Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

If you are thinking about filing for bankruptcy in the Oak Park area, it is important to know that certain kinds of debts cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy case. Under U.S. bankruptcy law, these are known as non-dischargeable debts, or exceptions to discharge. There are certain types of debts that have long been identified clearly as non-dischargeable debts, while there are misconceptions about other types of debts that may or may not be dischargeable. As an article in CNBC discusses, the U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a ruling in the case of Bartenwerfer v. Buckley , which clarifies that debts incurred due to another party’s fraud cannot be discharged in an individual’s bankruptcy case. Our Oak Park bankruptcy attorneys can explain the Court’s recent ruling and provide you with additional information on dischargeable and non-dischargeable debts. Supreme Court Says Debt Incurred Due to Another’s Fraud is Non-Dischargeable The recent Bartenwerfer case involved a debtor attempti...

Are you thinking about filing for consumer bankruptcy in the Oak Park area? If so, you are likely speaking with close friends or family members about the process, and you are likely searching for information about personal bankruptcy on the internet. In your discussions and web browsing research, you have likely come across information about debts that are non-dischargeable, or debts that fall into the category of “exceptions to discharge” under U.S. bankruptcy law . It is important to keep in mind that the most common types are usually dischargeable in a bankruptcy case, but it is nonetheless essential to determine whether you will be able to have your debts discharged in your bankruptcy case. What are exceptions to discharge? The following are five things you should know. 1. Exceptions to Discharge Means Non-Dischargeable Debts Under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the term “exceptions to discharge” refers to debts that are non-dischargeable in a bankruptcy case. The law lists 19 exceptio...

If you are planning to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy , you want to be certain that all—or at least the majority of—the major debts you owe will be discharged in your bankruptcy case. Accordingly, you might be wondering: will Chapter 7 bankruptcy erase all of the debt I owe? To confirm an answer to this question, it is critical to discuss the particular facts of your case with an Oak Park consumer bankruptcy lawyer who can help. Bankruptcy laws in the U.S. are extremely complicated, and there are some types of debt that are not dischargeable. As such, it is important to have an experienced attorney assess your situation before you move forward with your bankruptcy case. The good news is that most consumer debts are dischargeable in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, which means that you may indeed be able to erase all of the debt you owe. Yet some types of debt are not dischargeable, and there are some situations in which debt ultimately cannot be discharged even if the type of debt is dis...

Are you thinking about filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy , and are you wondering about types of debt you have and whether they are dischargeable? While there are some types of debt that are not dischargeable in consumer bankruptcy cases, there are many forms of commonly held debt that can be discharged in your bankruptcy case. If you have questions, you should always seek advice from a bankruptcy lawyer who can help you. In the meantime, the following are examples of some of the most common types of debt that are dischargeable in personal bankruptcy cases under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code . Credit Card Debt Did you know that more than 191 million Americans currently have credit cards and that millions of households are currently carrying tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt? According to Debt.org, credit card debt is one of the most common forms of consumer debt, and it is nearly always dischargeable in a bankruptcy case. While there are some exceptions when a ...

If you are considering personal bankruptcy , especially a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy , owing money to a close friend or family member can put you and your loved one in a very difficult position. While it can be much easier to seek a discharge of debt you owe to a seemingly nameless creditor, realizing that your debt can pose problems for a friend or family member can be much more complicated if you are seeking a bankruptcy discharge. How often does this kind of situation arise? What are your options if you want to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy but you do not want to negatively affect a friend or family member who is now linked to your debt? Friends and Family Members are Negatively Affected by Financial Issues More Frequently Than You Might Think According to an article in Bankrate , more people borrow money from loved ones or ask loved ones to serve as co-signers on loans than you might think. With some frequency, those friends and family members ultimately end up bearing the...

If you filed for personal bankruptcy on your own—i.e., without help from an experienced bankruptcy lawyer—you could find yourself in a situation in which your bankruptcy discharge is denied. Given that consumer bankruptcy may be your only option for managing your debt and finding a way to get back on track financially, learning that your debts will not be discharged can be devastating. In some cases, the court might not discharge debt due to an error you made at some point during your bankruptcy case—from providing incorrect information unintentionally to failing to take one of the required steps in a bankruptcy case. In other situations, it could be that your debts are not dischargeable under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code . In other scenarios, the bankruptcy court might believe you engaged in bankruptcy fraud, in which case you could be facing additional penalties or legal problems beyond simply not getting your debt discharged. No matter what the cause, you should seek advice as soon...

For most consumers in Oak Park, Illinois, one of the major benefits of filing for personal bankruptcy is that you can be eligible to have debts discharged—either quickly in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case or the end of a reorganization plan in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. For many debtors in Illinois, the bankruptcy discharge allows for a fresh financial start and the ability to stop worrying about unmanageable debt. There are also other reasons to file for personal bankruptcy, especially if you are at risk of foreclosure. Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy can allow you to stop a foreclosure and to get back on track with monthly mortgage payments. Yet if you are currently considering filing for bankruptcy in order to have your debts discharged, you should know that certain types of debts are not eligible for discharge. The following should give you a sense of some of the major types of debts that are considered “non-dischargeable” under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code . Family Support Debt I...

If you owe a substantial amount of debt, there are a few ways you can get rid of that debt, and one is filing for personal bankruptcy. First, and perhaps most obviously, you can pay off the debt. Whether you pay it off all at once or over time will not change the fact that the debt has been paid off. Of course, if you repay it over a longer period of time, you could end up paying more money in the long run due to interest. However, in the end, the debt is still paid off. When you do not pay off a debt, there are generally two other ways to eradicate the debt, and it is important to understand that they are quite distinct from one another and have different consequences. We want to tell you more about discharging debt through consumer bankruptcy , and how that differs from having your debt canceled. What Happens When My Debt is Discharged through Bankruptcy? If you file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy , the end result is typically a discharge of eligible debts. While that disch...

If you are thinking about filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the Oak Park area, you may have heard that creditors have the opportunity to object to your discharge. It is important to know that an objection to your discharge is distinct from a creditor asking questions at the meeting of creditors (which is also known as the 341 hearing). Should you be worried that you will not be able to have a discharge in your consumer bankruptcy case because a creditor will object? We want to say more about the objection to discharge, why it happens, and whether it is something that may apply in your case. Learning More About Discharges in a Consumer Bankruptcy Case To understand what an objection to discharge is and why it can happen, you will need to understand clearly what a bankruptcy discharge is. As the U.S. Courts website explains, a bankruptcy discharge “releases the debtor from personal liability for certain specified types of debts.” To put it another way, the discharge wipes out debt...

When a consumer files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy , there are certain types of debt that can not be discharged (or are non-dischargeable). When consumers in Oak Park think about non-dischargeable debts, they often consider debts related to spousal or child support, or tax debt. Yet it is important to understand that debt owed as a result of a personal injury lawsuit also may not be dischargeable if the damages award resulted from a drunk driving claim. To put it another way, if a consumer owes a significant amount of debt related to injuries she caused in a drunk driving accident, is that debt dischargeable? Does the answer to that question change if the debt is related to the consumer’s own medical expenses caused by a drunk driving accident that she caused? We want to answer these questions by discussing the way the U.S. Bankruptcy Code approaches debt discharges and drunk driving accidents. Bankruptcy Discharges for Drunk Driving Accident Verdi...

If a consumer fails to pay a creditor what she owes that creditor, the creditor likely will begin attempting to collect on the debt. At first, the creditor likely will make contact with the debtor, urging the debtor to pay what she owes. If the debtor does not make payments, after a certain amount of time, the creditor may sell the debt to a third-party debt buyer, or the creditor may file a lawsuit against the debtor. If the creditor does file a lawsuit against the debtor and wins a judgment, can the debtor get rid of the judgment by filing for bankruptcy ? A judgment does not prevent a debtor from filing for personal bankruptcy . However, whether bankruptcy can erase the judgment depends on a number of factors. To answer this question, we want to provide you with more information about how a judgment works, and how a lien can affect your ability to discharge the debt and everything you may owe to the creditor. When a Creditor Files a Lawsuit and Wins a Judgment W...

When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy , you are doing so because you have substantial debts and ultimately want to have those debts discharged. For many debtors, it can be confusing to understand how and when a discharge occurs, and what types of debts are not eligible for discharge. The U.S. Courts provide important information about bankruptcy discharge, and we want to go over some of that information for debtors who are considering consumer bankruptcy in Oak Park . How Does the Law Define Bankruptcy Discharge? What is a bankruptcy discharge? In short, it is a wiping away of debt. Bankruptcy discharge is a term that refers to a situation in which the debtor is released from his or her personal liability for certain debts incurred. To put it another way, a bankruptcy discharge means that the debtor does not have to pay for any of the debts that are discharged, and the creditors cannot seek to obtain any money owed on the debt once it is di...