If you’re thinking of filing Chapter 13 in Long Island, here’s a short overview of the process.

 

(An important note: the process is very complicated; you really will want to hire an attorney who’s an expert in Chapter 13′s many ins and outs.)

 

You’ll need to file what is known as a "bankruptcy petition" with the courts. This document — often dozens of pages thick — lists your debts, your assets and other important information about your finances. The bankruptcy petition must be put together in a very particular way an in a particular order.

 

Chapter 13 in Long Island will require that you and the court agree to a payment plan. The plan will detail how your Chapter 13 trustee will administer your debt during the bankruptcy. It will answer how much of your unsecured debt you’ll pay back. Will you keep your car? Will you catch up on your mortgage in order to stay away from foreclosure?

 

Once the repayment amount and is squared away, you’ll be paying it over 36 months (three years), so the courts will need to know precisely how to calculate your monthly payments so that you’ll be able to afford them.

 

Once your petition and payment plan are ready, your Chapter 13 Long Island attorney will submit them to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. You’ve just filed for bankruptcy.

 

You will appear in court to answer some questions of the court. This is called the "meeting of creditors." You will be placed under oath under penalty of perjury to answer the questions.

 

Once you’ve had your day in court, your bankruptcy attorney will return to court at some point to make sure the Chapter 13 Long Island payment plan is fair to you and that you’re able to pay it. Once approved, the court will "confirm" your plan and you start submitting the monthly payments.

 

You then will mail your monthly payments to your Chapter 13 trustee. Because you’re not supposed to have much extra money (after all, you declared bankruptcy because of financial issues), you’ll need to watch your day-to-day spending carefully and not go over an amount as set by your payment plan.

In many of the Nassau bankruptcy cases we work with, clients are weighed heavily under debt. Their minds immediately turn to getting debts discharged by filing for Nassau bankruptcy. It’s important to realize that in Nassau bankruptcy and places elsewhere, the debtor does not have the absolute right to have their debts discharged.

Under Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Nassau:

• • An objection to the debtor’s discharge may be filed by a creditor, by the trustee in the case. To object to the debtor’s discharge, a complaint must be filed in the bankruptcy court; this complaint starts a lawsuit that is referred to as an “adversary proceeding.”
• • The court may deny the debtor’s discharge for a variety of reasons including: failure to provide requested tax documents, failure to complete a personal financial management course; transfer or concealment of property, destruction or concealment of records, perjury and other fraudulent acts, failure to account for the loss of assets, violation of a court order or an earlier bankruptcy agreement.

In Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 Nassau bankruptcy:

• • The debtor is typically entitled to a discharge upon completion of all payments under terms of the bankruptcy.
• • Discharge may not occur if the debtor fails to complete a required course on personal financial management, if the debtor received a prior discharge in another bankruptcy case that occurred within certain time frames.
• • Unlike Chapter 7, creditors cannot object to a discharge if the debtor has completed making plan payments. However, creditors can object to confirmation of the repayment plan.

 

We often hear people filing for Suffolk bankruptcy asking anxious questions about losing the roof over their heads and life’s other basic necessities. If you too are considering filing Suffolk bankruptcy but harbor similar worries, read on.

In most, cases you will not lose your car or home.
If filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Suffolk, you will retain your home and car during your bankruptcy proceedings as long as your equity in the property is fully exempt. If your property is not fully exempt, you may still be able to keep your property by filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy instead of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

In the case of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, however, you will be required to pay over a set course of time at least the portion of equity in the property that is the non-exempt as well as any amount you are behind on your home or auto loan. You will also be required to continue to make your regular monthly loan payments.

Your utility services will not be affected.
Public utilities companies, such as electric and water, cannot cut off service because you have filed for bankruptcy. While you don’t have to pay utility bills that surface after your Suffolk bankruptcy petition is filed, the utility company can require a deposit for future service.

You will not lose your job or be discriminated against if seeking employment.
Federal bankruptcy law prohibits discrimination of debtors by employers. It is illegal for employers—for the sole reason that you are about to file for bankruptcy, are undergoing bankruptcy proceedings or have a history of bankruptcy—to terminate an employee or discriminate with respect to hiring.

When working with Long Island bankruptcy clients, our Nassau County bankruptcy lawyers first help them determine their eligibility between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Of course, the information presented here just scratches the surface of bankruptcy rules and regulations. For the best advice on the specifics of your bankruptcy case, arrange for a free consultation with one of our Nassau County bankruptcy attorneys today. But first, let’s go over the Long Island bankruptcy basics.

 

In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the bankruptcy trustee cancels many of your debts, sometime even all of your debts, and may also liquidate some of your property to pay your creditors. Chapter 7 bankruptcy also is called "straight" or "liquidation" bankruptcy.

 

You are not eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy if:

 

• - you have enough income to repay your debts,
• - you previously received a bankruptcy discharge in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case within the last eight years or in a Chapter 13 case within the last six years,
• - you had a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case dismissed within the past 180 days, or
• - you defrauded your creditors.

 

With Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your debts are not cancelled and your property is not sacrificed. Instead, you keep your property. But you also must pay back all or a portion of your debts over a three to five-year period. Chapter 13 bankruptcy also can be called “reorganization” bankruptcy.

 

You are not eligible for Chapter 13 bankruptcy if:

 

• - you are filing as a business instead of an individual; businesses file Chapter 11,
• - you have insufficient disposable income to meet your repayment obligations,
• - your debts exceed $1,081,400 (this amount periodically adjusts for inflation),
• - you are behind on your income tax filings.

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