Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or entity to pay its creditors. Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against a debtor ("involuntary bankruptcy") in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed or initiate a restructuring. In the majority of cases, however, bankruptcy is initiated by the debtor (a "voluntary bankruptcy" that is filed by the bankrupt individual or organization).

Bankruptcy in the United States is a matter placed under Federal jurisdiction by the United States Constitution (in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4), which allows Congress to enact "uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States."

Although declaring bankruptcy helps to relieve most debts, it cannot relieve the responsibility of paying for things like alimony, child support, most recent back taxes, student loans, fines or penalties of government agencies, fraudulent debts, and large purchases made recently of more than $550 within 90 days of filing.

Chapter 7, otherwise known as "liquidation," is generally the simplest and quickest form of bankruptcy and it is available to individuals, married couples, corporations and partnerships. Our firm can help determine your eligibility to file a Chapter 7.If you don't qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, your other option would be a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

If you are an individual or a sole proprietor, you can file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to pay off all or partial debts over a period of three to five years. This option allows you to reorganize those debts so you have time to pay rather than wiping them out immediately.

Many of the people who choose to file under Chapter 13 do it because they have: 1) mortgages or other loans; 2) taxes; 3) child support; and, 4) student loans that can't be wiped out in Chapter 7.

Congress has enacted statute law governing bankruptcy, primarily in the form of the Bankruptcy Code, located at Title 11 of the United States Code. Federal law is amplified by state law in some places where Federal law fails to speak or expressly defers to state law.