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WHAT IS A “SIMPLE” BANKRUPTCY?

Here is a great blog from Matt Berkus, another bankruptcy attorney, in response to the statement we all heard “I have a simple bankruptcy”.

What is a simple bankruptcyInvariably, two-thirds of prospects will preface a consultation with “I have a simple bankruptcy.” The transparent motive behind the comment is the belief that a simple bankruptcy case should be inexpensive. Let’s state two facts. First, 99.5% of prospective clients are not bankruptcy attorneys and have never filed bankruptcy; so they have no clue what goes into a bankruptcy and the time it takes. Second, simple bankruptcies are actually rare. Simple bankruptcies are the exception, not the rule.

A bankruptcy’s cost is based on the anticipated time to be spent on the case. As bankruptcy attorneys we understand that we are working with people in financial distress. So, our margins are razor thin and subject to fierce competition.  Anything, at all, that adds time to a case, even if it is 12 minutes, increases the cost of a case. Let’s put the issue to rest. Here is what a simple bankruptcy looks like. If you have anything more than what is stated here, you don’t have a simple bankruptcy.

1.      A simple bankruptcy only has one source of income

A simple bankruptcy has no more than one source of income. If a husband and wife file a joint bankruptcy, and both work; you don’t have a simple bankruptcy. If you receive social security, and your spouse works, you don’t have a simple case. For every source of income, we need six months of payment documentation that must be reviewed, input and analyzed. In short, the more sources of income, the more time your case takes.

2.      In a simple bankruptcy, the source of income is employment, social security, or unemployment insurance

If you are anything other than an employee, unemployed, or retiree whose only income is social security, you don’t have a simple case. The self-employed, business owner, or independent contractors never have a simple bankruptcy case. 

3.      In a simple bankruptcy, all debts appear on a credit report

To have a simple bankruptcy, all debts must appear on your credit report. There are two reasons why. (a) A credit report gives us an independent source for identifying your creditors. (b) Most bankruptcy preparation software will allows us to direct import the creditors from your credit report. Common creditors that do not appear on a credit report are medical bills and pay day loans. Those debts require us to verify those debts and manually input them (e.g. spend more time). 

4.      In a simple bankruptcy, debts are mostly credit cards and collection accounts for credit cards

In a simple bankruptcy, the debtor cannot have special debts. Special debts include back income tax, child support, spousal support, any sort of business related debt, restitution, etc.

5.      In a simple bankruptcy, no one owns real estate

Owning real estate compounds the time we spend on the case. It is an additional asset, your home is important to you, and there is usually a mortgage associated with it. So, we must do the due diligence to make sure the home is not at risk, and add that information to the petition.

6.      A simple bankruptcy only has non-exempt assets

This factor takes a bit to explain. Exemptions are the laws that allow you to keep your stuff notwithstanding the fact you are filing bankruptcy. Rest assured, in most chapter 7 bankruptcies, the person loses nothing or very little. In real terms, having only non-exempt assets means that you have the typical assets we would expect for a middle class family in debt. These assets are furniture, clothing, television, computer, car, and  a 401(k) or IRA.

If you own anything, even something minor, that is non-exempt (e.g. tax refund, a 3rd car or a business), you don’t have a simple bankruptcy case. First, we have to take the extra time to explain the consequences and options for dealing with non-exempt assets. Second, if you have non-exempt assets, your chapter 7 bankruptcy will become an asset chapter 7 case. That means we will be doing significantly more work after the bankruptcy is filed to deal with the trustee, keep you informed, and instruct you on what to do. For Colorado, the big category of non-exempt assets are tax refunds and firearms.

7.      A simple bankruptcy has no more than 2 vehicles, and no non-exempt equity in those vehicle

If you are unmarried, you only have one vehicle. If you are married, you have no more than 2 vehicles. If you have car loans, you are current on payments and the equity in the vehicles is break-even. If none of the above is true, you don’t have a simple bankruptcy case.

8.      Grab bag of other issues that make a bankruptcy not simple

  • You haven’t used your credit cards for at least 90 days.
  • You haven’t been sued.
  • You have no judgments or garnishments against you.
  • You haven’t paid any money to family members in the last 12 months
  • All your tax returns have been filed.

Even a simple bankruptcy (chapter 7 bankruptcy) takes about 15-20 man-hours. That time estimate assumes the client does what they are supposed to do. Here’s the thing, a typical bankruptcy attorney charges $250.00 per hour. That would mean that a simple chapter 7 bankruptcy, charged by the hour, would cost $3,750.00 to $5,000.00. However, most markets cannot support that fee. So, bankruptcy attorneys charge significantly less than their counterparts in almost any other area of law. When you see advertised bankruptcy fees of $699.00, take it with a grain of salt. Understand you will probably end up paying more (because of “add ons”) and an attorney is “barely” involved in your case.

A simple bankruptcy involves only one source income, debts that appear only on a credit report, no one has real estate, assets are all exempt, and only 1 car per debtor. In addition, the debtor cannot have done anything in the run-up to bankruptcy to create issues. I think you can see, that a simple bankruptcy is actually rare.