Articles Posted in St Louis Bankruptcy

ONLY $675 ATTORNEY FEES FOR A ST LOUIS CHAPTER 7

No, you do not. Even if you are married, you can still file a St Louis bankruptcy by yourself (i.e. individually). However, the bankruptcy code requires that all household income be disclosed to the court. So if your spouse earns or receives any income, then you will have a duty to make that clear (through your attorney) to the Bankruptcy Trustee.

When you file for bankruptcy in the state of Missouri, the court will ask you to show the Trustee all of your household income. Whether it is the wages you earn from your job, profit from a business, child support, or any other source of income (like governmental assistance in the form of unemployment benefits, Veteran’s benefits, SSI, of food stamps). In addition, it will be necessary to disclose all income that your spouse earns/receives (even if he/she is not filing jointly with you).

Continue reading →

ONLY $675 ATTORNEY FEES FOR A ST LOUIS CHAPTER 7

I’ve been a St Louis bankruptcy lawyer for quite some time now, and I have yet to meet anyone who is eager or excited to file for bankruptcy. The people I meet dread the idea of having to do such a thing. They feel embarrassed, humiliated, and very often depressed about their set of circumstances. But no matter how bad things get financially, they would still prefer to try and pay their debts.

This is a sentiment that I can understand. And I always tell my clients that bankruptcy should be their last resort (not their first choice). Why? Because the public policy behind a bankruptcy is to give you a fresh start / clean slate when you are burdened by mountains of debt (that you cannot crawl out from underneath). So here are some things that might be going on in your life that might make you consider bankruptcy:

Continue reading →

ONLY $675 ATTORNEY FEES FOR A ST LOUIS CHAPTER 7

No, the Bankruptcy Court can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do. However, if you have an asset that has a lot of equity (and more specifically, equity that cannot be exempted by statute), then a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee can demand that you turn over those assets (so that he/she can liquidate them, and use the proceeds to pay off your creditors).

So for instance, let’s say you are thinking about filing a St Louis Chapter 7. And you have a 2012 car that is paid in full (no outstanding loan balance). In that kind of situation, there is very little chance that your attorney can exempt the car (i.e. keep it safe). That means that if you were to file a Ch7, there is a very good likelihood that the Trustee would demand that you turn over the car to him/her (so that it can liquidated at a sale).

Continue reading →

ONLY $675 ATTORNEY FEES FOR A ST LOUIS CHAPTER 7

First of all, if you end up “losing” an asset through a bankruptcy, it will almost assuredly be a Chapter 7. And if you lose an asset in a Chapter 7, it is because the asset had a great deal of equity.

Normally, the assets that you own can be protected by way of certain “exemptions” that the state provides to cover any equity that might exist. Your St Louis bankruptcy lawyer would know which state exemptions to use for which assets.

For instance, the state of Missouri provides a “Household Goods” exemption of $3,000 (if you are an individual filer) and $6,000 (if you file jointly with your spouse). This exemption covers all of your odds and ends (such as pots and pans), furniture, tv’s, etc. The value that you give to these items is “garage sale value”. In other words, what would these items fetch if you were to sell them in a garage sale. Most of the time, the state exemption will more than cover the value of this stuff.

Continue reading →

ONLY $675 ATTORNEY FEES FOR A ST LOUIS CHAPTER 7

Yes, it is entirely possible to keep all of your assets when you file a St Louis bankruptcy. Not only can you retain your car, but you can also keep other major assets (like real estate). But it depends on which chapter of bankruptcy you file for, and it depends on whether or not you have sufficient “exemptions” to cover any equity that may exist in the asset. A brief explanation of how it all works is given below:

When you file for bankruptcy, you are required to disclose all of your assets. In other words, you have a duty to list out all things that you own so that the court can take a close look at the things you have. Obviously, an automobile is definitely an asset you would have to list.

Once it’s listed, the next step is to provide the court with an understanding of: 1) how much you still owe against the car; and 2) how much you believe the value of the car is. So for instance, let’s say you have a 2010 Toyota Corolla. According to the NADA, such a car has an average trade-in value of about $8,000. And let’s further assume that you owe a balance of $7,000 against it. That would mean (at least on paper) that you have about $1,000 of equity in the car.

Continue reading →

ONLY $675 ATTORNEY FEES FOR A ST LOUIS CHAPTER 7

There isn’t a whole lot that any creditor can do or say to prevent you from filing a St Louis bankruptcy. Many of them will for sure give you inaccurate information (and/or flat out lies). They will tell you that their particular debt cannot be discharged, or that they will continue to collect on the debt regardless of whether you file. All of these things are incorrect. But of course that won’t stop the creditors from telling you things that are untrue.

There are basically two kinds of debt: secured and unsecured. A secured debt is a debt that has some sort of collateral attached to it. A good example would be a mortgage on a house, or note on a car. If you were to stop paying on the loan, the creditor (the mortgage lender or car note holder) would take action to take back the asset itself (such as a foreclosure or a repossession).

Continue reading →

ONLY $675 ATTORNEY FEES FOR A ST LOUIS CHAPTER 7

Sometimes the amount of medical bills can pile up so high that it seems impossible to handle. The cost of medical care these days is immense. And trying to stay on top of these bills (along with everything else in life) can be very difficult to manage. In fact, a very large number of the bankruptcies filed each year throughout the country are directly related to unending medical bills that the individual has no chance of ever paying.

For instance, if you have a major medical procedure done (like a complicated surgery), the cost of this service is usually through the roof. And then of course there are very often secondary procedures that have to be done, follow ups, and associated costs such as prescription drugs and other medical supplies. When you add all of that up, the overall cost is enormous. Sometimes into the hundreds of thousands range. Looking at such a bill can cause your eyes to bug out of your head!!

Continue reading →

ONLY $675 ATTORNEY FEES FOR A ST LOUIS CHAPTER 7

Because like a lot of people, they simply spend more than they have (especially long after the good times have passed). And if you try and live a lifestyle that is outside of your means, then it eventually it will catch up with you. But this type of scenario is the exact same as almost every other person who files for bankruptcy (and they are certainly not famous!!)

Take for example a professional football player. He is paid large sums of money to play the game. While he is a star athlete, he will buy a big house, a nice car, and take out a great many credit cards. But then he gets hurt, has to retire before he wanted to, and now the money is no longer coming in. It seems like he is heading towards a rough time, but he figures that his endorsements will get him through (and he has been talking to some people about other business opportunities).

Continue reading →