Should I Postpone Filing Bankruptcy?
Your timing to file for bankruptcy protection can have a crucial impact on your future. If you file bankruptcy too early, it is possible you can lose some of the assets that you can potentially keep. Under special situation, you might choose to delay your bankruptcy petition:
You Have Earned A Lot More Recently
Previously many people can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy rather quickly and easily. Since the pasage of the new bankruptcy law, Chapter 7 bankruptcy has been more difficult to attain. The new bankruptcy law requires you to perform the “means test” to see if your reported income is higher or lower than the state’s median income. If your income is higher than the median income of the state you are living in, you will have no option but to file under Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also called the repayment plan. This is where you will be bound legally to pay a portion of the debt back to the creditors over a period of 5 years.
If you are working as a contractor and you can lower your income for the next couple of months, then your average income can fall within the state’s median income level, which also means that you can apply for Chapter 7 bankruptcy instead. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is much more optimal if you are going to be file for bankruptcy shelter because you do not have to pay back the creditors. Even if you have to wait for a few months to become eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you should still do it.
If You Transferred Property Or Have New Debt
You don’t want any of the financial transactions below to affect the outcome of your bankruptcy filing by postponing the bankruptcy filing:
There is a 0 credit card charge 90 days prior to the bankruptcy filing
A large dollar transaction can stand out in the 341 meeting and cause suspicion that you are trying to have the debt canceled following the bankruptcy process. If the bankruptcy court believes that fraud has been committed, you can still be responsible for the debt after the bankruptcy discharge. Otherwise, you can wait 90 days before filing for bankruptcy.
