Table Of ContentCh 7 Bankruptcy Cvr 2/8/07 10:18 AM Page 1
E V E R Y T H I N G Yo u
YOUR EASY-TO-FOLLOWACTIONPLAN N e e d t o U s e t h e
N e w B a n k r u p t c y
FOR FINANCIALRECOVERY
L a w s t o Yo u r
The
A d v a n t a g e
Ready-to-Go forms with
step-by-step instructions
Complete
Past-due notices, harassing phone calls and court actions can all be stopped, and
The Complete Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy Guide will show you
how. It gives you exactly what you ned to stop living day-to-day and regain control C
Chapter 7
of your finances once and for all. The plain-English instructions it provides will guide
you through filing your own bankruptcy and finding that fresh start you deserve.
Protect your Future Start Building Good Credit
Put your financial future back on Get on the road to financial fredom by Personal
track by ending garnishments and raising your credit score, changing bad
attachments, and protecting your habits and managing your resources
retirement money. more effectively.
Cease Collection Agency Stop Repossessions and
Harasment Lawsuits Bankruptcy
Use the bankruptcy law’s automatic Keep your car and other personal
stay provision to get creditors off your property by using exemptions you are
back. entitled to take.
Guide
Quiet Creditor Calls Protect Your Home and Family
Stop annoying phone calls and Save your home from foreclosure or stop
prevent future harassment. an eviction from putting your family out
on the street.
HAVE ALL YOUR DEBTS FORGIVEN
➤ E x e m p t i o n s ➤ S t a t e - b y - S t a t e L a w s
TO TRULY START FRESH
➤ A l t e r n a t i v e s ➤ C h e c k l i s t s
Ask Your Bookseller
About This ➤ F e d e r a l G u i d e l i➤nWe so r k s h e e t s
Other Bestselling Title
SPHINX® PUBLISHING Personal Finance $18.95 U.S.
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wwwN.ASPEpRhVIiLnLEx,LILeLgINaOl .IScom ISBN-13: 978-1-57248-594-5 £9.99 UK HAMAN
ISBN-10: 1-57248-594-9
E D W A R D A . H A M A N
A T T O R N E Y A T L A W
THE
COMPLETE CHAPTER 7 PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY GUIDE
ISBN-13: 978-1-57248-573-0
ISBN-10: 1-57248-573-6
UPC
EAN
Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page i
The Complete
Chapter 7
Personal
Bankruptcy
Guide
Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page ii
Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page iii
The Complete
Chapter 7
Personal
Bankruptcy
Guide
Edward A. Haman
Attorney at Law
®
SPHINX PUBLISHING
AN IMPRINT OF SOURCEBOOKS, INC.®
NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS
www.SphinxLegal.com
Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page iv
Copyright © 2007 by Edward A. Haman
®
Cover and internal design © 2007 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical
means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embod-
ied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
Purchasers of the book are granted license to use the forms contained herein for their own personal use. No
claim of copyright is made to any government form reproduced herein. All brand names and product names
used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders.
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.
First Edition: 2007
® ®
Published by: Sphinx Publishing, An Imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.
Naperville Office
P.O. Box 4410
Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410
630-961-3900
Fax: 630-961-2168
www.sourcebooks.com
www.SphinxLegal.com
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with
the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or
other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
From a Declaration of Principles Jointly Adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
This product is not a substitute for legal advice.
Disclaimer required by Texas statutes.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Haman, Edward A.
The complete Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy guide / by Edward A. Haman. --
1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57248-717-8
ISBN-10: 1-57248-717-8
1. Bankruptcy--United States--Popular works. I. Title.
KF1524.6.H35 2007
346.7307'8--dc22
2007000856
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
SB — 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page v
Contents
Using Self-Help Law Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Section 1: Bankruptcy and
the Legal System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
History and General Information
The Legal System
Bankruptcy Law and Procedure
Section 2: Lawyers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Needing a Lawyer
Selecting a Lawyer
Working with a Lawyer
Firing Your Lawyer
Section 3: Avoiding Bankruptcy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The Effects of Bankruptcy
Income and Expenses Worksheet
Property Worksheet
chapter
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the complete chapter 7 personal bankruptcy guide vi
Debt Assessment
General Guidelines
Alternatives to Bankruptcy
Section 4: Preparing for Bankruptcy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Basic Legal Requirements
Arranging Your Finances
Section 5: Gathering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Income
Expenses
Property
Debts
Legal Research
Section 6: Forms and Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Qualifying for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Understanding Legal Forms
Voluntary Petition
Application to Pay Filing Fee in Installments
Application for Waiver of the Chapter 7 Filing Fee
Schedule A—Real Property
Schedule B—Personal Property
Schedule C—Property Claimed as Exempt
Schedule D—Creditors Holding Secured Claims
Schedule E—Creditors Holding Unsecured Priority Claims
Schedule F—Creditors Holding Unsecured Nonpriority Claims
Schedule G—Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases
Schedule H—Codebtors
Schedule I—Current Income of Individual Debtor(s)
Schedule J—Current Expenditures of Individual Debtor(s)
Summary of Schedules
Declaration Concerning Debtor’s Schedules
Statement of Financial Affairs
Chapter 7 Individual Debtor’s Statement of Intention
Chapter 7 Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means-
Test Calculation
Debtor’s Certification of Completion of Instructional Course
Concerning Personal Financial Management
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contents vii
Master Address Lists and Mailing Matrix
Filing with the Court Clerk and Notifying Creditors
Creditors’ Meeting
Court Hearing and Discharge
Section 7: Special Circumstances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Amending Your Paperwork
Changing from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7
Lien Avoidance
Redemption
Reaffirming a Debt
Lawsuits
Pensions and Retirement Plans
Section 8: After Your Discharge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Handling Your Finances
Obtaining Credit
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Appendix A: Exemptions
(Federal and State) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Appendix B: Checklist and Worksheets . . . . . . . . . . 169
Appendix C: Blank Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
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Ch7 Bnkrptcy FM.qxp 1/31/07 5:12 PM Page ix
Using Self-Help
Law Books
Before using a self-help law book, you should realize the advantages
and disadvantages of doing your own legal work and understand the
challenges and diligence that this requires.
The Growing Rest assured that you will not be the first or only person handling
Trend your own legal matter. For example, in some states, more than 75% of
the people in divorces and other cases represent themselves. Because
of the high cost of legal services, this is a major trend, and many
courts are struggling to make it easier for people to represent them-
selves. However, some courts are not happy with people who do not
use attorneys and refuse to help them in any way. For some, the atti-
tude is, “Go to the law library and figure it out for yourself.”
We write and publish self-help law books to give people an alternative
to the often complicated and confusing legal books found in most law
libraries. We have made the explanations of the law as simple and
easy to understand as possible. Of course, unlike an attorney advis-
ing an individual client, we cannot cover every conceivable possibility.
