If your small business here in Southwest Florida has been struggling to keep the creditors at bay, you may want to consider filing for a business bankruptcy. This is a scary topic for most people, but the truth is, there are some strategies you can use to minimize the negative impact of bankruptcy, and find relief from creditors. Brian Zinn of ZinnLaw has been helping people and businesses file bankruptcy for more than 30 years. He and his expert team of lawyers can help you better understand the process of bankruptcy, assess all the different options and guide you through the legal process of filing. In this article he gives you some successful strategies and solutions to better educate you on the process. First let’s look at some bankruptcy strategies.
First and foremost you need to hire a bankruptcy attorney, like those at ZinnLaw, who have experience and deep knowledge of federal and state laws governing bankruptcy. Laws governing bankruptcy change all the time, so having someone who is well versed on your side can go a long way toward keeping your assets safe. One of the important things we will look at together is whether or not there are some alternative solutions to bankruptcy you should be considering for your business. Is there some restructuring you could put in place to avoid bankruptcy, or perhaps some negotiation with creditors? We want to look over all of the options to seek the best outcome.
If we decide together that a business bankruptcy is the best bet for you, then we will determine the type of bankruptcy we want to file. There are three types of bankruptcy small business owners can file. Chapter 13 is only available to sole proprietors and is considered to be a form of personal bankruptcy. Under Chapter 13, a sole proprietor can reorganize their personal dept and this includes debt related to their business. It is not available to any other small businesses who have a different legal structure such as a partnership, LLC, or corporation. Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy means the business assets will be sold to pay off creditors. There may be some non-exempt personal assets that may also be liquidated to pay off debts. However, Florida has some exemptions that will allow you to keep certain personal assets such as your primary residence or homestead, tools of the trade and some other personal property. In a chapter 11 bankruptcy, the business is reorganized, but you as the owner will typically retain your ownership of the business. Your personal assets are not typically at risk in a Chapter 11, but you will need to provide personal guarantees for business debts. While this appears to be the safest type of bankruptcy to file, you will need to consider that by providing a personal guarantee, you are personally responsible for paying off the business debts if the business can’t, and at that point creditors may seek repayment through your personal assets.
Together we will create a plan for how to handle your business bankruptcy. First and foremost, it is important that you be completely transparent about disclosing all debts, assets and financial transactions with us, your creditors, and the bankruptcy trustee. Next we will look at what assets you will keep, and how you will pay off the debt. Our goal is to have you emerge from this business bankruptcy stronger and with a more successful business than before.
Contact Zinn Law for Assistance
If you are deeply in debt with your small business, you may want to consider filing for bankruptcy. Talk with one of our experienced attorneys. Zinn Law can help you create a plan for how to handle your business bankruptcy. To find out more about filing for bankruptcy for your small business, call Brian Zinn for a free consultation to look over your case (239) 418-1529, (239) I-1 U-1 LAW or go to our website www.zinn.law to schedule a complimentary consultation.
