1. Bankruptcy
Dr. Jean Lown

2. Bankruptcy
1. An expert believes bankruptcy is protection from creditors.

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2. Automatic stay stops foreclosure, repossession, or creditor actions.

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3. Chapter 7 discharges unsecured debts within 6 months.

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4. Congress writes bankruptcy laws (it is a federal law), but practices differ among bankruptcy districts.
[Bankruptcy laws are determined by federal government.]

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5. Bankruptcy does not discharge alimony or student loans.

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6. Under a chapter 13 repayment plan, some debt is repaid over 3-5 years.

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7. Only unsecured debts can be discharged (eliminated) in bankruptcy and secured debts (house & vehicles) can be brought current in a chapter 13 plan.

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8. Dischargeable debts include back rent, utility bills, court judgements, credit card bills, legal/medical bills, unsecured loans, and most tax debts older than 3 years.

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9. Non-dischargeable debts include child support & alimony, most recent tax obligations, government fines, secured debt liens, and student loans.

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10. Chapter 7 liquidation of unsecured debts is quick and simple in process.

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11. In a Chapter 13 repayment plan, some debts are repaid over 3-5 years and its completion rate was 33% in

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12. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy restructures secured debts and repays priority debts such as taxes, student loans, criminal fines, etc.

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13. Most chapter 13 repayment plans are not completed.

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14. Under a chapter 13 repayment plan, you need to send a monthly payment to the trustee.

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15. You need to complete the counseling requirement which has a $20- $50 fee.
[The course should be approved by the U.S. Trustee Program.]

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16. In 2015, 835,197 people filed bankruptcy.

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17. The filing fee is $335 under chapter 7 and $310 under chapter 13.

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18. Within 180 days before filing bankruptcy, you need to complete a “credit counseling course” from an approved counseling agency.
[The costs of this pre-fling counseling fee is $10-$40.]

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19. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy stays on a credit report for 10 years.
[Chapter 7 -7 years]

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20. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy usually ends in debt discharge.

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21. Bankruptcy rates peaked at 2.3 million in 2005.

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22. The number of bankruptcy filing is 835,197 in 2015, whereas it was 1.5 million in

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23. Utah was #1 in bankruptcy rate in

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24. The U.S. is the country with the highest bankruptcy rate in world.

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25. 75% of Utah Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings end in dismissal.

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26. Tennessee is the highest and Utah is the 5th in bankruptcy filing in 2015.

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27. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) was passed in 2005.

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28. The reasons that explain why so many bankruptcies occur include rising health care costs, divorce, job loss, predatory lending, etc.

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29. The increase in bankruptcies in the U.S. can be explained by reduced stigma and abuse of the system by savvy consumers.

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30. The environment of the U.S. economy such as less job security, longer periods of unemployment, fewer employer-provided health insurance, no universal health care, rapidly rising health care costs, and the growing gap between the rich and the poor, contribute to the increase in bankruptcies in the U.S.