Bankruptcy & Taxes Evaluation

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    (Sending this Evaluator to the Attorney does not obligate you to hire this law firm.)

    You



    Why do we ask?YesNo


    Children

    Why does it matter?

    YesNo

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    Income


    NoneWagesUnemploymentRetirementWorker's CompensationDisabilityChild SupportAlimonySocial SecurityRental PropertySelf-EmploymentOther - State Type:

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    NOTICE: Every bankruptcy filer must provide 6 months of paystubs (employees) & all proof of income.

    Regarding the Child Support you receive:

    YesNo

    NoneWagesUnemploymentRetirementWorker's CompensationDisabilityChild SupportAlimonySocial SecurityRental PropertySelf-EmploymentOther - State Type:

    YesNo

    NOTICE: Every bankruptcy filer must provide 6 months of paystubs (employees) & all proof of income.

    Regarding the Child Support your Spouse receives:

    YesNo

    General

    1. What's the rule?YesNo

    1.a. Ch 7Ch 13

    1.b.

    1.c. YesNo

    2. Why do we ask?YesNo

    2.a.

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    4. Why is this important?YesNo

    5. What are the implications?YesNo

    6. Why does it matter?

    7. Why do we ask?YesNo

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    9.
    9.a. Why is this important?
    9.b.

    Where are you living?



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    Vehicles, RV's, Motorcycles, Boats

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    Taxes What issues?

    YesNoN/A

    Why?

    Student Loans

    YesNo

    YesNo

    In DefermentIn Default

     
     

    Uploads

    Although not required at this point you may upload to us any documents (such as credit reports or lawsuits against you) that you feel may help in our analysis. Please DO NOT send any sensitive information!

    That's the end of the Questions!

    We will review your answers in detail, construct a bankruptcy plan (including the cost to you) & call or email you with our written Professional Evaluation. To ensure privacy & security when we call, please give us your private telephone & email:

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    NOTICE:The US Federal Bankruptcy Court is very concerned with honesty & truthful disclosure in bankruptcies. Therefore, they require us to obtain your affirmation that we have disclosed Notice 11 USC 342(b)(2) Notice & 11 USC 527(a)(1) Supplement, (Bankruptcy Disclosures & Court-Ordered Advisements) found here. You will also receive these as attachments in our return email to you.

    Yes, I received these disclosures.

    By contacting our office for honest advice you verify that the information you have provided above is true & correct so we may give you proper guidance.

     
     
     
     

    What to Expect:

    Please set an in-person or telephone Appointment on the following screen for the hour, date & time of your Attorney Evaluation.


    Even if your Spouse is not filing a joint bankruptcy with you, the Court & the Trustee have a legal duty to discover your "Total Household Income & Expenses" so your disclosure is required.

    But, your Spouse's Expenses are subtracted from your budget so usually your bankruptcy filing has no ill-effect on your non-filing Spouse nor do your non-filing spouse's income & expenses adversely effect your bankruptcy filing.

    For your protection, the non-filing spouse's identifying information (social security #'s, etc.) is permanently removed from any Court filings.

     

    Your eligibility to file bankruptcy is based on a "means test" which your attorney must prepare using your income and expenses. Obviously, with dependents your expenses are higher. So, you get to claim higher expenses for the number of dependents (such as minor children) living at home. This may allow you to file a Chapter 7 or a shorter Chapter 13.

    You will be required to produce your last 2 years of tax returns. To facilitate this, we have a Client Portal for easy uploading of all your documents.

    But, if you owe any taxes or to prove your "non-filing" status with the IRS you will need to get your "Account Transcripts" from them. We can get them for you when you become our Client.

    Not all taxes can be discharged in bankruptcy so we must have your Account Transcripts to give a fair opinion.

    If you have high credit card charges before filing bankruptcy credit card issuers may object to the discharge of their debt. Normal expenses like gas or groceries are OK but if you have made large charges in the last 90 days, you will need to discuss alternate strategies with our attorney.

     

    Giving money or property to family and friends (other than normal gifts) may be an illegal "preference" transfer to an insider. The Trustee administering your case may try to recover the transferred money or property from the person that you gave it to. Please discuss this with your attorney.

    Secured creditors are lenders for houses and cars & sometimes jewelry or furniture where the creditor can recover the property back from you if you don't pay (security interest). In bankruptcy, you generally have a choice of either giving back the property to the creditor or keeping the property and paying for it.

    But, if you file Chapter 13, you may be able to keep the property and pay less than what is owed.

    You only need to live here for most of the last six months (91 days) to file bankruptcy in Colorado. Most people moving here from another state can file bankruptcy here. But, each State allows different "exemptions" for property that you may keep in bankruptcy.

    If you have lived in Colorado less than two years you will not be able to use Colorado exemptions but must use the statutory exemptions from your previous state.

    The timing of a divorce case with a bankruptcy case is crucial. A divorce judge cannot revive discharged debts before a divorce is final. So, it is usually best to file a bankruptcy before filing for divorce.

    After a divorce, you cannot discharge debts "in the nature of support", such as debts of the marriage you were ordered to pay (but not property settlements). However, to protest, the aggrieved spouse must formally object to your bankruptcy discharge. Many are reluctant to do so if they owe past child support.

    So, in either case, you & your attorney must create a plan to deal with the inevitable contingencies.

     

    The 8 year time prohibition for consecutive bankruptcies applies to Chapter 7 & begins to run from the date of filing, not the date of discharge, if one was granted.

    But, a debtor can file a Chapter 13 after 4 years from the previous Chapter 7.

    The rules concerning consecutive Chapter 13's can be complicated & will be addressed by your attorney.

    If you had a business in the last 2 years the Trustee may try to seize any remaining business assets.

    Plus, your business income could  impact the Means test calculation. The Trustee will scrutinize all draws, distributions & payments from the business, including "loans" between the owners & the business.

    When a lender takes a security interest in a vehicle bought on credit within 90 days of bankruptcy that is considered a "preference" & the Bankruptcy Trustee can seize the vehicle before the lender's lien is filed.

    So, you will lose your car if you file bankruptcy within 90 days of buying a vehicle on credit.

    If you're entitled to a refund of Federal or State Income taxes, the trustee can seize the amount of refund due to you as of the filing date, not including the Earned Income Credit.

    So, we need to calculate the amount of refund which could be seized by the Trustee before deciding a proper filing date.

    We try to persuade clients to file their returns, receive & spend their refunds before we file bankruptcy.

     

    Student loans are not dischargeable in a Chapter 7, except in very rare circumstances where the debtor is truly destitute.

    In a Chapter 13 the GSL Authority does not try to collect during the period of bankruptcy & often, after the plan is completed the Authority will continue to accept the same amount of payments so you are stabilized.