I looked myself up on PACER

[LifeNLemons]

and I'm already listed as a no asset case. Wonder if that's done by default since I haven't submitted the rest of the paper work yet?


Or maybe they just know I got nuttin'.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

The clerks at the courthouse who file your papers are the ones who mark it initially as "asset" or "no asset" when it is first entered into PACER, not the trustee. He looks at that later.

There's a box on Form 1 (the voluntary petition) about 2/3 of the way down where you indicate whether you will have anything left over to pay creditors. If you checked no, the clerks list your case as a no-asset. I'm pretty certain the trustee can change that if they look over your stuff and think you might have assets after all.

But if you got nuttin' you will definitely remain "no asset"...

[nazstar]

We are filing for 7 and walking away from our house - we actually moved out already in anticipation for foreclosure. If the mortgage company forecloses, then it's technically no longer ours. Hence, we would be a "no asset case", correct? We would still owe a deficit on our house but it will be wiped out in the Chapter 7 filing. we each have a car but they are within exemption allowances and all our personal property will be convered by our personal exemption allowances.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

If the mortgage company forecloses, then it's technically no longer ours. Hence, we would be a "no asset case", correct? We would still owe a deficit on our house but it will be wiped out in the Chapter 7 filing.

That's correct if you have no other assets besides the house. (That's my situation as well, BTW: I am filing post-foreclosure.) After the foreclosure sale or auction or whatever, anything you would owe in a deficiency judgement is no longer secured by the house, so it becomes unsecured debt and gets wiped out by discharge just like a credit card debt.

If the mortgage company forgives the debt (in some states they are not allowed to go after a deficiency judgement) you'll get a 1099-C from them, because that forgiven debt is considered income and you have to pay taxes on it unless you can demonstrate that you were insolvent at the time the forgiven debt was incurred. There is a form you will have to fill out with next year's taxes (I forget the number but if you do a search on this forum you'll find it, maybe in the Foreclosure section) but just the fact that you filed for bankruptcy pretty much demonstrates your insolvency, so either way you're going to be fine.

That's the main reason I'm filing -- there's no way I can pay close to 100K deficiency judgement, or even taxes on the forgiven debt, no matter when I go back to work or how long I make payments. Thank God there is the option of bankruptcy...