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Monday, February 16, 2009

Things To Know Before Filing Bankruptcy Laws

By John Steed

A legal document setting, governing a particular kind of activity is called a Law. Bankruptcy is a process by which a debtor can obtain relief from his debts, through the courts. This relief may come in a variety of forms, including full or partial discharge of the debt, or the imposition of a payment program consistent with the debtor's financial means. Certain bankruptcy proceedings allow a debtor to stay in business and use revenue generated to resolve his or her debts. An additional purpose of bankruptcy law is to allow certain debtors to free themselves (to be discharged) of the financial obligations they have accumulated, after their assets are distributed, even if their debts have not been paid in full.

Bankruptcy proceedings are supervised by and litigated in the United States Bankruptcy Courts. These courts are a part of the District Courts of The United States. The United States Trustee were established by Congress to handle many of the supervisory and administrative duties of bankruptcy proceedings. Proceedings in bankruptcy courts are governed by the Bankruptcy Rules which were promulgated by the Supreme Court under the authority of Congress.

There are two basic types of Bankruptcy proceedings. A filing under Chapter 7 is called liquidation. It is the most common type of bankruptcy proceeding. Liquidation involves the appointment of a trustee who collects the non-exempt property of the debtor, sells it and distributes the proceeds to the creditors. Bankruptcy proceedings under Chapters 11, 12, and 13 involve the rehabilitation of the debtor to allow him or her to use future earnings to pay off creditors.

A number of sections of Chapter 11 incorporate the debtor-creditor law of the individual states. Congress passed the Bankruptcy Code under its Constitutional grant of authority to "establish... uniform laws on the subject of Bankruptcy throughout the United States." See U.S. Constitution Article 1, Section 8. States may not regulate bankruptcy though they may pass laws that govern other aspects of the debtor-creditor relationship.

States may not regulate bankruptcy though they may pass laws that govern other aspects of the debtor-creditor relationship. A number of sections of Title 11 incorporate the debtor-creditor law of the individual states. Congress passed the Bankruptcy Code under its Constitutional grant of authority to "establish... uniform laws on the subject of Bankruptcy throughout the United States." See U.S. Constitution Article 1, Section 8.

The attorney will help you understand which chapter you may file under, what bills can be eliminated, how long payments may be extended, what possessions can be kept, and all other details regarding the bankruptcy case. Bankruptcy attorneys should explain the applications of the new bankruptcy laws.

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Things To Know Before Filing Bankruptcy Laws

By John Steed

Bankruptcy law provides for the development of a plan that allows a debtor, who is unable to pay his creditors, to resolve his debts through the division of his assets among his creditors. This supervised division also allows the interests of all creditors to be treated with some measure of equality. Certain bankruptcy proceedings allow a debtor to stay in business and use revenue generated to resolve his or her debts. An additional purpose of bankruptcy law is to allow certain debtors to free themselves (to be discharged) of the financial obligations they have accumulated, after their assets are distributed, even if their debts have not been paid in full.

Bankruptcy proceedings are supervised by and litigated in the United States Bankruptcy Courts. These courts are a part of the District Courts of The United States. The United States Trustee were established by Congress to handle many of the supervisory and administrative duties of bankruptcy proceedings. Proceedings in bankruptcy courts are governed by the Bankruptcy Rules which were promulgated by the Supreme Court under the authority of Congress.

There are two basic types of Bankruptcy proceedings. A filing under Chapter 7 is called liquidation. It is the most common type of bankruptcy proceeding. Liquidation involves the appointment of a trustee who collects the non-exempt property of the debtor, sells it and distributes the proceeds to the creditors. Bankruptcy proceedings under Chapters 11, 12, and 13 involve the rehabilitation of the debtor to allow him or her to use future earnings to pay off creditors.

Under Chapter 7, 12, 13, and some 11 proceedings, a trustee is appointed to supervise the assets of the debtor. A bankruptcy proceeding can either be entered into voluntarily by a debtor or initiated by creditors. After a bankruptcy proceeding is filed, creditors, for the most part, may not seek to collect their debts outside of the proceeding. The debtor is not allowed to transfer property that has been declared part of the estate subject to proceedings. Furthermore, certain pre-proceeding transfers of property, secured interests, and liens may be delayed or invalidated. Various provisions of the Bankruptcy Code also establish the priority of creditors' interests.

Bankruptcy has been a growing trend throughout the country over the last decade. Chances are, you know several people that have had to file for bankruptcy. Remember, it's designed for one thing -- to help people when they need help. There's nothing wrong with asking for help.

The attorney should explain how they function to relieve individuals and businesses from indebtedness and provide a new financial start. You need to know how the bankruptcy code regulates the bankruptcy proceedings. The attorney will help you understand which chapter you may file under, what bills can be eliminated, how long payments may be extended, what possessions can be kept, and all other details regarding the bankruptcy case. Bankruptcy attorneys should explain the applications of the new bankruptcy laws.

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Things To Know About Chapter 7 bankruptcy laws

By John Steed

When a troubled business is badly in debt and unable to service that debt or pay its creditors, it may file (or be forced by its creditors to file) for bankruptcy in a federal court under Chapter 7. A Chapter 7 filing means that the business ceases operations unless continued by the Chapter 7 Trustee. A Chapter 7 Trustee is appointed almost immediately. The Trustee generally sells all the assets and distributes the proceeds to the creditors.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy provides an "order of relief" that triggers an "automatic stay" thus all creditors and collectors are prohibited from pursuing you or your property outside of the bankruptcy proceeding. This is especially important if you've received a foreclosure notice.

You are permitted to retain certain "exempt property" but all remaining assets are liquidated (sold) by the bankruptcy court Trustee. You should also understand that if you file a chapter 7 bankruptcy you could loose some or all or your property! This may be an advantage or disadvantage depending on how much equity you have in the asset.

The debts of the corporation or partnership theoretically continue to exist until applicable statutory periods of limitations expire. In the case of fraud, (for example, charging up credit cards with the intent to file a bankruptcy) the court may deny the discharge of the debt. For the court to take such drastic measures to limit or deny the discharge in a Chapter 7 proceeding, the creditor has the burden of proving that the debtor obtained credit by fraudulent practices or has engaged in other prohibited behavior. In a Chapter 7 case, a corporation or partnership does not receive a bankruptcy discharge-instead, the entity is dissolved. Only an individual can receive a Chapter 7 discharge. Once all assets of the corporate or partnership debtor have been fully administered, the case is closed.

Often these debts will be liquidated with the use of a CRO. This is a court appointed officer who is required to auction the properties of the concerned company. In the case of L.I.D. for example, the CRO was Consensus Advisors LLC. They performed an initial due diligence to find a suitable "stalking horse bidder." The stalking horse bidder was then required to provide a guarantee that at some minimum "reserve".

In a Chapter 7 case, a corporation or partnership does not receive a bankruptcy discharge-instead, the entity is dissolved. Only an individual can receive a Chapter 7 discharge. Once all assets of the corporate or partnership debtor have been fully administered, the case is closed. The debts of the corporation or partnership theoretically continue to exist until applicable statutory periods of limitations expire.

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Learn More About Chapter13 Bankruptcy Laws

By John Steed

There are two main types of bankruptcy that consumers may file: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a person's non-exempt property (this varies from state to state) is liquidated to pay back debts. Even if a liquidation does not generate enough money to pay back all of your debts, whatever unsecured debts (e.g., credit cards) that remain after liquidation are forgiven. The slate is wiped clean.

In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a person's debt is reorganized for repayment. To be eligible for this type of bankruptcy, you must have a steady source of income from which you can make monthly payments to your creditors for the next 3-5 years. How much you have to pay back and what your monthly payments will be are determined by the bankruptcy court and based on things like how much money you owe, how much money your creditors would have received had you filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and how much you can afford to pay per month.

You may want to consider bankruptcy if you are unable to pay the minimum monthly payment on your debt every month, are receiving harassing and threatening phone calls from bill collectors, have recently lost a stream of income, have been diagnosed with a serious illness, or are experiencing some other family emergency that has overwhelmed you with debt that you cannot handle. When you are feeling overwhelmed by debt, it is usually a good idea to consult an attorney to discuss the debt relief options that may be available to you.

A financial reorganization allows the debtor forgiveness of some of the debt while mandating a scheduled plan of repayment for the remainder of the debt. The Bankruptcy Code allows both consumer debtors and corporate debtors to file a petition seeking financial reorganization. Debt reorganization filings, such as Chapter 13 filings, have several benefits over a Chapter 7 filings. During this period of repayment, the bankruptcy proceeding remains open and it is often difficult for the debtor to get a credit card or even open a checking account. Unlike a Chapter 7 filing, is that the debtor is required to follow a rigid repayment schedule making payments on both unsecured and secured debt for years to come are the draw back of a Chapter 13 filing.

Exactly how much debt will be forgiven under a Chapter 13 repayment plan and how much debt must be repaid depends on the financial circumstances and ability to of the debtor to repay the debt. The repayment is generally classified in terms of percentage, for example 70%, 80%, 90%, and 100% forgiveness of unsecured debt. The remaining percentage is paid through a court ordered payment plan monitored by the court appointed trustee. The debtor's secured debt is generally monitored by the plan and must continue to be paid by the debtor. Primarily, this type of filing prevents the distribution and/or sale of many nonexempt assets such as consumer goods purchased with a credit card.

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No Credit Credit Cards- Get Yours Today

By Chris Turac

If you have no credit you can get a secured credit card. They are popular among college and high school age students, who haven't got any credit cards yet. By getting this type of credit card you will start building a credit history and enjoying finance deals in the future.

Many people think credit cards are just for people who have good credit. Credit cards are needed by people of all ages, and a first time credit card will enable you to start building your credit history. You will get to enjoy the benefits with other credit card users.

Bad, or no credit credit cards are available for people with low credit scores of 350-619. You can select from secured cards, which require collateral, and unsecured card offers which are based on your credit history and the promise to pay.

Compare the many details of your secured credit card and choose the one which meets your needs and financial plans. These cards require no credit check. This is because theyre for people who haven't yet established a credit history.

Many of these secured credit cards give you instant online approval saving you time.

You should make an effort to improve your credit score. The higher your credit score, the more of an opportunity you will have to get good terms. These cards help many consumers boost their credit scores. They return purchasing power to customers who would otherwise have no options. The reason these cards can help you increase your score is because they are typically reported to credit bureaus.

If you are struggling with bad credit you probably already know that you are going to have to pay higher rates than people with good credit. There are different reasons for the increase in interest rates. The most common reason being the person was late or over the limit on one of their other credit cards. When you begin to improve your credit score your interest rate decreases.

If you have a low credit score look through secured credit card offers. This has got to be the best place to begin establishing credit. Obtain the card, manage it successfully, and loans for good rating and good credit card offers will be available for you. There are a lot of credit card offers available online for you to research. With most of those you can apply for a credit card online.

No credit credit cards are helpful to both lenders and consumers. Secured credit cards are there to serve those who have limited to no credit history. This will start them on the right path to building a credit score. Visit our website to learn more and find the best credit card for your needs.

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What Is Your Credit Scoring Mark?

By Steve Bruce

Getting a good credit grade is crucial in today's society. This count tells creditors, employers and business organisations that a person is dependable and pays their charges on the dot. Data the likes of this can be utilized by many establishments. Most individuals don't realize that Making a happy credit history can help them with job opportunities, applications for credit cards, purchasing a new home or even a new motorcar.

To be able to purchase a new car or house, an person must have a good standing in their credit history. If you have damaged your credit history recently, then you must take measures to repair the problem fast. This will enable you to use your charge card to purchase luxury items like vacations. You can locate this info without too much problem and the happy news is, it's free.

The web is a healthy place to start as they are business organizations that will give you your exact credit mark for free. Individuals can check their credit mark each year from these types of businesses. These companies will ask you a few easy questions which most individuals would be able to answer off the top of their head. Your credit mark and any outstanding debts would then be ready to view. If you find that you have a bad credit grade which will block you from purchasing anything on hire buy, there are a number of things you can do to rectify the problem.

One of the first things an person can do to step-up their credit score is to clear any old debts. Even if this was for 10 years ago, it will help in the individual's credit grading vastly. As soon as all your accounts are cleared you can begin to apply for a bad credit or no credit visa Master Card. This will be helpful for a person to begin gaining a good credit score and be able to purchase their dream home or vehicle. This can aid a person to increase their credit score, which will enable them to purchase a new automobile or their dream house. Paying off any old bills will aid a individual increase their credit mark and aid them to purchase luxury items on the credit.

It takes only a a couple of short months to gain terrible credit and it takes a few years to create a better credit marking. Begin by buying one or two items on the new credit card and then paying it off immediately. This method will not only boost a person's credit rating, it will also assist in reaching a higher amount on the credit card.

Almost every individual has tricky times at sometime in their life. Not being able to pay your bills, for a few months may be a trouble. Then after that, the history starts dropping and an individual has a difficult time getting out of debt. You your credit grade once again and there are many methods to do this. Making a couple are bad months does not mean that a individual cannot obtain and excellent credit score so that they can buy the items they desire.

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How To Keep Your Credit Rating And Vantage Score Positive

By Jim Bransby

Considering the current economic situation, a personas credit rating is more important now than ever before. However, trying to keep your credit rating positive can certainly be difficult. Letas examine the best ways to ensure your credit report reflects well on your overall financial portfolio.

The best way to keep your credit in good standing is by paying your bills on time. Not only do late fees cause you to be more than you normally would, they also show up on your credit as a mark against your creditworthiness.

Another way to keep a good credit rating is to keep a low balance to limit ratio. In other words, try not to use the maximum amount of open credit on your account. Maxing out your credit cards is never a good idea.

The other important factor is having different open accounts that cause a negative mark on your credit rating. You have to maintain all the accounts with decent balance otherwise creditors might consider risky to offer credit to the one who has numerous open accounts with no balance and a few remarks.

A common mistake people normally do is applying for credit accounts that wreak havoc on their credit rating as lenders obviously investigate all the inquiries made on person's account in a given month, so keep fewer inquiries to score good credit rating.

Everyone should check their credit report at least once a year to ensure the rating is an accurate representation of their credit worthiness. Pay close attention to your vantage score or FICO score. Credit lenders use both the vantage score and FICO score as a comparison tool to determine if a person is a credit risk. By checking your vantage score and credit rating on a yearly basis, you will be able to take care of problems that may affect your credit.

Is the credit already bad? Then just try the ways to make it positive by contacting creditors if they would be willing to work with you to get you back on track This mostly will result in lowering your interest fees, refunding some extra late fees, or giving you a payoff amount that is lessening the amount you actually owe to pay.

Keeping a positive credit rating is the best way to make sure you have a solid financial situation. By paying your bills on time, keeping low balance to limit ratios, closing unnecessary accounts, and only applying for a few accounts you can be sure to maintain a great credit rating.

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How Does LTCi Protect Young Families?

By Susan P. Payne

How Does LTCi Protect Young Families? By Susan P. Payne How Does LTCi protect young families? Every day many people of all ages experience a significant change in health status. How would it impact your family if a sudden unexpected accident or illness happened? Are you prepared to handle the cost associated with long-term care? Needing long term care help is a family issue. What will happen to saving for the kids college? Your retirement? Your finances? Planning for a secure future can be possible with integrating Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi) protection planning.

LTCi is important, yet overlooked by many. It is the day-to-day help you need when a serious illness, injury or disability makes you physically or cognitively unable to care for yourself for a long period of time. This type of care is usually provided at home, in an assisted living facility, adult day care or, lastly, in a nursing home. No one ever wants to think about a catastrophic illness or an accident like a broken leg or hip. Close your eyes and think about what life would be like with a broken hip. You could not walk, bathe or dress yourself. You would need someone to assist you in your normal activities of daily living. Could you depend on your family? Would you spouse have to miss work? Would the kids need to miss school or their sporting events?

How will having a Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi) plan help you and your family? 1. Protects your independence,live how you want, where you want

2. Protects your family from the potential burden of being your caretaker

3. Protect your savings, college funds and retirement plans from the high cost of long term care

4. Many plans will pay for home health care providers, home health aides and caregivers, giving you freedom to choose what makes you comfortable.

Why does someone my age need to think about long-term care? Today you are healthy. But 24-hours from now, things can change. Many illnesses, once considered to be life threatening, are now life altering with the medical advances in place today. Many now leave you 'disabled' relying on others for care, sometimes for short periods of time, sometimes for life. Long term care protection requires you to "health qualify". No matter how much you would be willing to pay, a change in health can make it impossible for you to health qualify for long term care insurance. For individuals who are currently young and in good health, you have the possibility of locking in "preferred rates" for your lifetime. Cost for insurance can be significantly lower at younger ages so you will save money! You lock in savings and you can never be canceled even if your health changes. You may benefit now and again later as many people need and use their benefits when they are young and again when they are older.

How does LTCi protect young families? Because things can change tomorrow, now is the right time!

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Electricity Saving Tips - Save The Environment And Your Wallet!

By Matthew S. Leverton

If you use a lot of energy in your house, you probably know that this is very expensive. Apart from that, it is polluting the earth as well! That's why I will show you a few quick and easy energy saving methods that you can use in your everyday life.

The biggest possible step in switching to less energy use and lower bills, is by using renewable energy sources. Here you can think of wind power, solar power, etc. These are all types of energy that are produced "green", so they are no burden on our environment. Apart from that, they can be an infinite source of free electricity for you!

If we had to choose a renewable energy source that one can easily apply at home, we'd have to say DIY Solar Power is the smart way to go. It is a cost-effective, simple and very clean energy source, so you can help save the environment while you make some money as well.

But if you don't want to switch to renewable energy, there are still other things you could do to use less non-renewable energy. We will show you a few points where you can help save the environment, and lower your bills as well:

1. Lights: You can save a lot of energy if you use CFL (fluorescent light) bulbs. They are scientifically proven to use way less energy than conventional bulbs. If you would change all the lights in your house to CFL, you would really see your energy bill getting lower (meaning mother earth gets a bit greener).

2. Cars: If you own one or more cars, of course it is important to look at their mileage and maybe switch to a hybrid vehicle. Another way you can save energy in your car, is to make sure that the air conditioner is set to the lowest possible value that you are still comfortable with. Air conditioning is a sure way to spend a lot of energy fast.

3. Washers: Now be honest, do you always wait with your washings until you have a full load? Or do you tend to just let the machine run whenever you need that special pink dress you like.. You probably know this, but your washer is a big energy waster. So only use it if you have a full load of clothes to wash.

4. Computer monitor: One very simple thing you can do, that will only cost you a split second.. Switch your monitor off when you shut down your PC! It sounds ridiculous, and it actually IS ridiculous, but there are many, many people that shut down their PC and go to bed, leaving their monitor on all night.

That's it for today. I hope you learned something new to help you change your level of energy use, and do your part in the battle against pollution! If you haven't done so yet, I would advise you to take a quick look at renewable energy, this is by far the best way to do some good for the planet and for your budget at the same time.

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Free Yourself Of Charge Card Debt Permanently

By Frank Froggatt

Credit cards have many advantages, such as the fact that they offer you a great deal of convenience, however it is very simple to get into credit card debt and very difficult to then eliminate credit card debt.

If you are one of the many individuals out there who are currently stuck in charge card debt, here is some advice that you will find very helpful.

Now, the trick to using charge cards responsibly is avoiding unnecessary expenditure. Just because you have a credit card does not mean you should use it frivolously. Buying what you desire when you wish without deliberating the consequences will pretty much guarantee steep debt. A charge card should only be used when required and of course even then, only if you can pay it back right away.

In situations where you are already in credit card debt however, one of the foremost things that you should execute is straight off stop charging anything additional on your credit cards. A lot of individuals in credit card debt reckon that they are already in trouble so what does it matter if they proceed spending, but this is the absolute worst thing that you can do.

Start off dealing with your credit card debt by finding out exactly how much is owed, so you make out how much money you are coping with here. Then you want to begin by yielding more than the nominal requital. They will tell you what the nominal requital is, which is the very least amount that they demand, but you need to yield more than this.

This gives your creditors the feeling you genuinely do want to pay your bill. It demonstrates you're not only willing to pay, but that you mean to pay it in full. Yield more and pay on time. If you do this the interest will remain low and your debt will begin to shrink. It can be difficult to do this with multiple accounts however, if that's your state of affairs, a debt consolidation or balance transfer may be the alternative for you.

If you do your research, stay positive, and bear in mind what you've learned in the procedure, you can get out of debt. Be disciplined and dependable and you'll be on your way.

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Canadian credit card delinquencies rising - THE CANADIAN PRESS

By THE CANADIAN PRESS

Canadian credit card issuers saw a sudden upward jolt in delinquencies late last year and they are getting tougher to avoid write downs like those that have afflicted the U.S. financial system, Deloitte consultants report.

"Many companies loosened standards in recent years - and many will suffer higher credit losses in the months ahead," the study released today says.

It notes that "with Canadian consumers increasing their debt-to-disposable-income ratios to more than 130 per cent, a rate currently higher than that of the U.S., Canadian issuers face new risks."

Deloitte said recent interviews with managers at major card issuers found that "beginning in October or November of 2008 they started seeing a jump in delinquencies of five to 10 per cent - which have increasingly been translating into write offs."

It said card issuers in Canada have traditionally seen loss rates of less than four per cent, compared with six per cent and rising in the United States. But the Canadian rate has risen by between half a percentage point and a full point.

This could represents new annualized losses of as much as $800 million, based on an industry total of more than $80 billion of credit card balances, of which just over $50 billion is outstanding with the chartered banks.

The Deloitte consultants observe that as the recession takes hold ``circumstances for cardholders are changing quickly; customers who had impeccable credit scores six months ago may be in trouble today."

The report advises card issuers to increase the frequency of account reviews and scrutinize cash advances which "may indicate that a card holder is in financial difficulty."

The report says some issuers have increased collection calls by as much as half, and it comments that "early and proactive management can keep at-risk accounts from ultimately defaulting."

It warns that card fraud tends to rise when the economy turns down.

But it also counsels financial institutions that "these economic times create opportunities to build even stronger relationships with your customers" through budgeting assistance, reward programs and other "actions that can build loyalty over the long term.

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