For the benefit of those who have got no idea what this term mean, I will start by defining what exactly it is. Bankruptcy is a lawfully declared incapacity of an individual or organizations to pay their creditors or lenders at a given period of time. Creditors may file a bankruptcy plead against a debtor which is called -involuntary bankruptcy, in an effort to recover a section of what is due to them. Commonly, many bankruptcy cases, however, are initiated by the debtor called a voluntary bankruptcy that is filed by the insolvent entity or business.

Even though bankruptcy permit a debtor a way out of a violent cycle of debt, it should not be taken carelessly, and should be a means of last option. But in this particular article, I will concentrate more on the two main types of bankruptcy which is the chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcies. They are widely used for personal bankruptcy individual, a debtor surrenders his or her non-exempt property to a bankruptcy trustee who then liquidates the property and distributes the proceeds to the debtor’s unsecured creditors.

Chapter 7 type of bankruptcy as straight bankruptcy is the favorite option for people with less or no property and a batch of unsecured debt. It is a liquidation bankruptcy implicating that the court will trade any non-exempt assets you have to pay your creditors and irrespective of the quantity paid, release that debt. The debtor will not be granted a discharge if he or she is guilty of certain types of unsuitable behavior such as concealing records concerning his financial condition.

Similarly some debts such as spousal hold up, student loans, some taxes will not be discharged even though the debtor is usually discharged from his or her debt. Many individuals in financial distress own only exempt property like household goods, an older car and will not have to give up any property to the trustee. The amount of property that a debtor may let off varies from state to the other. Chapter 7 type of a bankruptcy, relief is available only once in any eight year period. Generally, the rights of secured creditors to their collateral continues even though their debt is.

Chapter 13 type of Bankruptcy, from time to time called the wage earner’s plan, or reorganization bankruptcy, is quite different from Chapter 7 bankruptcy which swab out most of your debts. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you employ your income to pay some or all of what you are obligated to your creditors over time which is proximately anywhere from three to five years, depending on the size of your debts and income.

These debts must also be non-contingent and liquidated, meaning that they must be for a certain, fixed amount and not subjected to any conditions. Secured creditors may be entitled to greater payment than unsecured creditors. When preparing to enter bankruptcy, ensure you check as many personal bankruptcy online services as likely, where you will get advice on the type of bankruptcy best suited to you. Generally there are six types of bankruptcy but these two are the key ones.

Poly Muthumbi is a Web Administrator and Has Been Researching and Reporting on Debt for Years. Visit Her Site at TYPES OF BANKRUPTCY



Thanks to Poly Muthumbi for contributing this article to our Bankruptcy blog:

Credit Card Debt Settlement

Sometimes situations arise when you can no longer pay your bills. Although you may have the best intentions of paying off your debt, you simply may not have the means to make this happen. When you can no longer pay your bills, you may need to consider filing bankruptcy. Hopefully you will have considered your alternatives but sometimes bankruptcy is the most viable option. The question then becomes which type of bankruptcy will best suite your financial needs, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. Your current situation will help you to decide which bankruptcy route is best for you.

A majority of consumers choose to go with Chapter 7 bankruptcy. There are a variety of differences between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 7 bankruptcy does not require you to make a plan of repayment. When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, your debt is not immediately wiped out. Instead, a bankruptcy trustee will sell off your non-exempt assets in order to pay off your debts. It is important that you understand with Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you could potentially lose any property that you currently own.

However, with Chapter 13, you are not required to liquidate your assets in order to repay your creditors. Instead, you make a repayment plan to pay a portion or all of your unsecured debt back. This is done through the court system and payments can be made over a 36 to 60 month period. The amount you repay your creditors must be equal to or greater than what they would receive should you have liquidated your assets, as with Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you follow through with your repayment plan, then your remaining unsecured debt will then be discharged.

If you have lost your job or have no means of repaying your debt, then you should probably consider filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, if you are still able to meet some of your monthly obligations, but cannot pay off your entire debt, then you may want to consider filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

It is important that you have a full understanding of the lasting impact of filing for bankruptcy. Whether you are filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, there are financial consequences. Chapter 7 bankruptcy will have a steeper impact on your financial situation. By filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy you are telling creditors that you cannot be trusted to pay off your debts. Therefore, you will have a hard time finding creditors to lend you money in the future. This will be extremely important if you are ever in the need for a new car, mortgage or even a simple credit card.

Chapter 13 has less of an impact on your overall credit rating. Since you are still paying off your debt, just in a restructured form or at a lower interest rate, creditors see you as less of a financial risk, than someone who has wiped out there entire debt through Chapter 7.

Be aware that there are certain types of debt that cannot be discharged with either chapter of bankruptcy, so make sure you have a thorough understanding of bankruptcy law, especially with the major recent changes to the laws.

There are both pros and cons to filing either Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Before committing to either one, you should sit down with a financial adviser and go over your obligations and options completely. Weighing out the pros and cons of both types of bankruptcy and basing your decision on your current situation, you will be able to easily decide which bankruptcy route you should go with.



Thanks to Jon Arnold for contributing this article to our Bankruptcy blog:

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan

Can you answer Nickie G’s question about Bankruptcy?:

The bankruptcy trustee told me to ammend my exemption schedule to include my 2007 return, but I don’t know the code.
I filed with out an attorney, so I have to find the code by myself.

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