Bankruptcy Attorney | Weik Law Office | Serving Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest, North Carolina

A 341 hearing is a hearing required by the Bankruptcy Code under Section 341. It is often referred to as the Meeting of Creditors. Once a bankruptcy case is filed, your hearing is usually scheduled with 20-45 days. This is the chance for your appointed Trustee to ask you questions about your case. The questions are generally fair, reasonable, and easy to answer. It is also the chance for your creditors to question you. Most of the time, your creditors will not appear at the hearing, but if they do, your attorney will be there to help you. Usually, there is an entire room full of people in your exact situation and there is no reason to be embarrassed or nervous.

A personal loan, so long as it is not secured by property, is an unsecured liability that can be discharged in bankruptcy.

It is illegal for anyone to fire an employee because they have filed for bankruptcy.

When you file for bankruptcy, you must assume or reject all of your leases or executory contracts. An apartment lease can be assumed if you are current in your payments and want to continue to pay on the lease. This would allow you to remain in the apartment for the remainder of the lease. If you desire to move out of the apartment, you can reject the lease at the time of filing for bankruptcy and the deficiency will be discharged after you file.

Filing for bankruptcy is a powerful thing, but to use the power behind the law, you must also remember that the creditors have certain rights also. For example, you cannot charge things on your credit cards right before you file and expect to discharge, or wipe these things out. You must also be aware that transferring any property before filing a bankruptcy can be examined by the Trustee that will be appointed to your case. Certain transfers are considered preferential and can definitely affect the success of your bankruptcy filing.

A Chapter 13 is a better option when you have a mortgage that is behind in payments. A Chapter 13 allows you to consolidate the arrearage in mortgage payments and pay the amount back over an extended period of time. If you file for straight bankruptcy (Chapter 7) and want to keep your home, you must be current on the payments on the date of the filing of the Chapter 7. The same is true with an automobile. Chapter 13 is a better option when you have a car note that is behind in payments. A Chapter 13 allows you to stop the repossession of the automobile and pay the car note back over an extended period of time.

Filing a bankruptcy can improve your credit score, especially if you have bad credit. When you file for bankruptcy and eliminate your debt, your income to debt ratio will improve, thereby improving your overall credit score. Also, the creditors know that you cannot file another bankruptcy for a certain period of time, and you become a better credit risk. If you file for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can often use your payments that are being made to the Trustee as a credit reference. If you have good credit, then filing for bankruptcy may damage your score.

This statement is completely false. The Bankruptcy laws were designed to provide individuals with a fresh start, which includes the ability to buy and sell real estate. There are no laws that prohibit you from buying homes, cars, trucks or personal property.

While you are in a Chapter 13, you must obtain permission from the Bankruptcy Court to sell or purchase real estate.

This statement is not true! The truth is that that you can do just about everything when you file under the new laws that you could do under the old laws. There are a few exceptions, but our attorneys know the law and help you use it to your advantage. In some ways, the new law actually provides more benefits to filing for bankruptcy.

If you are facing a levy from the Internal Revenue Service or the State of North Carolina, you will be able to stop the levy by filing a bankruptcy case. As soon as a bankruptcy case is filed, the Bankruptcy Court issues an order which prohibits the government from continuing it’s levy. When a Chapter 13 case it filed, it provides you with an opportunity to compel the governmental unit to accept repayment of the debt and stops the levy previously entered.