File bankruptcy virginia

This provision prevents creditors from making direct contact with you or staking a claim on any of your property from the day of filing forward. This will stop any foreclosure proceedings. Bankruptcy Trustee Upon filing, the court will assume legal control of your debts and any property not covered by your Virginia exemptions. A trustee will be appointed to your case by the court. The job of the trustee is to see that your creditors are paid as much as possible. This person will thoroughly review your paperwork, particularly the assets you have in your possession and the exemptions you wish to claim, and can challenge any element of your case.

Creditors rarely attend a Chapter 7 bankruptcy meeting; one or two creditors may attend a Chapter 13 meeting, especially if there is a question as to the legitimacy of some aspect of the plan.

If a compromise can not be reached, a judge will intervene. The meeting of creditors typically lasts about five minutes. You will receive notice of the location of the meeting but you may contact the court to confirm the address and time. Putting property up as collateral creates a "secured debt"—if you don't pay what you owe, the lender gets to take the property back. But you can't discharge all debts. Nondischargeable debts , like domestic support arrearages and recent tax debt , won't go away in bankruptcy, and student loans aren't easy to wipe out you'd have to win a separate lawsuit.

You'll want to be sure that bankruptcy will discharge get rid of enough bills to make it worth your while. We all know that seeing the forest helps us recognize the trees, so it's probably a good time to consider the significant steps you'll take during your bankruptcy journey.

Think of this checklist as a roadmap of sorts, but you can also use it to track your progress. The good news? You've already made headway on the first two items! You won't lose everything in bankruptcy. You'll use your state bankruptcy exemption laws to protect your property. We list the significant exemptions below, but first, understanding the following will help you maximize what you'll keep in your case. Be aware that more exemptions exist and that amounts adjust from time to time.

Check for updates on the website for the Virginia General Assembly. Exempt your property carefully. The bankruptcy trustee —the court-appointed official assigned to manage your case—will review the exemptions.

A trustee who disagrees with your exemptions will likely try to resolve the issue informally. If unsuccessful, the trustee will file an objection with the bankruptcy court, and the judge will decide whether you can keep the property.

Believing that the car qualifies as art—at least in his mind—Mason exempts it using his state's unlimited artwork exemption. The trustee disagrees with Mason's characterization and files an objection with the court.

The judge will likely decide the vehicle doesn't qualify as art. Purposefully making inaccurate statements could be considered fraudulent. If you've never filed for bankruptcy before, you'll meet the initial requirement. Otherwise, check whether enough time has passed to allow you to file again. The waiting period varies depending on the chapter previously filed and the chapter you plan to file.

Learn more about multiple bankruptcy filings. You'll qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy if your family's gross income is lower than the median income for the same size family in your state. Add all gross income earned during the last six months and multiply it by two. Compare the figure to the income charts on the U. Trustee's website select "Means Testing Information". Want an easy way to do this online? Use the Quick Median Income Test. If you find that you make too much, you still might qualify after taking the second part of the " means test.

Qualifying for Chapter 13 can be an expensive proposition because the extra benefits come at a hefty price, and many people can't afford the monthly payment. To qualify, you'll pay the larger of:. Find out more about calculating a Chapter 13 bankruptcy payment. Most people find it worthwhile to get counsel.

A bankruptcy attorney will help you:. You can expect creditors to call until you file. It's usually best to ignore them because telling creditors about your bankruptcy can encourage them to take more drastic collection steps before losing the right to collect altogether. However, if you hire counsel and refer creditors to your lawyer , they'll have to stop calling you. Are you curious whether your case is simple enough to file yourself?

Our quiz will help you identify potential complications while educating you about the bankruptcy process. Marler sent 10 News the memo he sent to all his clients Monday after learning of the bankruptcy filing:. This is something that I expected and we are prepared for it. This does not mean that you will be left without. Man hospitalized after Roanoke County hit-and-run, police say.

Local News. A debtor under Chapter 12 must have regular and stable income that enables him or her to repay creditors under a long-term plan. By choosing Chapter 13, an individual debtor often may keep his property, stop home mortgage foreclosures, reinstate defaulted home mortgages and obtain a broader discharge of debts than is available in a Chapter 7 liquidation.

The debtor may be able to pay less than what is owed, or change the interest rate or number of months to pay. Ordinarily, the debtor makes monthly payments to the Chapter 13 trustee, who then pays the creditors according to the plan filed by the debtor, accepted by the creditors, and approved by the bankruptcy judge.

The debtor pays the trustee a set amount based on his monthly earnings from all sources, less fixed living expenses. Almost any person who has a residence, business, or property in the United States can file bankruptcy.

Individuals, sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and family farmers are eligible for bankruptcy relief. If you own a business that is not a separate corporation, you must include both your personal and business debts and property in your case. Generally, there are no minimum financial requirements for a debtor to file a bankruptcy case.

However the law now has certain financial requirements for filing a petition under Chapter 7. In that case, you may be required to use Chapter 13 where you must pay at least some portion of your debts. Note that certain debt restrictions or financial requirements also apply in Chapter 12 or 13 bankruptcy cases, which then may require you to file Chapter In the early stage of a bankruptcy case, you must attend a meeting of creditors also called a Section meeting at which you must provide information and answer questions under oath from the bankruptcy trustee, the United States Trustee, or your creditors.

The bankruptcy judge does not participate in such meetings. Although the meetings are not formal court hearings, testimony is taken under oath and you are subject to criminal penalties for perjury. You must provide your tax return and the pay stubs to the trustee at least seven days before the meeting of creditors discussed below.

Some trustees will require other financial documents as well. Bankruptcy courts are part of the federal judicial system, and federal bankruptcy judges decide most disputes that arise in bankruptcy cases.

If any challenges are raised by creditors in your bankruptcy case, it may be necessary for you to testify in court. Although many of the typical legal issues and procedures can be handled by an attorney without requiring your attendance at a bankruptcy court hearing, it is important that you attend, on time, if you are required to be there.

In a Chapter 7 case, you will typically receive an order discharging most of your debts within three or four months. Chapter 13 usually requires you to make monthly payments over a three-year to five-year period before you will receive a discharge.