Posted by John Merchant, JD on June 18, 2002 at 21:29:54:
In Reply to: Ch. 13, posted by on May 22, 2002 at 16:00:34:
A couple of suggestions for you: First, make a plan to get over to the BK Clerk's office and borrow the court file from the clerk, then, right there in the Clerk's office, sit down and READ the whole file. You won't be allowed to take the file out of the office, but you can sit there and read and then copy the whole thing.
You'll gain a LOT of info about what's going on in the case by doing this, and I'll guarantee you'll know as much as anybody could by so doing.
And if you learn that a Trustee has been appointed to administer the affairs of the bankrupt petitioner, then you might want to address a letter to that trustee inquiring about payment arrangments on your notes while the case is in BK.
It's the trustee's job to keep the assets intact, pulling in whatever income might be available, and also get rid of unproductive and costly properties, so if you've got ideas about the assets, the trustee would like to hear from you. With or without a lawyer representing you.
Also, you might want to consider filing a Motion for Relief from Stay, by which you'd file a motion in court asking the Judge to let you file a foreclosure action on any mortgage or deed of trust you might currently hold; after a certain length of time, you'd probably be allowed to do this and go ahead and foreclose on your deed of trust. The "plan" might temporarily freeze any action, but that won't last forever.
There are some interesting websites for laymen, relating to BK filings, rights, etc....check one or two of the search engines, such as www.google.com, for law and bankruptcy, and you should unearth some good info. If you'll remind me in a few days, I'll see if I can find one or two of them. Interesting reading, for non-lawyers, so it's not overly technical.