Bankruptcy Bliss

There are two types of bankruptcy an individual can file for usually. Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Occasionally, under specific guidelines an individual may also file for a Chapter 12 Bankruptcy. This however has very strict guidelines and will not work for a number of people. In general terms the differences are in a Chapter 7 petition the individuals personal assets are sold to satisfy the debts they have incurred. The Chapter 13 basically is if you have regular income and can afford your monthly expenses and can afford to pay your debts if they are lowered and spread out over 3-5 years.

Types of Personal Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy laws are uniform throughout the United States since they are created under federal laws, and are administered by the US Bankruptcy Courts. Approximately 1.6 million individual Americans file for bankruptcy protection each year. Pertaining to individuals, there are two (2) types of personal bankruptcy laws. They are called Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, named after the chapters of the US Bankruptcy Code in which they are defined and detailed. Individuals can also qualify under Chapter 12 if the meet the requirements defined for a Family Farmer or a Family Fisherman.

When an individual files for bankruptcy under Chapter 7, the individual gives the court a list of all owned assets, and with the exception of certain specified assets, a trustee will sell the assets and pay off as much of the debt as possible. Under Chapter 7, most but not all of the individuals debts are wiped out. Some of the debts that cannot be wiped out include most taxes, alimony/child support, student loans and debts that are not specifically mentioned in that particular bankruptcy filing.

An individual is allowed to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 once every six years. The filing fee is $299.When an individual files for bankruptcy under Chapter 13, the amount of the debt is reduced but the debt is not wiped out. A repayment schedule is created by the trustee and the debtor may be allowed to keep assets that would have automatically been sold if Chapter 7 had been filed. The repayment period specified by the trustee usually ranges from three to five years. The court typically has the individual makes monthly payments to the trustee and the trustee in turn makes the payment to the creditor.An individual can file under Chapter 13 only if the person owes less than $250 thousand in unsecured debt and less than $750 thousand in secured debt.

Secured debts are debts for which the individual has provided collateral, such as a mortgage on a house. If a person does not pay a secured debt, then the creditor can take the collateral. Unsecured debts are debts for which the individual has not provided collateral such as credit card debts, medical bills, etc.Under Chapter 13 creditors who have secured debt will get paid before any of the unsecured creditors get paid.

The financial impact on the individual who files under Chapter 7 is much more sever than had the person filed under Chapter 13. An individual who filed under Chapter 7 will find it extremely difficult to obtain credit for many years after the filing. Additionally, any credit that the person does obtain will have a very high interest rate. Much higher that had the individual filed under Chapter 13.