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     What Everyone MUST Know Before Filing Bankruptcy
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BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY ORANGE COUNTY
Bankruptcy Attorney Orange County in Irvine, Ca - Chapter 7 Expert - Stop Foreclosures, Repossessions, Evictions, Collections - All Questions Answered - Walk Away - Start Fresh.

A few weeks after you file your petition, the trustee will review your papers and ask you a few questions at a very short interview known as the "First Meeting of Creditors" (sometimes called the "341(a) Hearing"), a misnomer since creditors rarely appear. This interview is NOT in a courtroom and there is no judge or bailiff; just the trustee (usually an attorney or accountant) and another staff assistant. You MUST attend this hearing/interview or your petition will be continued to another date or even dismissed.

After filing your petition, if you change your mind, you may ask the court to voluntarily dismiss your case, and the bankruptcy court in Orange Countywill likely do so, provided it won’t harm any creditors, or cause undue expense to the trustee or the Court. If so, you may be asked to reimburse the U.S. Trustee's Office for any costs incurred in processing your petition.

Once your bankruptcy case has been completed by an Orange County Bankruptcy Attorney (commonly known as "discharged"), most, if not all, of your debts are wiped out by the court in Orange County. You will no longer have any legal obligation to pay these debts. You must know, however, that you cannot file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy again for the next 6 years.

Keep in mind, also, that the Trustee is keenly aware of debtors who attempt to file bankruptcy again after the 6-year period of ineligibility. If it looks like you orchestrated your indebtedness in order to seek relief again after 6 years, the Trustee in Orange County may seek to have your petition dismissed under Bankruptcy Code 707(b), arguing that you are abusing the bankruptcy system.

CHAPTER 7 DISCHARGED DEBT
If you have filed for and obtained discharge of another Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition within the previous 8 years, you may not file again until 8 full years has passed. If, however, you obtained a Chapter 13 discharge in good faith, and paid at least 70% of your debts under that plan, you may file a Chapter 13 after 3 years from the date of discharge of a prior Chapter 7 or 13.

Using one of our Orange County bankruptcy lawyers You would know, however, that there are certain circumstances where you must wait 180 days to file either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. These typically include circumstances where you violated a court order, or requested the dismissal after a creditor asked for relief from an automatic stay.

If a family member or friend co-signed a debt on your behalf, please understand that if you file bankruptcy, they will remain liable even if you’re not. But you can generally make arrangements after the bankruptcy to continue paying the co-signed debt in order to protect the co-signer. If you decide to file, you should probably advise the co-signer in advance so he/she won't be surprised by it.

This also applies to a present or former spouse to the extent that, under California's Community Property laws, any debts incurred during the marriage are generally (but not always) deemed to be the responsibility of BOTH spouses. The effect is that even if a spouse incurs a debt for his or her own purpose during the marriage, the creditor will probably have a legal right to pursue payment from the non-bankrupt spouse, even a former spouse - the Bankruptcy Lawyer Orange County will walk you through this process..

KEEP YOUR CAR AFTER BANKRUPTCY
Whether you can keep your car is, for the most part, up to you. The 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and "Consumer Protection" Act requires that your car payments be current at the time of filing of Orange County bankruptcy, and that you sign a Reaffirmation Agreement which recommits you to the original purchase or lease agreement. In other words, the balance owed to the lender will not be wiped out in bankruptcy. If, however, you choose to surrender a car, boat or motorcycle, you can do so and you will be relieved of any legal obligation to pay the balance owed.

Bankruptcy laws were enacted to give honest people a fresh start, not to help dishonest people defraud creditors, Orange County Bankruptcy Attorneys can walk you through the details.. In that regard, the Bankruptcy Court and the Trustees will look very closely at your petition to see if they can spot any signs of fraud - and, they are very good at it!

In particular, they will look to see if any of the following occurred soon before filing: a short time occurred between incurring substantial credit card debt and the filing of the petition;a short time occurred between incurring substantial credit card debt and the filing of the petition; you’ve made any recent bigger than normal charges; you’ve made an unusual number of small charges; charges or cash advances were made in excess of your limit or were taken for the purpose of purchasing nonessential items.

there is a noticeable change in your purchasing habits, e.g., purchasing a gym set when you’ve never before worked out, or a musical instrument you can’t play; you made charges after knowing that you were unable to pay for them (you were insolvent) because you lost your job, had medical expenses, etc.;

BEWARE OF FRAUD
you’re sophisticated enough to understand how to avoid getting in over your head, i.e., your level of education, etc.; you’ve recently charged expensive items such as TVS, computers, cosmetic surgery, etc; you made multiple large charges on the same day. Your Orange County bankruptcy attorney will walk you through the process..

What Creditors Look For When Suspicious of Credit Card Fraud. Some banks have a very aggressive policy of recovering as many purchased goods as possible if they believe that the purchase was made too close to the date of filing bankruptcy, even if they can’t prove credit card fraud.

The kinds of behavior that these lenders look for are: Any indication in the customer file that the customer has met with an attorney; Any unusually high volume of purchases quickly followed by a 60-90 period of little no activity;

The date the customer consults a bankruptcy attorney in Orange County; they will ask for, and are permitted to receive, a copy of any bankruptcy attorney fee statement. Note that where fraud is an issue, the timing of your filing may be also, and that means that knowledge of the dates you meet with a bankruptcy attorney is not protected by the attorney-client privilege.

BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY STOPS CREDITOR ABUSES
Creditor Abuses Yes, some creditors tend to ignore the court’s Stay Order and attempt to collect the debt anyway. Sometimes, they’ll even try to visit you and ask that you enter into a new contract after the date you file your petition. Don’t buy it. Before doing so, you should consult with an Orange County bankruptcy attorney so that you will understand your rights.

If a creditor continues attempts to collect despite the Court’s Stay Order, you can notify the Trustee who will then contact them. Creditors are not usually this blatant, however, because they can incur substantial fines for such wrongful conduct.

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