St. Louis Bankruptcy Lawyers Blog

The primary way in which you stop a home foreclosure is by filing a St. Louis Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Such a filing will stop the foreclosure sale, and put you into a sensible repayment plan to get caught up on the arrearage (i.e. the amount that you have fallen behind on).

When you fall behind on your monthly mortgage payments (because of the loss of a job, or your hours were cut, or the bank increased your loan payments), your lender will eventually move towards a foreclosure. In the past (pre-2008), when you fell behind by about three payments, the bank would start the process. But since 2008 (which is to say, since the beginning of the Great Recession), banks and mortgage lenders are allowing people to go many months before they begin the foreclosure process.

But either way, the bank will eventually seek to remedy the situation by foreclosing on your loan (which in turn allows them to sell your house to the highest bidder). Once you receive the foreclosure notice (which will undoubtedly by send via certified mail), you will have approximately thirty (30) days in which to act. If you take action before the sale date, then there is a chance to save your home with a St. Louis bankruptcy.

No, you will not have to surrender you tax refund every year for the rest of your life!! But depending on which chapter of bankruptcy you file, there is a possibility that you may have to turn over a portion of your current refund. Let me explain:

In a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a tax refund becomes an issue if it is large. By large, I mean anything over $2,000. Some people anticipate a refund of four, five, or six thousand per year. If this is the situation, then it depends greatly upon when you actually file your bankruptcy petition. For instance, if you were to file a Missouri Chapter 7 in December, and you anticipated a tax refund of $5,000, then it is going to be very likely that the Trustee will demand that you turnover to him most of that refund (the Trustee will then disperse those funds to the unsecured creditors that are due to be discharged in your case).

But if it is March when you file your St. Louis Chapter 7, and you have already spent the tax refund (on necessities, like household expenses, bills, and/or car repairs), then there will be nothing that the Trustee can take from you. So as you can see, it depends greatly on when you file your Chapter 7. Sometimes a tax refund can be an issue, and other times its no issue at all. It is all in the timing of when you file your case.

It depends mainly on when you file your case. There are two main chapters of bankruptcy, and within each one, the court handles a tax refund very differently.

ONLY $750 IN ATTORNEY FEES FOR A ST. LOUIS CHAPTER 7

In a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the Trustee is ordered by the court to find any assets you might have that he/she can liquidate. This liquidation of assets is for the benefit of your unsecured creditors (like credit cards, medical bills, payday loans, etc.) who are subject to discharge. The basic bargain is this: if you had some sort of asset that could have been liquidated before filing your St. Louis bankruptcy, then this asset should be turned over to the Trustee so that he/she can sell it (or reduce it to cash).

It depends upon which chapter of St. Louis bankruptcy you file. In a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the length of time from start to finish is generally about three (3) to four (4) months. In a St. Louis Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the length of can be between three (3) to five (5) years. But it’s very important to understand the differences between the two types of bankruptcy so that you can make the best decision for you and your family.

A St. Louis Chapter 7 is described as a discharge / liquidation. The discharge part is pretty straight forward: whatever unsecured debts you have (such as credit cards, medical bills, payday loans, etc) are knocked out forever. Once the case is filed, you can expect to receive this discharge three to four months later. During this short period of time, you will be required to attend one hearing called the “341 Meeting of Creditors.” It is a chance for any of your creditors to show up and ask you any questions about your debts on the record. Other than this hearing, that is pretty much all you will have to do (except to wait around for your official discharge). The fees for a standard Missouri Chapter 7 start at $750.

A St. Louis Chapter 13 is described as a repayment plan over the course of three to five years. During this period of time, you will pay back certain debts (such as car loans, back child support, mortgage arrearage, and any tax debt). The way in which to determine the actual length of time during which you will be inside the repayment plan is based largely on two things: 1) the number of people living in your household; and 2) the amount of monthly income that comes into your household. If you are below a certain median (or average) income level, then you may do a three year plan. If you are above the median income level, then you will have to do a five year plan. There are no upfront attorney fees necessary to file a Missouri Chapter 13.

It depends on two main things: 1) which chapter of bankruptcy you file; and 2) whether or not the debt in question was jointly held between you and your ex-spouse.

Debt that you incurred jointly with your spouse while you were married (like a credit card or loan) can almost never be discharged in a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy. So for instance, if the family court judge in your divorce proceeding ordered that you pay unsecured debts that were in both your names (again, like credit card debt), then those debts cannot be knocked out in a Missouri Chapter 7.

The policy behind this decision is in place so as to insure that people do not get out of such debts so easily. You can still file a Chapter 7 if you wish (so long as you qualify for one otherwise), but those debts will not be removed.

It’s actually rare that you would have to pay back every single one of your debts in a St. Louis bankruptcy. But then it depends very much on which chapter of bankruptcy you file.

In a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy, all of your unsecured debts (such as credit cards, medical bills, payday loans, etc) are discharged. When debts are “discharged,” they are literally knocked out forever. They will no longer exist. The creditors can no longer demand payment from you, and you are no longer under any obligation to pay. If on the other hand you have secured debts that you wish to retain (such as a house or car), then the opportunity to do so is available. So long as there is not a great deal of equity in the asset, then keeping a house or car in a Missouri Chapter 7 is possible.

The other main type of filing is a St. Louis Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This is described as a repayment plan over the course of three to five years during which certain debts are paid back. These certain debts would include arrearage on a mortgage (i.e. what you have fallen behind on your house payments), car or truck loans (usually at a much lower interest rate), tax debt (income, personal property, sales, and real estate taxes), and back child support and/or maintenance.