WHAT IS
BANKRUPTCY?
Bankruptcy is a way for people or
businesses who owe more money than they can pay right now (a
"debtor") to either work out a plan to repay the money over time
under Chapter 11, 12 or 13, or for most of the bills to be wiped
out ("discharged"), as in a chapter 7 case. While the debtor is
either working out the plan or the trustee is gathering the
available assets to sell, the Bankruptcy Code provides that
creditors must stop all collection efforts against the debtor.
When the bankruptcy petition is filed, you are immediately
protected from your credit
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON FORMS OF BANKRUPTCY AVAILABLE TO
CONSUMERS?
CHAPTER
7
Chapter 7 is the liquidation
chapter of the Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 7 cases are commonly
referred to as "straight bankruptcy" or "liquidation" cases, and
may be filed by an individual, corporation, or a partnership.
Under chapter 7, a trustee is appointed to collect and sell all
property that is not exempt and to use any proceeds to pay
creditors. In the case of an individual, the debtor is allowed to
claim certain property as exempt. In exchange for this, the debtor
gets a discharge, which means that the debtor does not have to pay
certain types of debts. Corporations and partnerships do not
receive discharges. Consequently, any individuals legally liable
for the partnership's or corporation's debts will remain liable.
Therefore, individual bankruptcies may be required as well as he
corporation or partnership bankruptcy.
CHAPTER
13
Chapter 13 is the debt repayment chapter for
individuals with regular income whose debts do not exceed
statutory limits., including individuals who operate businesses as
sole proprietorships. It is not available to corporations or
partnerships. Chapter 13 generally permits individuals to keep
their property by repaying creditors out of their future income.
Each chapter 13 debtor proposes a repayment plan which must be
approved by the court. The amounts set forth in the plan must be
paid to the chapter 13 trustee who distributes the funds for a
small fee. Many debts that cannot be discharged can still be paid
over time
WHAT DOES IT COST TO FILE FOR
BANKRUPTCY?
In addition to the fee charged by
Mr. Canter for his professional services, there are filing fees
payable to the Court. These fees currently are as
follows:
• Chapter
7 is $299.00
• Chapter
11 is $1,039.00
• Chapter
12 is $239.00
• Chapter
13 is $274.00
WHAT IS A DIVORCE?
A divorce is the legal termination
of marriage. All states require a spouse to identify a legal
reason for requesting a divorce when filing the divorce papers
with the court. These reasons given are referred to as the grounds
for divorce. There is no such thing as a "no-fault" divorce in New
York.
WHAT IS A LEGAL SEPARATION?
Legal separation is a legal status
conferred by a court, where the parties remain married, but the
court sets the rights and liabilities of the parties with respect
to child custody, support, visitation, maintenance (alimony),
property and debts. Grounds for a legal separation are required as
well. A decree of legal separation cannot automatically later be
converted to a divorce decree. If parties in a legal separation
later desire a divorce, they must file a new divorce action.
WHAT IS AN ANNULMENT?
An annulment is a method of
voiding the contract of marriage. If an annulment is granted, the
result is that the parties are treated as if the marriage never
occurred. An annulment can only be granted if the initial marriage
contract suffers from a defect in the contract formation. Such
defects include an underage party without parental consent, a
party lacking the mental capacity to understand the marriage
contract or fraud in the inducement of the marriage contract. An
annulment can only be granted to the innocent party, or the party
that suffers from the defect.
DOES ONE HAVE TO GO TO COURT TO OBTAIN A DIVORCE, LEGAL
SEPARATION OR ANNULMENT?
Yes. A court of law is the only
place where one can obtain a divorce, legal separation or other
form of dissolution of marriage in New York. Other than
terminating the marriage, the court also has jurisdiction to
resolve the other issues which are intertwined in the existing
marriage such as custody and visitation, division of marital
property, spousal support, and child support.
HOW ARE CUSTODY AND VISITATION ISSUES DECIDED?
No area of family law brings to
the courtroom the tension, anxiety, hostility, volatility and raw
emotion as child custody and visitation litigation. Rare is the
divorce, dissolution or custody determination in which the parties
have been able to set aside personal differences to reach the goal
of what is best for the children involved. Most parents pay lip
service to this ideal, but often cannot reach it in actuality.
Most often a judge will take great pains to get parents themselves
to come to a mutually acceptable custody agreement if that is
possible. A decision made by a stranger is rarely completely
acceptable to all if the attempt has not been made in earnest.
WHAT IS CHILD SUPPORT?
While it is the legal obligation
of BOTH parents to support their children, what is generally
thought of as child support is a payment by the non-custodial
parent to the other parent for the support of their common
children. It is in the best interest of a child for both parents
to be obligated to pay for the support of that child.
WHAT IS CHILD SUPPORT USED FOR?
Child support is intended to
provide for a child's needs, during the growth and formative
years. In addition to child support, a non-custodial parent may be
required to contribute towards child care and unreimbursed medical
expenses for their child.
HOW LONG MUST CHILD SUPPORT BE
PAID?
You must support your children in
New York until they reach the age of twenty-one (21). Child
support can be terminated earlier in the event of the death of the
child, if the child goes on active duty in the armed forces, or if
the child becomes emancipated or self-supporting.
HOW IS THE AMOUNT OF CHILD SUPPORT
DETERMINED?
In New York, the child support
obligation of both parents is set forth by statute. The income of
both parents is combined, and a child support amount is set based
upon such combined income, in accordance with a formula set forth
in the law. The amount of money the non-custodial parent is
required to contribute to this set support amount is based upon
that parent's percent of the combined parental
income.
The statutory formula aside, as a
general rule, a non-custodial parent can expect to pay seventeen
(17%) percent of his or her gross income (less limited deductions)
as and for the support of one child, twenty-five (25%) percent of
his or her income as and for the support of two (2) children and
twenty-nine (29%) percent of his or her income as and for the
support of three (3) children.
