggle to keep a roof over your head, food on your table, and the lights on is a struggle that many many families are facing these days.

So what can you do?
You’ve tried all that other stuff and nothing seems to be helping. It only makes it worse. What else is there? Well, you might be a good candidate for a bankruptcy case. I call the couch in my office “the couch of last resort” because it’s not the first thing people try, but is usually the last and best thing for them. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told “I wish I’d come to see you sooner!” I’m here to try to help people avoid the pain and agony of trying all that other stuff, it not work, you waste money, make your credit that much worse, and then realize there’s been a better option available all along.

So what now?
If anything I’ve already said sounds like you and your situation, it’s time for you and I to talk. Give me a call or send me an email and we’ll set up a time for you to come in and we’ll talk about what you’ve got going on, what you’ve tried, what your goals are, and what options are available to help you reach those goals. We’ll spend probably around an hour together talking. To help with that conversation, I’ll need you to bring some documents with you so that I can give you the best possible information. If you don’t bring all the pieces of the puzzle, it makes it harder to put the puzzle together.

Here’s what you will need to bring to our meeting:
1) All of your bills — and I mean ALL of them, not just some of them. If you know you owe someone and don’t have a bill, it’s not the end of the world. Just write down the name of the person you owe, their mailing address for letters (which is usually not the same as the address you send money to), your account number, and the balance you owe. If you’d like to get a copy of your credit report and bring that, too, that’s great. (See my article about getting a credit report here.)
2) The last two years of tax returns. This means the form 1040 (or 1040A, 1040EZ, or 1040 something). This is NOT the w-2 you get from your employer to do your taxes. If you don’t have this form, you can stop by the IRS office either before or after your meeting with me to get it. They print it out for free while you wait, and it usually doesn’t take very long.
3) Proof of your income for the last 6 months. If you work, this means ALL paystubs for the last 6 months. If you receive unemployment, SSI, SS Disability, workers comp, or anything else, you’ll need to bring either a copy of your bank statements or the letter that says how much you get. If you are self employed, you’ll need to bring some sort of proof of the money you’ve made in the last six months. However you keep up with it for taxes will probably work.
4) Photo ID and social security card. (See my article on acceptable forms of ID here)
5) A copy of the declarations page of your car insurance policy if you have a car. If you don’t have this, or don’t know what it is, just call your agent and have them fax it over to me. And if you don’t have this for your appointment, no big deal. We just need it within about a week of your case being filed. The rule generally is that if you have a car, and you have a loan of any kind (either the purchase of the car or a title loan) then you are required to have FULL coverage insurance. If you don’t have full coverage insurance, the court will put insurance on it, but the court’s insurance doesn’t protect you. So what does that mean? If you get pulled over, and you only have court insurance, then you still get a ticket. And if you hit someone in your car and they sue you, the court insurance doesn’t provide any of the protections that your own insurance would. Not to mention there’s the TN law that requires you to have at least liability insurance. So the moral of the story is you need to get your own insurance and don’t use the court’s insurance!
6) Write down any questions you know you have so we can go over those. I’m sure more will come up as we talk, and probably even some after you leave our meeting. Contact me anytime with your questions. I want to make sure you understand everything about your case so you can more easily reach your financial goals. Also look around this website. I’ve tried to address lots of questions in various postings, so you might find some answers to some of your questions here.

So how do you set up our meeting?
That’s easy! Just give me a call at 731-424-3315, or email me at alissagay@tennesseefirm.com.
Be sure to follow my website so you’ll get instant access to helpful information and updates when I post them. Also follow me on twitter @AttorneyAlissa.
I look forward to meeting you soon!

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for Bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Code.