You may have experienced a financial hardship and now are deciding whether to file bankruptcy in Alabama. 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 Alabama
- Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 in Alabama
- AlabamaChapter 7 Bankruptcy
- Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Alabama
- Cost of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 in Alabama
- Alabama Bankruptcy Assistance
- Alabama District, Court, And Trustee Information
- Alternatives to Bankruptcy in Alabama
Filing Bankruptcy in Alabama
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
Alabama Bankruptcy Filing Process
The bankruptcy filing process in Alabama 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
- Alabama trustee is assigned to the case
- Attend 341 Meeting of Creditors (Alabama court locations below)
- Take Second Mandatory Debt Education Course
- Receive Bankruptcy Discharge
Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 in Alabama
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 Alabama
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 Alabama 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.
Alabama bankruptcy means test
The first part of the means test is to calculate your current monthly income. A Alabama 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 Alabama, 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 Alabama 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 Alabama
| # of People | Annual Income |
|---|---|
| 1 | $48,544 |
| 2 | $56,918 |
| 3 | $68,554 |
| 4 | $82,991 |
| 5 | $91,991 |
| 6 | $100,991 |
| 7 | $109,991 |
| 8 | $118,991 |
| 9 | $127,991 |
Alabama bankruptcy exemptions
We will cover Alabama 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 Alabama. Here’s a link to the Alabama bankruptcy exemptions.
It’s important to note that Alabama does not also utilize the federal exemptions.
Please also note that you may want to check the Alabama government website for a complete list of Alabama bankruptcy exemptions and up to date information.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy Alabama
Chapter 13 bankruptcy Alabama 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 bankruptcy Alabama
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 Alabama Chapter 13 Calculator which uses bankruptcy forms to help estimate plan payment.
Alabama Bankruptcy Assistance
You may be wondering what sort of bankruptcy assistance is available in Alabama. Let’s go through some of the options.
Alabama Legal Assistance:
You may be considering filing bankruptcy in Alabama 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 Alabama
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 Alabama will have different attorney costs, including variability of cost based on experience. You may want to check out a Alabama 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).
Alabama Districts and Courts
Northern District
- U.S. Post Office and Courthouse
400 Well Street
Decatur, Alabama 35601
Middle District of Alabama
Southern District of Alabama
- US Bankruptcy Court
One Church Street
Montgomery, AL 36104 - George W. Andrews Federal Building
701 Avenue A
Opelika, AL 36801
Alabama Bankruptcy Trustees
Here are the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy trustees. Alabama does not have Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 trustees under the United States Trustee program at this time.
Alternatives to Bankruptcy in Alabama
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.
Alabama Consumer Bankruptcy and Alabama Music Educators Association (AMEA)
Alabama is an amazing place with different associations such as the Alabama Music Educators Association (AMEA or Alabama Bandmasters Association), and we hope that this article helped you decipher how to navigate filing bankruptcy in Alabama.