How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: Edition 20
About this ebook
The book will help you determine whether you qualify for relief and whether filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy will help you solve your debt issues. Youll also learn how to:
stop wage garnishments and lawsuits wipe out as much debt as possible deal with debts youve secured with collateral keep as much property as possible, and rebuild credit after bankruptcy
The 20th edition is revised to include instructions that will help you complete the new user-friendly bankruptcy forms, changes to state exemption laws (which determine what property bankruptcy filers can keep), and important legal updates.
Please note: This book does not cover business bankruptcies, farm reorganizations, or individual repayment plans (Chapter 13). For Chapter 13 bankruptcy, see Nolo's Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.
About the author
Until his death in late 2011, Stephen R. Elias was a practicing attorney, active Nolo author, and president of the National Bankruptcy Law Project. He was an important part of Nolo for more than 30 years, and was the author or coauthor of many Nolo books, including Bankruptcy for Small Business Owners. Other titles include Special Needs Trusts: Protect Your Child's Financial Future, How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, and Legal Research: How to Find and Understand the Law. Steve held a law degree from Hastings College of Law and practiced law in California, New York, and Vermont before joining Nolo in 1980. He was featured in such major media as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Good Morning America, 20/20, Money Magazine, and more. The blog he began on bankruptcy and foreclosure law continues at Nolo's Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Blog.
After receiving his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1985, Albin Renauer worked for various public-interest law firms in the bay area and as a staff attorney for Chief Justice Rose Bird of the California Supreme Court. He spent 17 years as an editor at Nolo, where he helped create numerous books and software programs, including the bestselling WillMaker. He also edited Law on the Net, the first online directory of legal resources and was the architect of Nolo’s Webby Award winning website during the dot-com boom. Currently, Albin is an independent web and database developer and Webby Award judge. His latest project is LegalConsumer.com, an online companion to his How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy designed to help debtors file for bankruptcy.
Cara O'Neill is a legal editor and writer at Nolo, focusing on bankruptcy, consumer credit, and debt. She writes for several sites, including Nolo.com, Lawyers.com, AllLaw.com, and TheBankruptcySite.org. She also edits a variety of Nolo book titles and updated Nolo’s How to File Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, 19th edition. Before joining Nolo, Cara practiced for over 20 years in civil litigation and bankruptcy. During that time, she served as an Administrative Law Judge mediating disputes in the automotive industry, taught undergraduate and graduate law courses, and served as house counsel for a large insurance company. She earned her law degree in 1994 from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where she served as a law review editor and graduated a member of the Order of the Barristers—an honor society recognizing excellence in courtroom advocacy. Cara maintains a bankruptcy practice in Roseville, California at the Law Office of Cara O’Neill.