Nashville Bankruptcy Attorneys

Attorney James L. Widrig handles bankruptcy cases for clients who live in Nashville, Murfreesboro, Franklin and all of Middle Tennessee. There are six types of bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Code, but the most common types of personal bankruptcy for individuals are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Corporations and other business file under Chapters 7 or 11.

CHAPTER 7: In Chapter 7, a debtor surrenders his or her non-exempt property to a bankruptcy trustee who then liquidates the property and distributes the proceeds to the debtor's unsecured creditors. In exchange, the debtor is entitled to a discharge of some or most of their debt; however, the debtor will not be granted a discharge if he or she is guilty of certain types of inappropriate behavior (e.g. concealing records relating to financial condition) and certain debts (e.g. spousal and child support, student loans, some taxes) will not be discharged even though the debtor is generally discharged from his or her debt. Many individuals own only exempt property (e.g. clothes, household goods, an older car) and will not have to surrender any property to the trustee. Chapter 7 relief is available only once in any eight year period.

In October 2005 the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) went into effect. This was the biggest reform to the bankruptcy laws in years.

a significant change was the enactment of the "Means test." The means test provides for a finding of abuse if the debtor's income is higher than a specified portion of their debts. If a presumption of abuse is found under the means test, it may only be rebutted in the case of "special circumstances."Debtors whose income is below the state's median income are not subject to the means test.

Personal Bankruptcy, Consumer Bankruptcy, Chapter 7, 11, 13 Bankruptcies, Bankruptcy Filing, Discharge, Questions, Debt Relief, After Bankruptcy and More

Another major change to the law deals with eligibility. The Code provides that a debtor will no longer be eligible to file under either chapter 7 or chapter 13 unless within 180 days prior to filing the debtor received an “individual or group briefing” from a nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency approved by the United States trustee or bankruptcy administrator.

The new Code also requires that all individual debtors in either chapter 7 or chapter 13 complete an “instructional course concerning personal financial management.” If a chapter 7 debtor does not complete the course, this constitutes grounds for denial of discharge. Attorney James Widrig will be able to tell you when and where in Middle Tennessee to take these courses.

CHAPTER 13: In Chapter 13, the debtor retains ownership and possession of all of his or her assets, but must devote some portion of his or her future income to repaying creditors, generally over a period of three to five years. The amount of payment and the period of the repayment plan depend upon a variety of factors, including the value of the debtor's property and the amount of a debtor's income and expenses. Secured creditors may be entitled to greater payment than unsecured creditors.

IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING BANKRUPTCY CALL FOR A FREE CONSULTATION.