The United States Bankruptcy Courts oversee the bankruptcy system of the whole United States as one unit. But each state has its own subunit of the federal court, and judges are appointed in each district to supervise over the individual state bankruptcy court for a 14-year office term. These judges can be appointed more than once, and often are. A Thousand Oaks bankruptcy lawyer can help you identify which court has jurisdiction over your case.
The goal of bankruptcy is to discharge debts that are too burdensome for an individual or company to manage. A discharge is a court order which permanently prohibits a creditor from trying to collect a known debt. Once the discharging injunction is filed, the debtor is legally freed from owing that debt; therefore, bankruptcy is not granted without the federal court’s permission and a bankruptcy judge’s ruling.
Because of the serious financial implications of removing a company’s or individual’s debt, bankruptcy fraud is a federal crime and punishable by debt reinstatement and jail time. Fraud can include failure to list all assets and debts, lying to a judge, and hiding finances.
To insure you know all the regulations of each of the six types of bankruptcy, contact a Thousand Oaks bankruptcy lawyer, like Brent George Law. The attorney can help you decide which bankruptcy best fills your needs.