Chapter 31 Flashcards
Goals of bankruptcy
- To protect a debtor by giving him or her a fresh start without creditors claims
- To ensure equitable treatment of creditors who are competing for a debtors assets
Bankruptcy proceedings are held in
Federal courts
Bankruptcy court judges are appointed for
14 years
Bankruptcy code is in which code
Title 11
Liquidation
The sale of all of the nonexempt assets of a debtor and the distribution of the proceeds to the debtors creditors
- chapter 7
- ordinary or straight bankruptcy
Chapter 11
Governs regulations
Chapter 12/13
Provides adjustments of debts by persons with regular incomes
Does a debtor need to be insolvent?
No (except for a municipality)
Consumer-debtor
An individual whose debts are primarily consumer debts (debts for purchases made primarily for personal or household use)
- clerk must give written notice
Bankruptcy trustee
A person who is either appointed by the US Department of justice or by creditors in bankruptcy cases.
Petition in bankruptcy
The document that is filed with a bankruptcy court to initiate bankruptcy proceedings. The official forms required for a petition in bankruptcy must be completed accurately, sworn to under oath, and signed by the debtor
- if debtor files petition: voluntary
- if 1+ creditors file to force the debtor into bankruptcy its involuntary
Voluntary bankruptcy law
Before debtors can file a petition, they must receive credit counseling from an approved nonprofit agency within the 180 day period preceding the date of filing
Voluntary petition scheduled
- A list of secured/unsecured creditors, addresses, amount of debt owed to each
- A statement of the financial affairs of the debtor
- A list of all property owned by the debtor including property that the debtor claims is exempt
- A list of current income and expenses
- A certificate of credit counseling
- Proof of payments received from employers within 60 days prior to filing
- A statement of the amount of monthly income
- A copy of the debtors federal income tax return for the most recent year
Automatic dismissal of the petition
With the exception of tax returns, failure to file the required schedules within 45 days after filing the petition (unless an extension is granted)
How long do they have to provide a copy of most recent tax returns
Up to 7 days before the date of the first creditors meeting
US trustee
A gov official who performs certain administrative tasks that a bankruptcy judge would otherwise have to perform
Tax returns during bankruptcy
A debtor may be required to file a tax return at the end of each tax year while the case is pending and provide a copy to the court
How does the court determine eligibility for chapter 7
A means test
- to prevent rich people from taking advantage
- forces more people to file for chapter 13
- avg monthly income in recent months is compared with the median income in that area, if it’s below they can file with chapter 7
- if it’s above, further calculations have to be made to see if they will have sufficient income in the future to repay some of the debts