Bankruptcy

How to file bankruptcy ? #14 of a series ? Prepetition Priority Claims

By David Leibowitz, Illinois and Wisconsin Bankruptcy

People think they can file bankruptcy by themselves. It’s easy. Just fill out the forms. Or get some petition preparer to type them out. I have one word in response. Ha!

Here’s another good one in our continuing series demonstrating just how easy it is to file a bankruptcy case all by yourself. Just follow my easy instructions. We’re in the 14th of our series and still figuring out how to fill in the means test form. That’s just the second of a whole slew of papers you need to have perfect in order to file your bankruptcy ases.

Anyway, today, we’re going to focus on just one line of the Means Test Form B 22 A.  And that one asks you to add up all of the outstanding priority claims you have and divide them by 60.

Of course, that means you know what a priority claim is. You do, don’t you?

Helpfully, the form tells you to consider past-due payments for:

• Priority taxes
• Child support
• Alimony

Of course, the form doesn’t say a word about the rest of Section 507 of the Bankruptcy Code where all the rest of priority expenses are listed.Maybe you already know about Section 507 of the Code. But maybe you don’t. Oh well, wht you don’t know can hurt you. Better get a lawyer to look into that question too.

More tomorrow. We’ll still be discussing the finer points of the easy-to-complete B 22 A that has had the courts howling for the past 5 years.

Full post as published by Bankruptcy Law Network on March 23, 2010 (boomark / email).