Residents of South Carolina pride themselves upon a certain sense of self reliance, and, through the generations, even those debts taken out by distant family members were eventually repaid by heirs to the estate. Nevertheless, like so many of our countrymen, the sons and daughters of a storied heritage fell prey to the temptations of consumer credit, and, with the economy of South Carolina following the rest of the United States of America into the pit of recessionary malaise, bankruptcy protection may now seem like the only effective method for the elimination of debt loads that have grown far beyond the ordinary South Carolina household’s capacity for swift satisfaction. South Carolina borrowers have always felt some (reasonable, your authors would argue) tensions about the boundaries of governmental oversight, but, given the encroaching unsecured credit burdens that have infected nearly every one of our households, South Carolina borrowers truly concerned about the eradication of their financial obligations may honestly have no other choice beyond bankruptcy protection. Whatever one may believe about the ideological foundation of bankruptcy as a form of debt liquidation, most households in South Carolina still trust bankruptcy declaration above all other forms of debt erasure, but, as with so many elements of the modern economy, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection have grown increasingly complex to the extent many average borrowers couldn’t easily parse the language of the initial bankruptcy petition. After speaking with South Carolina consumers mulling over dimly understood decisions which could alter the financial destiny of their household for over a decade, we’ve found that most curious debtors don’t genuinely understand much about bankruptcy beyond the lingering credit nightmare, and most simply fill out their initial paperwork and pay the money order (currently two hundred and ninety nine dollars) to the clerk for their South Carolina county without taking the time to learn all of the variables surrounding the bankruptcy process that could return to haunt their household.
Through normal legal actions revolving around consumer debts, should bankruptcy protection not be involved, plaintiffs and defendants would ordinarily trade petitions and responses, and, ordinarily, the South Carolina judge would determine the injured party and calculate the resulting penalties after a period of intensive study. Within bankruptcy proceedings, however, the courts will barely have time to discuss anything with the borrowers – unless there’s a specific reaffirmation of home or car loans that the South Carolina trustee would be bound to oversee – and, based upon little more than the information written down within the original petition (unless, as almost never happens for average families, the lender suddenly objects to the protection), the South Carolina borrowers will find the success of their bankruptcy declaration entirely dependent upon that first sheath of paperwork. With properly compiled documents the singular difference between a full discharge of relevant unsecured consumer debts and an outright dismissal of the South Carolina borrowers’ claims, the bankruptcy petition and accompanying paperwork have assumed an outsized role in all Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases. Furthermore, since the accuracy of this data will to a large part be the sole determination of bankruptcy legitimacy, all households in South Carolina considering governmental protection should view this stage as the most important aspect of their declaration by some measure and, if the households are truly serious about the strategy, employ the advice of South Carolina bankruptcy attorneys more experienced in these affairs.
There are a number of simple and easily ignored but inevitably destructive details that borrowers around South Carolina overlook midst the process of putting their bankruptcy petitions together. First of all, in the separate creditor matrix, the heads of South Carolina household filling out the paperwork must be sure to list each and every lender (the names along with the addresses, the amount of balances owed, the amount of the minimum monthly payment, and, for whatever reason, the due dates for those monthly payments) not only because that’s the only way to ensure that the debts will be discharged and the lenders formally notified but also because the South Carolina trustee could actually dismiss bankruptcy proceedings outright if the judge finds that one loan has been ignored. Even if the debtor maintains a special relationship with one of the creditors or simply thought the financial obligation was too small to bother notating (or, as happens too frequently, entirely forgot about a miniscule loan or collection account), South Carolina borrowers must make absolutely certain that they set down every single burden. This includes the secured debts like home mortgages or car loans and the debts like back taxes or student loans unable to be affected by Chapter 7 debt elimination bankruptcy. These debts couldn’t be absolved by Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection but South Carolina households interested in the liquidation of unsecured burdens or the debt re-organization through Chapter 13 bankruptcy must still, by the letter of the law, report every last creditor (and, yes, this includes friends and family).
The worst step, however, for South Carolina borrowers working through their initial bankruptcy documentation, would be a failure to properly delineate all of their household goods and assets. Much as South Carolina citizens filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy may find the temptation to hide property (or, perhaps subconsciously prompted, forget about the property) irresistible, there’s no greater danger to family fortunes. Some borrowers in South Carolina have even avoided mentioning the odd heirloom necklace or fishing boat or planned windfall to their own bankruptcy attorneys for fear of possible forfeiture to the county court officials. Every South Carolina family considering bankruptcy protection must remember that the state and federal governments are not to be trifled with, and borrowers who’ve been proven to knowingly omit possessions from the initial bankruptcy asset schedule will face criminal penalties for fraud that include imprisonment. What makes such occasions even more disappointing is the likelihood that the borrowers’ legal advisors – law firms experienced in South Carolina statutes, despite escalating costs, have become so very important to our households’ successful bankruptcy declarations – could have demonstrated ways to get around the potential seizure in the first place.
In the wake of the recent federal legislation constraining Chapter 7 bankruptcies, the South Carolina state government manufactured their own slate of exemptions quite a bit more indulgent than anything that the United States Bankruptcy Code has to offer. Any South Carolina property, for example, employed as a primary residence should be protected from bankruptcy so long as the associated equity’s appraisal value would be less than fifty thousand dollars – one hundred thousand dollars for a married couple residing together – and, in the unlikely event, borrowers could also trade that homestead exemption for a burial plot of similar value. Through the South Carolina slate, cars and trucks could be worth up to twelve hundred dollars more than the amount of their loan. Borrowers’ jewelry will be protected to the amount of five hundred dollars, tools of trade will be protected to seven hundred and fifty dollars, and South Carolina residents’ liquid assets won’t be touched so long as the total’s below one thousand dollars. Better yet, the household furnishings specifically guaranteed protection throughout bankruptcy by these recent additions to the South Carolina legislature include everything from musical instruments and the family library to animals and crops to furniture and appliances to clothing and linens … just so long as the total’s less than twenty five hundred dollars.
The South Carolina statutes feature additional exemptions covering the proceeds from wrongful death and personal injury compensation, ERISA and disability benefits, child and spousal support, life insurance, social security, and most forms of public assistance (including unemployment benefits) provided by the state of South Carolina. Unfortunately, ordinary citizens won’t have the financial knowledge or legal wherewithal to hack through the thickets of red tape surrounding Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection without the assistance of attorneys that specialize in deciphering the accompanying legalese. According to the recently altered bankruptcy code, borrowers shall have to include intricately outlined data concerning their financial histories or else face ever more disastrous consequences. Since, under current guidelines, Chapter 7 debt elimination bankruptcy protection depends almost entirely upon the recorded earnings of the borrowers over the last year, every South Carolina head of household petitioning for bankruptcy has to enter into the public record even the smallest notation of personal business receipts and accounts receivable, and this information (or, more appropriately, the absence of correct information) could be considered fraudulent in a court of law and lead to imprisonment of the unfortunate filer.
In the years following the adoption of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, Chapter 7 debt elimination bankruptcy programs have been the sole province of South Carolina households that earned less than the median income of the state in the year prior to bankruptcy declaration. From the date of this article’s entry, single heads of household within South Carolina would have to demonstrate that they made less than thirty five thousand dollars. Two member households would have to have made less than forty six thousand dollars, fifty two thousand dollars for the three member households, and the four member households would need to show an income below sixty one thousand dollars. The numbers rise, of course, with additional household members, and, even these desperate times for the South Carolina economy, income levels around the state are likely to rise according to the Internal Revenue Service estimates that South Carolina trustees are foresworn to employ during their judgment of borrowers’ bankruptcy claims. There’s a means test supposedly set apart from the gross annual earnings, but, with the bankruptcy courts backed up for months and months around South Carolina and the neighboring states, borrowers searching for an enlightened and responsive governmental advisor shan’t find much luck through the traditional routes.
Clear enough why citizens of our state may have reservations about Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, but, listening to the specific complaints and (ever so faint) plaudits about the debt management schemes offered to those South Carolina borrowers frightened off governmental debt release programs, the grand majority of the alternatives to bankruptcy offered through bankruptcy don’t actually fare much better through serious examination. Debt consolidation loans only extend the length of the repayment schedule and clear credit balances for further spending sprees. Despite the enduring advertisements, Consumer Credit Counseling companies have essentially proven to be pawns of the very lenders they were supposedly fighting against. Of all of the different options to bankruptcy that South Carolina borrowers have attempted, only the debt settlement negotiation program has met with resounding success. Settlement negotiation’s still unfamiliar to most South Carolina households – there are several websites available over the internet that offer free consultations; just be sure that the settlement professional is certified by the national board – but, through a mixture of threats (since Chapter 7 debt elimination bankruptcy remains a risk to lenders) and rewards (debt settlement companies want their clients to pay back the loans within five years), negotiators working within South Carolina have managed to reduce their debtor clients’ account balances by more than fifty percent on average. Debt settlement negotiation, no more than bankruptcy protection, won’t perfectly fit the needs of every South Carolina family, but, especially since their consultations are so dearly less expensive than the bankruptcy attorneys’ introductions, your authors encourage every South Carolina debtor to at least make sure that the settlement program would not be the right choice for their family before going forward.
The decision to reach out for help with your debt is not one that's easy to make. You were raised to "do the right thing", but now it’s nearly unbearable. You struggle along while your creditors are turning up the heat. And now you’re at the point where the late fees, penalties and interest expense make it impossible to keep your head above water.
Ask yourself this. If you could eliminate your debt without permanently damaging your credit, why wouldn't you?
