“Fresh Start” Bankruptcy
How Chapter 7 Bankruptcy can help you get a fresh start and how your Brooklyn personal bankruptcy attorney at Ursulova Law Offices can help.
When you lose your job, are unable to pay off your debts, and creditors are continuously calling you, it’s natural to have pessimistic ideas about the future. Chapter 7 bankruptcy might assist you in forgetting about your financial troubles and starting again.
Chapter 7 is a type of bankruptcy that can help you begin fresh by wiping away your outstanding debts, such as credit cards and store cards, bank loans and lines of credit, significant medical bills, court judgments, and some tax responsibilities.
Although certain debts, such as child and spousal support, student loans, and federal income taxes can’t be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may reduce enough of your other obligations to leave you with more money to pay off the non-dischargeable debts.
Anyone who lives and does business in, or owns any property, in the United States can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy unless one or both of the following situations apply, the courts deliberately dismissed an earlier bankruptcy case within the last 180 days or you failed to pass the means test.
The means test is used to decide who qualifies for debt relief through Chapter 7 bankruptcy. It is a test based on your household size, income, reasonable costs, and it assesses whether you have enough disposable money to repay your debts in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing. The Median Income test is the first bankruptcy test you’ll take in New York or any other state. Most other Brooklyn bankruptcy attorneys won’t even mention this dreaded exam you’ve probably been hearing about.
Many people are afraid of going bankrupt since they believe they will lose everything, but this Brooklyn bankruptcy attorney is here to tell you that is not the case at all. There is an exemption system in place to help you safeguard the majority, if not all, of your personal belongings and possibly even your home. New York gives you the option of using state or federal exemptions to protect your personal property.
You may save up to $25,150 in equity in your primary home (also known as the homestead exemption), $4,000 for a car, $13,400 for household goods and furnishings, clothing, appliances, animals, books, musical instruments, or crops if you take the federal exemptions.
Also, the two-month grace period allows you to implement your plan and avoid penalties, while the three-month bankruptcy notice requirement requires that you inform your creditors of your intent to file. This bankruptcy attorney in Brooklyn knows that if you choose for New York state exemptions, you can save up to $170,825 in home equity, depending on which county you reside in. The New York state wildcard exemption allows you to protect the $1,150 worth of personal property, not including real estate, of your choice.
How can someone who makes more than $100,000 qualify to file for bankruptcy in New York? The quick answer is that when you hire a bankruptcy attorney Brooklyn, we will let you know that the rules allow you to deduct certain expenses when determining whether or not you are qualified to file. You may take standard IRS deductions that you trust. You can deduct childcare costs. You may deduct any garnishments related to taxes. You can deduct your current mortgage payments. Vehicle ownership expenses are deductible. Healthcare expenditures are deductible. Food costs are also deductible. In other words, if you make more than the median income in New York City, you have a decent probability of filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
So, if you’re ready to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, call our bankruptcy lawyer Brooklyn at the Ursulova Law Offices today.
