The Bankruptcy Laws
We at 1-800-BANKRUPT want you to be fully informed. The federal bankruptcy laws are complex and always changing. If you are not a trained attorney, they may be difficult to understand. A conscientious attorney's job is to keep up with those laws and apply them properly to a clients situation.
At 1-800-BANKRUPT, our attorneys are bankruptcy experts and proud to assist our clients through the entire process.
As a service to individuals considering bankruptcy, we are pleased to provide the link below so you can read the bankruptcy rules for yourselves. Don't be surprised or upset if you don't understand something. That's where we can help.
To read the bankruptcy laws, start with this .PDF document from the US courts. And to fully understand them, talk to an attorney at 1-800-BANKRUPT.
Fill out the form to the right or call 1-800-BANKRUPT today!
Glossary Terms
Bankruptcy has its own language. Here are some of the words you'll hear when you team up with a 1-800-BANKRUPT attorney for bankruptcy protection.
- Automatic stay: The injunction issued automatically upon the filing of a bankruptcy case that prohibits certain collection actions against the debtor, the debtor's property or the property of the estate.
- Bankruptcy: A condition where a debtor cannot pay debts now or as they become due and uses the protection of the law to reorganize their financial affairs by liquidating certain property or formulating a repayment plan.
- Bankruptcy code: Title 11 of the U. S. Code governs bankruptcy proceedings. Bankruptcy is a matter of federal law and is, with the exception of exemptions, the same in every state. When federal bankruptcy law conflicts with state law, federal law controls.
- Chapter 7: Straight liquidation. The most common form of bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 case is a liquidation proceeding available to individuals, married couples, partnerships and corporations.
- Chapter 13: Reorganization. A repayment plan for individuals with debts falling below statutory levels that provides for repayment of some or all of the debts out of future income over three to five years.
- Collateral: The property that is subject to a lien.
- Creditor: The person or organization to whom the debtor owes money.
- Debtor: The debtor is the entity (person, partnership or corporation) who is liable for debts and who is the subject of a bankruptcy case.
- Lien: An interest in real or personal property that secures a debt.
- Relief from stay: A creditor can ask the judge to lift the automatic stay and permit some action against the debtor or the property of the estate.
- Secured debt: A claim secured by a lien in the debtor's property by reason of the debtor's agreement or an involuntary lien such as a judgment or tax lien.
- Trustee: The court appoints a trustee in every Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 case to review the debtor's schedules and represent the interests of the creditors in the bankruptcy case.
- Unsecured debt: A claim or debt is unsecured if there is no collateral that is security for the debt. Most consumer debts are unsecured.
