Frequently Asked Questions to Bankruptcy Attorneys

1. First, schedule an appointment with Kevin D. Judd, a qualified Washington DC bankruptcy lawyer who can properly manage your entire Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
2. At your first appointment, you should bring a copy of your last tax return filed, proof of income for the past 6 months and pay stubs or documents relating to retirement or disability income. You should also bring a copy of deeds to property owned in the last 3 years and documents evidencing all your debt obligations. You may also provide a copy of your credit report.
3. At your first appointment, you would have completed a bankruptcy questionnaire in which we will review with you and determine if you are eligible to file a bankruptcy case.
4. You will come back to the office within 1 to 2 weeks to sign your bankruptcy papers that we prepared. These papers will be filed in court within a few days after all necessary signatures are obtained.
5. Approximately a month after the filing of your case, a meeting of creditors will be held. This typically last 2 to 3 minutes, and creditors normally do not appear at the meeting.
6. Approximately 3 months after the meeting of creditors is held, your Chapter 7 discharge papers will be mailed to you by the court.

No. The law is clear here. Employers are barred from discriminating against persons who have filed a bankruptcy case.

If you have a good rating, it will worsen it. However, if you have a very derogatory rating, it may help it because some financial institutions solicit persons who have filed a Chapter 7 case. They know that person is unable to file another Chapter 7 case for another eight years. In addition, if a compelling reason led to your filing, such as illness or divorce, some credit rating agencies make take that into account in rating your score.

So long as you are current on your mortgage and/or vehicle payments and maintain insurance, you may be able to keep your house and/or vehicle.

A discharge only releases the person(s) who filed the case. The liability of the debt to the co-signer remains.

You are not prohibited from repaying as many dischargeable debts as you wish. Further, by repaying a selected debt, you are not obligated to pay your other dischargeable debts.

Yes. Although a husband and wife do not have to file together, a husband and wife should file together if both of them are liable for one or more substantial dischargeable debts. If both are liable for a substantial debt and only one files a Chapter 7 case, the creditor may later attempt to collect from the non-filing spouse.

Kevin D. Judd will file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case for any person who resides in, does business in or has property in the United States. All such clients may file a Chapter 7 case, except for:

1. a person who has filed a Bankruptcy case within 8 years and has received a discharge
2. a person who has committed certain fraudulent acts,
3. or a person who has intentionally dismissed a prior bankruptcy case within the last 180 days.

In order for a person to maintain a Chapter 7 case, that person must demonstrate that he or she does not have enough disposable income to pay off a substantial portion of his or her debts within a reasonable period. Disposable income is defined as a person’s net income after the payment of the necessary living expenses, including the expenses for his or her dependents.

In the jurisdiction where the person resided or maintained a principle place of business for the greater portion of the last 180 days. Our law firm is familiar with all Washington DC and Maryland jurisdictions, especially those surrounding the District of Columbia.

Chapter 7 is the most well known bankruptcy. Chapter 7 allows you to discharge your legal financial obligations to creditors, which means that creditors are prohibited from calling you and are also prohibited from imposing garnishments, levies, lawsuits or any other collection actions against you because you no longer have a legal obligation to pay the debt. However, certain debts are non-dischargeable. These include student loans, certain taxes from a specific time period (taxes due within 3 years), alimony and support payments, criminal restitution and debts for death or personal injury caused by driving intoxicated from alcohol or drugs.

Chapter 13 is designed for persons with regular income who were temporarily unable to pay their debts but would like to pay them in installments over a period of time. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is typically used by consumers who have substantial disposable income or persons who have fallen behind in their mortgage and/or vehicle payments and are faced with foreclosure or repossession, but would like to retain the property. Under this, you must file a Chapter 13 repayment plan with the court to repay your creditors using your future earnings. The repayment period is usually three years, but no longer than five years. After completion of your payment plan, your debts will be discharged, except for long term secure obligations such as mortgage and vehicle loans, student loans, alimony and support payments, criminal restitution and debts for death or personal injury caused by driving intoxicated from alcohol or drugs.

Chapter 11 is primarily designed for business reorganizations. Although, the Washington DC Bankruptcy Law Firm of Kevin D Judd does not provide this service, we are able to recommend you to a law firm that can help your company restructure its debt.