Bankruptcy attorneys serving Syracuse and Cortland

A substantial part of this firm's work is helping people use the protections in the United States Bankruptcy Code. We handle Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filings for clients across Central New York, with cases filed in the Northern District of New York bankruptcy court in Syracuse.

Most people's first question is whether they lose their house or their car. Usually the answer is no, and we can explain why in one conversation.

We can meet by FaceTime, Skype or Zoom if that is easier, and in most cases the entire filing can be handled remotely. You can also reach the bankruptcy team directly at bankruptcy@cdlfpllc.com.

When bankruptcy is the right tool

Bankruptcy can reach anyone, an illness, a layoff, a divorce, including people who did everything right. If you are close to it, the worst move is waiting: the earlier you talk to an attorney, the more options you have. We help you decide whether bankruptcy is the right option at all, and if so which chapter fits, for both personal and business debts.

Filing is often more effective than the things people try first, like consolidation loans or debt settlement. And because some debts cannot be discharged, we plan around those early, which shortens the road out of debt.

How we can help

The question everyone actually asks: will I lose my house?

Usually not, and the reason is the exemptions, the property the law puts out of reach of creditors. New York gives you a choice most states do not: you can use the New York exemption set or the federal one, whichever protects more of what you own. Choosing between them is one of the first real decisions in a case.

The New York homestead exemption protects equity in the home you live in, and the amount depends on the county. It runs in three tiers, and Onondaga and Cortland are both in the lowest one, $89,975 of equity, against $149,975 in the mid tier and $179,975 downstate. These figures are adjusted for inflation every three years; the current set runs to March 31, 2027.

Two things follow that people get wrong. It protects equity, not value, if you owe $180,000 on a house worth $230,000, the equity at risk is $50,000, not $230,000. And a married couple who both own the home and file together can each claim it, which in these two counties is the difference between $89,975 and $179,950.

What bankruptcy does not erase

Planning around these early is most of what makes a filing work, because a case that discharges everything except the debt that was actually crushing you has not helped much:

• Child support and spousal maintenance, never dischargeable.
• Most student loans, absent a separate showing of undue hardship.
• Recent income taxes. Older ones sometimes can be, which is a question of dates and is worth asking about rather than assuming.
• Criminal fines and restitution.
• Debts for death or injury you caused while driving intoxicated, 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(9). A DWI conviction and a bankruptcy can arrive in the same year, and the civil judgment from the crash follows you through it. See our DWI page.

What filing stops, the day you file

The automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 takes effect on filing, not on discharge months later. It stops collection calls and letters, wage garnishment, bank levies, foreclosure and repossession while it is in place. For someone being garnished it is usually the most immediately valuable thing about the whole process, and it is a reason the timing of a filing can matter more than the choice of chapter.

Where the case is filed

Onondaga and Cortland counties are both in the Northern District of New York, and cases from here are filed in the bankruptcy court in Syracuse. You will have a meeting of creditors, the "341 meeting", after the section of the Code that requires it, where a trustee asks you questions under oath. It is short, it is not a hearing before a judge, and in most consumer cases it is the only appearance you make.

Two requirements catch people out because they are not obvious: you must complete an approved credit counseling course before you file, and a second debtor education course before the discharge is granted. Missing the first one can mean the case is dismissed.

Serving both counties

We work out of two offices — Cicero, about ten miles north of downtown Syracuse, and Cortland. Between them we cover Onondaga and Cortland counties and the towns in between.

Other things we handle