BUSINESS Bankruptcy cases rise nearly 36 percent in state By Lorraine Mirabella, The Baltimore Sun | August 23, 2010 Bankruptcy filings jumped nearly 36 percent in Maryland in the past year, continuing a recession-era trend of double-digit growth in cases, a federal courts report shows. The increase in Maryland, including business and individual bankruptcy cases, outpaced the 20 percent increase in filings nationally in the year that ended June 30, according to statistics released recently by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. More than 29,000 bankruptcy cases were filed in Maryland in that time, the report shows. Please contact our office anytime by telephone or e-mail to learn more information about debt relief, bankruptcy and foreclosure prevention in the state of Maryland from a Maryland bankruptcy lawyer. … [Read more...]
New Bankruptcy Laws Not a Barrier to Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
I was looking around the web this morning for interesting articles on consumer Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and debt relief in general, and I found this intersting article from the Washington Post in 2008. This was written BEFORE the recession and unemployment really hit us hard, but it still applies. Some people think that the changes in the law in 2005 prevent people from eliminating their credit cards bills, medical bills and judgment through Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and preventing foreclosure on their homes through Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, but that is simply not true. Both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are still available and the amount of filings, due to the economy, are higher than ever. Check this article below: Danielle Lancaster makes $28,000 a year as a bank employee in Richmond. She owes almost twice that on her credit cards, student and car loans. Add to that day-care expenses for her 2-year-old daughter, rent and utilities, and she uses up every cent she brings in. … [Read more...]
Rebuilding Credit During and After Bankruptcy
Maryland Bankruptcy Lawyers have a "list-serve" where we post questions and answers to bankruptcy questions in order to help each other out. Although I have alot of experience handling Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcy cases, I continually learn and keep up to date by reading the list serve questions and answers each day. This is what I learned today. Believe it or not, your credit improves as soon as you file for bankruptcy. Your creditors can no longer chase you around, and a substantial part of your indebtedness will probably be discharged. Moreover, you won't be eligible for another discharge for eight years. All of these circumstances make you a better risk than you are right before bankruptcy. Many people in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy start getting credit card offers shortly after filing their petition. If you do get one of these credit cards, use it cautiously and responsibly. While it's true that the record of your bankruptcy case will remain on … [Read more...]
Personal Bankruptcy Filings Through June, 2010
CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS UP 14 PERCENT THROUGH FIRST HALF OF 2010 July 2, 2010 Alexandria, Va. — U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings totaled 770,117 nationwide during the first six months of 2010 (Jan. 1-June 30), a 14 percent increase over the 675,351 total consumer filings during the same period a year ago, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). The consumer filings for the first half of 2010 represent the highest total since 2005, when Congress enacted the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act to try and stem the tide of filings, although the number of monthly consumer filings has been steadily decreasing since March. "Years of rising consumer debt and low savings rates, combined with the housing and unemployment crises, are causing bankruptcy levels not seen since the 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. "We expect that there … [Read more...]
Bankruptcy Statistics for May, 2010
National Bankruptcy Research Center May 2010 Bankruptcy Filings Report Bankruptcy filings in May 2010 fell slightly to 137,000 (from 145,000 in April). Because April and May filings usually are at about the same level, this suggests that bankruptcy filings were essentially constant through May, with perhaps a slight decline. Still, filings for 2010 to date remain substantially higher than those for 2009, about 15% higher than during the first five months of last year. Nationwide, filings to date amounted to about 5700 filings per million households – about 1 in every 175 households. As the attached map shows, the high filing rates are concentrated in two clusters: the Southwest and the Southeast. Two states stand out as having exceptionally high household-adjusted bankruptcy filing rates -- Nevada (substantially more than twice the national average) and Georgia (more than 50% above the national average). The lowest filing rates were in Alaska, followed by the District of Columbia, … [Read more...]
Why do we call bankruptcy Chapter 7?
Very few people know why the type of personal bankruptcy that eliminates a persons debts is called CHAPTER 7. Well, here's the answer. There is huge volume of books that contain all of the laws that our Federal Government passes. Those books are called the United States Code. That Code has TITLES, and within those TITLES are CHAPTERS. TITLE 11 of the United States Code is all about bankruptcy, and is sometimes called by bankruptcy code. Within TITLE 11 is Chapter 7, which is called the "Liquidation" section of TITLE 11 of the United States Code. Chapter 7 Liquidation means that in exchange for liquidating all of your property (with exemptions that usually means that you get to keep everything you own), you are permitted to discharge, or eliminate your unsecured debts in Chapter 7. Chapter 13 and Chapter 11 are other Chapters of TITLE 11 of the United States Code, and they will be discussed elsewhere. Click below if you would like to see all of Chapter 7 as actually … [Read more...]
What is Personal Bankruptcy Discharge?
What is a bankruptcy discharge? The typical consumer files a bankruptcy case in order to obtain a "discharge" of overwhelming debt. An unfortunate word that is used to describe what for many is a life changing "event". Why? When a debt is "discharged", the obligation of the debtor to pay it, no longer exists. The obligation is simply gone...poof. It is government intervention in the realm of private contract relationship at it's "finest", and with some careful planning and preparation, it works like a charm. Now, having said that, this powerful discharge has it's limits. It isn't perfect. 1. It doesn't deal with every debt. some debts cannot be "discharged" by statute, like child support, newer income tax debt, spousal maintenance etc. 2. Even though the personal liability may no longer exist as a result of the "discharge", liens recorded against the debtor's property, may survive the bankruptcy unless they are modified or removed. 3. You can't get very many of them too … [Read more...]
National Personal Bankruptcy Chapter 7 and 13 for May
Personal bankruptcy filings for the month of May have increased compared with a year ago, but dropped slightly compared with a month earlier, the American Bankruptcy Institute reported last week. Here’s a breakdown of the data. Total filings: In May 2010, 136,142 personal bankruptcy cases were filed, a nine percent increase from May 2009, when 124,838 cases were filed. Month-to-month change: May’s total marked a six percent drop from April of this year, when 144,490 cases were filed. Distribution: Of the cases filed, 26 percent were under Chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and most of the remaining 74 percent were under Chapter 7. Projected total: Based on figures collected so far this year, most sources estimate that personal bankruptcy filings this year will total about 1.6 million, a 10 percent increase over the 1.44 million filed in 2009. So what can these numbers tell us about the economic situation in the U.S.? Let’s take a look. The Effect of Unemployment While … [Read more...]
Glossary of Bankruptcy Terms
Bankruptcy terms can be difficult to understand. Below are brief definitions of the terms used in this site and in the Bankruptcy Code. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. 410-766-4044. Adequate protection:Payment to a secured creditor to protect the value of the creditor's lien during the bankruptcy proceeding from loss due to depreciation or non payment of a senior lien. Adversary proceeding: A lawsuit filed in the bankruptcy court which is related to the debtor's bankruptcy case. Examples are complaints to determine the dischargeability of a debt and complaints to determine the extent and validity of liens. Assets:Assets are every form of property that the debtor owns. They include such intangible things as business goodwill; the right to sue someone; or stock options. The debtor must disclose all of his assets in the bankruptcy schedules; exemptions remove the exempt assets from property of the estate. Automatic stay: The injunction issued automatically … [Read more...]
