ABI Blog Exchange

The ABI Blog Exchange surfaces the best writing from member practitioners who regularly cover consumer bankruptcy practice — chapters 7 and 13, discharge litigation, mortgage servicing, exemptions, and the full range of issues affecting individual debtors and their creditors. Posts are drawn from consumer-focused member blogs and updated as new content is published.

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ADLs & Personal Injury Claims

AD Ls & Personal Injury Claims How Activities Of Daily Living Can Impact Your Injury Award Personal injury claims arise out of a variety of types of accidents. Being in a car accident, slipping and falling in a public establishment, being bitten by someone’s dog, and more can cause substantial injuries that are traumatic and expensive. Serious injuries may cause someone not just to miss work, but be unable to do chores around the house or even manage general personal care. Activities of daily living, or AD Ls, can be used as a benchmark to show how severe an accident victim’s injuries are. Someone who can’t complete their AD Ls essentially becomes dependent on others, which is a situation few wish to endure. Obtaining a fair personal injury award could be crucial for the victim to be self-sufficient and avoid burdening loved ones. Our Arizona injury attorneys can help you do just that. Let us leverage our experience and knowledge of Arizona law to negotiate an award with the insurance company that will let you move on with your life. If necessary, our team is prepared to take your claim all the way to trial. Call to learn more with your free consultation at 480-448-9800. What Are Activities of Daily Living? Activities of daily living are defined as “essential and routine tasks that most young, healthy individuals can perform without assistance.” The term first came about in the 1950s to define daily functional activities like bathing, eating, and more. Someone who can’t perform their AD Ls may need assistance from devices, or they may require assistance from another person. There are six categories of basic activities of daily living: ambulating, continence, dressing, feeding, personal hygiene, and toileting.  Ambulating Ambulating is essentially a more formal term for walking. It can involve moving from one location to another in general, and ambulating without assistance is what is checked for here. Someone whose AD Ls have been negatively affected may need a cane or walker to get around, or may not be able to get out of bed at all.  Continence Continence is one’s ability to control their bladder and bowel functions. It’s easy to imagine how continence issues could make working, running errands, and generally being in public difficult.  Dressing Dressing involves not just putting clothes on but also the ability to pick out appropriate clothes for a situation. For example, someone may have the ability to pull on pajama pants, but not have the mental awareness that they aren’t appropriate to wear to a restaurant or another public place. Feeding This only encompasses the task of eating, chewing, swallowing, digesting, etc., food rather than indirect tasks related to feeding, such as grocery shopping and cooking.  Personal Hygiene If someone becomes physically unable to bathe, they could develop infections and other medical problems. Personal hygiene also includes tasks like brushing one’s teeth, nail cleaning and clipping, and more.  Toileting Continence is the ability to control bodily function surrounding toilet use, but toileting is the ability to get to and from the toilet, use it correctly, and clean it properly.  Instrumental Activities Of Daily Living Obviously, the skills described above are crucial to someone’s quality of life. But those skills alone aren’t truly enough to survive in the modern world, as someone needs to buy groceries to eat, drive to get to the grocery store, and earn an income to afford all of that. Instrumental AD Ls are more complex tasks that are still essential to daily functioning. Instrumental AD Ls may require the use of devices or more complex thought processes than basic AD Ls.  Housecleaning & Home Maintenance This means cleaning up after cooking meals, keeping living areas neat, and other maintenance tasks around the home.  Managing Communication This traditionally means mail and telephone, but can include more modern methods of communication like e-mail as well.  Managing Finances If the bills aren’t paid, the lights won’t stay on, assets could be repossessed, and more. If the person in question has other financial assets, managing those is also considered an instrumental ADL.  Managing Medications This refers to a person’s ability to fill their prescriptions and take them as prescribed. This can become more complicated the more medications that a person is prescribed. Some medications may need to be taken at certain times of the day, only with medication, never with alcohol, and more. A person may need to avoid driving and operating heavy machinery while on their medication as well.  Shopping & Meal Preparation This category involves the more advanced parts of feeding, which is a basic ADL. Cleaning up after the meal is part of the housecleaning and home maintenance instrumental ADL. Someone doesn’t need to be a 5-star chef to be considered capable of completing the instrumental ADL of shopping and meal preparation. They just need to be able to prepare food that is edible and provides at least basic levels of nutrition.  Transportation & Shopping While many people drive to get to the grocery store, someone is capable of completing this instrumental ADL if they walk to a neighborhood market, take public transportation, etc. And just because someone can drive to the grocery store doesn’t necessarily mean they can get from their vehicle to the store, even if to use a store-provided wheelchair. Someone could also struggle with reaching and grasping items on the shelves.  AD Ls & Personal Injury Claims In a personal injury claim, a plaintiff can pursue compensation for economic damages like lost income, lost earning potential, medical bills, and future medical expenses. The plaintiff can also pursue noneconomic damages or those that don’t have a precise numerical value. Oftentimes, all noneconomic damages will be pursued together as pain and suffering. Demonstrating how injuries have impacted an accident victim’s ability to complete AD Ls can be an effective way to render a higher injury award.  Another issue with not being able to complete AD Ls is that it can create extra costs for the accident victim, or cause someone else in their household to take over their responsibilities. An accident victim may need to hire a housekeeper, landscaper, meal delivery service, and more to handle AD Ls that they cannot. The accident victim may have a spouse or family member who needs to take time off of work or otherwise make sacrifices to take care of AD Ls for their loved one.  Your Arizona Personal Injury Team Even if you have been injured in an accident so severely as to impede your ability to complete AD Ls, insurance companies train their employees to pay out as little on these claims as possible. Their adjusters know tactics and maneuvers that can force you into making statements that can damage your claim, which will ultimately reduce your award. One of the best ways to avoid these kinds of traps is by hiring your own injury attorney to act as your legal representative in your claim. Once you hire a personal injury attorney at My AZ Lawyers, they will directly be in charge of all communications with the court and the insurance company. Spend less time stressing about your injury claim and more time resting and recovering. Get started today by evaluating your claim with your free consultation- call 480-448-9800 to schedule your free appointment with one of our experienced personal injury lawyers.    Arizona Offices: Mesa Location: 1731 West Baseline Rd., Suite #100 Mesa, AZ 85202 Office: (480) 448-9800 Email: info@myazlawyers.com Website: https://myazlawyers.com/ Phoenix Location: 343 West Roosevelt, Suite #100 Phoenix, AZ 85003 Office: (602) 609-7000 Glendale Location: 20325 N 51st Avenue Suite #134, Building 5 Glendale, AZ 85308 Office: (602) 509-0955 Tucson Location: 2 East Congress St., Suite #900-6A Tucson, AZ 85701 Office: (520) 441-1450 Avondale Location: 12725 W. Indian School Rd., Ste E, #101 Avondale, AZ 85392 Office: (623) 469-6603 The post AD Ls & Personal Injury Claims appeared first on My AZ Lawyers.

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Client Review from Melissa ________ January 29, 2023

 "Jim was a tremendous help in sorting through a complex corporate structure and personal finance situation. Not only did he help with 3 separate bankruptcy filings, but he advised and appeared as needed in state court litigation and kept us calm during a nearly 5 year-long process and a very emotional time.  We are so grateful for his counsel and support and the successful outcomes he achieved for us."  

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What You Need To Know About Buying A Home After Bankruptcy

 HouseDigest.com has an excellent article about What You Need To Know About Buying A Home After Bankruptcy. The article can be found at   https://www.housedigest.com/1179558/what-you-need-to-know-about-buying-a-home-after-bankruptcy/Jim Shenwick, Esq has helped many bankruptcy filers rehabilitate their credit after a bankruptcy filing so they can purchase houses or lease automobiles.  Jim Shenwick, Esq  jshenwick@gmail.com  917 363 3391

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How to Stop a Sheriff’s Sale in Pennsylvania

If you just learned of an upcoming sheriff’s sale of your property in Pennsylvania, call our lawyers. Our attorneys can help you stop a sheriff’s sale by filing for bankruptcy. Stopping a sheriff’s sale is important for debtors in Pennsylvania. Apart from paying any outstanding debts in full, filing for bankruptcy may be the best and easiest way to stop an impending sheriff’s sale, apart from immediately paying back creditors. When you file for bankruptcy in Pennsylvania, an automatic stay will go into effect. This will stop a sheriff’s sale until you are able to repay your debts, whether through a repayment plan or liquidation. Don’t wait to contact our attorneys after being notified of a sheriff’s sale, as doing so leaves you with little control over how you repay your debts. We’re here to help debtors in Pennsylvania stop sheriff’s sales by filing for bankruptcy. For a free case evaluation with the Pennsylvania bankruptcy lawyers at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates, call today at (215) 701-6519. How Can I Stop a Sheriff’s Sale in Pennsylvania? A judge might order a sheriff’s sale if you have significant outstanding debt in Pennsylvania, especially if you are behind on your mortgage payments. This might result in your real estate or personal property being taken to satisfy any debt you owe. Stopping a sheriff’s sale is paramount, so you don’t lose your property. But how can you do this in Pennsylvania? The simplest way to stop a sheriff’s sale in Pennsylvania is to pay any outstanding debts to creditors in full. As our Pennsylvania bankruptcy lawyers know, this is easier said than done and most likely not an option if a sheriff’s sale is on the horizon. Another option is to get a court order to postpone a sheriff’s sale, which might be possible, depending on the reason for a sheriff’s sale. Accomplishing this may be a lengthy process in Pennsylvania. Not to mention, getting a court order to stop a sheriff’s sale may be difficult if you can’t find a way pay your debts in full. Typically, the most practical way to stop a sheriff’s sale from happening entirely is by filing for bankruptcy in Pennsylvania, provided you can’t pay off your debts in time. Our Philadelphia bankruptcy lawyers can walk you through this process so that you don’t have to go through with a sheriff’s sale of your property. How Can Filing for Bankruptcy Stop a Sheriff’s Sale in Pennsylvania? Sheriff’s sales can feel violating for debtors in Pennsylvania. You don’t have any control over the process, and your property may be auctioned off without your involvement. This can be devastating and discouraging to people with debt who don’t see a path forward. To stop a sheriff’s sale and gain control over your financial situation, contact our Pennsylvania bankruptcy lawyers Filing for bankruptcy can stop a sheriff’s sale and set you on the path of repayment to creditors in Pennsylvania. When debtors file for bankruptcy in Pennsylvania, an automatic stay will go into effect. This prevents creditors from hassling you to pay them and puts a stop to an impending sheriff’s sale. The next step is determining how you plan to repay your creditors. Remember, sheriff’s sales typically happen when creditors approach a judge because of a debtor’s outstanding debt. The only real way to stop a sheriff’s sale for good is to address your debt. Depending on the type of bankruptcy you file for, you may be able to pay back creditors without losing assets that might be otherwise sold in a sheriff’s sale. For example, Chapter 13 bankruptcy works through repayment plans. Our Bala Cynwyd bankruptcy lawyers can devise a repayment schedule that allows you to repay creditors within several years. To be able to file for chapter 13 bankruptcy, you have to pass a means test. If you don’t earn enough income, you may have to file for liquidation bankruptcy, also known as Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Pennsylvania. What Should I Do If I am Notified of a Sheriff’s Sale in Pennsylvania? Contact our attorneys if you are notified of an impending sheriff’s sale of your personal property or real estate in Pennsylvania. It is important to act quickly and make a plan for addressing your debt so that you don’t lose your assets through a sheriff’s sale. Don’t ignore a notice of a sheriff’s sale. If you do, you may be unable to stop it and might end up losing certain assets to cover your outstanding debts to creditors. Instead, call our attorneys to learn your options for repayment that don’t involve a sheriff’s sale. You might feel understandably confused, violated, and scared when notified of a sheriff’s sale. It can seem like you don’t have any control over your property and that they can be taken away without your approval. To prevent that from happening, call our lawyers and consider filing for bankruptcy. While filing for bankruptcy can have a negative connotation, it doesn’t have to. Think of bankruptcy as a tool to help you reclaim your financial stability. Our attorneys can help explain the benefits of filing for bankruptcy and why it is preferable to allowing a sheriff’s sale to happen without intervention. Don’t wait to act after being notified of an impending sheriff’s sale of your personal or real property in Pennsylvania and contact our attorneys immediately. Ask Our Pennsylvania Lawyers About Filing for Bankruptcy to Stop a Sheriff’s Sale Today If you want to avoid a sheriff’s sale in Pennsylvania, our attorneys can help. For a free case evaluation with the Easton, PA bankruptcy lawyers at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates, call today at (215) 701-6519.

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Schedule a telephone call with Jim Shenwick, Esq

Please click the link to schedule a telephone call with me.  https://calendly.com/james-shenwick/15min

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Can a Lawyer Stop a Car Repossession in Pennsylvania?

If you missed a few car payments and are concerned your vehicle may be repossessed, call our attorneys to learn about filing for bankruptcy in Pennsylvania. In many cases, our lawyers can stop a car repossession in Pennsylvania. When you file for bankruptcy, an automatic stay will go into effect, preventing lenders from taking your vehicle. If you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may even get your car back if it has already been repossessed and be able to settle outstanding payments through a repayment plan. If you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, getting your car back after it has been repossessed can be more challenging, though still possible with help from our attorneys. Act quickly if your car is in danger of being repossessed, and contact our lawyers immediately. If you’re struggling to make your car payments and are worried your vehicle might be repossessed, reach out to our attorneys. For a free case evaluation with the Pennsylvania bankruptcy lawyers at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates, call today at (215) 701-6519. How Can Filing for Bankruptcy Stop a Car Repossession in Pennsylvania? If your car has recently been repossessed in Pennsylvania, or you just received notice from a lender informing you that your car will be repossessed, call our attorneys. Our lawyers can help you file for bankruptcy quickly so that you don’t lose your car in Pennsylvania. Automatic Stay As soon as you file for bankruptcy in Pennsylvania, an automatic stay will go into effect. This stops any debt-collection efforts from lenders or creditors, including efforts to repossess and sell your vehicle. This can provide immediate relief to debtors, especially those threatened with car repossession. Once an automatic stay goes into effect, our Bensalem bankruptcy lawyers will have time to devise a plan to move forward so that you don’t lose your car and can settle any outstanding debt you may owe to a lender. Repayment Plan Contact our Allentown bankruptcy lawyers if you default on your car loan and your lender has notified you that they intend to repossess your vehicle. If you earn enough income to support a repayment plan to creditors, you may be able to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This can allow you to stop a possible car repossession and continue to make payments on the car as part of your repayment plan. Chapter 13 bankruptcy does not require debtors to liquidate assets such as their vehicles to pay for debts. If your car has already been taken, filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy with help from our attorneys may allow you to get your vehicle back. Can You Get Your Car Back After it Has Been Repossessed in Pennsylvania? Getting your car back after being repossessed can be challenging in Pennsylvania. The best way to address this issue is to avoid it entirely and file for bankruptcy as soon as you are notified that your car may be repossessed. If you qualify to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may be able to get your car back after filing. That’s because Chapter 13 bankruptcy works through repayment plans, not liquidation of assets. If the repayment plan accounts for the car payments, it may be possible to have the car returned as part of the plan. That said, not everyone in Pennsylvania is eligible to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. If you don’t earn enough income to support a repayment plan to creditors, you may not pass the means test might be left with Chapter 7 bankruptcy as your only option. Pennsylvania does not have a specific vehicle exemption for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning you might lose your car through liquidation, especially if it has already been repossessed before filing. However, if you contact our attorneys, you may be able to get your car back despite filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Pennsylvania. Our lawyers may be able to help you reaffirm your loan, allowing you to cover previously unmet payments so that you don’t lose your car. Depending on your finances, you may be able to redeem your car and make a lump sum payment to your lender. Although Pennsylvania doesn’t have a specific car exemption for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it does have a wildcard exemption, allowing debtors to protect up to $300 in equity in any property. You may be able to put this exemption toward owed car payments or use a federal exemption, allowing you to get your car back after it has been repossessed. Why Should You Call Our Lawyers if Your Car is Being Repossessed in Pennsylvania? If you’ve missed even one car payment in Pennsylvania, your vehicle might be at risk of being repossessed. Because of that, it is important to call our attorneys immediately, especially if you cannot pay back your creditors without filing for bankruptcy. In Pennsylvania, a lender can repossess your car without notice if you default on your loan. Though lenders typically do give notice, it may not be much, leaving borrowers in a difficult situation. Failing to make a payment today might result in your car being repossessed tomorrow. To prevent that from happening, reach out to our Quakertown bankruptcy lawyers. While filing for bankruptcy might seem like a drastic measure after missing a few car payments, it is not. Lenders can repossess your car without warning, leaving you without reliable transportation. Our attorneys can act quickly and help you file for bankruptcy immediately, so your car is not taken. Then, our lawyers can devise a repayment plan that enables you to pay off any outstanding amounts to keep your vehicle and regain your financial stability in Pennsylvania. Call Our Pennsylvania Lawyers to Stop a Car Repossession If your car is at risk of being repossessed in Pennsylvania, our attorneys can help. For a free case evaluation with the Philadelphia bankruptcy lawyers at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates, call today at (215) 701-6519.

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SBA EIDL Loan Repayments have Commenced according to an article in abc 11

Beginning in January 2023, millions of small businesses will have to budget for a new monthly expense. During the pandemic, federal loans granted to small businesses will begin repayment, according to a story at  https://abc11.com/small-business-ppp-loans-pandemic/12721676/Many small businesses will now have to begin repaying their SBA EIDL loans despite a difficult business environment, including high interest rates and inflation. This may result in many businesses filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy or closing. Jim Shenwick, Esq  jshenwick@gmail.com   917 363 3391

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What Happens if You Don’t Pay Back an SSDI Overpayment?

Suppose you recently received a notice of overpayment for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. What does this notice mean, and what will happen if you don’t pay back the difference? You might face serious consequences if you don’t pay back an SSDI overpayment. The Social Security Administration (SSA) might temporarily pause your monthly benefits. Your federal tax refund and employment check might be affected, as well as your credit. That said, it’s important to consult our attorneys before paying back a supposed overpayment. The SSA might have mistakenly sent you a notice of overpayment. In that case, you may not owe the SSA anything. To avoid any consequences from an overpayment of SSDI benefits, contact our lawyers after receiving a notice from the SSA. We’re here to help SSDI benefit recipients navigate an overpayment of benefits. For a free case evaluation with the Pennsylvania disability attorneys at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates, call today at (215) 515-2954 or (609) 557-3081. What Can Happen if You Don’t Pay Back an SSDI Overpayment? If you receive a notice of overpayment for SSDI benefits from the Social Security Administration, it’s important to respond quickly. Failure to pay back the difference to the SSA might result in serious consequences. The first thing that might be impacted is your future disability benefits. The SSA might also take a portion of your federal refund or employment check. The SSA might even report recipients’ nonpayment to credit bureaus in serious situations. Loss of Benefits If you don’t repay the SSA for an overpayment of SSDI benefits, your access to future benefits may be in jeopardy. Typically, the SSA will halt future SSDI benefit checks for the time that an overpayment is unresolved. This might seriously impact recipients who rely on SSDI benefit checks to support themselves and their families. Our disability attorneys can help you quickly address a notice of overpayment so that you don’t lose access to your SSDI benefits, temporarily or permanently. Loss of Percentage of Federal Refund Check When SSDI recipients don’t pay back on an overpayment, they might lose a portion of their federal refund check. After you file your taxes, you typically receive a refund check from the federal government. The SSA is a federal agency, which means it can easily remove funds from your refund check to put toward repayment for overpaid SSDI benefits. Loss of Percentage of Employment Check Some SSDI benefit recipients continue to work a part-time job that allows them to earn additional income while staying under the substantial gainful activity threshold. If you owe the SSA money for a disability check that was too large, the SSA might take funds out of your employment check to make up the difference. Consequences to Credit Refusal to pay back the SSA for an overpayment of SSDI benefits might result in a hit to your credit. The SSA might report your nonpayment to a credit bureau, which might impact your financial well-being and ability to do certain things. Unfortunately, some recipients that do not keep track of their SSDI checks or miss a notice of overpayment might not realize this until it is too late. Our Philadelphia disability attorneys can help you monitor your SSDI checks so that you can recognize an overpayment and avoid damaging your credit. What if You Did Not Receive an SSDI Overpayment? What if you receive a notice of overpayment from the Social Security Administration, but something’s not adding up? If the SSA informs you of a recent overpayment, don’t pay it back until consulting with our disability attorneys. While rare, the SSA might send an incorrect overpayment notice to an SSDI recipient. Naturally, recipients might want to act quickly once they receive a notice and send the difference back to the SSA immediately. Before you do, contact our attorneys. Clerical issues and other problems might result in an incorrect notice of overpayment from the SSA. Before you send payment back to the SSA, consult our lawyers. Our attorneys can review your previous disability benefit checks from the SSA to determine if there has been a recent change. Our lawyers can also review the SSA’s reasoning for an overpayment to determine if it’s correct. If the SSA incorrectly adjusted your SSDI benefit based on wrong information, our attorneys can identify any mistakes. You do not have to pay back the SSA for the disability payments you deserve. If you received an incorrect notice of overpayment from the SSA, our Bucks County disability lawyers can help you file an appeal to resolve the matter. We can help you gather the necessary information to prove to the SSA that it did not send you too much money in a month so that you can move forward and not pay back money that’s yours. How to Avoid Consequences from Happening for Not Paying Back an SSDI Overpayment Not repaying the SSA for an overpayment of SSDI benefits is a serious issue. If you are in such a situation, contact our lawyers. Our attorneys can help you take the necessary steps to repay the SSA quickly to avoid any possible consequences. Typically, the SSA requires SSDI recipients to respond to a notice of overpayment within 30 days. This is not much time, especially for recipients who do not keep track of their monthly payments. Issues with the mail or changes in address might also result in a delayed response to the SSA. Contact our attorneys to avoid consequences for not paying back an SSDI overpayment. Our lawyers can help you gather the necessary information to confirm an overpayment and pay back the SSA in a timely fashion. By calling our attorneys and acting quickly, you can quickly resolve any overpayments from the SSA so that your access to benefits is not affected. Call Our Attorneys if You Were Overpaid SSDI Benefits If you need help paying back the SSA for an overpayment of disability benefits, reach out to our lawyers. For a free case evaluation with the Allentown disability attorneys at Young, Marr, Mallis & Associates, call today at (215) 515-2954 or (609) 557-3081.

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Turning Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Into Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Turning Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Into Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Changing Your Bankruptcy Case In Arizona You may be feeling like your financial future is bleak. You might wonder how you will ever repay all your debt, let alone improve your finances. Luckily, there are ways to improve any financial struggle so you can have a fresh start.  One of them is Chapter 13 bankruptcy. It is a legal process that allows you to reduce or eliminate your outstanding debts by refinancing them. This option can allow you to keep your home, vehicle, and other assets. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is similar but eliminates all of your assets except for personal possessions worth $3,000 or less. Both Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy have their pros and cons. However, either option can help restructure your debts and improve your financial situation.  Before making any bankruptcy decisions, consult an experienced Mesa bankruptcy attorney and read the following information to learn more about your case and options. When Is It Possible To Change To Chapter 7? You can switch your Chapter 13 case to Chapter 7 anytime you need, but only if you haven’t earned a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge within the last eight years. Just remember that you should have also met the criteria.  Reasons To Change Your Case Most debtors typically switch from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 bankruptcy because: They can no longer pay the Chapter 13 plan payments due to a change in their economic state, or They want to give up an item that Chapter 13 was intended to save, like a house or automobile. How To Change Your Case To convert your case, you must submit a motion to the bankruptcy court. Your bankruptcy attorney will be able to advise you on what is required in bankruptcy court if you need to notify your creditors of the conversion. Usually, the paperwork you submitted for your Chapter 13 case will also be necessary in your Chapter 7 case. However, even if nothing has changed, some courts need you to file a new set of forms. Keep in mind that your Tucson bankruptcy attorney will guide you with the required paperwork.  Additionally, you will have to submit a Statement of Intention, which is necessary for Chapter 7 but not for Chapter 13. Are You Eligible For Bankruptcy Under Chapter 7? If you switch to Chapter 7, you must still be eligible for Chapter 7 to continue with the case. Chapter 7 has many eligibility conditions. The means test is the most difficult for most people, especially because this test considers earnings and expenses. If you have an excess income, you may not be qualified for Chapter 7.  It is unclear if the means test applies to converted cases. Some courts require debtors in converted cases to pass the means test, while others do not. Your bankruptcy lawyer will be able to clarify the bankruptcy law for you. What Happens When You Change Your Bankruptcy Case? You will be assigned another Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee as soon as you switch your case. You will also have to attend a fresh creditors’ meeting (also called the 341 hearing).  As previously mentioned, you don’t have to submit a fresh bankruptcy petition. However, you may need to fill in more paperwork and change schedules after converting the case.  Your Phoenix bankruptcy attorney can help you with all the documentation required to avoid any mistakes.  In some situations, you might need to file updated schedules I and J to reflect your current budget to demonstrate that your financial situation has changed and you cannot continue making Chapter 13 payments.  The Court may also seek a declaration stating your reasons for converting. You must also submit a Statement of Intention to inform the court of your plans for the property that serves as security. It is necessary for any secured debts you have, such as a mortgage, auto loan, or other loans. You must also reveal whether you incurred any post-petition obligations or gained any post-petition assets while in the Chapter 13 case. The Bankruptcy Court May Order You To Convert From Chapter 13 To Chapter 7 In some cases, the court may order you to switch from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 bankruptcy so that your non-exempt assets can be liquidated to settle your debts.  The most frequent reasons a court may order you to convert include falsifying information in your bankruptcy paperwork, concealing assets, declaring bankruptcy expressly to impede or delay creditors, or abusing the bankruptcy process. Contact The Experts Contact My AZ Lawyers if you are unsure about which chapter of bankruptcy to file or if you are worried about being able to fulfill your payments under a chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan.  Our well-trained bankruptcy lawyers will take the time to go through your alternatives with you and help you choose the best bankruptcy chapter for your situation. Arizona Offices: Mesa Location: 1731 West Baseline Rd., Suite #100 Mesa, AZ 85202 Office: (480) 448-9800 Email: info@myazlawyers.com Website: https://myazlawyers.com/ Phoenix Location: 343 West Roosevelt, Suite #100 Phoenix, AZ 85003 Office: (602) 609-7000 Glendale Location: 20325 N 51st Avenue Suite #134, Building 5 Glendale, AZ 85308 Office: (602) 509-0955 Tucson Location: 2 East Congress St., Suite #900-6A Tucson, AZ 85701 Office: (520) 441-1450 Avondale Location: 12725 W. Indian School Rd., Ste E, #101 Avondale, AZ 85392 Office: (623) 469-6603 The post Turning Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Into Chapter 7 Bankruptcy appeared first on My AZ Lawyers.

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Party City files for Bankruptcy with plans to restructure mounting debt-is the party over?

Party City files for Bankruptcy with plans to restructure mounting debt-is the party over?CNBC is reporting that Party City has filed for Bankruptcy protection. The story can be found at  https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/18/party-city-files-for-bankruptcy-to-restructure-piling-debt.htmlJim Shenwick, Esq.   212 541 6224  jshenwick@gmail.com