If you receive an inheritance during your bankruptcy case, a question may arise as to whether you need to include the inheritance in your bankruptcy estate. 

The answer to this question depends in large part on the timing of your inheritance: the general rule (unless an exception applies) is that if you are expecting an inheritance at the time of filing or become entitled to one within 180 days after filing your bankruptcy petition, the inheritance will become part of the bankruptcy estate.

When this happens, you must inform the bankruptcy court and the bankruptcy trustee of the inheritance. This…
Continue Reading Bankruptcy and Inheritance: How it Works

In Arizona, a bank account garnishment is a form of non-earnings garnishment. It allows a creditor to enforce a money judgment award against you by garnishing funds from your bank account.

Here, we examine how these laws apply when a creditor attempts to use legal means to access your bank account through garnishment and what you may be able to do about it.

At Stone Rose Law, we help clients understand their debt relief choices under federal law and Arizona law. 

For a consultation with one of our experienced bankruptcy lawyers, please call (480) 739-2448.

How Does a …
Continue Reading What is Bank Account Garnishment?

In Arizona, if you fall behind on your home mortgage payments for long enough, your mortgage servicer may begin foreclosure proceedings against you. Losing your home to foreclosure is not inevitable. 

Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to use one of multiple paths to get current on your mortgage, work with your home lender on an alternative payment strategy, or use federal bankruptcy protection to help keep your home.

At Stone Rose Law, we help Arizona homeowners understand their options in debt relief and foreclosure. For help from one of our attorneys, call us at (480) 739-2448.
Continue Reading How to Stop a Foreclosure in Arizona

In Arizona, the time it takes to foreclose depends on whether your home loan is mortgage-based or a deed-of-trust loan. The former uses a judicial foreclosure sheriff’s sale, while the latter uses a non-judicial foreclosure trustee sale.

The non-judicial foreclosure process in Arizona requires at least 91 days from the recording of the notice of trustee sale before the foreclosure auction. The entire process, including the 120-day pre-foreclosure delinquency period to the final foreclosure sale, might take 211 or more days, or seven to eight months.

Judicial foreclosures in Arizona usually take longer, up to a year.

If you are…
Continue Reading How Long Does Foreclosure Take in Arizona?

It is recommended to stop using your credit card 90 days before filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Under the federal bankruptcy system, you can get into trouble if you use your credit card (or pay it off) in a way that creates suspicion, if not a presumption of fraudulent intent.

In this blog post, we consider issues about credit card use leading up to a bankruptcy filing and how they can affect your bankruptcy discharge. In particular, we address whether you should continue using your credit card when considering Chapter 7 bankruptcy and how you should treat your credit card…
Continue Reading When to Stop Using Credit Cards Before Filing Chapter 7

In civil court, a judgment is an order issued by the court after the plaintiff prevails on the merits of its case. Judgments are typically measured in money damages that are measured to compensate the plaintiff for its losses or the harm done to it.

If a creditor sues you in Arizona court for a past-due debt and obtains a judgment, they can use that judgment to collect the amount owed—which, with interest and court costs, often exceeds your original debt balance.

If you do not have funds available to pay the judgment award outright, then the creditor may seek…
Continue Reading Can You File Bankruptcy on a Judgment?

A bankruptcy default judgment can occur when you have filed for bankruptcy, and another adversarial proceeding is taking place. If you do not respond in time to the plaintiff’s complaint in the adversarial proceeding, you may be subject to a default judgment in that proceeding. In this situation, the federal bankruptcy court may allow a bankruptcy default judgment against you.

Understanding what a default judgment in bankruptcy means is important because the consequences can negatively affect your personal finances, credit, and your ability to protect your assets.

At Stone Rose Law, our experienced bankruptcy attorneys represent Arizona residents in debt…
Continue Reading What is a Default Judgment in Bankruptcy?

When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you will create a bankruptcy estate that includes everything you own and everything you are entitled to receive as of the date of your filing. But just because you have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy does not mean that your income becomes property of the bankruptcy estate. You can still receive money after you file.

The answer to this question depends on multiple factors. These include:

• The source of the money
• When you become entitled to receive it
• What bankruptcy exemptions may apply

We will consider each of these factors in this blog…
Continue Reading What Happens to Money Received After Filing Chapter 7?