Bankruptcy Indiana

News headlines that have anything to do with bankruptcy are always a topic of discussion among the good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices. And when the story has to do with truth-telling, the discussions can get rather heated, because all of us know that full disclosure of facts is the one thing that keeps the bankruptcy system working and fair to all the parties concerned.

In the past couple of weeks there were two particular news items that “jumped out” at us both having to do with truth in bankruptcy.  Then, just the other day I read a summary of an outline of a lecture given to bankruptcy trustees at a lawyers’ association meeting in North Carolina.  The article said that what bankruptcy Chapter 7 trustees are looking for in bankruptcy schedules (the paperwork I help clients complete when filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana) could be summed up in two words:

1. Disclosure
2. Accuracy

Basically, what that lecturer was saying is that, in bankruptcy, it’s important to tell the truth about what you own and what you owe, what money you transferred to other people and what money they may have transferred to you.  In short, tell the truth and tell it all. That's true whether it's bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana, Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, or even small business bankruptcy in Indiana wer'e talking about.

If Bankruptcy in Indiana readers will keep those concepts in mind, it will be easy for you to understand why my Bloomington, Anderson, Indianapolis, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyer colleagues spent so much time talking about the following two pieces of news:


Story #1:    Solyndra CEO touted progress to lawmakers just before bankruptcy.
“Less than two months before his solar panel company filed for bankruptcy, Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that…his company had shipped record-breaking numbers of solar panels to buyers and was posed to double its revenue in 2011,” reports CaliforniaWatch.org. 
 

As a longtime debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I know something is very wrong here.  One thing I’ve learned from providing Indiana bankruptcy help to tens of thousands of people is that the entire bankruptcy system rests on information, truthful information. If the court finds out that a bankruptcy filer has not fully disclosed all the financial transactions in the months leading up to the bankruptcy, it can not only deny the bankruptcy petition, but penalize the debtor for fraud! That’s precisely why such a large part of my work consists of helping clients collect, and then properly report, their information.

Story #2:   Teresa Giudice’s Hubby Joe Withdraws Bankruptcy Filing.

“Real Housewives of New Jersey hubby Joe Guidice has withdrawn his bankruptcy filing.
The New York Post is cynical, believing he decided to withdraw because he took the Fifth when questioned about assets his creditors claim he’s been hiding. “Concealing assets during a bankruptcy proceeding is a felony, since the result would be defrauding the creditors,” the Post reporter correctly explains in “Going un-broke”.

I’ll second that. 
There’s no getting around it – for the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana to work, it takes truth!