Definitions

Bankruptcy:

•Chapter 7: A bankruptcy action which provides for straight liquidation of a debtor’s financial liabilities.

•Chapter 11: A bankruptcy action generally filed by business (but may be filed by consumer) which gives the debtor a chance to reorganize financial affairs in the hopes that the reorganization will allow the debtor to repay the debts

•Chapter 12: A bankruptcy action used when family farm owners become insolvent.

•Chapter 13: Also known as a “wage earner” plan. This is a bankruptcy action that provides for partial or full repayment of the debtor’s liabilities.

Tax Liens:

•Federal Tax Lien: A lien by the United States upon “all property and right to property” of a taxpayer who fails to pay a tax for which they are liable to the federal government.

•State Tax Lien: A security interest in the property of a taxpayer established by statute of which the tax collector may avail themselves upon default of payment of taxes.

•State Tax Warrant: In some states, tax warrants are filed in lieu of or in addition to tax liens. A tax warrant is a judgment obtained against a consumer resulting from the consumer’s tax liability.

•Tax Lien Release: A document filed in the court when the tax lien is paid.

Judgments:

•Civil Judgments: The decision of a court upon matters submitted to it; a final determination of the rights of the parties to a lawsuit.

•Forcible Detainer/Unlawful Detainer: A judgment granting possession of premises, such as an apartment, to one entitled to actual possession.

•Civil Dismissal: Determination of a court that a lawsuit does not merit a final disposition favoring either Plaintiff or Defendant.

•Civil Release: A document filed in the court when the Civil Judgment is paid and/or satisfied.

 Record Content

•Bankruptcies: Usually provides debtor name, bankruptcy petition date, docket number, type of bankruptcy, bankruptcy court location, address, social security number, and attorney’s name.

•Tax Liens: Filings provide information on federal and state tax lien from various states. Detail usually contains type of tax lien, filing date, tax amount owed, debtor name, taxpayer ID number and address, court location, taxing agency, and release information.

•Judgments: Records contain information on civil and small claims monetary judgments over $100. Detail usually provides type of judgment, judgment date, case number, amount awarded, debtor name and address, court location and plaintiff name.

Record Source

 •Bankruptcies are obtained from U.S. Bankruptcy Courts

•Tax Lien filings are collected from County Recorder offices in various states

•Judgments are derived from District and Municipal Courts in various state

 Record Coverage

Bankruptcies: Bankruptcy information is collected from all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. This database contains historical data from 1992 to current.

What does bankruptcy mean? It means that a company or individual recognizes that their income is not sufficient to meet with their financial obligations and as a result bankruptcies are files for. In the United States, bankruptcy falls under two separate categories one being liquidation whereby all assets are sold off and the later is reorganization whereby one files for a new payment plan with which to address their financial obligations.

When one files for bankruptcies they are actually admitting that they can no longer turn their losses into profits and that they need to be freed from any further payment of debts. One also needs to be aware that when you declare bankruptcy these records are filed in your name or your company name whereby public have full access to these records.

Having bankruptcy records could jeopardize any future potential partners or could demonstrate that you were able to rise above your adversity. Obtaining these records are not difficult as they are public records and one can conduct a search either based on the name of the person and the state to search, or by social security number. Besides government websites there are numerous other private companies that offer their services and can assist in locating records. These services are efficient and in most instances can deliver the files you are looking for within a few hours.

If you are planning on starting up a new company and you have interested business partners it is wise to check their financial records. This way you can avoid making the wrong choice when it comes to business partners.

Select your bankruptcy search at http://www.docusearch.com/category/bankruptcy-records

Filing for bankruptcy is a serious decision. Sometimes, when you can no longer make your payments and creditors are applying too much pressure, bankruptcy can be a welcome relief to a hard situation, but it is important to remember that filing bankruptcy leaves a long trail of bankruptcy records.

Your bankruptcy records include a lot of personal information about yourself. They tell people your real name and where you reside. Bankruptcy records may also reveal your social security number and all of the credit accounts you owe money to. Depending on the state, bankruptcy records indicate the amount of debt that you defaulted on and whether or not a lien was put on any of your property. Bankruptcy records may also list your assets.

Because bankruptcy records contain so much personal information, they are a great place to start when you want to do a background search on an individual or even a company. Perhaps you want to know more about a client you are interested in doing business with. Maybe you want more information about the new boyfriend or girlfriend a family member recently brought home. Possibly you are interested in learning more about the background of the person you are considering hiring at your place of business. A check into the bankruptcy records would provide many answers and vast amounts of information in any of those cases. (more…)

Prior to conducting a bankruptcy record search, it is important to first know that these records are; in fact, considered public records. Despite the fact that this is not a hidden fact, many people still don’t know this simple information. Thus, there is usually confusion when people are trying to conduct their own bankruptcy record search. Most of the time, people don’t have the faintest idea as to where to look for such records.

Usually, these records are considered valuable components of the companies’ efforts in initiating due diligence. In this case, you have to take note that there are numerous types of records that are considered public documents. These documents range from federal courthouse level, the state courthouse level and even at county levels. Since these records are considered public, everyone has the right to access these records.

Gaining Access to Bankruptcy Records

In order to successfully conduct a record search, you have to thoroughly search all levels of public records as mentioned: the county, state and the federal. There are basically two ways to obtain a bankruptcy record: file for a personal request to view the file or to consult and get the services of a state licensed investigator, like Docusearch.com.  Your bankruptcy search begins at http://www.docusearch.com/category/bankruptcy-records.