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What is bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is a court procedure that allows people to wipe out (“discharge” is the legal term) certain debts they owe, such as credit card balances, loans, contracts, rental agreements, mortgage loans, overdue utility bills, and other types of debts. It also can help people to get caught up on certain debts and keep property, such as a house or motor vehicle, and it can stop many types of lawsuits and legal procedures such as garnishment against a person. It can be an excellent way for a person to get rid of debts and legal proceedings that are destroying their life and obtain a fresh start.

Click "Bankruptcy Q and A" at top of this page to go back to list of bankruptcy questions.

Her daughter lost her house

Mrs. Smith wanted her daughter to have her house when she died. So, she put her house in her daughter’s name. Three years later, when Mrs. Smith filed for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy trustee sold the property (although it was owned by her daughter) and used the money to pay Mrs. Smith’s creditors. Mrs. Smith's attorney did not know this could happen and did not warn Mrs. Smith. She never knew that this could have been avoided.

His relatives had to pay money to the trustee

Ten months before filing his bankruptcy, Mr. Edwards paid back some relatives the money they had lent him years earlier. The bankruptcy trustee sued his relatives for that money and although they had already used it to pay bills, they had to come up with the money again to pay the trustee who used it to pay Mr. Edwards' creditors. Mr. Edwards never knew that this could have been avoided.

​She lost her inheritance 

A couple months after Mrs. Jones filed for bankruptcy, her uncle passed away and left her a house. The bankruptcy trustee sold the house to pay her debts. She never knew that this could have been avoided.

She lost her property

Mrs. Brown's attorney thought that everyone who filed for bankruptcy in Ohio can use Ohio's property exemptions. So, the attorney claimed the Ohio property exemptions on her bankruptcy papers when she filed, but that was wrong and was not permitted. Mrs. Brown never knew that this could have been avoided.

He had to pay money to the trustee

Mr. Green had an insurance policy on his life and his brother  was the beneficiary. When Mr. Green filed bankruptcy, he had to pay several thousand dollars to the trustee, an amount equal to the cash value of the policy. He didn't know that this could have been avoided.

 

She had to pay what she owed on her credit card

Shortly before filing bankruptcy, Mrs. White bought some things she needed with her credit card. She thought the debt would be wiped out in her bankruptcy, but after she filed, she was sued by the credit card company for the money she owed. To avoid garnishment of her wages, she had to sign a contract to pay it all back. She never knew that this could have been avoided.

He had to pay many of his debts although they were listed in his bankruptcy

When Mr. Brown filed bankruptcy, his former wife took him back to divorce court for not paying some of their debts. She was able to do this because he had not filed the correct type of bankruptcy. He never knew that he could have avoided this by filing a different type of bankruptcy.

She had to give up most of her savings

Mrs. Green had several thousand dollars saved in her bank account for a rainy day. She thought the Ohio exemption of savings would protect it in the bankruptcy. When she filed bankruptcy, she had to turn over most of it to the bankruptcy trustee. She did not know that this could have been avoided.

She lost a large part of the lawsuit money she got from her accident

Mrs. Jones was involved in a serious accident and suffered major injuries. She filed bankruptcy and the bankruptcy trustee required that her accident attorney pay him a huge part of the money from the lawsuit that she won. She did not know that this could have been avoided.

She missed the chance to save her house

Mrs. Black fell behind on her mortgage payments and the mortgage company sold her house and sued her for the balance of the mortgage that was not paid. She filed bankruptcy to avoid that payment but it was too late to save her house. If she had filed bankruptcy prior to the sale, she would have been able to keep her house and would have had five years to get the mortgage payments caught up. She did not know that.

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