- Bankruptcy Automatic Stay and What It Means
- Bankruptcy Court
- Trustees
- Proof of Claim
- Reaffirmation Agreement
- Creditor’s Response to Debtor’s Questions
- Secured Creditor’s Responsibilities
- Creditors Information Change
Bankruptcy Automatic Stay and What It Means
As you may know, when a person or company files bankruptcy, an automatic stay occurs for almost all creditors, 11 U.S.C. 362. Violating this stay by attempting to collect a debt, repossess an automobile, enforce a judgment, etc. is a direct violation of the Federal Court. If you violate the automatic stay we reserve the right to ask for sanctions (money damages and attorney’s fees) from the court whose order you have violated. There are limited exceptions to the stay and you should seek the advice of an attorney if you have any questions. We cannot give you legal advice.
Bankruptcy Court
Our clients are filed in the Western District of North Carolina Bankruptcy Court. Our Greensboro area clients are filed in the Middle District of North Carolina Bankruptcy Court. You are not required to be registered with the Court to file many items including proof of claims, reaffirmation agreements, transfer of claims, address changes, etc. You will need to be registered with the Court to access debtor information on the Court’s system. Information to register is listed on the site. There is additional information regarding creditors meetings and hearings on this site as well. Check with your own attorney for specific advice.
Trustees
The Chapter 13 Trustees for the Western District of North Carolina Bankruptcy Court are Warren L. Tadlock for cases heard in the Charlotte office and Steven G. Tate for cases heard in Shelby and Wilkesboro locations.
The Chapter 13 Trustees for the Middle District of North Carolina Bankruptcy Court are Kathryn L. Bringle (Winston-Salem Division), Richard M. Hutson II (Durham Division), and Anita Jo Troxler (Greensboro Division).
Proof of Claim
You may submit a Proof of Claim at the appropriate site: Western District of North Carolina Bankruptcy Court or Middle District of North Carolina Bankruptcy Court. You do not need to be a registered user to access the electronic Proof of Claim; however, you will need the debtor’s case number which is located on the Notice of Bankruptcy Filing or the Notice of 341(a) Meeting of Creditors.
Reaffirmation Agreement
You may access the court’s approved reaffirmation agreement and instruction on filing the reaffirmation agreement at the Western District of North Carolina Bankruptcy Court or the Middle District of North Carolina Bankruptcy Court. As a reminder, reaffirmation agreements must first be sent to Duncan Law for review prior to debtor(s) signature.
Creditor’s Response to Debtor’s Questions
Debtors may contact you regarding information on their account. According to Local Rule 4001 – 2b, the creditor may respond freely to any inquiry from a debtor on any subject matter.
Debtors have the right to discuss modification or refinancing of mortgage loans without the Court’s approval. However, the debtor must obtain Court approval prior to consummating any agreement. The process to obtain Court approval takes approximately 30 days.
Secured Creditor’s Responsibilities
Under Local Rule 4001 – 1e, the creditor has responsibilities to the debtor, including providing payment coupons or statements, responding to debtor requests, providing information to debtor and their attorney. On the left hand side of the screen, see Court Documents, Local Rules. This will open a PDF file and you can scroll to the appropriate rule.
Creditor Address Change for Western and Middle Districts of North Carolina
If a creditor needs to report an address change they can do so on the Electronic Filing of Notice of Address Change at the Western District of North Carolina’s website or here on the Middle District of North Carolina’s website.
