{"id":3992,"date":"2018-03-01T07:00:24","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T12:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/?p=3992"},"modified":"2019-04-24T02:45:06","modified_gmt":"2019-04-24T02:45:06","slug":"bankruptcys-minimum-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/bankruptcys-minimum-age\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Bankruptcy’s Minimum Age?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you can’t drive if you’re under 16, can’t vote if you’re under 18, and can’t buy alcohol if you’re under 21, then how old do you need to be to file bankruptcy? One might think that the age would be 18 because that’s the usual age for engaging in civic activities, but in fact bankruptcy has no minimum filing age. Obviously, this raises the question of who would want to file while under the age of 18. Indeed, it’s not easy to even obtain a credit card under the age of 21 because 18-year-old borrowers need to demonstrate proof of income, and people even younger will need to convince an adult to sign them on as authorized users.<\/p>\n

As a result, it’s uncommon for people under 21 to have much consumer debt (aside from student loans, which apparently don’t require the same financial acumen that credit cards do). So if young people usually can’t borrow money before the age of maturity, when would it matter that a debtor is under the age of majority in a New York bankruptcy?<\/p>\n

The answer would be some very unfortunate circumstances. Take Shawn Powell, who in 1998 filed chapter 13 bankruptcy (not in New York) to keep his family home out of foreclosure. In all respects Powell’s case is typical, except one: He was only 10 years old and widely believed to be the youngest person to ever file in chapter 13 (or probably any chapter for that matter).<\/p>\n

Powell’s mother died in a car accident, and his father began drinking heavily until he died a year later. Powell’s uncle, who had been taking care of him and his siblings was on a limited income due to a disability. No one had been paying the mortgage, and Powell and his siblings were awaiting a $100,000 life-insurance payout as beneficiaries of their father’s plan. They hoped the bankruptcy would stave off the foreclosure long enough to obtain the money and resume the payments. Powell’s lawyer chose Shawn to be the debtor, rather than his 12-year-old brother, because the bankruptcy would be on his credit statement for 10 years and would thus cause less of an impact.<\/p>\n

Disturbingly, the credit-reporting agencies will track individuals at all ages.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the case that started with pluck and ingenuity from the Powell children’s bankruptcy lawyer ran into a snag when their older half-sister challenged the uncle’s attempt to obtain custody over them. Allegedly, the insurance money was a factor. I can’t find a news article for how the case ended, but the information is from The Washington Post<\/i>: one is here<\/a> and the other here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As I said, these are unfortunate circumstances, and if it weren’t for the uncle’s limited income and the half-sister’s intervention the bankruptcy might not have been necessary. Still, it is possible for children to file bankruptcy, and it can be a tactic of a persistent bankruptcy attorney. If you have an unusual or tragic financial situation, then talking to an experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer is the best way to assess your options.<\/p>\n

For answers to more questions about bankruptcy, the automatic stay, effective strategies for dealing with foreclosure, and protecting your assets in bankruptcy please feel free to contact experienced Brooklyn bankruptcy attorney<\/a> Bruce Weiner for a free initial consultation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you can’t drive if you’re under 16, can’t vote if you’re under 18, and can’t buy alcohol if you’re under 21, then how old do you need to be to file bankruptcy? One might think that the age would be 18 because that’s the usual age for engaging in civic activities, but in fact …<\/p>\n

What Is Bankruptcy’s Minimum Age?<\/span> Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"categories":[16,26],"tags":[2,56],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is Bankruptcy's Minimum Age? - Bankruptcy Lawyer Brooklyn NY<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you can't drive if you're under 16, can't vote if you're under 18, and can't buy alcohol if you're under 21,how old do you need to be to file bankruptcy?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nybankruptcy.net\/main\/bankruptcys-minimum-age\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is Bankruptcy's Minimum Age? 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