The issues that arise in legal matters vary and sometimes depend on the political or economic climate. This is true whether the matter is a criminal case like a DUI, where the current trend is whether to raise the BAC or leave it where it sits. In civil matters the trends can depend on how the state legislature views certain things, and what laws they implement to handle unique situations. With bankruptcy, the issues that arise most frequently can be debtor driven or might depend on the financial outlook for the region or nation.
With the economy and political landscape we currently have in the country today, the top three bankruptcy concerns are:
- Whether an abuse of the system has taken place with a filing, which can come up when a consumer files repeat cases. The bankruptcy law prohibits refiling of cases within certain timeframes and a case can also be considered an abuse of the protection offered by bankruptcy if the means test indicates a Chapter 13 is required but the debtor opts for a Chapter 7 case instead.
- How to value certain property in a Chapter 13 case, which can impact the amount of payment that must be made to retain certain pieces of property. A good example is how to value a vehicle, so that the debtor does not end up paying more than the car is worth.
- Which debts are considered nondischargeable. There is a list of which debts may not be discharged, and the most common ones include debts incurred with the intent to file bankruptcy, support payments, and criminal fines and penalties. But sometimes it is difficult to characterize a debt so that it fits squarely into one of the debts on the list of those that are nondischargeable. This can create confusion over what the debtor still owes, and what has been eliminated by the bankruptcy.
There are, of course, other issues that may take center stage in your case and what is important to you depends on the specific facts of your case. For answers to your questions about bankruptcy and the issues that are on trend now, call our office.
For more information about how bankruptcy works, contact us at www.DsouzaLegalGroup.com. We will help by coming up with solutions that fit the facts of your case.
