The short answer: Yes. In most cases, all funds seized via levy or garnishment in the 90 days prior to filing the bankruptcy petition can be recovered. However, this does not happen automatically. An experienced bankruptcy attorney who is familiar with recovering garnished funds will know how to protect your money and get it back.
In most cases, yes. Once you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, all state court collection activity must stop. Whether those lawsuits resume will depend on the outcome of the bankruptcy proceedings.
If you have non-exempt equity in your home, Chapter 7 bankruptcy may not be the best strategy to deal with your debts. If that is the case, the Trustee may have the power to sell your home. If you do not have non-exempt equity, you must keep making your payments before, during and after bankruptcy. If you have already missed payments, you’ll have to make them up to avoid foreclosure. Chapter 13 (link) provides many opportunities for saving a home that are unavailable in Chapter 7.
There are ways to protect your car when you file for bankruptcy. If you still owe money on the car, your lender will typically not repossess the vehicle if you continue to make your regular monthly payments. If your car is paid off, then you will need to protect it from the Bankruptcy Court by using the applicable bankruptcy exemption laws.
From the date of filing until discharge (forgiveness of debt) usually takes about 3 – 4 months. Chapter 7 is probably one of the quickest ways to get out of debt once and for all.
If the landlord does not already have a judgment when you file, and he or she wants to evict you based on your failure to pay rent or violation of another lease provision, the automatic stay will prevent the landlord from beginning or continuing with the eviction proceedings. However, the landlord can request that the judge lift the automatic stay, and judges tend to grant these requests. If your landlord has already obtained a judgment of possession against you when you file for bankruptcy, the automatic stay won’t help you (with some exceptions). The landlord may proceed with the eviction just as if you had never filed for bankruptcy.
Not likely. When it passed the new bankruptcy law in 2005, Congress created a broad exemption for all types of tax-exempt retirement accounts, including 401(k)s, 403(b)s, profit-sharing and money purchase plans, IRAs, and defined benefit plans.
Any “qualified educational loan” will not be discharged in bankruptcy unless the debtor shows “undue hardship.” Undue hardship is defined by the Internet Revenue Code, and is very difficult to prove. Suffice to say, it is extremely difficult to get student loans discharged in bankruptcy.
When you reaffirm a debt, both the creditor’s lien on the collateral and your personal liability survive bankruptcy without a discharge, just as if you never filed for bankruptcy. If you default, you can be held liable for the difference between what the property is resold for and what you still owe under the agreement. Reaffirmation can provide a way to keep certain property, as long as you abide by the terms of the reaffirmation agreement and can be a good way to reestablish your credit. However, you will be legally bound to pay the agreed-upon amount even if the property is damaged or destroyed. And since you cannot file for Chapter 7 again until 8 years have passed since your earlier bankruptcy discharge, you will be stuck with the debt.
Private employers may not fire you or otherwise discriminate against you solely because you filed for bankruptcy (11 U.S.C. §525(b)).
