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| Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / freedigitalphotos.net |
America was built on the small business owner. Like everyone else, they may be facing
difficult economic times. Are you one of
these people? Are you earning 50% of
what you made a few years ago, causing you to fall behind on both your personal
and business obligations? Do you want to keep the
business open? This is where a Chapter
13 personal bankruptcy could be used to save the business and protect it from
creditors until profits can be seen.
You will likely be able to save your business through
Chapter 13 bankruptcy if:
1. You
can show that you have income that is “sufficiently stable and regular to
enable [the] individual to make payments under a plan under chapter 13”
(Section 101(30) of the Bankruptcy Code.)
2. You
can show that you (or you and your spouse) have less than $360,475 in unsecured
debts (which means debts with no collateral) and less than $1,081,400 in
secured debt (which means debts with collateral).
3. Your
company is an individual (or sole) proprietorship. If it is a corporation, limited liability
company (LLC) or business partnership, there are other rules related to filing
that go beyond the rules for a personal bankruptcy.
Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy will help you stay on your feet
with your sole proprietorship business, and you will be able to use the filing
to deal with your personal and business debts in one shot. This means that creditors who are harassing
you, whether for personal debts or business debts, will be placed under an
“automatic stay,” meaning they can’t make any effort to collect against your
personal or business assets. You will be
able to keep the important assets needed for your business to run properly
without worrying that these will be taken from you through a judgment or lien.
Chapter 13 is an effective way of helping you keep your
business if you are facing financial difficulties. Talking with a bankruptcy attorney is the
first step to helping you get back on your feet and keeping your business
running as it should.
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