FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
BANKRUPTCY FAQs
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is known as a liquidation. This generally means that a debtor is giving up property that s/he is no longer able to afford to pay in order to wipe out (discharge) all or most of your debts. This property is sold to pay your creditors that you are unable to pay.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is known as a debt adjustment or reorganization plan. This plan will require you to pay your debts from your income. This is like a financial planner. We will submit a plan to the trustee to show how you will pay off your debts typically within three to five years.
Under a Chapter 7 plan, if your house and car are paid off and can be considered an exemption, you will not lose this property. However, if you are behind on payments or at risk of losing your house or car, then a Chapter 7 plan is not the right plan for you.
Under a Chapter 13 plan, you will not lose your house or primary vehicle. In fact, an injunction will stop creditors from trying to foreclose on your house or repossess your car the time your bankruptcy plan is filed.
To qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, your household income has to be below the national median household income, which will be calculated using the means test, and you cannot have any disposable income after paying certain pre-approved expenses.
The qualification for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan depends on your monthly income and the amount of dischargeable debt that you owe. This means you will need a steady source of income to pay on a monthly Chapter 13 plan.
Under a Chapter 7 plan, the plan is to wipe out all or most of your debts. The way this is accomplished is by selling some of your valuable property to cover the debt(s) that is owed.
Under a Chapter 13 plan, all dischargeable debt that is included in your bankruptcy plan will be discharged as long as you make your monthly payments. There are non dischargeable debts that you will still have to pay outside of the bankruptcy plan. Some of those dischargeable debts include, but are not limited to, some back taxes that are owed, debt obtained by fraud, domestic support obligations such as child support and alimony, qualified education loans, and the like.
You will be free of those debts and will no longer have to worry about creditors coming after you for those debts. If there are any unsecured debts that have not been completely paid through the plan, those debts will be discharged.
Also, you can look forward to a higher credit score because those debts have been consolidated into one monthly payment.
For a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the filing fee is a total of $338 as of. December 2020. If you want to reopen a Chapter 7 matter, the total cost is $260. These fees are only the filing fees with the court. They do not represent attorney’s fees and any additional fees associated with filing a bankruptcy matter.
For a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, the filing fee is a total of $313 as of December 2020. If you want to reopen a Chapter 13 matter, the total cost is $235. These fees are only the filing fees with the court. They do not represent attorney’s fees and any additional fees associated with filing a bankruptcy matter.
Family Law FAQs
If your divorce is uncontested (meaning both parties agree to the divorce, the division of property and debts, and the parenting issues if children are involved), then all that is needed is to file the divorce complaint, a marital dissolution, and parenting plan (if necessary).
If contested, the Plaintiff must file for the divorce complaint and have it served on the Defendant. The Defendant will have an opportunity to respond and we will Hproceed from their, either by going to trial or settling the matter in mediation. After mediation or trial, a divorce decree will be issued
If there are no children born during the marriage or other circumstances involving children, then it will take a minimum of sixty (60) days to get a divorce.
If there are children, then it will take a minimum of ninety (90) days to get a divorce.
Yes you can still get a divorce. We will have to proceed just like a contested issue.
Generally speaking, you have no choice if children are involved. In the State of TN, a child born during the marriage is presumed to be your spouse’s child. Therefore, the Judge or Chancellor will likely award child support absent other circumstances. Child support is for the benefit of the children.
