I was on the phone the other day with one of my chapter 13 clients, telling him the great news: "Your case has been confirmed!" I said gleefully. There was a pause on the line.
"What does that mean?" he finally asked, worried maybe that his case was confirmed DOA or confirmed some other horrible status. I realized I hadn't properly explained the beauty of "confirmation" in a chapter 13.
I am an attorney who files a ton of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Salt Lake City in Ogden, so I go through this process all the time. It's no wonder that folks who aren't in the bankruptcy trenches would be befuddled by "confirmation."
See, Chapter 13 bankruptcy is the kind of bankruptcy where we take all of your debts and wrap them up into a single monthly payment plan. After I write up your plan and present it to the bankruptcy judge, he "confirms" it. That's confirmation and it's a good thing. No, it's a great thing because for a very low monthly payment you can stop all the crazy garnishments and collection activities and harassment.
Most of my chapter 13 clients pay only $100 per month and they pay it for 36 months. At the end of their plan, whatever hasn't already been paid off just gets wiped out. Doesn't matter if you have $2,000 of debt or $200,000 of debt. What matters is the kind of debt you have and if you're like most folks, you've got the usual menagerie of medical bills, credit cards, or payday loans. I call all of this "junk" debt but in legal terms it's called "non priority, unsecured" debt. Call it what you want but in chapter 13 you end up paying back very, very little of it. Hence, only $100 per month on your payment plan in most cases.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Introducing $0 Down Bankruptcy
At last, what you've all been waiting for: Filing bankruptcy with no attorney fees up front! Look, I know that you've been struggling trying to get the cash together to file bankruptcy. It's hard to save any money when the creditors are bleeding you dry with wage garnishments and collection activities.
So I am now filing cases where you pay absolutely no attorney fees up front. You only have to pay the $281 court filing fee and that will get you a case number and full bankruptcy protection! I have offices in Ogden and Salt Lake City.
What kind of bankruptcy is this? It's Chapter 13 and it is the greatest thing going since congress changed the bankruptcy laws in 2005. Chapter 13 is a court supervised debt consolidation program where we take all of the debt that is causing your problems and wrap it into a single monthly payment. The best part? You don't have to pay back all of your debt. In fact, in most of my chapter 13 cases, my clients pay back only a small fraction--maybe a couple pennies on the dollar--so they have a very low monthly payment. How low? How about $100 per month for 36 months. At that end of your 36 month repayment plan, whatever you haven't fully paid off just gets wiped out!
If you want to learn more about the power of $0 down chapter 13, just click here. Or, you can just call me. I am an experienced chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney in with offices in Salt Lake City and Ogden and I am happy to talk to you right now on my cell phone: 801.721.9633.
So I am now filing cases where you pay absolutely no attorney fees up front. You only have to pay the $281 court filing fee and that will get you a case number and full bankruptcy protection! I have offices in Ogden and Salt Lake City.
What kind of bankruptcy is this? It's Chapter 13 and it is the greatest thing going since congress changed the bankruptcy laws in 2005. Chapter 13 is a court supervised debt consolidation program where we take all of the debt that is causing your problems and wrap it into a single monthly payment. The best part? You don't have to pay back all of your debt. In fact, in most of my chapter 13 cases, my clients pay back only a small fraction--maybe a couple pennies on the dollar--so they have a very low monthly payment. How low? How about $100 per month for 36 months. At that end of your 36 month repayment plan, whatever you haven't fully paid off just gets wiped out!
If you want to learn more about the power of $0 down chapter 13, just click here. Or, you can just call me. I am an experienced chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney in with offices in Salt Lake City and Ogden and I am happy to talk to you right now on my cell phone: 801.721.9633.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
It's Been Too Long
Wow, I haven't posted anything on the Utah Bankruptcy Blog in a long time. Let's get the party started again.
Since my last post, the Utah State Legislature changed the exemptions in a couple of key areas. Remember that "exemptions" are the pieces of property you own that cannot be taken from you by creditors or bankruptcy trustees. The first big one relates to real estate. Under the new law, a single person can protect up to $30k of equity in their primary residence ($60k if it's a married couple and they are both on title). It used to be $20k/$40k. This matters A LOT as the real estate market in Utah starts to turn around.
Another area is vehicles. The new law protects up to $3k of equity in a car. Used to be $2,500. Not a huge amount but certainly moving in the right direction as far as I'm concerned.
Now you can keep your gun in a chapter 7 so long as it's not worth more than $250, and you can protect tools used in your trade up to $5,000 (used to be $3,500).
We bankruptcy lawyers tried to push a whole bunch of other more favorable exemptions through but the bankruptcy trustees fought us. We had to compromise in order to get even these changes done. That's democracy I guess.
Since my last post, the Utah State Legislature changed the exemptions in a couple of key areas. Remember that "exemptions" are the pieces of property you own that cannot be taken from you by creditors or bankruptcy trustees. The first big one relates to real estate. Under the new law, a single person can protect up to $30k of equity in their primary residence ($60k if it's a married couple and they are both on title). It used to be $20k/$40k. This matters A LOT as the real estate market in Utah starts to turn around.
Another area is vehicles. The new law protects up to $3k of equity in a car. Used to be $2,500. Not a huge amount but certainly moving in the right direction as far as I'm concerned.
Now you can keep your gun in a chapter 7 so long as it's not worth more than $250, and you can protect tools used in your trade up to $5,000 (used to be $3,500).
We bankruptcy lawyers tried to push a whole bunch of other more favorable exemptions through but the bankruptcy trustees fought us. We had to compromise in order to get even these changes done. That's democracy I guess.
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