Phoenix Legal Resource Blog
Here’s A Few Things You Can Expect at the Chapter 7 Meeting of Creditors
What is the Chapter 7 Meeting of Creditors?
If you have been looking into filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may have come across the 341 Hearing, or Meeting of Creditors. When you hire us to represent you in your bankruptcy, we handle every aspect of your case, including preparation for and attendance at the Meeting of Creditors.
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What are the Steps to Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Arizona?
First, you need to determine if chapter 7 bankruptcy is right for you. This type of bankruptcy eliminates most unsecured debts such as credit cards, personal loans, medical debts. Filing invokes a court order called the automatic stay, which stops all creditor activity against you, including wage garnishments. Click the following link to schedule your free 30-minute consultation with one of our attorneys: https://calendly.com/hilltoplawfirm/initial-consultation-web.
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Will Filing for Bankruptcy Stop Creditors from Harassing Me?
The short answer is yes.
The Automatic Stay
Filing bankruptcy invokes a court order called the automatic stay. This order prevents creditors from continuing or initiating any debt collection activities against you. This includes telephone calls, emails, letters, lawsuits, or any other type of communication. The order is sent to all of your creditors listed in your bankruptcy petition. So, in a perfect world, all the harassing calls and letters should end immediately after filing your bankruptcy.
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How Many Times Can I File Bankruptcy?
Life happens. Oftentimes, financial hardship can hit a person more than once during a lifetime. If you have filed bankruptcy before, and debt is piling up again, bankruptcy is probably still available to you as an exit strategy. So, the question is, how many times can you file bankruptcy? As with many things in the law, the answer is, “It depends.”
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Filing for Bankruptcy – Common Mistakes
Paying off Debts to Family Members and Close Friends
When a person falls on hard times, family and close friends are often there to lean on. They may provide loans to see you through a rough patch. However, repayment of such loans leading up to filing bankruptcy can be disastrous. Paying back your family or friends for what you borrowed within a one-year period prior to filing your bankruptcy is considered an “avoidable transfer”.
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Will I lose my guns in chapter 7 bankruptcy?
The short answer is, probably not.
Arizona law provides an exemption for, “All firearms of not more than an aggregate fair market value of two thousand dollars.” So, if your collection of firearms is worth $2,000 or less, you will be able to keep them in a chapter 7 bankruptcy. The exemption doubles if you are married.
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Chapter 7 Residency Requirements and The 730-Day Rule
So, you’ve moved to Arizona recently, but you want to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Can you? As with every legal question, the answer is: “It depends.”
To file a chapter 7 bankruptcy in Arizona, you just need to have resided here for the majority of the past 180 days (91 days) before the filing date. Even though you can file your bankruptcy here in Arizona doesn’t always mean you can use Arizona exemptions.
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You Don’t Lose Everything When Filing for Bankruptcy!
When you file a bankruptcy, it creates a bankruptcy estate, which consists of everything that you own. State and federal law allows you to protect certain property from your creditors and from sale during the bankruptcy case. These laws are called exemptions.
In Arizona, the Arizona exemptions apply, as long as you have lived in Arizona for the last two years. There are also federal laws that protect things such as social security income, retirement accounts, and veteran’s benefits, among others.
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Can filing bankruptcy stop my wage garnishment?
It can be hard to make ends meet under normal circumstances. In Arizona, creditors can garnish up to 25% of your take-home pay, depending on the type of debt. If you’re already living paycheck to paycheck, wage garnishment be disastrous.
Luckily, filing bankruptcy can stop most garnishments. When you file your bankruptcy case, the bankruptcy court issues an order called the automatic stay, which stops creditors from initiating or continuing any action against you. Once the bankruptcy is filed, we notify your employer, and your employer will stop the garnishment.
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What happens to my house in a chapter 7 bankruptcy?
It is rare for a person to lose a house in an Arizona chapter 7 bankruptcy case. That’s because the exemption for most people is $250,000 of your house’s equity (A.R.S. § 33-1101). If your home’s value, less any mortgages, is $250,000 or less, there’s a good chance you will get to keep your home. You do have to live in the house to claim the exemption.
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