Contacts

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Hillmer Eye Clinic

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Shower Caps

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McCulley Optix Gallery

2553 Kirsten Lane, Fargo (Corner of 25th St. and 32nd Ave. S.) 701-373-2020 | optixgallery.com

Local | Fresh | Natural

Fun scarves and accessories, vintage jewelry, locally made pillows and cards, funky gifts, and fresh cut flowers. Holland’s Landscaping & Garden Center 1201 Center Avenue, Moorhead 218-233-6131 hollandslandscapingandgarden.com

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So You Boutique

West Acres Kiosk | in the JCPenney’s Wing

Fine Art Giclée on Canvas

The Art of Cassandra Barney Boerth’s Art Gallery

Framing & Mirrors

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Liz W. Designs

Copper Bracelets

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c.lizzy’s

410 Broadway, Downtown Fargo 701-235-4902

What to Do

O

nce the person or entity that owes you money files a bankruptcy case, you can take no further action to collect the money or foreclose mortgages or security interests securing payment of the debt, unless the debtor initiates the surrender of collateral, otherwise agrees, or the Bankruptcy Court modifies or terminates the automatic stay, an instant indefinite moratorium, that temporary protects the entity who has filed the bankruptcy case.

If you are a listed creditor, you will get a notice, information about the meeting of creditors and how to file a claim.

Then, distinguish between a Chapter 7 liquidation case as opposed to repayment cases usually filed under Chapter 12 for family farmers or Chapter 13 for individuals with a regular income.

Next, determine whether you are a secured creditor or an unsecured creditor. Secured creditors include creditors holding mortgages in real property or security interests in personal property given to secure payment of the underlying indebtedness.

Typically, if you are an unsecured creditor, the best you will be able to do is file a proof of claim to receive a distribution from the Chapter 7 trustee, or payments from the Chapter 13 trustee, as they are received from the debtor.

If you believe there has been fraud, a materially false financial statement, or other unusual circumstances, you should consult an attorney.

You can always go to the meeting of creditors and ask questions.

In a Chapter 7 case, where there is a consumer (as opposed to business) loan, the debtor is required to indicate what it intends to do with collateral (usually a car). The choices are to surrender the collateral, reaffirm the debt or pay for the collateral.

A reaffirmation agreement serves to keep the personal obligation to pay from being discharged. In a Chapter 7 case, the discharge comes when the Chapter 7 trustee has liquidated all non-exempt assets, and made distributions. In a Chapter 13 repayment case, the discharge typically comes when all repayments required by the Chapter 13 plan have been paid.

Either way, all the discharge does is forever make the personal obligation to pay unenforceable. So if you are a secured creditor, your liens (mortgages, security interests, etc.) continue, and once the case is closed, and the automatic stay is no longer in place, you can enforce the liens (foreclose mortgages, seek possession of personal property collateral, etc.). Only under very unusual circumstances are liens, as opposed to the personal obligation to pay, invalidated by a bankruptcy case or discharge.

But in repayment cases, if you have notice of the case, you will be bound by the terms of any repayment plan, whether you could have objected to it or not. Typically, if you are a secured creditor, or have a substantial claim, you should consult an attorney.

This article was written and prepared by Roger J. Minch, an attorney with the Serkland Law Firm in Fargo, North Dakota. For more information call 232.8957, email at rminch@ serklandlaw.com or visit www.serklandlaw.com.