1.  HOW WILL BANKRUPTCY EFFECT MY CREDIT?

            Although a bankruptcy filing will remain on your credit for a significant period of time, auto loans and credit cards are generally available immediately upon completion of your bankruptcy. One year after completion of your bankruptcy, "Grade A" auto loans and credit cards are generally available. Between one and two years after completion of your bankruptcy, "Grade A" home loans are generally available.

            If your credit has already been damaged by late payments or other derogatory remarks, a bankruptcy discharge may even improve your credit by putting debts behind you thereby improving your debt to income ratio. Even if you have no late payments, you still need to ask yourself if late payments will eventually be showing up on your credit report. With over one million bankruptcies filing each year, the stigma of bankruptcy is far less than what it was just a few years ago.

         2.  WILL I LOSE MY PROPERTY?

            In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, you are generally permitted to keep all of your property. In the typical consumer Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you will eliminate most, if not all debts and will be able to keep all of your property. In South Carolina, there are exemptions for you to select from, which allow you to "exempt" (keep) property so that you will not lose it to your creditors in the bankruptcy.

            The following exemptions are available to South Carolina debtors under South Carolina law (they change from time-to-time):
 

Alimony, Support and Separate Maintenance - All exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(10)(D)
Cemeteries and Burial Funds - One burial plot is exempt as an alternative to the homestead exemption	S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(1)
Claims for Negligence and Tortious Conduct  - A payment for bodily injury to the debtor or wrongful death or bodily injury of an individual the debtor was dependent on is exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(11)(B)
Crime Victims' Compensation  - All exempt	S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-41-30(11)(A) and 16-3-1300
Fraternal Benefit Society Benefits - All exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 38-37-870
Homestead or Residential Property  - Debtor may exempt $50,000 in real property or personal property that the debtor uses as a residence, in a cooperative association that owns property that the debtor uses as a residence or in a burial plot	S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(1); see S.C.Const. art. III, § 28
Insurance Benefits  - Debtor may exempt a life insurance payment if the debtor was dependent on the insured to the extent such payment is necessary for support; $25,000 in life insurance if the policy is for the benefit of a married individual and his or her children and spouse's children any unmatured life insurance contract the debtor owns other than credit life insurance; up to $4,000 in any accrued dividend or interest or loan value of an unmatured life insurance contract the debtor owns if the insured is the debtor or an individual the debtor is dependent on	S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-41-30(7), (8), (11)(c) and 38-63-40
Miscellaneous Benefits  - Disability, illness, social security or unemployment payments; a stock bonus or profit sharing plan payment for illness, disability or death are exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(10)(A), (C) and  (E)
Motor Vehicles  - $1,200 in one motor vehicle is exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(2)
Partnership Property  - South Carolina has enacted the Uniform Partnership Act provision exempting a partner's interest in specific partnership property	S.C. Code Ann. § 33-41-720
Pensions and Retirement Benefits  - Social security and benefits under various employee retirement systems are exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 9-1-1680
Personal Property  - Debtor may exempt $2,500 in household furnishings and goods, clothing, appliances, books, animals, crops, musical instruments; $500 in jewelry; $1,000 in cash and liquid assets for those debtors without a homestead; professionally prescribed health aids	S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-41-30(3), (4), (5) and (9); see S.C. Const. art. III, § 28
Public Assistance and Welfare  - Exempt except to provide for support of spouse or child	S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-41-30(10)(A), 43-5-190 and 43-5-600
Trade Implements  - $750 in tools or books are exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(6)
Unemployment Compensation  - Exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(10)(A)
Veterans' Benefits  - Exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(10)(B)
Wages  - All personal service earnings exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 15-39-420
Workers' Compensation - Exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 42-9-360
Individual Retirement Accounts - Exempt	S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(12)

         3.  CAN ELIMINATE ALL DEBTS?

            Most people can eliminate all of their debts through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, there are certain types of debts that cannot be discharged. For example, debts owed to Federal and State taxing authorities are generally not discharged unless they are older than three years and certain other requirements have been met. Debts incurred as a result of fraud or in a few other situations are also not discharged in bankruptcy, such as child support, alimony, criminal fines & restitution, etc.

         4.  WHY PAY FOR AN ATTORNEY WHEN I COULD USE A TYPING SERVICE?

            Although any typing service or stationary store can provide you with the forms required o file a bankruptcy, the advice of an experienced attorney is essential in such matters as determining which type of bankruptcy to file and selecting exemptions to ensure that you keep your property instead of losing it to your creditors. When you file bankruptcy with a experienced attorney, you will not be alone at the First Meeting of Creditors where you are placed under oath and interviewed by the trustee and your creditors. With the assistance of an experienced attorney, you can also avoid criminal problems, which commonly arise with the use of typing services.

         5.  HOW MUCH WILL AN ATTORNEY CHARGE?

            The work involved in filing a bankruptcy varies from case to case and therefore there is no standard fee. However, we offer a free consultation (for consumer cases) at which time we can evaluate your case and advise you of your fee. Additionally, all of the work on your case will be performed by an attorney experienced in bankruptcy, not a paralegal. If you are contacting other attorneys, you should verify that all of the work will be performed by an attorney.

Please feel free to call our office and schedule an appointment.