What’s the next step in your bankruptcy after a creditors meeting in Chapter 7?
 
Thirty days after the conclusion of your creditors meeting is the deadline for the trustee or any other party to object to exemptions. If no objection is filed by this date then it is waived. Thirty days after is also the deadline to follow through with your intent to reaffirm or redeem secured debts and collateral. If this is not done timely, the automatic stay may have terminated and the lender may be allowed to repossess the car or other personal property even if you are current. Read more about this.
 
Forty five days is the deadline to take the financial management course, but as a practical matter if you take it before sixty days there is no cponsequence for being late.
 
Sixty days is the deadline to object to you getting a discharge at all and to dischargeability of specific debts. If no one objects and you have filed your certificate of financial management course, then your discharge could be almost automatic.
 
In some districts if you have failed to file the certificate the case will close without a discharge. This is problematic not only because the automatic stay expires and you have no protection, but also because you will have to pay a filing fee that is almost as high as the original one to reopen the case and get the court to issue a discharge.
 
Additionally if you want to reaffirm a debt the agreement must be made before discharge and possibly also filed with the court before discharge.

The rules state that you need to bring a copy of your most recent paystub and a bank statement reflecting the balance of each account on the date of filing.  In Houston the Chapter 7 trustees also ask for 90-180 days of bank statements that need to be provided in advance of the meeting as well as a questionnaire.  I prefer to fill out the questionnaire in advance with the client so that there are no surprises and to prevent having to discuss this with the client in front of other poeple.

A majority of states have opted out from the bankruptcy code exemptions meaning that you are limited to state law to keep property. Remember that if you file Chapters 11, 12, or 13 instead of Chapter 7 then you can keep your non-exempt property.
 
Most of these opt-out states have written their opt-out statutes so that they only apply to residents or domicilaries of that state. So if the state uses that language and you do not live there or do not intend to come back then chances are good that you can use the bankruptcy code exemptions to keep property. Most states fall into this category. California is unclear, but Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, are problematic because you are probably stuck with those state’s laws. If you have lived in the Lone Star State for two years and have intended to stay there those two years you are okay. But even if you are a newly naturalized Texan unless you come from one of the above listed states you can use the bankruptcy code exemptions in most cases.

If you have been in your home state for more than two years it is really clear cut which state’s law applies, but otherwise it gets tricky.
 
If you have not lived (“domiciled” that is lived with an intent to remain there indefinitely) in the same state the last two years (730 days to be exact) the state whose law applies is the one where you were domiciled for 180 days before the 2 years. If those 180 days was not in a single state then the one where you were domiciled for the longest portion of those 180 days applies.
 
If you have not yet been confused then hats off to you. What really complicates it is that “domicile” means something different than “residence.” Your domicile is the place where you intend to remain indefinitely. You can have more than one residence, but not more than one domicile.
 
So at least now you which state’s law applies, but some state’s laws do not apply extra-territorially, and some states prohibits their residents, domiciclaries, and in some cases their non-residents from using the bankruptcy code exemptions to keep property. You may be stuck with that state’s law.

We have always known that the moment a bankruptcy petition is filed, that is when I press the button on my computer and e-file the petition, an automatic stay against most collections actions takes effect.
 
It is still automatic in the first case, but if someone has had a previous case that was pending within one year, then the stay terminates at least in parþ after 30 days, unless you file a motion and the judge holds a hearing within the 30 days and decides to extend the stay.
 
You have to prove to the judge that this case is filed in good faith and is likely to succeed unlike the previous one. It is best to show a change in circumstances.
 
The more difficult situation is when you have had two or more cases pending “within the previous year.” No one knows if that means the previous 365 days or the previous calendar year. Regardless of which period applies if they apply you have no stay at all. A judge can impose a stay the same way as they can extend it. Since there is no stay, there is no protection from foreclosure or repossession until the judge signs an order imposing a stay.
 
If a previous case was not dismissed it does not count against you. Also in Chapters 12 and 13 there is a codebtor stay protecting cosigners and the property on consumer debts which can be a good fall back if you do not have an automatic stay.

One of the biggest mistakes people can make is to transfer away assets to friends or family members before filing for bankruptcy. A bankruptcy trustee can void transfers made while you were insolvent if you did not receive reasonably equivalent value in return. In other words you can sell your house for fair market value without problems but not for $10.

When the trasnfer is to an insider which includes family and certain people involved in your business, the trustee can void transfers ocurring up to two years before filing and possibly longer under state law.

The lesson is don’t put stuff in other peoples’ names because they can still lose the asset if you or they file for bankruptcy.

Don’t transfer assets before filing bankruptcy especially not to family or other insiders. http://post.ly/ZkG

Block Debt Collector Phone Calls http://post.ly/ZFZ