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Bankruptcy Timeline
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Prior Bankruptcy
Prevents Filing of Chapter 7
You are prohibited from receiving a discharge
under Chapter 7 if you received a discharge in a
bankruptcy which was filed within the last 6
years. A discharge may still be granted if the
prior bankruptcy was under Chapter 12 or 13 and paid
100% of allowed unsecured claims, or paid at least
70% allowed unsecured claims and the plan was
proposed in good faith and was the your best effort.
This restriction does not apply to the
filing of a Chapter 13 after any prior bankruptcy.
11
U.S.C. § 727(a)(8 & 9)
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Transfer, concealment
or destruction of property prevents discharge in
Chapter 7
The court may deny
you discharge of all debt if you attempted to
hinder, delay or defraud a creditor when you
transferred, removed, destroyed, mutilated, or
concealed property within one year prior to the
filing of your Chapter 7 petition.
The trustee may
recover the property from the person to whom you
transferred it.
11
U.S.C. §§ 727(a)(2), 548(a)(1)
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Payment to Relative
or Insider is a Preference
A total of $600 or
more in money or property which is paid to a
creditor that is a relative or insider (certain
business associates) within a year prior to filing
is a preference. The Trustee may recover
preferences and divide the money between all
creditors.
In Chapter 13, you
may be able to prevent the trustee from going after
the relative by increasing the amount paid into your
plan.
11
U.S.C. §§ 547(b)(4)(B), 547(c)(8),
101(31)
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Dismissal of prior
bankruptcy prevents filing Chapter 7 or 13.
You may not file any
bankruptcy if you filed a previous bankruptcy which
was dismissed in the preceding 180 days either (1)
on the court's order because of your willful failure
to obey orders of the court or to appear in court
when required; or (2) at your request after the
filing of a request for relief from the automatic
stay.
11
U.S.C. § 109(g)
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Minimum Residency
Requirement
You must be a
resident in the state in which you are filing for
the last 90 days. If you have not resided in
the state that long, you can only file in the state
where you have resided, or which has been your
principal place of business or which has been the
location of your principal assets for the majority
of the last 180 days.
Payment to Creditor
is a Preference
A total of $600 or
more in money or property which is paid to a
creditor within 90 days prior to filing is a preference.
The Trustee may recover preferences and divide the
money between all creditors.
In Chapter 13, you
may be able to prevent the trustee from going after
the creditor by increasing the amount paid into your
plan.
11
U.S.C. §§ 547(b)(4)(B), 547(c)(8),
101(31)
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Debt presumed to be
non-dischargeable
Debt of $1,075 for
cash advances or "luxury goods or
services" incurred within 60 days before the
Bankruptcy is filed is presumed to be
non-dischargeable.
Applies to Chapter 7
cases, and to hardship discharge in Chapter 13.
11
U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(2), 1328(b)
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Bankruptcy Filed
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Commencement of Case
A voluntary
bankruptcy is commenced when you file a petition
with the Bankruptcy Court requesting protection from
your creditors under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
A husband and wife may file one petition together
and commence a joint case.
The filing also puts
a stay under 11
U.S.C. §362 into effect prohibiting collection
actions.
11
U.S.C. §§ 301, 302,
101(42)
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Deadline to File
Schedules and Financial Statement, and Chapter 13
Plan
Within 15 days after
filing the Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 petition that
commenced your case, you must file schedules listing
your assets and liabilities, your current income and
expenditures, executory contracts and unexpired
leases, and a statement of your financial affairs.
Bankruptcy
Rule 1007(c); see also 11
U.S.C. § 521
In Chapter 13, the
Plan must also be filed within 15 days after the
Bankruptcy was filed. The plan provides for
submission of future income and the treatment of
your creditors, specifying when and how much each
kind of creditor will receive.
Bankruptcy
Rule 3015(b)
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Court Mails Notice
of Commencement of Case
Approximately 18 days
after your case is commenced, the court mails a Notice
of Commencement of Case to you and to the
creditors you have included in your mailing
list. The notice contains meeting date,
deadlines for objections to discharge and for filing
Proofs of Claims. |
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Chapter 13
only: Deadline to Notice Chapter 13 Plan
In the Eastern
District of Michigan, your attorney must mail
your Chapter 13 Plan to all creditors after the
Chapter 13 Plan is filed. |
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Chapter 7 only:
Deadline to file Statement of Intention
Within 30 days after
filing the Chapter 7 petition that commenced your
case (or before the § 341 meeting if that is
earlier), you must file a Statement of Intention
indicating whether you will be surrendering or
keeping property secured by consumer debt. If
you are keeping secured property, you will need to
indicate whether you intend to: (1) reaffirm
the debt and continue to make the payments remaining
obligated for the balance of the debt, or (2) redeem
the property by immediately paying the value of the
property and receive a discharge for the balance of
the debt.
A copy of the Statement
of Intention must be served on the trustee and
the creditors named in the statement on or before
the filing of the statement.
11
U.S.C. § 521(2)(A); Bankruptcy Rule 1007(c)
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Chapter 13
only: First Payment Due Under Chapter 13
Plan
You must make your
first payment under the Chapter 13 Plan
within 30 days after the plan was filed.
If your plan was
filed with the petition which commences your case,
your first payment is due within 30 days of the
start of the case. Since the plan must be
filed within 15 days after the commencement of your
case, the latest date you may start making payments
is 45 days after the filing of the case.
11
USC §1326(a)(1)
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§ 341 Meeting
Section 341 (the
symbol "§" means section) of the
Bankruptcy code requires the Trustee to preside at a
meeting of creditors within a
"reasonable time." This meeting is
usually held approximately six weeks after
Bankruptcy is filed.
You (as the debtor in
a Bankruptcy case) are required to attend this
meeting and testify under oath, but most creditors
do not come to the meeting. The failure of
creditors to attend the meeting does not effect
their right to challenge the discharge in a Chapter
7 or to object to the plan in a Chapter 13. If
you do not attend, your case will be dismissed.
11
USC § 341
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Chapter 7:
Deadline in Chapter 7 to perform under Statement
of Intention
In Chapter 7, within
45 days after you filed Statement of Intention,
you are to perform as you indicated. In
that statement, you were required to state whether
you would be surrendering or keeping property
secured by consumer debt. If you were keeping
secured property, you would have indicated whether
you intended to: (1) reaffirm the debt and
continue to make the payments remaining obligated
for the balance of the debt, or (2) redeem the
property by immediately paying the value of the
property and receiving a discharge for the balance
of the debt.
11
U.S.C. § 521(2)(B)
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Deadline for
creditors or Trustee to object to claim of exempt
property
Creditors and the
Trustee have until 30 days after the conclusion
of the creditor's meeting under § 341 to object to
the property you have claimed as exempt in Schedule
C. While most § 341 meetings are concluded on
the same day they are set, it is not unusual for a
meeting to be continued to a subsequent date, which
will extend the time that creditors have to object.
Bankruptcy
Rule 4003
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Chapter 7:
Deadline in Chapter 7 for objection to discharge of
a particular debt under §523(c)
Creditors have until
60 days after the first date set for creditor's
meeting under § 341 to file a complaint under §
523(c). § 523(c) allows creditors to object
to the discharge of debts which were obtained by
false pretenses, a false representation, or actual
fraud; debt from fraud or defalcation while acting
in a fiduciary capacity, embezzlement or larceny;
debt for willful and malicious injury; and debt
incurred in a divorce or separation (other than
child support and spousal maintenance which are not
discharged even without an objection to discharge).
The most common
objection to discharge of a debt is based on §
523(a)(2). This section presumes that charges
totaling $1,000 or more to one creditor within 60
days before the case is commenced are not
discharged, if they are for luxury goods or
services, or cash advances. This section also denies
a discharge to debt extended because the creditor
relied upon a credit application which was
materially false.
Bankruptcy
Rule 4007(c); see also 11
USC § 523
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Chapter 7:
Deadline for objection to discharge of all debt
under §727(a)
Creditors have until
60 days after the first date set for creditor's
meeting under § 341 to file a complaint under §
727(a). § 727(a) allows object to the
discharge of all debts because of misconduct
including transfer, destruction or concealment of
property; concealment, destruction, falsification or
failure to keep financial records; making false
statements; withholding information; failing to
explain losses; failure to respond to material
questions; having received a discharge in a prior
case filed within the last 6 years.
Bankruptcy
Rule 4004(a); see also 11
USC § 727(a)
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Chapter 7:
Deadline for U.S. Trustee or court to move to
dismiss case for substantial abuse under §707(b)
Until 60 days after
the first date set for creditor's meeting under §
341, the U.S. Trustee or the court may move to
dismiss a case in which debts are primarily consumer
debts if it finds that the granting of relief would
be a substantial abuse of the provisions of Chapter
7.
Substantial abuse has
been interpreted by a number of courts to mean
having sufficient disposable income to pay more than
half of your unsecured debt over the next 36 months.
Bankruptcy
Rule 1017(e); see also 11
USC § 707(b)
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Chapter 13:
Deadline in Chapter 13 to file all due but unfiled
tax returns
For cases filed in
the Eastern District of Michigan, you must file all
due but unfiled tax returns within 60 days after the
first date set for the § 341 Meeting. |
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Discharge entered in
Chapter 7 case
Court rules require
that the discharge be entered "forthwith"
after the expiration of the time for objecting to
discharge or moving to dismiss the case. The time
for those objections expires 60 days after the first
date set for creditor's meeting.
The discharge is not absolute or final. The
trustee can ask that the discharge be set aside if
you do not turn over non-exempt property, and for
other violations of the debtor's duties.
Bankruptcy
Rules 4004(c)(1), 4004(a),
1017(e)
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Deadline for
non-government creditor to file its Proof of
Claim
A creditor, other
than a governmental unit, must file its Proof of
Claim within 90 days after the after the first
date set for creditor's meeting under § 341 in
order to share in payments from the estate.
Bankruptcy
Rule 3002(c)
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Deadline for
governmental unit to file Proof of Claim
A governmental unit,
such as the Internal Revenue Service, must file its Proof
of Claim within the commencement of the case in
order to share in payments from the estate.
Bankruptcy
Rule 3002(c)(1)
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Minimum length of
payments under Chapter 13 Plan
Unless all allowed
claims are paid sooner, plan payments must continue
for the three-year period beginning on the date that
the first payment is due under the plan.
During this period, the plan must provide that all
of the debtor's projected disposable income is
committed to the plan. (This requirement comes
into effect only if the trustee or the holder of an
allowed unsecured claim objects; it has been our
experience that the trustee will always object.)
11
U.S.C. §§ 1325(b)(1), 1322(d)
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Discharge entered in
Chapter 13
Upon completion of
plan payments the discharge in Chapter 13 is
entered.
11
U.S.C. § 1328
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Maximum length of
payments under Chapter 13 Plan
The maximum length of
a Chapter 13 plan is five years beginning on the
date that the first payment is due under the
plan. After the third year of the plan, the
plan no longer needs to provide that all of the
disposable income be committed to the plan.
11
U.S.C. §§ 1325(b)(1), 1322(d)
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Discharge entered in
Chapter 13
Upon completion of
plan payments the discharge in Chapter 13 is
entered.
11
U.S.C. § 1328
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