Hello, my name is Susan Farris and my hobby is learning about the law. I have an uncle who is an attorney and I've always looked up to him and that's why I find subjects on law very interesting. Through speaking with my uncle and doing research on my own, I've learned about all the different fields of law. Each field of law centers on its own subject and most attorneys specialize in a certain area of law. These include criminal, personal injury, family, bankruptcy, criminal, immigration and business. I find each one of these fields very interesting and I have the utmost admiration for lawyers because they help people through their legal struggles. I wanted to share this information with others who have questions about the different types of attorneys and the law.
Although paydays loans can be a quick way to get cash when you have a financial emergency, these high-interest loans have been known to trap people in an endless cycle of debt. According to research, the median borrower takes out 10 payday loans within a 12-month period of time. Since payday loans are unsecured debt, you can usually wipe out your obligation to pay them by filing bankruptcy. However, there are two times when these loans may survive the proceedings. Here's what you need to know.
Obtained Within the Filing Window
To prevent instances of fraud, the bankruptcy court typically prohibits people from incurring new debts within a certain time period before they file a petition for debt relief with the court. If you take out a payday loan during this time period (70 to 90 days prior to filing), the creditor may try to prevent the debt from being discharged by arguing you took out the loan with the intention of not paying it back (i.e. fraud).
Life is rarely neat. It's not unusual for people in payday loan debt cycles to take out (or renew) loans and file bankruptcy shortly afterwards. However, if the lender objects to the debt being discharged because of how soon you filed for bankruptcy after taking out the loan, you may have to defend yourself against fraud accusations. Either you'll have to show you intended to pay back the money (e.g. provide records you set up a payment plan) or the payday loan originated long before the filing window began.
Used to Pay Non-Dischargeable Debt
Another reason payday loan debt may survive a chapter 7 bankruptcy filing is if the money was used to pay non-dischargeable debt. During a bankruptcy, when dischargeable debt (e.g. credit cards, unsecured loans) is used to pay non-dischargeable debt (e.g. student loans, child support) a creditor can sue you for fraud and render your debt to them non-dischargeable, too. If a creditor knows you used your payday loan to pay off non-dischargeable debt, it can challenge your bankruptcy discharge on this basis.
Since payday loans are typically given as cash, it's unlikely the creditor will know what you spent it on unless you tell the company. Therefore, most people probably won't have to worry about this issue. If it does come up during the proceedings, however, you'll have to show you already paid off the loan that was used to pay for the non-dischargeable debt or convince the court to allow the non-dischargeable debt to be discharged. For instance, you can get student loans discharged if you can show it would represent an undue hardship to pay them back.
It's important to be aware of things like this that may impact your ability to get rid of certain debts via bankruptcy. For more information about this issue or help with filing a petition, contact an attorney through a site like http://www.morrisonmurfflaw.com.
Share30 June 2016
