Almost any individual, partnership, or corporation may file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition if he or she resides, has a domicile, a place of business, or property in the United States. If you filed a prior bankruptcy petition and the prior proceeding was dismissed within the last 180 days, you may not be able to file a second petition.

Bankruptcy is a procedure brought in federal court. About 6 months after your case is filed, the bankruptcy court in the area where you reside will issue an Order declaring all your unsecured debts discharged. That means your unsecured creditors which you had before you filed bankruptcy will then forever be barred from contacting you ever again to collect on a debt. See similar questions...

If you are able to make any meaningful payments (even a relatively small percentage of payments) to your unsecured creditors (in addition to your normal living expenses), you will probably be required to file a chapter 13 bankruptcy instead of a chapter 7 bankruptcy. See similar questions...

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding is commenced by filing a petition with the bankruptcy court. The person filing a Chapter 7 is referred to as the debtor. The debtor is required to disclose to the court all of its property and debts and turn over all nonexempt property to the bankruptcy trustee, who then converts it to cash for distribution to the creditors. The debtor then receives a discharge of all dischargeable debts. See similar questions...

Although you are not required to state a reason or explainwhy you are filing bankruptcy, the most common reasons for consumer bankrupcy are often beyond the control of the individual debtor: See similar questions...

NO! Often people file bankruptcy before they are seriously delinquent on their monthly debts. If you can barely make the minimum payments required on your credit cards, or if it appears that you will not be able to make payments as they come due, it may be better for you to file bankruptcy rather than let your situation deteriorate. YES! A federal injunction (automatic stay) goes into effect immediately when a person files bankruptcy, which stops the foreclosure. See similar questions...

A chapter 13 bankruptcy provides you up to three years to pay off your debts. The payments are made through a court appointed trustee. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is generally not suitable for most people since it does not give you a clean breakaway from your debts and since may people who start with a chapter 13 end up filing a chapter 7 anyway. Chapter 13 tends to work for people who are facing foreclosure on the house. See similar questions...

The laws regarding the seizure of property vary from state to state. In Oklahoma, exempt assets in property include: Homestead - Real property or manufactured home to an unlimited value up to 1/4 acre, otherwise up to $5,000 for up to one acre in city or town and up to 160 acres elsewhere. Insurance - Includes assessment or mutual benefits, fraternal benefit society benefits, funeral benefits prepaid & placed in trust, group life policy or proceeds, and limited stock insurance benefits. See similar questions...

A:Title 11, which is the United State Bankruptcy Code, is broken down into Chapters. "Chapter 7" of Title 11 deals with liquidation bankruptcy. See similar questions...

Chapter 7 bankruptcy can only be filed once within a Congressionally-mandated period of time. If the debtor gets into even worse financial trouble down the road, then he may not be able to obtain relief through Chapter 7 for his new financial problems. Another negative consequence of Chapter 7 bankruptcy is that some or all of the debtor's assets may be taken away by the bankruptcy court in order to pay off his debts. See similar questions...