Can I File Bankruptcy While Unemployed?
A San Francisco bankruptcy attorney answers: Can I File Bankruptcy While Unemployed?
Do I need a job to file bankruptcy? A lot of people wonder whether you can file bankruptcy while unemployed. There is nothing in the bankruptcy code that prohibits the filing of a bankruptcy petition while unemployed. There might be certain limitations depending on which chapter you choose to file under, however, so further inquiry might be needed into your situation.
What limitations might exist? For those who want to file under chapter 13 and repay some of their debts, whether it be past due mortgage payments or a delinquent car loan payment, prior to being able to do so, the bankruptcy code requires that you have some sort of verifiable source of income. This can be from any source, however, so long as the amount is enough to cover all of the chapter 13 expenses. For those filing bankruptcy while unemployed it means that you must have some other stream of revenue generation in order to show the court you can make the planed payments.
If I want to file under chapter 7, is that ok? Yes. Those who want to file chapter 7 bankruptcy while unemployed will not have any issues regarding the lack of income. Chapter 7 looks for any potential repayment of creditors through a liquidation of all property that cannot be exempted under California law. In most cases, an individual is able to keep all of his or her personal property so there is generally no concern about losing anything in order to repay unsecured creditors.
What happens if I get a job after I file? Generally nothing. The bankruptcy court and trustee will look at the last six months of income prior to filing to make a determination about your financial situation. If you obtain employment after your bankruptcy petition is filed it usually has no affect on your bankruptcy case. Even if you obtain employment prior to filing your petition, so long as the last six months of your income does not put you over the median household income limits, there should be no issues that would disqualify you from a chapter 7 filing. If a chapter 13 plan is sought instead of chapter 7, being employed increases the chances of having a successful repayment plan confirmed by the court.
If you have questions regarding bankruptcy in San Francisco or bankruptcy in the greater Bay Area please contact our San Francisco Bankruptcy Attorneys at (415) 946-8882 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Francisco Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our Bay Area bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in an office location nearest you. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Francisco and Bay Area consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, San Francisco Bay Area!
