About the author

Jeffrey Holst is the author of the self-published book "Should I File:A Definitive Guide to Bankruptcy."  He holds an M.B.A from Grand Valley State University and earned his J.D. Cum Laude from Michigan State University.  He is licensed to practice law in Michigan and Tennessee.   He currently resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee where he is general counsel for a closely held company in the transportation industry. 

For your viewing pleasure, here is commercial I used to use back in the day when I used practice law.  Let me know what you think.

****this is not a solicitation for Legal Services,  I am no longer taking new clients and work exclusively as in house counsel for a small closely held company.****

Commercial Bankruptcy Filings for 2013

Good news on the economic front according to the Wall Street Journal commercial bankruptcies fell 24% to a pre-financial crisis level of 43,934.  2007 the first year of the fiscal meltdown saw 46,132 commercial bankruptcies, in 2012 the number was 57,702.

Additionally my conversations with consumer bankruptcy attorneys also show a marked decline in filings.  I havent yet seen the final numbers but I expect them to also be down significantly.  

Lets all hope that 2014 is a banner economic year.

Merry Christmas

I have been quite busy the last few weeks and consequently have been neglecting my responsibilities to our readers.  For that I apologize.  Christmas is quickly approaching, and this time of year people tend to put off the consideration of Bankruptcy.  I can understand why people dont choose to file in December particularly the end of December but I do caution those readers who are going to be filing in the next few months.

It is immoral and also a violation of the bankruptcy code itself to charge Christmas presents with the intent to file in the future.  Many attorneys will say some thing like "you just have to wait 90 days," but this isnt entirely accurate.  It is true that the look-back period is 90 days for non-insider transactions like credit card charges however there are exceptions.  More importantly if you dont intend to pay the money back at the time you charge it you are committing fraud and that is non-dischargeable and quite frankly morally bankrupt.  

So celebrate the holidays, shop all you want but keep in mind the best course of action is to only buy stuff you can afford.  (This is true whether you plan to file or not).  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  

And if you are shopping or just feel like supporting this site you might consider buying one of these fine books from Amazon.com.

                            

Government Shutdown

I have been asked about the effect of the shutdown on Bankruptcy relief.  The long and the short of it is it depends.  United States Attorneys offices are closed or operating on limited staff.  The same is true with some Bankruptcy Courts.  The others are operating on emergency funds in their budgets.

So far no wide spread delays or other problems of that nature have arisen however as time progresses it will be increasingly more difficult on Bankruptcy filers and the people who service them.  For now we should all hope for a speedy resolution of the problems in Washington.

Ill post more as I learn it.  Feel free to comment if you have any first hand observations to share.  

Are Amendments Perjury?

A blog that I follow recently posted an interesting article on this topic which I think may be useful to you.  I am not ready to take a strong opinion on this issue either way but I think before one files incomplete or otherwise inaccurate filings one should consider the possible consequences of those skeletal filings and the subsequent amendments that will be necessary.  For more on this check out the article that brought this issue to my attention.

Just one more reason to make sure you have good information before you decided whether to file or not.  

Bankruptcy Myths Part 3 of 3 (revisited)

This is the final installment of a 3 part posting on some common myths about Bankruptcy.  These were previously posted but I thought it might be helpful to revisit them so I have posted them again here.

Myth #8: I don’t Owe Enough, or I Owe Too Much to File Bankruptcy

The simple fact is that there are no limits to the minimum and maximum amounts of debt a person can have and still file for Bankruptcy.  Technically a person could file if they owed only 1 dollar, of course this would be a very bad idea when you consider the costs involved.  The Court costs alone will greatly exceed this amount, with the typical filing fee being a couple hundred dollars.  However the reality is that peoples circumstances are different and while a person making $100,000 dollars a year or more wouldn’t usually file over five to ten thousand dollars a person on a fixed income taking home less than $12,000 dollars a year almost certainly would have no other choice.  It is all relative, and recognizing this, the Congress has not placed absolute limits on debt amounts in the Code. (There are a couple of technical exceptions for very high debt amounts, but even in those circumstances they don’t prevent filing out right, they just effect the debtor’s eligibility for particular chapters of the code). 

Myth #9: I Make Too Much or Too Little to File for Bankruptcy

This myth is similar to the last one it’s all relative.  However, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 did place limits on income that can act in some circumstances to prevent high income people from selecting to file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, nothing precludes them from filing another form of Bankruptcy such as a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.  I take a closer look at the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act in the section of my book entitled a “Brief History of Bankruptcy,” and I deal specifically with the issues regarding Chapter Selection in the section of the book entitled “Types of Bankruptcies/Choosing the Right One for You.” 

Myth #10: If I File It Will Destroy My Husband or Wife’s Credit

Nope, nothing in the Bankruptcy Code requires a person to file with their spouse, or even tell their spouse that they are filing.  As we well know not all people are 100% truthful with their spouses about their financial situation.  I have had this issue come up at least a couple of times a year since I started doing Bankruptcy work.  The truth is it is possible to file without telling your spouse and in fact you probably will be able to prevent them from ever knowing about it, assuming they don’t pay much attention to your finances.  However I don’t recommend it.  In fact, in my practice I wouldn’t do it.  I know some attorneys who have done this type of thing but it’s really not a good idea.  That being said, I often have filed for one spouse or the other so that they can eliminate all or most of their debt and yet still have one person in the relationship with really good credit.  This technique can be quite useful in certain circumstances.  The particulars of this are a bit advanced for this book.  I would suggest that you consult a good Bankruptcy attorney who is well trained and familiar with the law before considering this type of individual filing. 

The general rule is if you don’t file it doesn’t affect your credit. This means no negative hit to the credit report, but also means that in the case of joint debts the person who files may not have to pay, but the person who didn’t file still does. 

For more information about this issue and many more buy the book.  

Bankruptcy Myths Part 2 of 3 (revisited)

Myth #5: If I File It Will Be Harder to Get or Keep a Job 

The good news is that there are strict rules in the Code that prevent this type of discrimination.  Just like it’s illegal not to hire someone based on race or religion it is also illegal to discriminate against someone in the hiring process based on a past Bankruptcy filing.  I deal with this issue and many similar issues in greater detail in the section of my book entitled “It’s Not as Bad as You Think.” 

Myth #6: You can’t Get Rid of Medical or Tax Debts?

In general most types of debt are dischargeable, meaning that you can get rid of them.  There are virtually no exceptions to this rule that result in preventing a person from discharging medical bills or medical debts.  Taxes are a bit trickier for sure but also can be discharged in the right circumstances.  This topic will be more fully dealt with in the section of my book entitled “What’s a Discharge and How does it Work?” 

Myth #7: I Should Max Out My Credit Cards Because When I File I Won’t Have to Pay Anyway 

Not so fast…This one is a big no-no.  Don’t do it, its fraud, its stealing and it just ain't right.  Seriously if you cards are maxed already ok we can deal with that, but don’t ever charge something or borrow some money with the intent not to pay it back.  It really wouldn’t be right but on top of that it’s criminal.  Not to mention the fact that you won’t get away with it anyway.  There are strict rules that prevent this type of behavior.  We will cover this and couple of other things you should avoid in the section of my book entitled “What can go Wrong and How to Avoid it.” 

For more information buy the book.