Often can you file bankruptcy connecticut

You will receive notice of the location of the meeting but you may contact the court to confirm the address and time. The trustee will sell this property and distribute the proceeds to your creditors. If there are no challenges, you will receive a notice from the court that your dischargeable debts have been discharged within three to six months. Chapter 13 Plan Confirmation If you filed a Chapter 13 plan, you will need to attend a hearing before a bankruptcy judge who will either confirm or deny the repayment plan.

If your plan is confirmed and you make good on it, the balance if any on the dischargeable debts you owe will be eliminated at the end of your term. Approved Connecticut Debt Education Courses. This site is for informational purposes only. For legal advice please consult a legal professional.

By using this site you signify your agreement to the Terms of Use. If you do not agree to the Terms of Use , do not use this site. But that's not always the case. Also, you lose the full benefits of the automatic stay —the order that stops creditors from collecting—when you file multiple bankruptcies in quick succession. The term abusive bankruptcy filing can refer to a Chapter 7 filing that doesn't meet the means test —the qualification standard that determines a filer's right to a debt discharge.

But it can also describe a case filed by someone who inappropriately uses the bankruptcy process to evade a creditor or buy time in a collection action, such as a foreclosure or lawsuit.

Simply put, the court frowns on debtors who file with no intention of following through with the case. Repeat filers face the consequences for using such tactics, such as a lack of protection from collections the automatic stay won't go into effect after multiple filings or the denial of a discharge.

Learn why the court might dismiss your bankruptcy case. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site.

The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Talk to a Lawyer. Grow Your Legal Practice. Meet the Editors. They determine the property you can keep in your bankruptcy case. You'll also need to know other filing information, which we explain after going over some basics.

Most people file either Chapter 7 or Chapter If you don't know the differences between the two, you're not alone. The short explanation below and our handy Chapter 7 versus 13 chart will help clear things up. Chapter 7 is often a bankruptcy filer's first choice for several reasons. It's quick—it only takes a few months to complete. And it's cheap—you don't pay anything to creditors.

It works well for those of us whose property consists of the essential items needed to live and work. People with more assets could lose them, however, especially if they own unnecessary luxury items.

For instance, you might have to give up your RV, baseball card collection, or timeshare in the Bahamas—even your house or vehicle if you have too much equity in it or you're behind on the payments. Unlike Chapter 13, Chapter 7 doesn't have a payment plan option for catching up on late mortgage or car payments.

So you could lose your home or car if you're behind when you file. By contrast, Chapter 13 filers must pay creditors some or all of what they owe using a three- to five-year repayment plan.

But the payment plan allows Chapter 13 to offer benefits not available in Chapter 7. For instance, not only do you keep all of your property, but you can save your home from foreclosure or your car from repossession. If you need time to repay a debt you can't discharge in bankruptcy, you can use this chapter to force a creditor into a payment plan.

The biggest downside to this chapter? It can be expensive. Many people can't afford the monthly payment. Learn more about when filing for Chapter 13 is better than Chapter 7. Caution for businesspeople. Be sure to learn about the ins and outs of small business bankruptcies.

The principles discussed apply to consumers only. Bankruptcy wipes out many bills, like credit card balances , overdue utility payments, medical bills, personal loans, and more.

You can even get rid of a mortgage or car payment if you're willing to give up the house or car that secures the debt. Putting property up as collateral creates a "secured debt"—if you don't pay what you owe, the lender gets to take the property back. But you can't discharge all debts. Nondischargeable debts , like domestic support arrearages and recent tax debt , won't go away in bankruptcy, and student loans aren't easy to wipe out you'd have to win a separate lawsuit.

You'll want to be sure that bankruptcy will discharge get rid of enough bills to make it worth your while. We all know that seeing the forest helps us recognize the trees, so it's probably a good time to consider the significant steps you'll take during your bankruptcy journey. Think of this checklist as a roadmap of sorts, but you can also use it to track your progress. The good news? You've already made headway on the first two items! You won't lose everything in bankruptcy.

You'll use your state bankruptcy exemption laws to protect your property. We list the significant exemptions below, but first, understanding the following will help you maximize what you'll keep in your case. Here are some of the exemptions you can use to protect your property when filing for bankruptcy in Connecticut.

It's not a complete list, and the amounts change every so often. Gen Stat. Spouses can double the homestead exemption. This fee is due when you bring your forms to the courthouse for filing and you can only pay it in cash or as a money order in the exact amount due. If this presents a hardship, and you do not qualify to have your court filing fee waived for your bankruptcy case, just remember this means that you are doing better financially than those who do get approved for a waiver.

Then, prepare to ask the court to pay the fee for filing Chapter 7 in Connecticut in installments. This allows you to get the protections of the Connecticut bankruptcy laws now, while giving you up to 4 months to pay the court fee.

If you go this route, be aware that failure to make a single payment can result in your case being thrown out. Plan on making each payment on time or early. Some of the forms that you have to prepare for your Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Connecticut are time sensitive.

That's why it is a good idea to hold off finalizing and printing everything until after you have figured out how to pay the court filing fee. Most the forms look similar, so don't rush this part of the process, especially if you have everything saved on your computer as different files.

As you print everything, do a final check of the information on the form to make sure everything saved correctly, then sign where indicated on each form. Most people filing bankruptcy in Connecticut, end up with a filing packet of at least 30 pages. Even though it may be tempting to do so, given the sheer number of pages being printed, do not print on both sides of the paper. The clerk's office will not accept that. If you don't have an attorney, then filing Chapter 7 in Connecticut means going to the courthouse to bring in your forms in person.

Once you get there, you will need to look for the clerk's office. That is where you have to go to officially file your Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Connecticut. Since it will come in helpful down the road, it's a good idea to bring your own file copy of your paperwork and have the clerk stamp it with your filing information.

The filing process should not take a lot of time especially if you are organized! In light of that, make sure you park in a location where you won't have to worry about getting a ticket if you are there too long; after all, you have plenty of other things going on already. The trustee is an independent contractor for the Department of Justice, and it's their job to make sure that creditors get what they are due, although more often than not, creditors don't get anything.

One of the documents the trustee needs to review is your federal income tax return from the prior year. Since that is not something that most folks filing bankruptcy in Connecticut want the world to see, it is not filed with the court. Instead, you have to mail a copy of your return to your trustee more than 7 days before your meeting is scheduled to take place.

You should also keep an eye out for any correspondence from your trustee after filing Chapter 7 in Connecticut, as there may be other documents they want to review before your meeting. In order to get a discharge in your Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Connecticut, you have to take the second bankruptcy course. Congress added this requirement to the bankruptcy laws in with the hope that requiring everyone take a course on financial management will help debtors make the most of their fresh start.

As before, it is important that you only take this course from an approved provider ; otherwise, it will not satisfy the requirement. Once done, a certificate of completion has to be filed with the court, so there is an official record that you completed this requirement.