Positive Review for Christina Juris Bennett

When the process finally got started I could not have asked for nor could I have found a more confident attorney as the one assigned to my case. Christina was so reassuring to me and handled my case with the uttmost profesionalism and thoughtfulness. I would readily recomend the law offices of the Gordon Law Group. Thanks for a job very well done.‎

Review of Christina Juris Bennett

Bankruptcy is complicated….‎‎  By Buddy – May 6, 2010 ….unless you have a great lawyer! I have been more than thrilled with the service and attention to detail by Christina Bennett at Gordon Law Group. I am also retaining John Clark on family matters and I hope it goes as smooth as my bankruptcy has so far. I’m very pleased.‎

Common Bankruptcy Questions

What is a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is essentially a liquidation of a debtor’s assets.  More often than not, the debtor actually has no assets to distribute to the creditors, so the bankruptcy acts purely to clean the proverbial slate for the debtor and grant a fresh start.  In order to qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the debtor must have a gross (this is before anything is taken out of your pay check) monthly income under certain limits depending on the number of members of the debtor’s household.  The bankruptcy court looks at the past six months’ worth of income, and it imputes that income to the whole year.  Additionally, any assets over the state or federal exemption limits (depends on the state), will be available for seizure by the trustee.   If the trustee seizes those assets, they will be liquidated and paid out to the creditors, per the bankruptcy code. 

What is a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is for reorganizing and allowing the debtor to pay back the debts (a percentage ranging from 0% to 100%) through a plan over a period of three to five years.  If a debtor does not qualify for a chapter 7 because of income or the debtor wants to keep all assets, which are valued above the exemption limits, then the debtor would file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  While a debtor is in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the debtor cannot take on any additional debt without approval from the court and trustee.  It is a period of time where the debtor lives on an amount of money determined by the IRS standards for living in that geographical area.  The trustee receives the debtor’s remaining income and distributes it to the creditors according to the bankruptcy code.

Will Filing Bankruptcy Stop my Creditors from Harassing Me?

Yes.  Once a debtor files for bankruptcy, the creditors are barred from trying to collect a debt.  A protective umbrella called “the automatic stay” goes into effect the exact moment a debtor’s bankruptcy petition is filed with the court.  Should a creditor continue contacting the debtor once the creditor has received notice of the bankruptcy, the debtor should contact his or her attorney to cite the creditor for violating the automatic stay.  This can have drastic consequences for the creditor, and so a debtor should not hesitate to contact his or her attorney for protection.

 

What if I Have Debts with My Non-filing Spouse?

In Tennessee:  a bankruptcy will discharge you from being legally responsible for the debt.  Your spouse will remain liable for the debt.  If the debt is something like a mortgage or a car note, and you would like to stay in the house or keep the car, then you would want to reaffirm the debt.  That would keep you legally responsible for the debt, and your spouse would also continue to be legally responsible for the debt.

 

Who is Going to Know I Filed for Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy filings are public record, but a person or company would generally already have to know you filed for bankruptcy in order to go looking for the filings.  If your property is sold at a foreclosure through the bankruptcy court, then that will generally be posted in the paper.  Any creditor or co-debtor will be given notice that you have filed for bankruptcy.  Additionally, a bankruptcy will remain on your credit report for ten years.

 

How Common is Bankruptcy in Tennessee?

Tennessee has the highest rate of bankruptcy per capita of any state.  In one study, it was estimated that one out of every seventeen households had filed for bankruptcy protection.

 

IIf I Filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Before, When Can I File Again?

If you filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy more than 8 years ago, you can file another Chapter 7 bankruptcy.   

Can I Be Fired for Filing Bankruptcy?

No, such action is prohibited by the United States Code.

How Long Does the Bankruptcy Process Take?

It depends on how quickly a debtor can gather the required documents and how quickly the attorney can prepare a petition.  Filing for bankruptcy is a document-intensive process, and every month the filing is delayed, the debtor must provide updated pay stubs and bank statements.  Once an attorney files a debtor for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Middle Tennessee, there is a Meeting of the Creditors (“341 Meeting”) within about thirty days.  Then, the trustee begins going through the debtor’s assets and making any distributions.  Generally, a debtor will receive a discharge within about two months.  The case will usually be closed within the following month.

Help! I’m Being Sued for a Debt!

Help!  I’m Being Sued for a Debt!

 

                I meet many of my clients for the first time because they are being sued for a debt they owe.  They have stopped paying on a credit card or other unsecured debt, they have endured numerous calls from creditors, and then they receive notice of a court date.  A court date is not to be taken lightly.  Generally, a creditor will let the collections process go for awhile until it incurs the cost of a legal team to represent it in court.  Once there is a court date set, then the debtor’s best interest is to speak with an attorney versed in debt matters.  Sometimes the attorney will recommend the debtor file for bankruptcy.  Other times, the attorney will help negotiate a payment schedule with the creditor’s attorney.  If a debtor chooses not to attend the court date and does not hire an attorney, the creditor will be granted a judgment against the debtor.  With that judgment, the court will usually award the creditor the right to garnish the debtor’s wages or bank accounts.  There are limits to how much a creditor may take from a paycheck at any one time, but it is generally more than the debtor can afford.  Thus, generally, as an attorney for a debtor, I will recommend the debtor file a motion for slow pay, which lets the debtor pay the debt in installments.  I have the debtor issue an affidavit about income and expenses, and I submit a motion and a proposed order for the slow pay to the court.  If the creditor’s attorney does not opposed the motion, then the installment schedule proposed will be accepted by the court.  If the creditor’s attorney does oppose the amount proposed, then we must have a hearing.  The judge will be the final determination of the amount that the debtor will pay by installments.   If you have received notice of a court date for a debt you owe, I invite you to come into the Gordon Law Group and talk with me about your options.

Reaffirming Your Debt

Reaffirming Your Debt

 

When a client makes the decision to file for bankruptcy, one of the decisions that must be made is whether to reaffirm his debt.  It is a common misunderstanding that debtors can keep certain debts “out of the bankruptcy.”  This is not true.  Every asset and every debt needs to be listed in a debtor’s petition, but there are decisions about whether the debtor wants to “keep” the asset or debt.  For example, if a debtor has filed for bankruptcy, and he wants to keep his house but not his car, then he would need to reaffirm the house mortgages but surrender the car note.  These decisions are marked on the petition and linked both to the asset in question and the debt.  Once a debtor decides to reaffirm a debt, then the debtor and corresponding creditor must submit a reaffirmation agreement to the court.  This generally involves listing the income and expenses, as listed on the bankruptcy petition, and listing the current income and expenses, as the debtor finds them to be while in the bankruptcy.  It is not uncommon for a debtor’s circumstances to change with respect to income and expenses once the bankruptcy has been filed.  The key is that the debtor’s income is greater than the expenses by at least the amount of the monthly payment for the reaffirmed debt. 

 

The benefit of a reaffirmation agreement is that it rewards a debtor for staying current on certain payments and prevents the debtor from being thrown into chaos by losing housing and transportation (the two debts generally reaffirmed).  Remember that the goal of bankruptcy is to help give citizens a fresh start, and so the reaffirmation agreements help the debtors have a foothold for moving forward.  One wrinkle that has been developing over the past few months is that some lending institutions are no longer offering to enter into a reaffirmation agreement.  This puts the debtor in a precarious position.  Generally, the lending institution wants to modify the loan agreement, but if the lending institution is not interested in either of those, then the debtor will not be able to reaffirm that debt.

 

Returning to the house and car example, because the debtor chose to surrender the car, then the creditor will be notified that the debtor is surrendering the car.  The creditor will generally work out a “drop point” for an asset like a car, and the debtor can leave the asset there.  Obviously, any debt left from the sale of the surrender of the asset will be discharged in the bankruptcy.

THE TRICKY DANCE OF DRAFTING A WILL

THE TRICKY DANCE OF DRAFTING A WILL

 

When a client wants a will drafted, he must be prepared for the attorney to ask many hypothetical questions.  Many times with my will clients, people are surprised by how many hypothetical situations involving orders of death we have to consider.  The trick to drafting a good will is drafting one that addresses both when each spouse dies apart and when the spouses die together.  In addition, if the spouses die together, and they have young children, the will should provide for a testamentary trust with an appointed trustee who will monitor any assets for the minor beneficiaries until they reach an appropriate age.  The will should also provide for a guardian for those same minor children.  When a couple is thinking about who to appoint as a trustee and who to appoint as a guardian, they should consider these three options:

-          Appoint the same person as trustee and guardian so there is only one person handling all matters involving the children.

-          Appoint one person from one parent’s side as the trustee and someone from the other parent’s side as the guardian.  This would help provide some checks and balances, and it would help ensure that both sides of the family are active in raising the children.

-          Appointing someone who is good with money (whether familiar to the family or someone outside of the family) as trustee and appointing a family member who is good with raising children to raise the children.  This would help ensure that the assets will be properly watch, invested, and guarded, while the children would also be properly raised.

In all areas of a will where clients must name someone (such as the executor, the trustee, etc.), it is wise to name at least three people deep to provide for alternatives should the primary person named be unavailable.

Pointers for Constructing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan

March 2, 2010

Creating a workable Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan can be difficult.  I recently attended a conference led by the Chapter 13 Trustee for Middle Tennessee, and he discussed how to build a feasible plan and how to address some of the issues he keeps seeing reappear in proposed plans.  One of the primary concerns mentioned was that even if a debtor is current on his or her mortgage, the plan must allow for two additional months of arrearage to compensate for the time lost between the filing and the plan confirmation.  In addition, all mortgage payments need to be paid through the trustee.  When the trustee handles the mortgage, then upon discharge, the trustee will issue an order declaring the debtor to be current on his or her mortgage, and that order is important for continuing with the mortgage after bankruptcy.  Additionally, the debtor need not worry about paying the trustee additional compensation for handling the mortgage because the trustee does not receive a fee for that particular function.

Other important information discussed:

-       The trustee will round the plan payment up to the next quarter of a dollar.

-       The trustee wants to know all relevant dates for the secured debts.

-       It is vital to give the creditor proper notice if the debtor is attempting to cram down a debt.

-       Submit a form allowing for payroll deductions.

-       Attorneys fees can be direct deposited by sending a completed electronic funds form with a voided check to luw@ch13nsh.com.

-       The trustee is hoping for attorneys to be checking the “Matters” listing on the chapter 13 network website – an attorney can respond to the matters listed by the trustee and take care of issues before having to go to court.

-       If a mortgage is an adjustable-rate mortgage before the bankruptcy, its rates will continue to fluctuate while the debtor goes through the bankruptcy.

-       It is best to have a permanent rate interest for a mortgage before going into bankruptcy.

-       The government has a different date than other creditors for when its claims are due for a bankruptcy case.

-       As an attorney, you can always list paying back 0% to the unsecured creditors, and when you pay them back more, you will not have to give them notice.  If you list a higher percentage of payments to the unsecured creditors than what the debtor will actually pay, then you must give those unsecured creditors notice.

-       If you have a “split claim” (one where part of the claim is secured and part of it is unsecured), then you must account for that deficiency as an unsecured debt.

-       If a car loan was a PMSI and made within 910 days of filing, then the plan must provide to pay the entire balance in full with interest.  If car was purchased more than 910 days, you can pay back the value of the car (cram down).  The difference between the value of the car and the balance on the debt will be considered an unsecured debt.

-       If there is child support arrearage, then the plan must provide payment in full for that arrearage.  If the debtor cannot cure the arrearage in full, then the child support creditor must give written consent to not be paid in full.

-       The trustee does not make a commission on the child support payments.

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