Posts Tagged ‘discharge’
Risk-Free Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Loan – Lawsuit Funding
Wrongful Termination lawsuit loan is a non-recourse cash advance provided by lawsuit funding company to the plaintiffs involved in wrongful termination claim or wrongful discharge litigation.
Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Loan or Lawsuit Funding is a Contingent Cash Advance:
It implies that repayment of the cash advance received by the plaintiff is contingent on the resolution of the lawsuit. If wrongful termination or wrongful discharge lawsuit plaintiff loses his/her case or does not receive settlement from the defendant, he/she owes nothing to lawsuit loans funding company.
Wrongful Termination – An Overview
Wrongful termination refers to the involuntary termination of an employee in violation of the employment law or an employment contract.
Wrongful termination is the most common term used. But it is also referred to as:
a. Wrongful discharge
b. Wrongful firing
c. Wrongful dismissal
d. Illegal discharge
e. Illegal termination
f. Illegal dismissal
g. Unfair employment discharge
As some of the alternate terms indicate, an employer must illegally discharge an employee for the act to constitute wrongful termination, at least in the legal sense.
Justice Deferred Is Justice Denied.
No one can relate more to the biblical tale of David vs. Goliath than a wrongfully terminated employee who is the sole income earner in the family. Wrongful termination lawsuit or wrongful discharge cases are very complex to handle and to resolve and if it is against a major corporation their team of expert, experienced attorneys will be able to delay lawsuit judgment for years.
A wrongful termination lawsuit process can have a serious impact on life of plaintiff, and his/her family, health, and finances. Many times litigation process is disruptive and painful life experience for them as well for their families. The road to recovery is mostly long and expensive, and in mean time plaintiff might well lose his/her home, car, health and family waiting for wrongful termination claim settlement.
Benefits of Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Loan or Lawsuit Funding:
Lawsuit loan or lawsuit funding enables plaintiffs involved in lawsuits to receive cash money months or years before their wrongful employment termination claim or wrongful dismissal cases have settled. You will agree that, cash money is always better than lack of money, if only for financial reasons.
Other Financing Options Available for Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Plaintiffs:
1. Wrongful Termination Lawsuit plaintiff can take a temporary loan from friends or family: But if you lose your wrongful termination claim, you may not have the money to pay them back. But lawsuit loan or lawsuit funding is a non-recourse cash advance and you do not need to repay, if you fail to win or settle you lawsuit.
2. Credit Cards: This is a costly alternative and you still have to pay your monthly credit card bills. But there are no monthly fees with lawsuit loan.
3. Bank Loan: Pending lawsuits are not assets that banks recognize as qualification to grant a loan. Banks do not generally make loans against future lawsuit settlements because a pending wrongful termination lawsuit has an uncertain outcome and the unemployed applicant has no current means of repayment.
4. Home Equity Loan or Second Mortgage: This option is fraught with danger. If for some reason you do not win your litigation case, you could lose your home. But that is not with the lawsuit funding or lawsuit loan.
Advantages of Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Loan or Lawsuit Funding:
Lawsuit loan or lawsuit funding is a safe and preferred choice for a wrongful termination lawsuit plaintiff. When you apply with a reputed lawsuit funding company, there are no application fees and no monthly fee. No credit or a bad credit is alright.
As mentioned earlier lawsuit funding is non-recourse and contingent loan so you pay back only if you win or settle you wrongful termination or wrongful dismissal lawsuit. If you lose your wrongful termination claim, you owe absolutely nothing in return! The lawsuit loan money advanced to you is yours to keep.
Direction, not intention, determine destination.
f you believe you were victim of wrongful termination or wrongful discharge by your employer, and you have filed a lawsuit with the help of an attorney, than you may be eligible for a lawsuit loan or lawsuit funding on your pending lawsuit settlement.
Wrongful employment termination or wrongful dismissal law suits are mostly high value and complex cases and very few lawsuit funding companies provide lawsuit loan or lawsuit funding on these pending lawsuits. But a reputed lawsuit funding company will be able to provide appropriate lawsuit cash loan on pending wrongful termination lawsuit in a timely manner.
Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be failure. What your attorney needs, in order to get you the best settlement or fairest trial, is time. Wrongful termination or wrongful discharge lawsuit loan or lawsuit funding allows you to get relief from financial pressure so you do not have to settle your lawsuit simply because you need whatever money you can get now.
Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy – A Procedural Overview
Chapter 13 bankruptcy law is occasionally called reorganization bankruptcy. It’s very different than Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy almost all of your debts are cancelled out. But, you must give up any belongings that aren’t exempt from seizure by your creditors. Under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law, you don’t have to surrender any personal property. But, you’re expected to apply your income to pay some or all of what you owe your creditors. Your payments to creditors are made over time, typically from three to five years. The time frame depends upon the amount of your debts and income.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Law Eligibility
Chapter 13 bankruptcy isn’t for everyone. Chapter 13 bankruptcy law calls for using your income to pay back most or all of your debt. So, you’ll have to prove to the court that you’re able to fulfill your payment obligations. If your income is sporadic or excessively low, the court might not allow you to file under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law.
If your entire debt load is too high, you’re also unqualified to file under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law. Your secured debts can’t be more than $1,010,650. A “secured debt” is one that gives a creditor the power to take away a specified piece of property (like your home or auto) if you don’t pay back the debt. Your unsecured debts can’t be greater than $336,900. An “unsecured debt” doesn’t allow your creditor the power to take your properties. An example of an “unsecured debt” is a credit card or a medical bill.
The eligibility requirements of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy are covered in detail in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Keep Your Property & Repay Your Debts Over Time.
Starting a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Prior to filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must go through credit counseling from an agency authorized by the United States Trustee’s office. These agencies are allowed to charge a fee for their services. But, if you can’t afford to pay the fee, they have to offer cut rate counseling and, in a few cases, free counseling.
Payment Plans In Chapter 13
The most consequential part of your Chapter 13 bankruptcy paperwork is your repayment plan. It delineates in detail how much money you’ll commit to every one of your debts. There’s no recognized form for the plan. But, nearly all courts render their own forms. To learn more about Chapter 13 Bankruptcy repayment plans, read Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Keep Your Property & Repay Your Debts Over Time.
How Much Will You Have to Pay
Your Chapter 13 plan must pay certain debts in full. These debts are called “priority debts” because they’re interpreted important enough to jump to the head of the bankruptcy repayment line. Priority debts include child support and alimony, wages you owe to employees, and certain tax obligations. Additionally, your plan must address your regular payments on secured debts.
The plan must show that any income you have left over after making these compulsory payments will go toward paying back your unsecured debts. You don’t have to repay these unsecured debts fully. You merely have to establish that you’re applying any left over income towards their repayment.
How Long Is Your Repayment Plan
The duration of your repayment plan turns on how much you earn and how big your debts are. If your normal monthly income during the six months before the date you filed for bankruptcy is bigger than the median income for your state, you’ll need to offer a five-year plan. If your income is smaller than the median, you may propose a three-year plan.
Regardless of how much you earn, your plan ceases when you repay each of your debts in full, even if you’ve not hit the three- or five-year mark.
What Occurs If You Can’t Make Plan Payments
If you suffer a job loss after starting a payment plan or ascertain that you can’t maintain the payments on your Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan, the bankruptcy trustee may change your plan. It’s even possible that the court could grant the discharge of your debts on the ground of hardship. Hardship may include the abrupt loss of a job due to a company shutdown or a serious debilitating illness. If the bankruptcy court won’t permit you to change your plan or permit you a hardship discharge, you may be able to change over to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
How Does a Chapter 13 Case End
After you finish your repayment plan, each remaining debt that’s eligible for a discharge is canceled out. But, before you’ll be able to get a discharge, you must demonstrate to the court that you’re current on your child support duties and that you’ve finished a budget counseling course with an agency sanctioned by the United States Trustee. This budget counseling course is in addition to the compulsory credit counseling you go through prior to filing for bankruptcy
Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: A Procedural Overview
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a liquidation proceeding. If you have some non-exempt assets, they’re sold by the Chapter 7 trustee and the proceeds are distributed to your creditors according to the priorities established in the Bankruptcy Code. In most consumer cases, all assets are exempt. There are, therefore, no assets to liquidate and no money to pay out to creditors. Chapter 7 is ordinarily the least complicated and quickest form of bankruptcy. It’s available to individuals, married couples, corporations and partnerships.
Before you’ll be able to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy you’ll have to pass means test. The means test is a calculation that compares your average income for the last six months, annualized, to the average income for households of the same size in your state. If your income is less than or equal to the state average income, you “pass” the means test and may file Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
You Begin by Filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition
Your Chapter 7 bankruptcy is begun by filing the official petition, schedules and statement of financial affairs. These forms require you to list all of your assets and all of your debts, along with some recent financial history. This is the most important and most time intensive part of a bankruptcy filing.
It’s important that you list all of your creditors with correct mailing addresses. You must name each of your debts. You must even list those debts that are’t dischargeable and those you plan to reaffirm.
You must likewise list all of your property, along with any debts guaranteed by that property, and the sale value of the property. “Property” as defined by the Bankruptcy Code means “assets” or “possessions.” It’s not restricted to just real property.
You must sign the schedules under penalty of perjury. You then file the schedules with the bankruptcy clerk in the district in which you reside.
After you file your Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, all the succeeding bankruptcy proceedings concern your situation as it existed on the date of filing.
The automatic stay goes in effect upon filing the petition. The automatic stay creates a legal barrier to collection actions by creditors. They can no longer contact you in an effort to collect a debt.
The court then appoints a trustee and mails notice to all your creditors informing them that you’ve filed bankruptcy. You’ll receive a copy of that notice simultaneously with the your creditors.
First Meeting of Creditors
You must appear at a meeting of creditors. This is usually called the section 341 meeting. It takes its name from the section of the Bankruptcy Code that describes the meeting. At the meeting of creditors, the trustee will ask you questions about your assets and liabilities. Your answers are given under oath and carry the penalty of perjury. Creditors can likewise question you about those topics, but they seldom do so.
After The First Meeting of Creditors
If you own any non-exempt assets, the trustee will take hold of them. The trustee will sell the non-exempt assets and apply the income to the expenses of administrating your case. He’ll also shell out any remaining funds to creditors with allowed claims. Each claim is appointed a priority according to the Bankrtupcy Code. Those claims are paid in order of the priority of the claims.
The trustee may check out your income and expense schedule to determine whether you have enough money remaining after your actual living expenses to contribute something to creditors. Any money you make after the case is commenced is yours. It’s beyond the touch of creditors who have dischargeable debts on the date of filing.
Normally, the only responsibility you have after the 341 meeting is to cooperate with the trustee by supplying whatever information he requests.
Getting A Discharge
The trustee and your creditors receive a 60 day period of time following the 341 meeting during which they may challenge your right to a discharge generally or the dischargeability of a specific debt. Unless a request to refuse your discharge is filed, the order allowing the discharge of debts is issued by the court soon after the 60 day period lapses. If one creditor files a challenge to your discharge it doesn’t preclude or hold the entry of a discharge of the remainder of your debts.
As a precondition to your discharge, you must complete a financial education course from an approved provider. The class ordinarily lasts for several hours. Many official providers have online classes available. Your failure to attend the course and file a certificate of completion of the course of study may result in your case being closed without the entering of a discharge order. The court can charge you a new filing fee to reopen the case, file the certificate and enter the discharge.
You can usually anticipate your discharge inside 4-6 months of filing your case. The discharge affects dischargeable debts that existed at the beginning of your case.
Certain debts do survive a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge. They’re excluded from the discharge by law. Those specific debts are taxes, child support, student loans, and liens. If you reaffirm some debts they likewise come through the bankruptcy discharge.
Harvey L. Cox is a licensed attorney who runs a bankruptcy information site. Please visit The Bankruptcy Info Center to get more quality bankruptcy information and tips.