The need for a bankruptcy filing can happen to anybody. Because of a bankruptcy Antoine Walker is finally saying goodbye to the 2006 NBA Championship ring he earned while playing with the Miami Heat. [1]
Bankruptcy Lawyer Terry Bankert posted this information to help you understand the Bankruptcy process and that you are not alone when you are in it. Michigan Bankruptcy Lawyer Terry Bankert is based in Genesee County Michigan and can bereached at 810-235-1970
On May 18, 2010, Walker filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Florida (Miami) as case number 10-23558 with total assets of $4.3 million and debts of $12.7 million. The filing listed four pieces of real estate including a $2.3 million Miami home that is underwater with a mortgage of $3.6 million, and three other properties in Chicago, one listed for $1.4 million. Nazr Mohammed paid half the fee of Walker’s bankruptcy attorney.[16] [[4]]
Once a bankruptcy petition is filed and the case is commenced, a new entity called the estate is created. The estate consists of all of the debtor’s interests in real and personal property as of the date the petition is filed. The debtor, his or her trustee, and their attorneys are the persons primarily responsible for administering this estate. [5]
A person may be forced into bankruptcy if the petitioning creditors can prove either (1) that the debtor is generally not paying his or her debts as they mature, unless those debts are the subject of a bona fide dispute, or (2) that a custodian was appointed within the previous 120 days to take possession of all or most of the debtor’s property. [5]
11 USC 303(h). Involuntary petitions may be filed under Chapter 7 and 11; there is no such thing as an involuntary Chapter 12 or 13 petition. Farmers and charitable corporations may not be forced into involuntary bankruptcy. 11 USC 303(a). [5]
Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008.[4]
Walker has been forced to sell the ring in the ongoing machinations of a staggering bankruptcy case. With $4 million in assets and $12.87 million in debt, he’s been forced to liquidate whatever possible while sharing a $915 per month apartment with a D League teammate in Idaho.[1]
The debtor must cooperate with the trustee in the execution of the trustee’s statutory duties, file certain documents, and attend and submit to examination under oath at the creditors’ meeting. In Chapter 7, 12, and 13 cases, the U.S. trustee appoints a trustee to administer the assets of the debtor for the benefit of creditors. The court does not automatically appoint a trustee in Chapter 11 cases. Instead, the debtor-in-possession is charged with the responsibility of administering the estate. [5]
The Chapter 7 trustee’s primary duty is to reduce all nonexempt property to cash as quickly as possible and distribute the money to creditors. Chapter 12 and 13 trustees are primarily responsible for analyzing proposed payment plans and ensuring that debtors comply with the terms of their confirmed plans, especially the payment provisions. [5]
Antoine Walkers fall into bankruptcy is a long way from his NBA glory days, when Walker earned $110 million over 12 years but wound up in the hole owing money to creditors, as detailed by Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie blog . Walker blew threw the money spending on luxurious homes, cars and jewelry; in 2009, he was arrested for more than $800,000 in gambling debts.[1]
In November 2009, he had agreed to pay more than $900,000 to settle bad check charges at three Las Vegas casinos and avoid trial on felony criminal charges.[3]
The aim of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is to give the honest debtor a fresh start in life by discharging most of his or her debts and allowing the debtor to retain his or her exempt property. The entry of a discharge order relieves the debtor of all personal liability on any debts dischargeable under the Bankruptcy Code and acts as an injunction against creditors’ actions to collect discharged debts. [5]
[1]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/20/antoine-walker-sells-heat_n_1366902.html
[2]
http://www.tmz.com/2012/03/19/antoine-walker-nba-championship-ring-bankruptcy/
[3]
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5230221
[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Walker
[5]
Michigan Basic Practice Handbook ch 10 (ICLE 6th ed 2007), at http://www.icle.org/modules/books/chapter.aspx/?lib=general&book=2007553820&chapter=10
(last updated 03/16/2012).
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