Saturday, December 13, 2008

Bankruptcy and Taxes

When it comes to bankruptcy and taxes, there can be several serious things that you are going to want to think about. If you are going to file for bankruptcy, you are going to want to make sure that you are doing everything you can to save yourself as much trouble, money, and time as you can.

You should know that any income tax debts might be eligible for being taken care of under Chapter 7 or chapter 13. If you are willing to file for bankruptcy, this is one of five ways that you can get out of tax debt. However, you should remember that in order to get your taxes discharged by filing for bankruptcy, you are going to have to meet certain requirements, so you should make sure you meet them before you file for bankruptcy to get out of tax debt.

If you file for Chapter 7, you are going to be able to get fully discharged of the debts that are allowable. With Chapter 13, there will be a payment plan that is required so that you can pay back some of your debts, and the rest will be discharged. Remember that not all of the tax debt that you might have is going to be discharged if you file for bankruptcy. You have to meet five criteria in order to get your taxes taken care of.

These five criteria that you need to meet in order to get your tax debt discharged when you file for bankruptcy are all important. The first is that the date that the tax return was due was at least three years ago. The second is that the tax return had been filed at least two years ago. The third is that the tax assessment is at least 240 days old. The fourth is that the tax return cannot have been fraudulent. And the fifth is that you are not guild of tax evasion. If you can meet all of these criteria, you are going to be able to most likely get your tax debt discharged when you file for bankruptcy.

Remember that filing for bankruptcy carries its own consequences, especially on your credit. You should not file for bankruptcy just to be able to get out of paying your tax debt, because it is going to do much more harm than good in the long run when it comes to the damage done to your credit. Only file if you have no other option and if you’ve been told that it is your best chance of beginning to rebuild your life.
Bankruptcy and Divorce

If you believe that you and your partner are headed for divorce, and you both have a lot of debt between you, it might be a good idea to decide to file for bankruptcy before you begin to file for divorce. This will pave the way for the divorce to proceed much more easily because it will allow you to get rid of some of your debt and to clear the way for a clean break. If you can file for bankruptcy, then you can have a better idea of how to deal with the debts that do remain between the two of you. It will also mean that if your ex files for bankruptcy later on down the road, you can be protected because you are going to take care of your debts before the divorce.

The way it works is rather simple. When one or both of the spouses file for bankruptcy, all of the property that has been shared by both of them will become a part of the estate and will then be available to pay for the debts. This will also mean that you have been granted an automatic stay, which means that the creditors can’t hound you for money. Remember that this stay does not prevent you from getting spouse or child support from your ex. The next thing that will happen is that the bankruptcy court will decide what shared property is exempt from the bankruptcy, meaning that it cannot be sold in order to pay for your debts. Then, the divorce court can divide that property between you and your ex spouse.

If you are trying to negotiate property settlements, and also going through bankruptcy, you are going to be dealing with very complicated issues. Some of the debts that might be related to a property settlement might not be wiped out during the bankruptcy, so you will still need to pay them. However, these debts can be wiped out if you can show that you can’t pay the debt and still take care or yourself or your children, or that if you wipe out the debt it is going to be better for you than the harm that would be done to the people that you owe by not paying it. This means that if you think your spouse is going to consider filing for bankruptcy after the divorce is final, you need to make sure that your finances are squared away so that you aren’t going to be faced with any more debts.


Bankruptcy and Divorce

If you believe that you and your partner are headed for divorce, and you both have a lot of debt between you, it might be a good idea to decide to file for bankruptcy before you begin to file for divorce. This will pave the way for the divorce to proceed much more easily because it will allow you to get rid of some of your debt and to clear the way for a clean break. If you can file for bankruptcy, then you can have a better idea of how to deal with the debts that do remain between the two of you. It will also mean that if your ex files for bankruptcy later on down the road, you can be protected because you are going to take care of your debts before the divorce.

The way it works is rather simple. When one or both of the spouses file for bankruptcy, all of the property that has been shared by both of them will become a part of the estate and will then be available to pay for the debts. This will also mean that you have been granted an automatic stay, which means that the creditors can’t hound you for money. Remember that this stay does not prevent you from getting spouse or child support from your ex. The next thing that will happen is that the bankruptcy court will decide what shared property is exempt from the bankruptcy, meaning that it cannot be sold in order to pay for your debts. Then, the divorce court can divide that property between you and your ex spouse.

If you are trying to negotiate property settlements, and also going through bankruptcy, you are going to be dealing with very complicated issues. Some of the debts that might be related to a property settlement might not be wiped out during the bankruptcy, so you will still need to pay them. However, these debts can be wiped out if you can show that you can’t pay the debt and still take care or yourself or your children, or that if you wipe out the debt it is going to be better for you than the harm that would be done to the people that you owe by not paying it. This means that if you think your spouse is going to consider filing for bankruptcy after the divorce is final, you need to make sure that your finances are squared away so that you aren’t going to be faced with any more debts.

No comments:

Post a Comment