A Chapter 7 trustee who is appointed by the court to oversee the case assumes control of, and sells, the nonexempt assets for the benefit of the unsecured creditors. (The trustee can "abandon" assets he or she feels are valueless or too expensive or cumbersome to liquidate.) The Chapter 7 trustee distributes the proceeds from the sale of the client's nonexempt assets to the creditors. All debts that remain unpaid are no longer your personal responsibility (except for certain debts that survive bankruptcy). In legal jargon, they are "discharged." the case is normally completed in three to six months with usually just one visit to the federal courthouse or trustee's office. After that, client is not allowed to file another Chapter 7 bankruptcy for six years. Once client file his or bankruptcy papers, he or she can't sell any nonexempt property without the court's consent. Client will, however, be allowed to maintain control of the exempt property and any property and income he or she acquire after he or she file bankruptcy via the chapter 7 attorney Los Angeles.

If client's real or personal property is held in the name of a partnership, corporation or limited liability company, an attorney must represent the entity during the bankruptcy proceedings. All business activity must cease once the bankruptcy is filed and all business assets must be turned over to the Chapter 7 trustee. In rare circumstances, the court may grant permission for the Chapter 7 trustee to continue to operate the business (for example, if it's an apartment building or retail store), until it can be sold. All income derived from the business after filing Chapter 7 will be used by the bankruptcy trustee to pay the creditors.

Can client save property in foreclosure by filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy? In most cases, the answer is no. If client file for bankruptcy when in foreclosure, he or she have to deal with the arrearage that led to the foreclosure in the first place. Chapter 7 bankruptcy has no procedure to handle the repayment of the arrearage€"or any other debts€"over time. Rather, the nonexempt property is liquidated and the creditors are paid in a particular order required by the Bankruptcy Code€"which will probably leave the arrearage unpaid. Even if the arrearage could be paid in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, the lender will not want to wait€"given that payment is not guaranteed. Therefore, the bankruptcy court will most likely let the foreclosure proceed€"unless the bankruptcy trustee decides to sell the property herself. The bankruptcy trustee is likely to sell the property herself when the property has equity that can be used to pay some of the unsecured creditors. Getting advice from Chapter 7 attorney Los Angeles is very useful.