Thanks to Denver Web Design and Denver SEO Company, USWebCentral.com, you can now file chapter 7 bankruptcy online without the need for an Attorney. Save thousands by using our proven online service and at any time you feel you can not complete the forms yourself, Legal Helpers will credit you the $199 towards their legal fees.
BK ParaDox™ was started by bankruptcy attorneys who believe that consumers unable to afford an attorney, or who want to prepare their own Chapter 7 bankruptcy, should have a website committed to providing all the resources needed. While having an attorney represent you is always an option, we believe that there must be alternatives to allow individuals access to the courts using all the tools we can provide. In difficult economic times when our government is bailing out banks and credit card companies with your tax dollars, it is time to provide consumers with the tools they need to handle their own financial difficulties.
How It Works
This website provides a comprehensive guide to assist individuals filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
With the help of our contributing resources including Nolo, the largest publisher of Do-It-Yourself law books in the country and Springboard®, one of the top consumer credit counseling agencies in America, we have created the first truly interactive step-by-step approach that allows you to prepare your own Chapter 7 bankruptcy at your own pace.
Each step of the BK ParaDox™ process presents the form to be completed and whenever you need help, we provide easy to understand TIPS directly relating to the question that you are working on. In addition, at any point, you can see an example of a completed form, as a sample answer.
The following is a step-by-step guide that you will use on our website to accomplish each step for your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy:
Median Income Test - This is a free short set of questions to determine if you are qualified to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. (Most people qualify)
Consumer Credit Counseling - Before you file your Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you must complete online or by telephone a counseling session. We help you accomplish this right from our website and you will receive your required Certificate of Completion directly from the agency.
Complete Your Paperwork – Complete your petition and schedules on our website with a step-by-step approach at your own pace with tools to help explain how to do it yourself.
Sign and File Your Paperwork - You receive a full checklist to make sure you have everything you need to successfully file your case.
Attend Your First Creditors Meeting - After you file your case, you will get a notice for your meeting at the court. This website provides a full checklist for how to handle this meeting.
Complete Your Credit Education Course and Final Documents - We provide all you need to finalize all requirements.
Receive a Discharge of Your Debts.
If at any point you decide that you would prefer to hire an attorney to represent you, we can provide a link to attorneys in your community who will credit any fees you paid on this site as a reduction in their attorney fees for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
BK ParaDox™ provides all the tools for each step of the process of preparing and filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy to allow you a “fresh start” with the discharge of your appropriate debt.
READY TO BEGIN?
Just Push the “Get Started” Button on the Top of this Page and we will explain what to do step by step…
Now let’s talk about Schedule C In your Chapter 7 paperwok.
1) What are Exemptions
Each state and the federal government have certain laws regarding what property you can keep in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.These are called Exemptions.“Exempt”means that the property is protected and does not have to be turned over to your creditors as payment on your debts.
Exemptions normally protect basic living and work-related necessities including your house, your car, retirement investments, clothing and other personal property up to a certain limit.You will claim how much you intend to protect for each type of property listed in your bankruptcy paperwork.
For example, let’s say you own a car free and clear and it is valued at $7,000. If the state you live in allows you to protect up to $7,000 of the value of a car, you are fully protected and can keep the car even though you are filing a Chapter 7. The same will apply to all other property you own.
2)How much of an exemption you get for all your property depends on your state.Every state has a list of how much of your property is exempt.
Fifteen states (and the District of Columbia) allow debtors to choose between their state’s exemptions or another set of exemptions created by Congress (called federal bankruptcy exemptions). States that currently allow debtors this choice are Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. You have to choose one system or the other—you can’t mix and match some exemptions from one and some from the other.
3)WHICH STATE’S EXEMPTION LIST CAN YOU USE?
Generally, you must have lived in a state for two years beforeyou can use that state’s exemptions.
If you have lived there for less than 2 years, you count back 2 years from the date you will file for bankruptcy and use the state exemption list for where you lived for the 6 months before that.
Whichever state you have lived in for the longest time during that 6-month period is the state whose exemptions you can use.
Some states, though, don’t allow you to use their exemptions unless you currently live in that state. If that is your situation, you will have to use the federal exemptions.
If you have lived in a new state for less than 91 days, you must either file in the last state you lived in for more than 91 days or wait to file your bankruptcy until after you’ve lived in your current state for at least 91 days.
Again read your online book Chapter 3 to review these rules.
4) If You Are Married and Filing Jointly
If the federal bankruptcy exemptions are available in the state where you file and you decide to use them, you may double all of the exemptions if you are married and filing jointly.
This means that you and your spouse can each claim the full amount of each federal exemption (but joint filers must use one exemption system or the other; they can’t use different systems).
If you decide to use your state’s exemptions, you may be able to double some exemptions but not others..
In Appendix A of your online book, we review each state and whether you can double your exemptions.
Step by Step to Preparing Schedule C
First, select your state from the list provided and your state’s exemption list will pop up.If you can choose from federal list in your state, it will also be included.
Debtor elects the exemptions to which the debtor is entitled under: If you’re using the federal exemptions, check the top box. If you are using the state exemptions, check the second box.
Again, See Ch. 3 in your online book for information on residency requirements for using a state’s exemptions and tips on how to choose between the federal and state exemption systems.
If you are living in a state that offers the federal exemption system, but you haven’t been there long enough to meet the two-year residency requirement, you can choose the federal system (and check the top box on Schedule C). Check if debtor claims a homestead exemption that exceeds $136,875. Check this box if:
the exemptions of the state you are using allow a homestead exemption of more than $136,875
you have more than $136,875 equity in your home, and
you acquired your home at least 40 months prior to your bankruptcy filing date.
IF YOU BOUGHT YOUR HOUSE LESS THAN 40 MONTHS AGO,IT MAY BE CAPPED AT A $136, 875 EXEMPTION.
Now lets discuss the instructions for each column in your form, one at a time.
But, first, rather than listing all your exempt property in the first column and then completing the second column before moving on to the third column, you might find it easier to list one exempt item and complete all columns for that item before moving on to the next exempt item.
Column 1)Description of Property
To describe the property you claim as exempt, take these steps:
First, decide whether any real estate you listed on Schedule A, you want to claim as exempt.
Second, decide which of the personal property you listed on Schedule B you want to claim as exempt. If the exemptions you are using apply to an entire category, such as clothing, simply list “clothing” as the item you are exempting.
Column 2) Specify Law Providing Each Exemption.
For each item of property you are claiming as exempt, enter the citation (number) of the specific law that creates the exemption, as set out on the exemption list.
Some states have a “wildcard” exemption that can be used for any property as a supplement.Remember to use its law number and if you are combining part or all of a wildcard exemption with a regular exemption, list both citations.
Column 3 Value of Claimed Exemption.
Here, claim the full exemption amount allowed, up to the value of the item.
Bankruptcy law allows married couples to double all exemptions unless the state expressly prohibits it. That means that each of you can claim the entire amount of each exemption, if you are both filing. If your state’s chart in Appendix A of your online book doesn’t say your state forbids doubling, go ahead and double. You are entitled to double all federal exemptions, if you use them.
Column 4 -Current Value of Property Without Deducting Exemption
Enter the current value of the item you are claiming as exempt. For most items, this information is listed on Schedules A and B.
TO REVIEW HERE ARE SOME TIPS ABOUT EXEMPTIONS
1.Check the exemptions you are using for specific property items that you want to keep.
2.If the state exemptions don’t cover the property you want to keep, look for a wildcard exemption in the state exemption list. (REMEMBER NOT ALL STATES HAVE ONE)
3.If the state also lets you use the federal bankruptcy exemptions, check and see which works best. The Federal list and some states have a “wildcard” that you can use to protect your property.
4.If you have the choice of two exemption systems, decide which exemption list you want to use. Don’t mix and match. (In California, if you own your home and have more than $20,000 in equity, you’ll probably want to use System 1. If you don’t own a home, System 2 will often be a better choice.)
6. Double your exemptions if you’re married and filing jointly, unless the state exemption list
says that doubling isn’t allowed. If you’re using the federal bankruptcy exemptions,
you may double all exemptions.
Don’t forget to include the law number for each exemption that you take which are included in your exemption lists.Remember that our sample form is only an example as to how the form should look when it is complete.Use your OWN property and state law number in YOUR Schedule C.
TAKE YOUR TIME WITH THIS SCHEDULE.REVIEW NOT ONLY THE TIPS AND SAMPLE SECTION, BUT READ CHAPTERS 3 AND 4 AND APPENDIX B IN YOUR ONLINE BOOK.
There are many options available in regard to handling one’s financial problems. The use of competent and credit counseling can be helpful when they are not affiliated with the credit card industry. Some services will negotiate with creditors to lower debt or payments, although this will often have a similar negative effect on a credit rating. Meeting with a competent bankruptcy attorney can also help even just to learn what your rights are and the impact of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Although individuals are capable of doing their own routine bankruptcy and successfully discharging their debts, an attorney should be used if one is considering a Chapter 13 bankruptcy as it requires the design of a repayment plan.
Many people get to a place where the constant calls at work and home by creditors or the risk of having a garnsihment of their wages leads them to a decision to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy as a way to stop the harassment and take back control of their lives.
Many people have asked when they should try and handle their own legal issues. Although attorneys are very necessary for many complex legal problems, most routine legal issues and documents can be handled by consumers on their own.
The increased ability to access legal information and affordable documents has allowed many people to make good decisions and be in control of their own legal matters. Good examples of theis are Chapter 7 bankruptcies. uncontested divorce and simple wills. Good do-it-yourself books like those published by Nolo and self-help web services like BK ParaDox allow people to decide for themselves what they can accomplish at a fraction of the costs of attorneys. It is not for everyone or every legal problem, but many people who do their own taxes online are fully capable of using these resources.
Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy doesn’t make you a failure or a bad person, nor does it ruin your chances of having a happy and productive life. To the contrary, filing for bankruptcy might give you the chance you need to achieve the goals you’ve dreamed of for your future. Finally, a chance of removing all the stress you feel every day that you are in debt and cannot hope to pay it back.
We hear in the news every day how large American companies like banks and auto manufacturers need financial “bailouts” from our government or to file for bankruptcy to get their business back on the right path. Why is it that when a large company files for bankruptcy, it is called a smart business move, but when a person does it for the benefit of their family, they are a loser.
It is time to change the mindset of how we see bankruptcy and why it is sometimes the right decision. Obviously, we would all like to prosper and pay our debts in full, but life often serves up unexpected circumstances like loss of jobs, medical problems or a need to live on credit to just make ends meet.
We are responsible for the debt we have as is the banking industry for continuing to make credit available to people that may have problems paying it back.
The irony of our current economy is that many banks are lowering lines of credit and even terminating credit cards, even for people with good credit. As a result of these actions, your credit score automatically drops which causes the same banks to raise your interest rates to as high as 30%. How can you ever pay back the debt under these circumstances. And when you finally are out of credit, because they suddenly cut back what they will allow you to use, it disrupts your entire financial life.
It is time for us to take back control of our lives……..
As a bankruptcy attorney for over twenty years and General Counsel for the largest Do-It-Yourself legal document preparation service in the country, I have helped thousands of people prepare their own Chapter 7 bankruptcy forms.
In the these tough economic times where our government is bailing out banks and credit card companies with your money, it seems ironic that no one has considered how to give consumers relief from their high debts levels, often caused by practices of credit card companies, but sometimes by our own circumstances of life.
To be clear, if you can afford an attorney, it is usually the best way to file a bankruptcy. However, many people have told me that if they could afford the $1500 or more that an attorney requires, they would not need to file bankruptcy. Others, who prepare and file their own income taxes using excellent software and websites, want the opportunity to prepare their own Chapter 7 bankruptcy online.
That is why we created BK ParaDox TM, the first interactive website for Do-It-Yourself Chapter 7 bankruptcy online. Working with Nolo, the largest publisher of do-it-yourself law books in the country as well as Springboard, one of the largest consumer credit counseling agencies in America, as well as bankruptcy attorneys across the country, we wanted to make available to you on one website all the tools and resources you need to determine where bankruptcy is right for you and to help you prepare your own Chapter 7 bankruptcy online.
The unique feature of BK ParaDox TM is that you have all the alternatives available to manage your own financial situation including filing your own bankruptcy. Although many attorneys believe in your right to represent yourself, few actively find solutions for those people who want to exercise your right to do-it-yourself bankruptcy. The attorneys in your community who have assisted in the creation of this site strongly believe in that right, however they also recognize that sometimes you need to use an attorney. Therefore, these attorneys have agreed to credit any fees you pay this Do-It-Yourself site towards their bankruptcy attorney fees to represent you. For more information about all services provided by BK ParaDox TM, go to www.filebankruptcyonlinenow.com.
The whole Chapter 7 bankruptcy process takes about three months, costs $299 in filing fees (unless you get a waiver), and usually requires only one brief meeting, out of court, with the bankruptcy trustee—the official appointed by the bankruptcy judge to process your bankruptcy. If you use a lawyer, you can expect to pay an additional $1,000 or more in legal fees. Of course, you can save most of this money by representing yourself with the help of this book and this website (and, perhaps, typing services from a bankruptcy petition preparer, or legal advice from a limited practice lawyer).
Before you can file for bankruptcy, you must consult a nonprofit credit counseling agency. The purpose of this consultation is to see whether there is a feasible way to handle your debt load outside of bankruptcy, without adding to what you owe.
To qualify for bankruptcy relief, you must show that you received credit counseling from an agency approved by the U.S. Trustee’s office within the 180-day period before you filed. The courts are split as to whether you can get credit counseling on the same day you file your bankruptcy papers. Some have said same-day counseling is fine, as long as it takes place before you file; others have said that you have to complete counseling no later than the day before you file. To be safe, you should complete your credit counseling the day before or earlier.
Once you complete the counseling, the agency will give you a certificate showing that you participated. It will also give you a copy of any repayment plan you worked out with the agency.
There are a few exceptions to this counseling requirement. You don’t have to participate if you are in the military on active duty, you are incapacitated, or you have a disability that prevents you from participating. You also don’t have to get counseling if there is no agency available to you. For example, one court excused a debtor’s failure to get counseling because no agency could provide counseling in the debtor’s Creole language, and the debtor could not afford to hire an interpreter.
The purpose of credit counseling is to give you an idea of whether you really need to file for bankruptcy or whether an informal repayment plan would get you back on your economic feet. Counseling is required even if it’s perfectly clear that a repayment plan isn’t feasible (that is, your debts are too high and your income is too low) or you have debts that you find unfair and don’t want to pay. (Credit card balances inflated by high interest rates and penalties are particularly unpopular with many filers, as are emergency room bills and deficiency judgments based on auctions of repossessed cars.)
The law requires only that you participate—not that you go along with whatever the agency proposes. Even if a repayment plan is feasible, you aren’t required to agree to it. However, if the agency does come up with a plan, you must file it along with the other required bankruptcy paperwork.
As anyone who has ever tried to rent a car—or even a movie—knows, it’s tough to get by without a credit card. And once you get that card, most credit card companies will make it very easy for you to take on more debt than you can handle. By charging high interest rates and penalties, credit card companies can cause your original debt to soar beyond any reasonable expectation. In many cases, the interest rates are so high that the companies involved would have been prosecuted for loan sharking in the not-too-distant past—before the credit card industry systematically lobbied to do away with usury laws or to create exceptions to those laws for credit card interest rates. Credit card companies keep this system working by encouraging us to make the minimum payment, which stimulates us to make more credit purchases and eases us into debt loads far beyond our ability to ever pay them off. We now all owe our souls to the company store.
The American economy is based on consumer spending. Roughly two-thirds of the gross national product comes from consumers like us spending our hard-earned dollars on goods and services we deem essential to our lives. If you ever had any doubt about how important consumer spending is to our economy, remember that President George W. Bush wasted no time after the events of September 11, 2001, in urging Americans to spend more. And many other government leaders told us that spending was our patriotic duty. As Americans, we learn almost from birth that it’s a good thing to buy all sorts of products and services. A highly paid army of persuaders surrounds us with thousands of seductive messages each day that all say, “buy, buy, buy.” These sophisticated advertising techniques (which often cross the line into manipulation) convince us to buy. And for those of us who can’t afford to pay as we go, credit card companies are relentless in offering credit to even the most deeply indebted of us. In fact, billions of credit card solicitations are mailed to U.S. residents each year—roughly ten solicitations for every man, woman, and child. And, perhaps surprisingly, the largest growth sectors for credit cards are college students and people with bad credit ratings. The college students are targeted because they are customers of the future—and because their parents can
be expected to bail them out if they get carried away with their new purchasing power. And people with bad credit are solicited in large numbers because creditors have discovered that they will pay huge interest rates for debts run up on their cards, which leads to equally
huge profits. Readily available credit makes it easy to live beyond our means and difficult to resist the siren songs of the advertisers. If, because of illness, loss of work, or just plain bad planning, we can’t pay for the things we need, feelings of fear and guilt are often our first responses. But, as we’ve also seen, the American economy depends on our spending—the more, the better. In short, much of American economic life is built
on a contradiction.
