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Arizona Bankruptcy Court

Saturday, November 23, 2013

By Robyn Myers


Everyone filing for bankruptcy has the goal of seeing the bankruptcy discharge in the mail, whether they are filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This discharge allows the individual to know that their debt is completely wiped out and creditors no longer can come after them in the future. There is one caveat in that not every person filing bankruptcy gets a discharge. For some that don't play by the rules or just make stupid mistakes they can have their bankruptcy filing dismissed.

For some, they will get a bankruptcy dismissal without prejudice meaning they can file again at any time. Usually, this is because the person failed to provide all of their documentation required by the bankruptcy court. Sometimes the person won't provide copies of their back taxes or pay stubs. Some misplace or leave out a page of the bankruptcy petition. For the bankruptcy filing to move forward, all documents must be submitted to the bankruptcy court to be forwarded to the trustee. The bankruptcy court will mail out a letter to the individual filing bankruptcy explaining the missing document with an amount of time they have to turn it in. If they don't, the bankruptcy will be dismissed. One other thing many people have forgotten was to take the post bankruptcy financial management course and submit the completion certificate to the bankruptcy court. Some of them take the course and fail to submit the proper documentation which causes their bankruptcy to be dismissed before the bankruptcy discharge. This is just foolish after going through all the hassles of the entire process and forgetting to submit one small thing.

In today's economy, it's rare to see the bankruptcy trustee take any property at all, except for property that is easily liquidated. The bankruptcy trustee isn't in the business to sell at the swap meet every week to only get pennies on the dollar for someone's property. The trustee will weigh out the costs selling something versus what will be recovered. Nowadays, used property has virtually no value making it a waste of time for the trustee. This is an area that a bankruptcy attorney will earn their keep for their client.

Everyone's situation is different, but in some cases individuals with a large amount of unsecured debt that filing bankruptcy might be able to afford to keep their car and their home. Eliminating all the credit card debt and personal loans will sometimes allow an individual to just squeak by and be able to make their house payment. Where the big problem will lie is if the individual got months behind on their payment and has no way of coming up with a lump sum to catch up. Once again this is a good reason to hire a bankruptcy attorney to navigate the complexity of the bankruptcy code. Prior to 2005, it was easy for people to file a pro se or do-it-yourself bankruptcy. During this time frame, Congress felt there were too many abusing the bankruptcy system and made changes to the code. In the big scheme of things, a bankruptcy attorney well worth their fees when considering the amount of debt that will be wiped out in the bankruptcy discharge.

Filing for bankruptcy could be one of the most emotionally taxing experiences. You need to find a lawyer who would fully understand your state of mind and offer you a sympathetic hearing. The attorney should also show a ready willingness to answer any questions that you may have about the case. You must never make the mistake of hiring the services of a bankruptcy attorney just because he or she lives down the street in your neighborhood. You need to remember that we live in a day and age where location is no longer a constraint for smooth communication. The criteria for hiring the services of an attorney should be only competency and nothing else.




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