Legal Question in Bankruptcy in New York

Re: Bankruptcy

NO.

You must list ALL your debts (even the $100 you owe your mother) in the petition you file under any chapter of the bankruptcy code. Anything else is fraud on the court and, if it's found out, can lead to dismissal of your case with prejudice (meaning you won't be allowed to re-file) and court-imposed sanctions (money, jail, ...). Not listing a debt is lying, and may be counted as perjury, since you swear when you sign the petition that the information contained therein is COMPLETE and true to the best of your knowledge. It really upsets federal judges to be lied to on petitions; don't go there.

Under Chapter 13, it's possible, with the court's permission, to pay creditors outside of your Plan; thus, you could possibly keep up your first mortgage payments outside of the Chapter 13 plan and pay on your second mortgage within the Plan. This arrangement is, though, subject to the approval of the creditors, the Trustee, and the Court.

If you do not have an attorney helping you with this, HIRE ONE. Do NOT muck around with bankruptcy, especially bankruptcy that involves a plan, by yourself.

If you can't afford a lawyer, each county in New York State has a Legal Aid Society that provides (really top-notch) free or reduced-fee help for people who would otherwise not have access to a lawyer. Using them is NOT using charity; lawyers get brownie points with the courts for working with Legal Aid, and the Legal Aid lawyers are paid through the interest collected from all those lawyer trust accounts in the state. They do, though, have strict guidelines that they must follow; if your income is above a certain level, you will not receive their help. But give them a call and see if you qualify.

Good luck.

THE INFORMATION PRESENTED HERE IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND IS NOT INTENDED, NOR SHOULD IT BE CONSTRUED, AS LEGAL ADVICE. THIS POSTING DOES NOT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN US. FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.