You may have experienced a financial hardship and now are deciding whether to file bankruptcy in South Carolina. We are sorry to hear that you are needing to read this article right now, but our goal is to explain how everything works, so you can decide whether bankruptcy is right for you. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Filing Bankruptcy in South Carolina
- Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 in South Carolina
- Chapter 7 Bankruptcy South Carolina
- Chapter 13 Bankruptcy South Carolina
- Cost of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 in South Carolina
- South Carolina Bankruptcy Assistance
- South Carolina District, Court, And Trustee Information
- Alternatives to Bankruptcy in South Carolina
Filing Bankruptcy in South Carolina
You’ll notice from the table of the contents that we focus specifically on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Why? Because these two types of bankruptcy are the most common bankruptcy in America (source). There are other types such as the Chapter 11 and Chapter 11 subchapter 5 bankruptcies, but these are far less common for consumers (source).
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is also known as the liquidation bankruptcy. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also known as wage earner’s plan. We will cover these in greater detail
South Carolina Bankruptcy Filing Process
The bankruptcy filing process in South Carolina is similar to other states. Generally, the process is as follows for Chapter 7 bankruptcy:
- Understand bankruptcy qualification
- Decide whether to file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13
- Decide whether to hire an attorney
- Take the Credit Counseling Course
- File Bankruptcy Petition and Other Forms
- South Carolina trustee is assigned to the case
- Attend 341 Meeting of Creditors (South Carolina court locations below)
- Take Second Mandatory Debt Education Course
- Receive Bankruptcy Discharge
Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 in South Carolina
Chapter 7 bankruptcy: In Chapter 7, you are at risk of your nonexempt property being sold and used to pay off debts. It’s generally meant for those who cannot afford to pay little to any of your debt. It’s often less expensive than a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and you can receive a discharge within 120 days. It stays on your credit report for 10 years.
Chapter 13: In Chapter 13, you reorganize your debts similar to a debt settlement program. Your property above the exemption is often not sold as you may be able to protect your assets. It’s often more expensive than a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and you generally will receive a discharge in 3 or 5 years. It stays on your credit report for 7 years.
When your debt is discharged, this means that you are not required to pay that debt back.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy South Carolina
As Chapter 7 is the most common consumer bankruptcy filing, we will cover this bankruptcy first. In order to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you have to go through means-testing. The means test was added to the Bankruptcy Code in 2005 to prevent bankruptcy fraud. The income requirement for South Carolina helps ensure that a person with a sufficient income to pay back some of the debts may file a Chapter 13 instead of Chapter 7.
South Carolina bankruptcy means test
The first part of the means test is to calculate your current monthly income. A South Carolina bankruptcy means test calculator can help you estimate whether you qualify for a Chapter 7 below or above the median, which is to say that you may qualify for a Chapter 7 even if your income exceeds the median in South Carolina, which is why a means test calculator may help.
If you want to do a ballpark estimate, you can estimate your current monthly income by taking the last 6 months of your income and dividing by 6. You will then be able to compare that figure to the South Carolina means testing data for cases filed on or after May 1, 2020. You would add $9,000 to the annual income for any individuals in the household greater than 9 people.
Means testing for South Carolina
| # of People | Annual Income |
|---|---|
| 1 | $49,390 |
| 2 | $64,083 |
| 3 | $70,883 |
| 4 | $85,227 |
| 5 | $94,227 |
| 6 | $103,227 |
| 7 | $112,227 |
| 8 | $121,227 |
| 9 | $130,227 |
South Carolina bankruptcy exemptions
We will cover South Carolina bankruptcy exemptions next because you may qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but wonder whether they are going to come over and try to sell all your assets.
Firstly, in Chapter 7, you may be worried about losing your vehicle (non-luxury). Often a vehicle can be reinstated with a car payment in Chapter 7 bankruptcy in South Carolina. Here’s a link to the South Carolina bankruptcy exemptions.
It’s important to note that South Carolina does not also utilize the federal exemptions.
Please also note that you may want to check the South Carolina government website for a complete list of South Carolina bankruptcy exemptions and up to date information.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy South Carolina
Chapter 13 bankruptcy South Carolina is a payment plan bankruptcy where your debts are reorganized via the bankruptcy court, often in a 3 or 5-year payment plan. One of the most important questions is determining your monthly plan payment. Once you have a sense of your plan payment, you compare that payment to your current monthly obligations to see whether you may afford Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Debt settlement is often an alternative to a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. For a deep dive on Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may want to check out the article titled Chapter 13 South Carolina
Chapter 13 Payment
One of the most important things for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is determining whether you can afford the Chapter 13 plan payment and comparing it to your current monthly obligations. There are various bankruptcy forms that can be used to estimate your Chapter 13 plan payment, but we found the easiest way is to use the South Carolina Chapter 13 Calculator which uses bankruptcy forms to help estimate plan payment.
South Carolina Bankruptcy Assistance
You may be wondering what sort of bankruptcy assistance is available in South Carolina. Let’s go through some of the options.
South Carolina Legal Assistance:
You may be considering filing bankruptcy in South Carolina and wondering what sort of legal assistance is available. You may want to check out any of the following options:
Cost of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 in South Carolina
Any important question that you are probably asking yourself is what is the cost of attorney fees, filing fees and whatever other costs are associated with bankruptcy.
- Attorney Fee: Often different cities and counties in South Carolina will have different attorney costs, including variability of cost based on experience. You may want to check out a South Carolina bankruptcy cost calculator to estimate the cost for your zip code.
- Filing, Admin and/or trustee surcharge fee: The fee for Chapter 7 is $335 and the fee for Chapter 13 is $310 (source).
South Carolina Districts and Courts
District of South Carolina
- Charles E. Simons, Jr. Federal Courthouse
223 Park Avenue, S.W.
Aiken, SC 29801 - G. Ross Anderson Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse
315 South McDuffie Street, 2nd Floor
Anderson, SC 29624 - J. Waties Waring Judicial Center
Meeting Street at Broad Street
Charleston, South Carolina 29401 - Matthew J. Perry, Jr. Courthouse
901 Richland Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201 - McMillan Federal Building
401 West Evans Street
Florence, South Carolina 29501 - Clement F. Haynsworth Federal Building & U. S. Courthouse
300 East Washington Street
Greenville, South Carolina 29601 - Donald S. Russell Federal Building & U. S. Courthouse
201 Magnolia Street
Spartanburg, South Carolina 29306
South Carolina Bankruptcy Trustees
Here are the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees in South Carolina and the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy trustees in South Carolina.
Chapter 7 Trustee(s) in South Carolina
| Name | Phone |
|---|---|
| Robert F. Anderson | (803) 252-8600 |
| Kevin Campbell | (843) 884-6874 |
| John K. Fort | (864) 237-8284 |
| Janet B. Haigler | (803) 261-9806 |
| Michelle L. Vieira | (843) 497-9800 |
Chapter 13 Trustee(s) in South Carolina
| Name | Phone |
|---|---|
| Gretchen D. Holland | (864) 242-0314 |
| Pamela A. Simmons-Beasley | (803) 779-5180 |
| William K. Stephenson, Jr. | (803) 744-0200 |
| James M. Wyman | (843) 388-9844 |
Alternatives to Bankruptcy in South Carolina
You may be reading through this and wondering what are the alternatives to Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The most common alternatives are debt management, debt settlement, and debt payoff planning. Each of these options have pros and cons, so doing your due diligence is important. You can also feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions whatsoever.