Portland Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

A good question came up the other day from one of my prospective bankruptcy clients. They asked what would happen to their real estate holdings in another country if they choose to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy with my firm. They also asked if it was something that had to be disclosed since it was not in the U.S. The first question is a bit tricky so I'll address the second part first. Yes. You must disclose the foreign property in your bankruptcy petition. The law makes no distinction between your property located in the U.S. vs. property outside the U.S. If its yours it needs to be listed down in the petition. This would be the same logic if you had a bank account outside the U.S. You must disclose those in your Chapter 7; same goes for all your other assets.

Continue reading "Out of Country Property: Do I Have To List That Down in my Bankruptcy?" »

Portland Oregon Bankruptcy Lawyer Discusses Dealing with your Car after a Bankruptcy.

Car loans and getting them straightened out during a Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be a maddening experience. Typically if you want to keep your car and you don't have significant equity in it then you'll be able to continue to make payments.

Typically after filing a bankruptcy petition all payments on the car loan will stop. Then shortly before or after your meeting of the creditors your attorney or you (if you file on your own) will receive a 'reaffirmation' agreement. This is basically a contract between the lender and you stating that you want to keep the car and can afford to make the payments after the Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Its really important to make sure that you get that agreement filed within 45 days of your hearing and long term that you'll be able to make those payments.

One of the selling points by lenders for those agreements is that they are reported on your credit file and can help re-hab your score by showing on time payments. If you read some of my other blog posts you can see my feelings on the need for a credit score at all. Assuming you do want a higher score then these agreements can help. You do need to make very certain either yourself or through your bankruptcy attorney that that agreement is filed and shows up on your report. I have heard of cases where the client didn't see the old car debt on his credit report then went out to buy a new car. Since there wasn't a payoff showing on the credit report he assumed he could but a new car and was able to. Shortly thereafter he received notice that his old car account was past due and the lender was going to repo the car and hold him responsible for the debt. Since it was reaffirmed it may be impossible for him to discharge it and he'd be stuck with the payments on the new car plus the old one. Not a good result. In general these agreements go smoothly and allow debtors to remain in the cars they enjoy and can afford, both during and after their Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

If you have any questions regarding a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Chapter 13 bankruptcy or general creditor/debtors issues, our attorney's would be happy to go over your options and answer any bankruptcy questions you may have. Feel free to use the contact form or call us and we can set up a time to talk to one of our bankruptcy attorney's.

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A big part of the work in putting together a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition is finding acceptable, honest, fair market value for the debtors assets. It usually takes a good bit of work between my clients and my firm to make sure we are valuing everything fairly and according to good bankruptcy practice. There are basically three areas where this comes up most often. However its important to note that all assets need a value assigned; there are just too many classes to address here so if you have any questions please contact your attorney or do you own research to make sure you are complaint.

Continue reading "It's all about value: Finding the values you need when filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy" »

So like it or not every bankruptcy lawyer in Portland has probably had a question like this come up. The client is worried about loosing their stuff as part of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. They have a sentimental item they don't want to part with or just don't think their creditors should not be able to get paid back from its sale. They come to an attorney and look for a way to hide these items. Can they do it...absolutely not.

Usually with a chuckle I have to inform these clients that we must disclosure everything they owe and be 100% honest in the entire filing. If you do that then usually the bankruptcy filings go very smoothly. Do it not (as yoda would say) and you can get screwed. Perjury and fines come to mind; plus if you talk your lawyer into doing it, they could loose their license. So what to do?

A skilled bankruptcy attorney should be able to find an exemption for the item you are looking for. Clients seem to forgot that there are exemptions for jewelry, home equity, mobile homes, furs, livestock, firearms, etc. In my practice I can usually find protection for my clients items; it just comes down to value. The problem I've found with clients seeking a quick fix to their asset problem is that they are overvaluing the item they are trying to hide. Once I dig into their case and see what it is they are talking about and talk with them on how to properly value these items and they provide back that data we see that it easily falls within an exemption and is protected. This is a much better route then playing games and trying to hide the items...believe me the Court and Trustee has seen it all and will find it; much better to be honest and comply with the court and have a clean filing. Honestly is always the best policy.

Have a prosperous day

Today let's talk about a pretty common objection I get from creditors. I probably see the most from Best Buy and their financing arm. The issue revolves a client taking out a best buy credit card then purchasing a lap top, dish washer, or a bunch of Chuck Norris DVD's. They may have done this a year before talking to me and filing for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Shortly after filing I get a notice from the creditor that there is a purchase money security interest in the goods and that my client either needs to reaffirm or surrender the goods. In my view this is garbage and hardly enforceable.

Continue reading "Oregon Bankruptcy and Security Interests: The Case of Best Buy and the Old Laptop" »