I am filing chap 7 Bankruptcy Personal and I am self employed, I need advise badly now Thanks?
I am gonna file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy because my unsecured credit card debts are over 85k and I can't afford to pay them back. Anyways I have an LLC where my wife and I own it. Now the LLC is for buying wholesale and selling retail. After we got the LLC, we decided to go into the vending business. So we bought like 13 vending machines and placed them in businesses. Now my question is since my business is buying wholesale selling retail (which could also be for buying chips and candy and soda wholesale and selling them retail in the vending machines) If I file for chapter 7 bankruptcy are my vending machines safe meaning I won't lose them in the bankruptcy. The thing is how would they know that I still have the vending machines at the locations, you see what I am saying. Now I did write credit card checks and deposit them in my bank account when I bought these machines 2 years ago but again how will they know that I bought these vending machines 2 years ago and how will they now that I still have them on locations. I just don't want to lose my vending machines as I depend on it for my income even though it isn't enough to cover all my bills. It is still my livelihood. Can they take my machines away and is there any way to protect my machines? The fact that my business is an LLC, does that make my machines safe from being taken? The bankruptcy lawyer that I spoke with told me that my machines wouldn't be safe in a bankruptcy but I forgot to tell him that my business was an LLC and what if I paid cash for these machines 2 years ago when I bought them, wouldn't that make them safe. Please give me the best possible and correct advice. Thanks
Part of the answer depends on what state you live in, and what your state's exemptions are. The fact that you own your machines outright means that you have equity in them, which will mean that the trustee will be looking at them as a potential source of money to repay creditors.
You want to be careful here. Businesses can file Ch 7, but by definition, Ch 7 puts a business out of business. A business that files Ch 7 cannot continue in business. An individual (or married couple) who files Ch 7 can exempt some assets from being taken by the trustee to repay creditors – and that will depend on your state's exemptions.
If you aren't certain about the information you received from the attorney you spoke with, make an appointment with a different attorney to get a 2nd opinion. Most offer one free or very low cost appointment for just this purpose.
Make sure to consult an attorney whose practice specializes in bankruptcy. While general practice attorneys can also file uncomplicated bankruptcies, your situation is not uncomplicated. Seeking a general practice attorney's advice would be kind of like going to your family doctor for a heart transplant. Your situation is complicated enough that you need to see a specialist.
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Why don't you have a bankruptcy attorney working with you?
When you go to your bankruptcy hearing, you are going to have to show all your debts and assets, and yes, your machines are an asset.
This is far too complicated a question to ask here, and you really should have an attorney doing the legwork for you, or you are going to do something that will cause you to lose your machines. Well, they aren't really your machines are they? Since you borrowed money to pay for them, and now will not pay it back. That is a lecture for another time though.
Get an attorney.
References :
When you file bankruptcy you have to claim all assets even if they are business-you get your income from the vending machines. When we filed bankruptcy we had to include the accounts of the people who owed us money which has been noncollectable for 2 years and we were a corporation. My understanding is whether you are a corp or not it all has to be put on the paperwork because you own the LLC. When we set up the corp we mistakenly assumed that business was business and private assets were private. That they were separate. Wrong. Better discuss this with your attorney. What did your attorney mean they would not be safe? I don't know how they can take your only income from you if that is all that you have. Again ask your attorney to clarify the vending machine issue. Good luck.
References :
Part of the answer depends on what state you live in, and what your state's exemptions are. The fact that you own your machines outright means that you have equity in them, which will mean that the trustee will be looking at them as a potential source of money to repay creditors.
You want to be careful here. Businesses can file Ch 7, but by definition, Ch 7 puts a business out of business. A business that files Ch 7 cannot continue in business. An individual (or married couple) who files Ch 7 can exempt some assets from being taken by the trustee to repay creditors – and that will depend on your state's exemptions.
If you aren't certain about the information you received from the attorney you spoke with, make an appointment with a different attorney to get a 2nd opinion. Most offer one free or very low cost appointment for just this purpose.
Make sure to consult an attorney whose practice specializes in bankruptcy. While general practice attorneys can also file uncomplicated bankruptcies, your situation is not uncomplicated. Seeking a general practice attorney's advice would be kind of like going to your family doctor for a heart transplant. Your situation is complicated enough that you need to see a specialist.
References :
Former Legal Assistant with a bankruptcy law firm
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