Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

If you are planning to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and you currently have a mortgage on a home, you likely have concerns about what will happen to your house. You might be considering bankruptcy in part because you have gotten behind on your mortgage payments and you are now facing foreclosure. Even if you are not facing foreclosure, you might be struggling to make mortgage payments and could be behind schedule by a couple of months. Combined with other consumer debt, you might be thinking that a liquidation bankruptcy is the best option to discharge your debts and to get a fresh start. What will happen to your home? Many people assume that anyone who owns a home and files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy will lose their home, and this is not automatically true. Indeed, the answer to that question depends on a handful of different questions and issues, and we want to give you an idea of where to get started. Is Your Home Going Into Foreclosure? One of the first questions you will want to c...

When you are making plans to file for consumer bankruptcy , and Chapter 7 bankruptcy in particular, we know that you likely have a wide variety of questions about how bankruptcy exemptions work. In any personal bankruptcy case, it is critical to work with an experienced Illinois bankruptcy lawyer who can ensure that you take advantage of the variety of bankruptcy exemptions that may be available to you. In the meantime, however, we want to provide you with some frequently asked questions, and helpful answers, about exemptions in Chicago-area bankruptcy cases. What are Bankruptcy Exemptions? Bankruptcy exemptions allow debtors to protect certain property in a bankruptcy case. Exempt assets will not be considered for liquidation in a Chapter 7 case or as part of the repayment terms in a Chapter 13 case, according to U.S. bankruptcy law . Can I Choose Between Federal and Illinois State Bankruptcy Exemptions? There are both federal and state exemptions, but Illinois is one of a number ...

If you are thinking about filing for bankruptcy but have some flexibility in terms of when you actually file, you may have a number of questions about timing your bankruptcy filing, and concerns about how the timing of your bankruptcy filing might impact your ability to have certain debts discharged. In some situations and for some debtors, it might make sense to file for bankruptcy as soon as possible to have the benefits of the automatic stay under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code , while for other debtors, it could make sense to wait a certain amount of time to file if you have relatively recent debts that you are hoping will be eligible for discharge. If you are looking for more information about timing your consumer bankruptcy filing , you should ask yourself the following questions to get a general idea of how bankruptcy timelines could impact your case. Most importantly, you should seek advice from an Oak Park bankruptcy lawyer who can help. Have You Recently Earned More Money Than ...

If you are considering Chapter 13 bankruptcy or if you recently started the process of going through a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, you should know that this process takes much longer than a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Before Chapter 13 debts can be discharged, the debtor will need to develop a repayment plan in order to “reorganize” debts, and consumer bankruptcies under Chapter 13 typically have a timeline of anywhere from three to five years. In other words, your bankruptcy case will take the length of your repayment plan (from three to five years, depending upon your income and other factors), in addition to the amount of time from filing until your repayment plan is approved. Once the terms of the repayment plan are completed, the bankruptcy court will need to review your case to determine whether remaining debts are eligible for discharge. What all of this means is that, in brief, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case takes quite a long time. During that time window, professional and ...

Earlier in the start of the pandemic, consumer protection advocates began discussing the risks of looming personal bankruptcy filings. As thousands, then hundreds of thousands, and ultimately millions of people lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more commentators discussed the increased risks of a wave of consumer bankruptcy filings. In large part, that wave has not come, but according to a recent article in The New York Times , the presence of federal aid may have something to do with the limited number of bankruptcy filings thus far in the pandemic. However, if Congress does not expand certain federal benefits for an extended period of time, the article suggests, then we could soon see a sharp rise in Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in Chicago and across the country. Bankruptcy Filings Declined Despite “Soaring” Unemployment Much of the U.S. entered into state-based stay-at-home orders in March, and non-essential businesses closed. As a result, millions of people ultimat...

  If you are considering filing for consumer bankruptcy , you may be thinking carefully about the steps you need to take in order to get ready to file. Yet just important as the steps you need to take are the things you should not do before you file for bankruptcy. Whether you are planning to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, it is important to consider some of the common mistakes that people make when they file and to avoid making mistakes in the months prior to filing or during the bankruptcy process. The U.S. Bankruptcy Code governs most issues pertaining to consumer bankruptcy, along with Illinois laws pertaining to bankruptcy exemptions. As you are thinking about whether to file for consumer bankruptcy, you should take note of the following things you should avoid before you file. If you need assistance or have additional questions, you should seek advice from an Oak Park bankruptcy attorney as soon as possible.   Do Not Give Inaccurate Informat...

Consumers who are struggling with debt but do not want to file for bankruptcy may, in certain situations, end up facing an involuntary bankruptcy petition. While involuntary bankruptcy is much more common when businesses owe debts to creditors, there are situations in which creditors can file an involuntary bankruptcy petition against an individual debtor. In most situations, individual consumers do not need to be worried about facing an involuntary bankruptcy case. However, it is important to understand the kinds of scenarios in which the U.S. Bankruptcy Code allows a creditor (or a group of creditors) to file an involuntary bankruptcy petition against an individual debtor. Learning More About Involuntary Bankruptcy Before we discuss some of the situations in which creditors can and cannot file an involuntary bankruptcy petition against an individual debtor, we want to tell you more about involuntary bankruptcy. In general, there are voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy proceedi...