Colorado Bankruptcy Help

The Supreme Court Rules on the Case Involving Free Speech & Bankruptcy Law

kdheupel — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:11:48 +0000

I have written two blogs, Supreme Court Addresses Issue of Free Speech and Bankruptcy Law and More on Supreme Court Addresses Issues of Free Speech and Bankruptcy Law, on the issue of free speech and bankruptcy law as it was being presented to the Supreme Court in the Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P.A., v. United States case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in St. Louis ruled in 2008 that the provision was unconstitutional. But when the case came before the Supreme Court Justices they were skeptical of its merits.

On Monday, March 08, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on this case. The ruling was presented in an opinion written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The opinion states: the federal law that bars attorneys from telling clients, who are contemplating bankruptcy, to take on more debt is not an unconstitutional restriction on the free-speech rights of lawyers. Justice Sonia Sotomayor concludes that bankruptcy attorneys may give their clients any advice that does not lead to an abuse of the bankruptcy system.

If you have any questions and live in Denver, Aurora, Arvada, Brighton, Broomfield, Commerce City, Englewood, Golden, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Lafayette, Littleton, Northglenn, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Colorado please feel free to contact me. Kevin D. Heupel, Colorado Bankruptcy lawyer, 303-955-7570, COBankruptcyHelpEmail, free-consultation form.

Issues to Keep in Mind about Refinancing Your Home after Filing Bankruptcy

kdheupel — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:46:41 +0000

Are you considering refinancing your home after having filed bankruptcy? It may be a wise decision since refinancing may help lower your monthly mortgage payments and your interest rates. Obviously, reducing your expenses in any way possible is advisable. But I would like you to note that if you are self-employed you might want to look for someone to hire you as their employee. This will put you in a more advantageous position when it comes to applying for loans or mortgage refinancing after having filed bankruptcy. Banks and other loan agents will look for you to have a stable income, which is more difficult to guarantee when self-employed. The other wise step to take would be to do what is necessary to improve your credit rating. My earlier blogs, Obtaining Credit Cards after Filing Bankruptcy, and Obtaining a Loan after Filing for Personal Bankruptcy should help with this. Obviously, the better your credit rating is the better chance you have of being offered a lower interest rate while refinancing your home.

The Holding Company for the Denver Post Files Bankruptcy

kdheupel — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:33:39 +0000

I am sure many of you have heard about the economic crisis in the newspaper business. It is due primarily to the increased usage of the internet as a source of news along with the impact of the recession. On January 22nd of this year, the holding company for the Denver Post, Affiliated Media Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It was at least the thirteenth bankruptcy filing by a U.S. newspaper publisher in the past year. The Affiliated Media Inc. filed a “prepackaged” plan that would result in cutting the company’s debt from $930 million to $165 million. They intend to accomplish this by having senior lenders swap debt for stock.

Yesterday there was some good news. According to Reuters, Judge Kevin Carey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware approved the Affiliated Media Inc.’s bankruptcy reorganization plan on Thursday. This will make it possible for the publisher of the Denver Post to emerge from Chapter 11 protection this month. An Affiliated Media spokesman said the Denver-based company expects to do so on about March 19.

If you have any questions that I can help you with and you live in Denver, Aurora, Arvada, Brighton, Broomfield, Commerce City, Englewood, Golden, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Lafayette, Littleton, Northglenn, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Colorado please feel free to contact me. Kevin D. Heupel, Colorado Bankruptcy attorney, 303-955-7570, COBankruptcyHelpEmail, free-consultation form.

If You Declare Bankruptcy You Will Not Be Alone

kdheupel — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:31:07 +0000

In a news release yesterday, the American Bankruptcy Institute announced the statistics for consumer bankruptcies filed in February of this year. There were 111,693 consumer bankruptcies filed nationwide. When you examine the statistics you realize how many people have actually chosen bankruptcy as a solution to their difficulties. For example, those consumer bankruptcies represent a fourteen percent increase compared to February of last year. Not only that, the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC) found that this number represented a nine percent increase over the 102,254 consumer filings reported in January 2010.

“While Congress and the Obama administration continue to consider measures to reduce high unemployment and mortgage burdens, families with increasing debt loads have little choice but to continue to turn to bankruptcy for financial relief,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “Consumer filings this year will likely surpass 1.5 million filings, or the same number of annual filings averaged in the years leading up to the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.”

Issues to Be Aware of Prior to Filing Bankruptcy

kdheupel — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:09:41 +0000

If you have decided to file bankruptcy, or are seriously considering filing, it would be wise to be aware of certain issues in advance. One of the mistakes some clients make prior to filing bankruptcy is charging large items on their credit cards under the assumption that they will be discharged in bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 lowered the threshold on luxury purchases to $500 and extended the time period within which such spending is considered abuse of bankruptcy to ninety days prior to filing. Any purchases during this time are under particularly careful scrutiny.

Another thing not to do is liquidate your retirement account. Retirement accounts are usually considered exempt property in a bankruptcy regardless of which chapter you file. And if you withdraw your retirement funds early you will be liable for penalties and taxes which may not be discharged in bankruptcy.

You may be tempted to use your equity line of credit to pay off your debts. This is not a wise step to take before bankruptcy because under most state and federal law you are given the opportunity to claim an exemption for the equity in your home. Thus you may file bankruptcy and your equity will not be touched. So if you use your equity line to pay off debt, or take out a second mortgage, you may be converting debt which would have been discharged in bankruptcy into debt which you will still have to pay in order to keep your house. This obviously would not be a good idea.

Bankruptcy Hearings & Non-English Speaking Debtors

kdheupel — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:07:47 +0000

If you need an interpreter at the meeting of creditors you should notify your bankruptcy attorney in advance. Your bankruptcy attorney will contact the trustee assigned to your case or the local office of the U.S. Trustee to arrange for one.

There are interpreters available in 196 languages for debtors at the meeting of creditors in bankruptcy cases. The U.S. Trustee will provide the interpreter services free of charge. The services provided are done so via telephone to assist debtors who do not understand or speak English.

If you live in Denver, Aurora, Arvada, Brighton, Broomfield, Commerce City, Englewood, Golden, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Lafayette, Littleton, Northglenn, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Colorado and have any questions please feel free to contact me. Kevin D. Heupel, Colorado Bankruptcy lawyer, 303-955-7570, COBankruptcyHelpEmail, free-consultation form.

Bankruptcy Blog: Observation related to Olympics

kdheupel — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:47:53 +0000

Like many of you I have been watching the Olympics this past week. I realized that in order to succeed, these phenomenal athletes could not be ashamed of falling. I observed the figure skaters and the skiers. They would fall, make an adjustment, and begin skating or skiing again. This is how I think about the issue of bankruptcy: you should not be ashamed of needing to file bankruptcy. You should make the adjustment and begin anew.

If you have any questions that I can help you with and live in Denver, Aurora, Arvada, Brighton, Broomfield, Commerce City, Englewood, Golden, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Lafayette, Littleton, Northglenn, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Colorado please feel free to contact me. Kevin D. Heupel, Colorado Bankruptcy lawyer, 303-955-7570, COBankruptcyHelpEmail, free-consultation form.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Flow Chart

kdheupel — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:40:16 +0000

I discovered a link to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy flow chart that outlines the steps of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. For those of you who prefer to see the process laid out go the flowchart link and download the pdf.

Bankruptcy and Pay Advices

kdheupel — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:31:26 +0000

When you are filing personal bankruptcy you must submit pay advices. Let me start by explaining what is meant by a pay advice. A pay advice refers to any document that can serve as written proof of your income. Pay stubs, or printouts of your income and withholding from your employer, are examples of pay advices. You need to produce pay advices for the six months prior to filing bankruptcy. In other words, if you were going to file bankruptcy in December of 2009, you would need to provide your attorney with your pay advices for the months of June 2009 through November of 2009. You must also provide the pay advices for the sixty days before you file bankruptcy to the trustee assigned to your case. NOTE: If you are filing with a spouse then your spouse must also produce his or her pay advices.

At this point, some of you may be wondering why you are required to submit such documentation. It serves two purposes: one is to calculate your current monthly income for the Means Test, and the other is for documentation that must be given to the trustee in your bankruptcy case.

If you do not have pay advices because you were paid in cash or were self-employed, then the bankruptcy court will usually accept a sworn statement that you were paid in cash or unemployed for six months prior to filing. But you might also be required to produce additional information such as profit and loss statements to satisfy the trustee and the bankruptcy court that all of your income is being reported.

What Happens If You Have to Miss the Meeting of Creditors for Your Bankruptcy Case?

kdheupel — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:15:21 +0000

In the past I have had clients ask what happens if they miss the meeting of creditors (or section 341(a) meeting). I do recognize that things do come up that are hard to avoid, especially when you work forty or more hours a week and have a family to raise, but it is considered unwise to schedule a meeting and then not honor your legal obligation to meet with your bankruptcy trustee. Missing the meeting that you voluntary agreed to attend when you filed for bankruptcy would alienate the trustee.

Keep in mind that if you reschedule a meeting of creditors it can result in additional attorney fees and in extra court notices being served on the trustee and other parties in the case. This would give the parties involved yet another opportunity to decide to object to your case.

That being said, the meeting of creditors can be rescheduled. If you have an emergency, such as a serious illness or other circumstance making it impossible to attend, notify your bankruptcy attorney and he or she will contact the trustee, inform him or her of the difficulty, obtain a new date for the meeting, and send out a notice of the rescheduling to the creditors and other interested parties. But rescheduling should only be done as a last resort and when absolutely necessary.

If you have any other questions and live in Denver, Aurora, Arvada, Brighton, Broomfield, Commerce City, Englewood, Golden, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Lafayette, Littleton, Northglenn, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Colorado please feel free to contact me. Kevin D. Heupel, Colorado Bankruptcy lawyer, 303-955-7570, COBankruptcyHelpEmail, free-consultation form.