Tag: article

Student Loan Update

More complications from your politicians.

Check out the article written by Attorney Peter Francis Geraci at https://www.infotapes.com/articles and others. This is an ongoing change, this article originally written 11/22/2022.

There are three branches of Government in the United States, according to the United States Constitution. The legislative branch charged with making the laws. The executive branch, which is the president, in his various departments such as the Department of Justice or the Department of Education, have no power to make any laws. So when the senator from MasterCard, now president Joseph Biden, says that student loans are discharged, courts, which are the third branch of government, rule on whether or not he is violating the U.S. Constitution by trying to legislate by Executive Order.

What does this mean to you if you have student loans? Student loans used to be dischargeable in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a federal law. Bankruptcy law was made by the United States Congress, voted on by the Senate and the house of representatives. When Joe Biden was a Sen., he represented the state of Delaware. He was commonly known as the senator from MasterCard, because that was where MasterCard at its headquarters, where it gave Joe Biden and other politicians a lot of money. Joe Biden and some other politicians like his friend Charles Grassley of Missouri, change the bankruptcy law so that student loans were no longer dischargeable in bankruptcy, except if there was a showing of “undue hardship”

“undue hardship” was almost impossible to prove in bankruptcy proceedings. The Justice Department represented the Department of Education and all government insured student loan cases trying to prove undue hardship, and they fought it to the extreme, and opposing terminal cancer patients discharge of student loans on the grounds that they might get better so what is Joe Biden trying to do now? He is ordered the Justice Department to be less aggressive, but still to examine a whole bunch of factors in determining if there is a student loan discharge possible.

The problem with this is that under the current bankruptcy law you not only have to file a bankruptcy case, but you have to prepare a lawsuit within the bankruptcy case called an adversary complaint, and in that adversary complaint you have to set out the factors that you think aloud discharge. When the new Justice Department guidelines are finalized, the Justice Department attorneys have now been ordered not to be so terrible and opposing discharges. But that does not mean that student loans will be dischargeable in bankruptcy to any great extent, because judges still have to rule on it and judges follow the law, not Justice Department guidelines.

If any of our fine politicians are worried about student loan discharge, what they should do is amend the bankruptcy law to permit discharge of student loans after period of time, based upon all the other bankruptcy factors, and either chapter 7 or 13. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Richard Durbin propose such a bill two years ago and it is gone nowhere so stay tuned.

If your purpose in filing bankruptcy is to discharge her student loans, and they are not dischargeable in programs that already apply for on your own, it is still going to be an uphill battle.

Dial 1-800-CALL-PFG for a free phone mini-consultation, or make an appointment online 24/7 at www.infotapes.com.  Bankruptcy laws are in place to help you.  Who knows bankruptcy like Geraci Law?  Geraci Law has 35,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com.

Bankruptcy Can Help You Plan for Retirement!

Instead of paying credit cards, you should be paying yourself!

Check out this article written by Peter Francis Geraci and more articles at https://www.infotapes.com/articles!

Most Americans know nothing about bankruptcy law even though it is in the United States Constitution. They don’t know how to get rid of their debt. That is no accident, since all the financial education courses, when they are required in high school, deliberately do not teach anything about bankruptcy law. You can take my debtor education course by logging onto http://www.pfged.com, or more if you want to spend two hours getting educated.

One thing I teach in my debtor education course is that you should start worrying about retirement early. If you don’t have at least your annual salary saved up by age 30, you are not on track to retire by age 67 very few Americans have their salary saved up by age 30. Very few are putting 5000 or more into an IRA every year but a lot of Americans are paying 5000 in credit cards minimum payments every year.

So if your credit card minimum payments are $500 a month, that is 2% your credit card debt, is probably around 25,000. If you file a bankruptcy case, or chapter 7 for immediate discharge, or chapter 13 to repay with no interest, sooner or later you will have no credit card debt, and can put that 500 a month in an IRA you will have $6000 a year. That means in the next 10 years you will have at least $60,000, even if the IRA does not increase in value.

Some financial educators also say that by age 40 you should have three times your annual salary saved. Another rule of thumb is to multiply your living expenses at 25 to see how much money you will need to retire, and last 25 years in retirement. Here’s how that works: if your expenses are 2000 a month or 24,000 a year, five times that is about $600,000. So by the time you are 65 years old should have $600,000 saved. I can you possibly do that? Well if to save $6000 a year or 30 years just to get $180,000. But if you invested 6000 a year and a dividend paying stock, paid a 4% dividend, would get the benefit of compound interest, and possibly also an increase in the stock price, and over 30 years your money just might triple.

If you are paying $500 a month in minimums and credit cards you will pay the credit cards off in about 22 years. That’s a lot different than having hundred $80,000 in savings 20 years from now, isn’t it? That’s why people that file bankruptcy truly get a fresh start, if they take my debtor education course, they learn how to retire with the pension or IRA of at least $200,000. More information is at http://www.infotapes.com.

Dial 1-800-CALL-PFG for a free phone mini-consultation, or make an appointment online 24/7 at www.infotapes.com.  Bankruptcy laws are in place to help you.  Who knows bankruptcy like Geraci Law?  Geraci Law has 35,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com.

Hiring Random General Practice Attorney for Bankruptcy Leads to Disaster

Geraci Law concentrates in Bankruptcy: why pay the SAME and not get the NAME

Read the following article written by Attorney Peter Francis Geraci and MORE @ https://www.infotapes.com/Articles

A homeowner hired a local attorney in Algonquin Illinois whose main business is income tax preparation. That attorney failed to avoid a judgment lien attached to the residence. That was in 2015, 7 years ago. After the discharge was entered, the lien remained, and the homeowner discovered it 4 years later, and complained to the lawyer, who filed at least 4 motions to reopen the case that failed. The poor homeowner then hired another attorney to clean up the mess, who also failed.

Here’s what the court had to say about the first attorney: While the court does not do so for every attorney appearing before it, as Maksymonko was unfamiliar to the court and given his repeated errors, prior to the Initial Hearing, the court sua sponte sought to confirm Maksymonko’s status as an attorney authorized to practice before it. It is worth noting here that this court has no bar qualifications or admission process. Attorneys practicing before it must only be members in good standing of the bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. What the court discovered was concerning—that Maksymonko was not a member in good standing of the District Court bar. Apparently Maksymonko was suspended from practice by the State of Illinois on January 23, 2003. As a result, he was reciprocally suspended by the District Court. https://www.ilnb.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/BruceK.Probst15bk12654JudicialLienAvoidanceUnder522f60.pdf

Another attorney then appeared and failed. The lien of $92,054.53 is still stuck on the debtor’s residence. All because the homeowner went to an “unknown attorney” who was suspended. You can read the whole sad story in Judge Barnes’ opinion. Geraci Law would have simply filed, and won, a motion to avoid the lien, for most likely $92,000 less than what the homeowner is going to have to pay. Those attorneys who “dabble” in bankruptcy law may sometimes cause big trouble for their clients. In this case, the cost of a “cheap lawyer” was over $92,000.00.

Dial 1-800-CALL-PFG for a free phone mini-consultation, or make an appointment online 24/7 at www.infotapes.com.  Bankruptcy laws are in place to help you.  Who knows bankruptcy like Geraci Law?  Geraci Law has 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com.

Debt Collectors can text you, email you, and contact you on social media!

The federal agency Consumer Financial Protection Bureau doesn’t seem to be protect you much when they passed new rules that let debt collectors email you, text you, and message you on social media.

Read article below by Attorney Peter Francis Geraci and more @ https://www.infotapes.com/Articles

The federal agency Consumer Financial Protection Bureau doesn’t seem to be protect you much when they passed new rules that let debt collectors email you, text you, and message you on social media. They do have to identify themselves as debt collectors. On social media, they can send you a fried request. They have to give you the option to opt out of being contacted online. Any messages have to be private, not on you public or contacts page.

The good news is that you will be more aware of collection activities, so you can do something about your financial mess before you get sued or garnished. Of course, most people who have debt collectors contacting them don’t do much of anything if it is just one small debt. But if you have $10,000 or more in consumer debt, outside of student loans, and you are getting emails and texts, you can be sure that it just isn’t going away, and debts have at least a 5 year statute of limitation before the debt is to old to collect

Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy stop all collection efforts during the bankruptcy proceedings, and stop all collection permanently on debts you obtain a discharge for. The sooner you contact Geraci Law if you have over $10,000 in debt you can’t pay, the sooner you will be able to decide what to do.

Dial 1-800-CALL-PFG for a free phone mini-consultation, or make an appointment online 24/7 at www.infotapes.com.  Bankruptcy laws are in place to help you.  Who knows bankruptcy like Geraci Law?  Geraci Law has 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com.

Can Bankruptcy Discharge of Debt Help My Credit?

Studies by Harvard and the Federal Reserve show that people who file bankruptcy and generally in a better position than those who remain in debt. 

Read this article by Attorney Peter Francis Geraci titled “Can Bankruptcy Discharge of Debt Help My Credit?” and more at https://www.infotapes.com/Articles

Studies by Harvard and the Federal Reserve show that people who file bankruptcy and generally in a better position than those who remain in debt.  The Federal Reserve said, 

“[people who file bankruptcy] experience a sharp boost in their credit score after bankruptcy, whereas credit scores recover at a much slower pace for individuals who remain [in debt]. 

The credit score of bankrupt individuals exceeds the credit score of insolvent individuals by 40-80 points. In addition, those who go bankrupt open new unsecured accounts post-bankruptcy at a higher rate (by around 15 percentage points) than those who don’t file bankruptcy, while the number of inquiries is very similar across the two groups.

This indicates a difference in access to credit, not demand for credit. [The Federal reserve] conclude[ed] from this evidence that the ability to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is associated with better access to credit, and while both insolvency and bankruptcy are forms of default, the debt discharge associated with bankruptcy leaves filers in a better financial position than individuals who become insolvent in similar circumstances.”

If you are contemplating bankruptcy, you have probably received charge cards in the mail, and bought things with no money down. After a bankruptcy, that easy credit will be harder to get. Most times, you can get a charge card by giving a $400 or more savings account with the issuing bank, so that if you do not pay the charge card, they can deduct from your bank account.

Many clients may be able to buy a home within a few years after filing a bankruptcy or even during a bankruptcy. How do I know? Every week an old client calls me and asks for proof that their bankruptcy got rid of their old bills, so they can give it to their mortgage company. Mortgage companies want to know that people buying houses don’t have creditors chasing them, because those creditors can put liens on the house. Also, if you have a lot of bills to pay, you probably can’t afford house payments. Filing bankruptcy may be the first step to buying a house.

Geraci Law makes it easy for you to apply for mortgages and credit.  We post your filed bankruptcy petition on your Client Corner so you can log in and get it when you need it.  We provide you with any help you need to show that you got out of debt.

Dial 1-800-CALL-PFG for a free phone mini-consultation, or make an appointment online 24/7 at www.infotapes.com.  Bankruptcy laws are in place to help you.  Who knows bankruptcy like Geraci Law?  Geraci Law has 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com

Can I Get Rid of a Vehicle By Filing Bankruptcy?

Sometimes you just don’t want a vehicle. It may be worth far less than you owe, or it may be a junk that costs too much to repair. So the question is, how do you get rid of it and get something else? You’re probably not going to just get rid of the vehicle and walk or take the bus. So there are a variety of situations, and you need good legal advice before you make a false move.

Sometimes you just don’t want a vehicle. It may be worth far less than you owe, or it may be a junk that costs too much to repair. So the question is, how do you get rid of it and get something else? You’re probably not going to just get rid of the vehicle and walk or take the bus. So there are a variety of situations, and you need good legal advice before you make a false move.

Title loans Do you have an old vehicle with a title loan? If you do, the title loan company has a lien on the title. They will want you to pay them before they release the title. If the vehicle doesn’t run, or has been in an accident, you can’t junk it unless you get the title. Title loan companies seldom will take a vehicle back, rarely even repossess vehicles, because they don’t loan you enough money to make it worthwhile. If you file a bankruptcy, we can provide that you surrender the vehicle, then file a procedure called a motion to exempt and redeem. The court values the vehicle, and all you have to do is pay the value of the vehicle to the title company in which they are required to give you the title. This works very well when you have a junker is only worth $100 salvage value.

Under water Second situation that is very common is that you have a vehicle where you have a loan on it, in the loan payoff is much more than the vehicle is worth, and you don’t want it. Let’s say you bought a used car, and it’s now worth $8000. But you have 40 payments of $350 left to pay, or $14,000, the payoff and that depending upon how long you’ve financed it for, might be as much is $11,000 or $12,000. So if you wanted to give the vehicle back to the finance company, they would sell it at auction, probably $4000, and soak you with the auction costs, if you credit for the $4000 sales price, and you’d end up owing 8000 on the repossessed vehicle. Chapter 7 filing can eliminate that $8000 deficiency.

So Chapter 7 works very well when you owe a lot more than the vehicle is worth. If you want the over financed vehicle in a chapter 7, sometimes, we can make a deal, and a reaffirmation. So you can either surrender a vehicle that’s over financed and eliminate the deficiency, or possibly we can negotiate a better deal in bankruptcy, but you have to be willing, under Chapter 7 to surrender it if they don’t give you a better deal. There is another option called 722 redemption, similar to the junker, but if the value of the vehicle is $8000, you have to come up with the full value of the vehicle, or finance it, and if you do not come up with the $8000 722 redemption, you probably be financing it at 30% interest which is a terrible deal and you’d be right back where you started.

Chapter 13 The third situation involves keeping the vehicle, and filing chapter 13 to pay what the vehicle is worth, if the vehicle is over two and half years old, and even if it’s not 2 ½ years old to pay it at the prime rate +2%. Now if that sounds complicated, it is. One problem that we are running into is people are financing vehicles for 72 or 84 months, and then coming in to file a chapter 13, which can only last 60 months. They may even have a 0% interest rate. So if you have a long way to pay on a vehicle, and you’ve already got 0% interest, chapter 13 doesn’t help you. Depending upon your income, it may be wise you can qualify for chapter 7, to get rid of this monster and get a reasonably priced vehicle with a low payment.

There’s a lot more to vehicles in bankruptcy. Geraci law lawyers have filed over 100,000 bankruptcy cases, many of which involve cars, both chapter 7 and chapter 13. If your only debt is a car, you should not be doing a bankruptcy. But if your problem is greater than just the car payment, let’s look at what filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 can do about your whole picture, and where the vehicle fits in.

That’s why you need an experienced Geraci law bankruptcy lawyer to figure all this stuff out.

Dial 1-800-CALL-PFG for a free phone mini-consultation, or make an appointment online 24/7 at www.infotapes.com.  Bankruptcy laws are in place to help you.  Who knows bankruptcy like Geraci Law?  Geraci Law has 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com

Homes & Bankruptcy

Will I lose my house if I file for bankruptcy?

What happens to my home if I file my bankruptcy? Do I lose my house if I file a Chapter 7? Questions asked by every homeowner looking to file for bankruptcy. The answer is the only thing you lose if you file for bankruptcy is the DEBT.

If you in a Covid 19 or C19 mortgage deferral, if you do not have the repayment in full – filing a Chapter 13 can HELP! Talk to an experienced Geraci Law attorney today about your options.

Attorney Peter Francis Geraci answers the question of Homes and Bankruptcy in InfoTapes segment. Watch below! If you want to review your debt relief options, we’re a phone call away or you can schedule online @ https://www.infotapes.com/Bankruptcy/OfficeLocator

Dial 1-800-CALL-PFG for a free phone mini-consultation, or make an appointment online 24/7 at www.infotapes.com.  Bankruptcy laws are in place to help you.  Who knows bankruptcy like Geraci Law?  Geraci Law has 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com

How to Dispute False Item on Your Credit Report

It’s not mine, get it off my credit report! How long does bankruptcy stay on?

Article written by Attorney Peter Francis Geraci – read more like this @ https://www.infotapes.com/Articles

You can get a free credit report from one of the 3 major credit bureaus. Go to www.freeannualcreditreport.com If you see a debt listed that is not yours, you can contest it by filling out the form on each credit bureau’s dispute site.

Equifax https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-dispute/

Experian https://www.experian.com/disputes/main.html

Trans Union https://service.transunion.com/dss/login.page?dest=dispute

You can’t dispute things that are accurate. For instance, if you paid an account after it was late, the late account can show paid, but paid late. If you filed a bankruptcy, that fact that you filed stays on 10 years after your Chapter 7 filing date, and 7 years after your Chapter 13 filing date. If a debt that you received a bankruptcy discharge is listed, that is OK, as long as it shows that you owe nothing because of your bankruptcy discharge. Creditors know what a bankruptcy discharge means: you can’t file a Chapter 7 for another 8 years and have little or no debt except what you agreed to “reaffirm”, or survive discharge. So your credit score often goes up a lot after you get a bankruptcy discharge. Credit scores are bad because you have too much debt to pay, not because you got a discharge and now have no debt, and a fresh start, in most cases!

You can only contest things that are inaccurate. Here’s what Equifax says you can dispute:

• Personal information: Your name, addresses, Social Security number or date of birth.

• Account information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete: For example, if late payments are being reported on one of your accounts but you have always paid your balance on time and in full. 

• Mixed credit files: If someone else’s information is being reported on your credit file. This may happen if a father and son (Sr. and Jr.) have the same name, for instance.

• Duplicate reporting of an item: One example might be a debt listed twice.

• Information that may indicate fraud or identity theft: These would be credit accounts, including collection accounts, on your credit report that you don’t recognize.

Whether you’re contacting a lender or the credit bureaus, provide all the evidence and documents you can to support your dispute, such as an account statement verifying an account balance. Give details about why you believe the information in the credit report is inaccurate or incomplete.

What should I expect after filing a dispute?

If you file a dispute with the three nationwide credit bureaus, you can generally expect to receive the results of your dispute within 30 days. If the information is found to be inaccurate, your credit reports will be updated, generally within about 30 days.

If the result of the investigation finds that the information is accurate, it will remain on your credit reports. If you still believe the information is inaccurate or incomplete, and you have additional information that can help support your dispute, you can file your dispute again with the credit bureau. You also have the option to provide a brief statement on your credit reports summarizing your dispute, which can help explain your situation. Or you could contact the creditor to attempt to resolve the issue.

Dial 1-800-CALL-PFG for a free phone mini-consultation, or make an appointment online 24/7 at www.infotapes.com.  Bankruptcy laws are in place to help you.  Who knows bankruptcy like Geraci Law?  Geraci Law has 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com

Should I file Bankruptcy Before I get Divorced, During the Divorce or After the Divorce?

When contemplating divorce, when should I file bankruptcy?

New article from Attorney Peter Francis Geraci titled, Should I file Bankruptcy Before I get Divorced, During the Divorce or After the Divorce? Read this article and more @ https://www.infotapes.com/Articles

There are a lot of “secrets” that you certainly don’t know about when to file in relation to a bankruptcy. And believe it or not, more than a few divorce attorneys commit malpractice by failing to refer their clients to Geraci Law. 

Example #1  “I am not working, I am separated and can’t pay my $60,000 in credit card debt that’s in my name only. I have been paying minimums of $1200 a month for 2 years until I lost my job making $75,000 a year. I think I will wait until after I get divorced to file a bankruptcy. My spouse and I own a condo with less than $15,000 equity, and she still makes $75,000 a year. 

What to do: File Chapter 7 now, especially if you have no joint debt. If you get back to work,  you make too much money. If you stay unemployed, but your spouse files for divorce, her attorney may want some provision that promises her you will pay that debt, a big error you don’t want.

Example #2  “I have $35,000 in credit card debt and want to file for divorce. My spouse has $25,000 in debt. We rent, and each make $50,000 a year, but I will have to pay support for the kids, and can’t do that and pay $800 a month on credit cards for the next 10 years. What should I do?

What to do: You are separated, so your household income is half of what it was, an ideal time to file Chapter 7. You should also talk to your spouse, who might want to eliminate her debt in a joint filing so it is not an issue in the divorce. Waiting could be very bad: I have seen divorce property settlement agreements obligating a spouse who is paying support to pay not only support, but to pay credit cards. Very bad. Get to Geraci Law right away. 

Sometimes we file separate Chapter 7 for each spouse, sometimes a joint Chapter 7, sometimes a 7 for just one, sometimes a Chapter 13 for one only, etc.  There are a lot of ins and outs. Sometimes both spouses file, and because the debt pressure is gone, they get back together and live happily ever after.

Geraci Law saves more marriages than a country preacher. And if we can’t, at least you aren’t fighting about debt during a divorce. It’s magic!

Again, don’t call and expect to get anything straight without a virtual or in-person consultation. You spent years getting into debt, spend an hour planning how to get out of it with an experienced Geraci Law attorney. 

Dial 1-800-CALL-PFG for a free phone mini-consultation, or make an appointment online 24/7 at www.infotapes.com.  Bankruptcy laws are in place to help you.  Who knows bankruptcy like Geraci Law?  Geraci Law has 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com

If I am Married, Can I File Bankruptcy Alone?

Will my bankruptcy affect my spouse?

Below is an article written by Attorney Peter Francis Geraci, you can read more articles at https://www.infotapes.com/Articles.

If I am married, can I file a bankruptcy without my husband or wife? 

There are a lot of different answers so don’t expect to call us and get the right answer without a virtual or in-person consultation (which is free) with an experienced Geraci Law attorney. You will have to provide some detailed info to get a reliable answer.

. Married people file jointly, or separately, or just one. You can file alone. Filing a “husband and wife” case saves you on fees and costs. But there are reasons NOT to file joint cases, and reasons you should file together.

Example #1:  “I have credit card debt I can’t pay and just got fired. My spouse makes $130,000 a year, but is not joint on my cards, but we have a joint checking account. I am on title to 2 properties with him but not on the mortgage. Can I file Chapter 7 and get a discharge

Answer: Probably not. Your household income is $130,000 even without you working. The Chapter 7 Trustee would object to discharge of your debt because the household income is sufficient to pay it. On top of it, you own ½ interest in real estate, and only a Chapter 13 debt repayment plan would enable you to discharge your debt and keep your property interest.

Result: When you are back to work, see us about a Chapter 13 debt repayment plan if your spouse and you can’t pay off your credit cards. 

Example #2: “I just got married and have a lot of debt from before my marriage. It’s a second marriage and we keep separate accounts and have no joint property.   My spouse makes $130,000 a year, and pays all the household expenses, since I only make $25,000 a year. Can I file Chapter 7?

Answer:  Yes. Since there are no joint debts, accounts, or property, you are not a member of a “household” that can pay the debt, unlike Example #1 above. Depending on where you live though there are different applications of the “household rule”. You may qualify for Chapter 7, and if not, for a low Chapter 13 payment.

What to do if you are worried about your debt?

A. Please don’t call and expect an opinion on the phone. Have the courtesy to yourself of getting a half hour of free consultation with an experienced Geraci Law attorney.

B. Before you call for an appointment, talk to your spouse. It’s not like you committed a crime, you just have some debt. Your spouse may want to pay it, or may want to pay for your bankruptcy. Bad idea to try to keep it a secret.

so, there are some considerations, it depends on the facts, and there are a lot of secrets:

If you want to file a joint case, both of you must attend your first consultation. You can’t send hubby in by himself. That way you both hear the same advice. . Then you won’t have to go back alone and answer your spouse’s questions. Sometimes we recommend that one spouse NOT file, or that one file Chapter 7, and the other file Chapter 13.

1.   If you want to file your own case separately, that is ok. But if you living in the same household, we do have to know the total household income, and if spouses are keeping separate income and expenses. But one can file without the other.

2.   Wisconsin is one of 8 community property states. You can’t get rid of community debt by filing alone. But if you file alone, your creditors can’t attach community property as long as your non-filing spouse does not file. The same with a residence in Illinois or Indiana held as tenants by the entirety. 

3.   Many people have debts that they had before the marriage. A spouse is not liable for the other spouse’s pre-marital debts.

4.   Domestic support obligations, attorney fees to the other spouse in most cases, and guardian ad litem fees, and property settlement obligations, are not dischargeable in Chapter 7. In Chapter 13, domestic support obligations must be paid, and you can pay arrears ahead of other creditors. Also, in Chapter 13, property settlement obligations that cannot be discharged in Chapter 7 may be discharged. So, you need an experienced attorney if you have marital debt issues.

5.   Your filing does not affect the other spouse’s obligation to pay debts they are liable on. In community property states, like Wisconsin, your bankruptcy leaves your spouse with any debt incurred during the marriage, unless the spouse also files. But then your creditors can reach the other spouse’s community property, although it might be exempt.

6.   If you ran up the bills during the marriage, even though your spouse did not sign for the debt, or even know about it, your creditors may be able to collect from your spouse. Many states have “family expense” laws that make one spouse responsible for the debts of another if the debts were incurred for family purposes. The theory is that each spouse owes a duty to immediate family members to support them. Food, clothing, rent, medical bills and household items can be the responsibility of the other spouse.

7.   Sometimes one spouse will send the other one in, because they don’t want to pay the other’s bills. Then, instead of sending money to bill collectors, you can send your money to your own family. It makes for a happier marriage.

8.   Sometimes you are involved in a “bust-out scheme”, where you and your spouse loaded up your cards on purpose, and now plan to get rid of the debt. That may raise objections by creditors and the U.S. Trustee, depending on the facts.

Therefore, while you may be able to file a case alone, you may have to take into consideration both your spouse’s income, even if you keep your income and expenses separately, and any liability your spouse may have for your debts. You can protect your spouse from this liability by a joint filing, or, you can pay the debts that your spouse is liable for in a Chapter 13. Then, while you make the Chapter 13 payment, no creditor can bother your spouse. The same theory applies to co-signed debts.

This is one area where an experienced Geraci Law attorney is worth their weight in gold!

Dial 1-800-CALL-PFG for a free phone mini-consultation, or make an appointment online 24/7 at www.infotapes.com.  Bankruptcy laws are in place to help you.  Who knows bankruptcy like Geraci Law?  Geraci Law has 30,000 5-star reviews 5starsince November 2016!

Read ALL ABOUT DEBT RELIEF at www.bankruptcybookbypeterfrancisgeraci.com