Like the rest of the world Covid 19 has greatly affected the operations of the bankruptcy system. All hearings held by the bankruptcy court are done by telephone. The federal courthouse is physically closed but remains open for electronic filing.

There are many reasons to consider filing a chapter 13 case. Some people have to because they fail the means test and are not eligible to file chapter 7. Today the most common reason is to stop a foreclosure and utilize the plan to cure the arrearage over time. Chapter 13 can also be utilized to avoid a wholly unsecured second mortgage on the primary residence of a debtor. To do this you must be able to prove that the fair market value of the property is less than the amount due on the first mortgage.

In the case of an individual the basic premise under chapter 7 is that a debtor surrenders his non exempt assets in return for a discharge of his debts. That leads to the obvious question: What is exempt, and what is not? If a debtor has lived in New Hampshire for more than two years he can choose either the federal exemptions or those provided for under New Hampshire law.

Every person or entity that files a bankruptcy petition must appear before the case trustee and testify under oath. This is called the 341 meeting and it is sometimes referred to as the first meeting of creditors. All creditors are given notice of the meeting and are invited to attend but they rarely do.

In this district a bankruptcy case is commenced by the filing of a petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court located at 1000 Elm St. Manchester, New Hampshire. Almost all cases and pleadings are filed electronically over the internet, the only exception being for pro se filers.

When a client who is considering filing for bankruptcy comes into your office it is important to thoroughly examine their financial picture before making any recommendation regarding bankruptcy relief.