The Wright Firm, LLP Bankruptcy

Texas Lawyers with Solutions

DALLAS CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY: WHEN IS A DEBT REAFFIRMED?

A reaffirmation agreement is an agreement between a debtor and a creditor in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case which allows a specific secured debt to survive the bankruptcy discharge.  The reason a debtor may want to enter into this type of agreement is because they wish to keep collateral that is securing the debt.  In [...]

FILING BANKRUPTCY TO STOP GARNISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS AND WAGES

Debtors who are having their bank accounts or wages garnished may be able to stop garnishment by filing bankruptcy.  Whether the garnishment can be stopped depends on the reason for the garnishment. Garnishments due to collection of judgments, collection of student loan debt, tax liability, and arrears due to domestic support obligations can all be [...]

CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY: NEGOTIATING A BETTER DEAL ON YOUR SECURED DEBT

The purpose of filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy is to discharge debt.  However, discharging debt doesn’t remove liens on secured property, so although your liability for repaying a debt may be discharged, if you don’t continue making payments to secured creditors, they will likely enforce their lien through foreclosure or repossession.  Debtors who wish to keep [...]

LIABILITY FOR DEBT AFTER BANKRUPTCY DISCHARGE: IN PERSONAM VS. IN REM

When determining how a debt will be affected by discharge in bankruptcy, it is important to determine whether or not a debt is in personam or in rem.  “In personam” means “against a person.”  With a few exceptions, in personam liability is discharged in bankruptcy.  For example, credit cards and medical bills are debts against [...]

BANKRUPTCY: YOUR CREDIT REPORT AFTER DISCHARGE

You filed bankruptcy.  You filled out all the paperwork and met with your attorney.  You attended a meeting with a trustee and eventually received a discharge.  Now what?  Well, the good news is that you are debt-free with the exception of any non-dischargable debts you may have and debts you did not wish to discharge.  [...]

BANKRUPTCY: CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS FRAUD? IT’S A MATTER OF TIMING

Some types of debts cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.  These include income tax, child support and student loans.  Then there are other types of debts that should be dischargeable in bankruptcy, but become non-dischargeable because of how the debt was incurred.  For example, debtors that obtain money, property, or services through fraud remain liable for [...]

BANKRUPTCY: CROSS-COLLATERALIZATION AND CREDIT UNIONS

In bankruptcy, debtors often wish to discharge their unsecured debt but keep their secured collateral.  This is generally allowed in bankruptcy, but a practice commonly employed by credit unions makes this process more complicated and often more expensive.  The reason is because credit unions often include cross-collateralization clauses in their loan documents.  Cross-collateralization means that [...]

DOMESTIC SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS GIVEN PRIORITY IN BANKRUPTCY

The Bankruptcy Code provides special protection for parties’ owed domestic support obligations, such as child support, alimony, and spousal maintenance.  In its present form, the Bankruptcy Code provides that domestic support obligations cannot be discharged in a Chapter 7 case and receive priority status in Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan.  This priority status guarantees that domestic [...]

FILING BANKRUPTCY MAY IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT RATING

Many people do not file bankruptcy because they fear that it will ruin their credit score.  The reality is that by the time most people start thinking about filing bankruptcy, they already have a poor credit rating, and for those people, filing bankruptcy may in fact improve their credit rating. There are several reasons why [...]

Beware the Creditor Offering to Settle Your Debt!

I talk to people everyday that tell me that a creditor has offered to settle their debt for less than what they owe. unfortunately these creditors rarely tell the whole truth about how much settling their debt will actually cost.  When a creditor cancels a portion of a debt, they report the amount of the [...]

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