Social Media and Bankruptcy

Social media is one of the fastest growing trends to be experienced within the last ten years. From Facebook to Twitter to Google+ or LinkedIn, social media has revolutionized our daily lives- but because everything is now out there for the world to see, individuals can face some, often unforeseen, consequences.

If you are going through a bankruptcy filing, your newly posted pictures of your cruise to Mexico can send a mixed message. If you boast about your new job as a sales executive, this could jeopardize your claim (this income could be recalculated into your monthly income and push you above the Means Test forcing you to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and pay back a portion of your debts to your creditors). Or if you plaster a photo of you on your Harley Davidson, when you failed to list your motorcycle as an asset, you could be in trouble. When public, incriminating evidence is posted online, it is not uncommon for a bankruptcy trustee to show this evidence against you in court. Keep in mind that a bankruptcy trustee could access your social media sites to ascertain any of the following information:

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• Whether all of your assets have been listed
• Whether your situation has changed
• Whether you honestly listed your income (if you got a raise or began a new entrepreneurial venture, it could cause you to land back in bankruptcy court and have your income, assets and debts reconsidered)
• Whether you listed all of your job positions
• Whether you have recently engaged in luxury spending (luxury spending on your credit card or debts incurred in anticipation of bankruptcy are often nondischargeable)

Even if your account is set to private, social media information can be subpoenaed. A bankruptcy trustee could even notice your "unprofessional" attitude about your bankruptcy filing and you could face subsequent penalties.

Also, debt collectors can also access your sites and get your most recent contact information, making it harder for you to avoid their barrage of calls. In the words of Bankrate, "Social media has become a key tool for collection agencies trying to track down debtors, says Michelle Dunn, CEO of the American Credit and Collections Association... Many bill collectors who think they've found a debtor on a social media site will keep an eye on that individual's online presence... privacy laws should preclude a collections professional from contacting and humiliating you on your social media page. However, some debt collectors violate those legal and ethical boundaries and assume false identities as a means of getting information."

When filing for bankruptcy, be as honest as possible when you fill out the various documents. Also, keep in mind that your online presence reveals a lot about your life- and that anyone could be accessing your social media sites and could thus easily use the personal information you broadcast against you. Keep in mind the following principles when filing for bankruptcy:

• Give your bankruptcy attorney all of the information he/she needs to submit accurate information
• Attend the required credit counseling class before you file
• Get all of the necessary information to your bankruptcy attorney as soon as possible, as he/she only has 14 days to submit the paperwork after the filing

If you need further advice on filing for bankruptcy or avoiding pitfalls, you should contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney today to receive legal aid.

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