Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
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Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyers
Are you looking for Arizona bankruptcy lawyers to get more information on chapter 7 bankruptcy, home foreclosures, bankruptcies or other legal matters?
A bankruptcy should be filed in the right federal judicial district or “venue.” Please understand that not just anybody is allowed to file a bankruptcy in Arizona (the federal judicial district for Arizona is called the “District of Arizona”). In order to be permitted to file a bankruptcy in Arizona, you must have sufficient ties to Arizona (as described below). According to 28 USC § 1408(1), which governs this topic, you may file a bankruptcy in the District of Arizona if at least for the greater part of the 180 days prior to filing the bankruptcy, you: (a) were domiciled in Arizona, (b) resided in Arizona; (c) had your principal assets in the United States in Arizona; or (d) had your principal place of business in the United States in Arizona. Also, per 28 USC § 1408(2), you may file a bankruptcy in the District of Arizona if your affiliate, general partner, or partnership has a pending bankruptcy here.
Assuming your affiliate, general partner, or partnership is not in bankruptcy, the key language to pay attention to is that items (a) through (d) above contain an “or” in between them. This means that only one of the four options must be met in order for venue to be proper in Arizona. So, if you were domiciled or resided in Arizona for at least 91 days out of the 180 days preceding the date of the filing of your bankruptcy, then you are allowed to file your bankruptcy in Arizona. And, even if you did not reside in or have a domicile in Arizona, if your principal assets in the United States were in Arizona during at least 91 days of the 180 days prior to the filing of your bankruptcy, then you are also permitted to file your bankruptcy in Arizona. For example, if your principal asset in the United States during this look back period is a single family home in Arizona and you reside in Nebraska, you can still file your bankruptcy in Arizona.
You may be asking, am I considered to be a resident of Arizona?
The answer to this question is fact-driven. To determine whether you reside in Arizona, you should consider whether Arizona is the state where you: (1) file taxes, (2) have a driver’s license, (3) registered your vehicles, (4) own real property, (5) work, (6) are registered to vote, (7) have a mailing address, and so forth. The issue of domicile has an additional layer, you must not only (at some point) reside in Arizona but you must also Php Aide have an intention to stay here.
What happens if you file your bankruptcy in Arizona and venue is not proper here because you do not meet any of the criteria described above? According to Rule 1014 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, the bankruptcy court may on its own or at the request of a party who has an interest in the case, and after a hearing, dismiss your bankruptcy or transfer it to a different district. There is a great deal of latitude here. To avoid getting into the situation where you have filed a bankruptcy in the wrong judicial district, consult with a competent bankruptcy attorney prior to filing your bankruptcy. This firm offers a free initial consultation in consumer bankruptcy matters.
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