Do I Owe Enough To File For Bankruptcy?
Grampy used to tell me when I was a kid, that if I ate my Lima Beans (Gross!) they would give me a hairy chest! So I believed him! After all, I looked up to my Grampy; he was the smartest, most brilliant man I knew. AND he could even bend a spoon just by looking at it! However, as time goes by, you learn that if you rely on unchecked “truths” you can really get burned in life.
A common myth is the source of a popular question I answer frequently. When they come to my office for their first meeting, to receive their free evaluation, I am regularly asked by my Orlando bankruptcy clients is this: “Are my debts high enough to file for bankruptcy?”
California bankruptcy lawyer, Douglas Jacobs, discusses in a recent blog, the question of “Do I Qualify to File for Bankruptcy?” A simple “Yes” is his answer. Most people will be able file for some kind of bankruptcy, in my opinion. Only an experienced bankruptcy lawyer, after reviewing your entire financial situation, can answer the more appropriate inquiry of “Should I file for bankruptcy?”
While there are restrictions on how much debt a person can be liable for and file for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, there are no such restrictions in Chapter 7 filings. This means, if you are filing for Chapter 7, how much or how little you may owe to your creditors is not a relevant factor used in determining whether you qualify to file for Chapter 7.
As an Orlando bankruptcy lawyer, I know first hand that the Chapter 13 Trustee in Orlando looks very closely at whether Debtors exceed the debt limitations of Chapter 13 and will file a Motion to Dismiss the case if the debt limits are exceeded. Specifically, if you owe more than $360,475 in unsecured debt (think credit cards, medical bills, signature loans) or more than $1,081,400 in secured debt (think home loans and car loans), you could face a motion to dismiss in Orlando.
The number of myths about bankruptcy are staggering, and it is unclear where most of them originated. As an Orlando bankruptcy lawyer, I believe the myth about having to owe a certain amount to file for bankruptcy ranks prominently on the list of the top bankruptcy myths.
Now that you know that you probably do qualify to file for some type of bankruptcy, I encourage you to meet with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer to discuss your options. Hopefully, when you meet with that lawyer, this, and some other myths you may have heard about filing for bankruptcy will be dispelled.
If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, make sure you hire an experienced bankruptcy lawyer to work for you. Do you have more questions about filing for bankruptcy before you take the plunge? Check out K. Hunter Goff’s FREE eCourse.