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It depends on which chapter of a St. Louis bankruptcy that you file. The two main chapter are a 7 and 13, both of which I will discuss in some detail below.

The most common form of bankruptcy is the St. Louis Chapter 7. This is usually described as a “straight discharge” of debt in which you unsecured obligations (such as credit cards, medical bills, payday loans, etc) are knocked out completely. Such a bankruptcy usually lasts (from start to finish) about three to four months. This timeframe covers the actual filing of the case, your 341 hearing, and your official discharge. From the Debtor’s point of view (when you file for bankruptcy, you are referred to as the “Debtor”), this process is pretty straight forward and simple. Your lawyer does all the legwork, and you just have to show up for one hearing at court (during which you answer a few “yes-no” questions).

The other main type of bankruptcy is a St. Louis Chapter 13. This form of bankruptcy is described as a repayment plan over the course of three to five years, during which you pay back certain debts (for instance, mortgage arrearage, car loans, tax debt, back child support, and possibly some of your unsecured debts as well). A monthly payment is set, and you make those payments to the Trustee (who then disperses the funds to the various creditors listed on your Missouri Chapter 13 plan). The shortest length of time you can be in a 13 is three (3) years, and the longest amount of time is five (5) years.

Yes, there are several. Many of these restrictions are codified into federal law, specifically the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). And when a debt collector violates this act, it must be held accountable for having trampled upon your consumer rights.

The FDCPA is a federal law which lays out in plain language what a collector can and cannot do when it attempts to collect on a debt. For instance, a St. Louis collection agency may not make continuous calls to your place of work without your permission, it may not make repeated calls to your family, friends, or neighbors without your permission, and it may not make excessive calls per day to your home or cellular phone.

Another duty placed upon all collectors is that they must provide verification of the debt in question, upon your request, and especially within thirty (30) days of having first sent you notice (usually by way of a letter) of the debt. So for example, if you receive a letter from Collection Agency X saying that you owe an unpaid hospital bill for $25, the letter should also state that you have the right to ask for verification of this debt within 30 days of receipt (if it does not contain this language, then they are in clear violation of the FDCPA). This means that you have the opportunity to demand that the collector provide you with proof of the debt in question (this usually is in the form of a breakdown of the debt, like an itemized bill). If the debt collector does not provide you with such proof, then they are in violation of federal law.

No, it is not difficult or hard at all. The process can seem a little daunting at first, but that is mainly due to people’s (understandable) anxiety about filing in the first place. So long as you hire an experienced, knowledgeable firm to handle your case, you should be just fine.

The basic idea behind filing for bankruptcy in Missouri or Illinois is disclosure. If you take the time to properly disclose all pertinent information to the court and Trustee, you have already won half the battle. This means that you must make the court aware of any real estate that you own (house, land, or time share), of any personal property (clothes, furniture, or appliances), all sources of income (wages from a job, Social Security Income, unemployment benefits, or bonuses), and a full list of all your creditors (whether they are secured, unsecured, or priority). Disclosing all of your property (real or personal) does not mean that you will lose these items. More often than not, you will be able to keep your assets. But your initial primary duty is to simply let the court know what it is that you own.

When it comes to revealing your sources of income, it can be handled most of the time by giving your attorney all of your paystubs from the previous six (6) months. Once this data is entered, your attorney can figure out how much your household income is for the year. This will determine whether you are above or below the ‘median income level’ for your particular household size. So for instance, the average or median income for a household of four is: $67,255. If your household income is under this amount, you are considered to be a ‘below median income’ house. If your household income is over this amount, you are considered to be an ‘above median income’ house. This distinction is crucial, because it can make the difference between filing a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a St. Louis Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

No, it may not. And if the debt collector does in fact ask you to make this kind of a payment, then it has violated federal law and your consumer rights. There is, however, a remedy for this behavior on the part of the collector.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal statute that regulates what a collection agency can and can’t do when it attempts to collect on a debt. These are strict limitations, and if the collector infringes upon your rights by violating the act, then it must compensate you for its wrong-doing. One of the things the collector cannot do is ask you to send it a post-dated check (or other financial instrument) to go towards a debt that you owe. They also cannot accept a post-dated check that is more than five (5) days out. Specifically, the FDCPA states in Section 808(2) & (3):

“A debt collector may not use unfair or unconscionable means to collector or attempt to collect any debt. … the following conduct is a violation of this section: (2) The acceptance by a debt collector from any person of a check or other payment instrument postdated by more than five days unless such person is notified in writing of the debt collector’s intent to deposit such check or instrument not more than ten nor less than three business days prior to such deposit; (3) The solicitation by a debt collector of any postdated check or other postdated payment instrument for the purpose of threatening or instituting criminal prosecution. “

Yes, there are a few debts that cannot be discharged in either a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a St. Louis Chapter 13 bankruptcy. These specific debts are described as non-dischargeable, and will therefore remain as debts that you will be obligated on. But understanding which exact debts these are, and what implications it has for your particular filing can be crucial.

When you file a Missouri or Illinois bankruptcy, you are under an obligation to list out all of your creditors (whether they are secured, unsecured, or priority in nature). Once each debt is properly classified, it is then the individual creditor’s job to file what is called a Proof of Claim. This is a document that is filed with the court, listing the creditor’s pertinent information (such as its name, address, and representative), the amount owed, account number and date of indebtedness, and depending on what kind of debt it is, documentation proving that the debt actually exists (like a Deed of Trust for a house loan). You and the Trustee are given an opportunity to examine the Proofs of Claim that are entered, and file an objection if it is believed that the POC was submitted in error.

If the debt is in the nature of a Domestic Support Obligation, then it is non-dischargeable. DSO’s are things like child support (current, or what has fallen into arrears), maintenance, and spousal support (what used to be called alimony). Most tax debt is considered to be an obligation for which you may not receive a discharge. There is an exception, however, for income tax debt that is three years or older and was timely filed. If that is the case, then it is possible to get that portion of income tax debt discharged along with the rest of your unsecured debts (such as credit cards, medical bills, and payday loans). Student loans are another example of that which cannot be gotten rid of in a bankruptcy. These debts (almost always owed to the federal government) are given a status of protection by the bankruptcy court.

Then they are lying to you. Because they don’t have a warrant, nor do they even have permission to sue in the first place. But then these are exactly the types of things that are blatant violations of the law.

The area of law that dictates what a debt collector can and can’t do is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This statute spells out all the things that a collector cannot do when they attempt to collect. One of the things that they certainly cannot do is threaten you with a lawsuit (let alone a warrant for your arrest). The reason why such tactics are used is because they typically scare people into paying money (money that they really do not have). Imagine if you are sitting at home and the collection agent calls, saying that unless you pay a certain amount of money right now, you are going to get thrown in jail. Pretty scary stuff! But it’s a lie. There isn’t a judge in the entire country who is going to issue a warrant for a credit card you defaulted on. That’s not what they do.

The original creditor can sue you for breach of contract, but unless the collection agency has specific, express permission from the original creditor to sue, it cannot even mention such a thing. It cannot threaten to sue, or even threaten to have the debt sent to the credit bureau. All of these things are violations of the FDCPA.

No, they cannot. This would be a clear violation of federal law.

The area of law governing this particular subject is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This federal statute regulates what a collection agency can and cannot do when they attempt to collect on a debt. Section 804(5) states specifically that: ‘Any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall – not use any language or symbol on any envelope or in the contents of any communications effected by the mails or telegram that indicates that the debt collector is in the debt collection business or that the communication relates to the collection of a debt.’

This is pretty straightforward language, as far as legal statutes go. It is clear on its face as to its meaning, with no ambiguity as to the intent of what it is trying to say. This is what lawyer like myself love to read. It means that conduct on the part of the collection agency that is unlawful is as easy to prove as simply saying, “Your Honor, do you see this envelope that has the words ‘Joe Smith owes a debt and we are trying to collect on it’? That is a clear violation of the law.” Of course, it’s not ever that clear. The collection agencies are usually smarter than that. But that doesn’t mean that violations of this type do not occur with frequency.

The answer to this question, unfortunately, hinges a great deal on your own personal feelings about the subject of bankruptcy. I have heard many people tell me (with absolute conviction) that people who file for bankruptcy are the very individuals who are bringing the country down, because they are irresponsible and do not want to take control of their lives. I believe this sentiment is ill-founded, and I’d like to explain why.

The credit industry in this country is incredibly powerful. Its lobbyists are considered to be the finest in the nation, and they get pretty much what they want. As the economy has taken a dive, and as more and more jobs that people once thought they could count on disappear, individuals and families have continued to look towards their lines of credit as a last resort to stay afloat. This means using things like credit cards on food, gas, rent, utilities, and other basics that people need in order to live. And as people have come to rely more and more on this last-resort devices, the credit industry has made it easier and easier for people to take out ever-larger lines of credit (there are very few of us who have not received four or five pieces of mail per week that are nothing more than applications from some company telling you how easy it is to get free money).

Of course, the credit industry has gone to great lengths to claim that it is the individual’s personal responsibility that must dictate their spending habits. And this claim is fair enough on its face. But this does not really explain why there are thirty to forty booths on every college campus the first day of classes filled with credit card vendors throwing free t-shirts to every kid that walks by, while screaming, ‘Hey, come fill out this application , and you’ll have your very own credit card by the end the of the week’; or why the credit industry ruthlessly targets senior citizens with ad campaigns for large lines of credit, when they know full well that these individuals are on fixed incomes and have no real ability to pay back the sums of money that they desperately need. The industry goes after these people not because they see an opportunity to help out a group of citizens that need a helping hand in their time of need; rather, they see people who are either gullible or completely cash-strapped to meet their needs. For it is these people who will typically overspend on their credit card purchases, who will accidentally forget to pay their monthly minimum on time (which allows the industry to pump up the interest rates through the ceiling), and who will most likely take out another card in order to pay for the first card (the old ‘robbing-Peter-to-pay-Paul’ scenario, because they simply have no other income). These people are not considered risky investments to give lines of credit to (which of course they should be). Instead, they are thought of as cash-cows, over whom the credit industry salivates and can’t wait to get their hands on.

Yes, you can. But just like the real estate that you actually live in, there are certain criteria that you should be aware of when you file a Missouri bankruptcy. Dealing with real estate in such a judicial filing can be tricky, so it is definitely in your best interest to understand all the rules and regulations.

Of course, how a piece of real estate is handled is determined by which chapter of bankruptcy you file. In a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy, so long as the real estate in question does not have any equity, then keeping all the properties is fine. You just continue making the regular monthly payments. And in this economy (specifically this real estate market), it is a rare occurrence when a piece of real estate actually has equity (i.e. value above and beyond the current balance of the loan). Of course, if you wish to get rid of any real estate that you currently own, you may do so in a Missouri Chapter 7. In fact, you may keep some real estate, and surrender others. For example, if you have an ownership interest in five pieces of real estate, but you only want to keep two of them, you may surrender the other three (and get out from underneath the debts associated with them).

On the other hand, if the real estate you own does in fact have substantial equity (like in the case of a house that is paid-in-full), then you may wish to file a St. Louis Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Such a filing ensures that your secured assets are kept safe from liquidation. A Missouri Chapter 13 is described as a repayment plan over the course of three to five years in which certain debts are paid back. If you own multiple pieces of real estate in a Chapter 13, then the mortgage payments of those homes are included in your monthly plan payment to the Trustee (who then disperses funds to the creditors listed in your plan). In addition, if any of the mortgage loans on the real estate are delinquent, it is possible to put that debt inside the plan as well. This spreads out the amount owed over a period of years (as opposed to coming up with one lump sum).

There are very specific rules as to if and/or how much of a tax refund you can keep when you file a Missouri bankruptcy. It also depends greatly on which chapter you file. But understanding how the rules work and when they apply is important if you want an opportunity to keep the refund.

When an individual (or married couple) files a tax return, the information you enter into the documents can very often result in the government refunding you a certain amount of money. This money represents the amount that you overpaid in tax deductions taken from your paychecks. The government then cuts a check to you personally, and you can do with it as you please. But you when you file for bankruptcy, the refund takes on a whole new significance.

When you file a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Trustee is assigned to your case. His/her function is to review your Schedules and documents to determine if there are any assets he/she can liquidate. Examples of this may be a car with a great deal of equity; a bank account with money above certain exemptions; settlement money you expect to receive from a personal injury suit; or tax refund money. When you file, it is your duty to disclose to the Trustee everything that you own, and everything that you anticipate owning in the near future. If it is close to tax time, and you anticipate a refund, then obviously you would have to disclose this as well.