The Voice of Southwest Louisiana

SWLA
LeLeux Achieves Membership in
Million Dollar Round Table
Prestigious Membership is Exclusive to World’s Leading Financial Professionals
By David J Williams
The Constitution of the United
States gives to Congress the
right to establish uniform
laws on the subject of
Bankruptcies. For this reason,
bankruptcy cases are handled
in Federal Court. In Lake
Charles, the cases are handled
in the Edward M. Hunter
Federal Building on Broad
Street.
The Bankruptcy Code allows
for the filing of five basic types
of bankruptcy. Municipalities,
such as Detroit, file under
Chapter 9. Businesses and
wealthy individuals can
reorganize under Chapter 11.
Farmers and fishermen can file
under Chapter 12. Individuals
and married couples can file
under Chapter 7 or 13 of the
Bankruptcy Code. Companies
that are closing can also
file under Chapter 7 of the
Bankruptcy code.
The majority of bankruptcy
cases are Chapter 7 and
Chapter 13 cases.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases are
generally completed within a
few months after the cases
are filed. As soon as a chapter 7
case is filed, the court assigns a
Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee to
the case. The trustee’s duties
include presiding at a meeting
of creditors and evaluating
the case to determine if there
are assets that can be sold or
otherwise converted to cash for
the benefit of creditors.
Various state and federal laws
determine what property that
Chapter 7 trustees can take
from the debtors. Louisiana law
allows Chapter 7 debtors to
keep their homes if there is less
than thirty-five thousand
dollars of equity in the home.
Debtors can keep most
household items.
Theoretically, Chapter 7 trustees
can take electronic items. Most
of the time the trustee will
decide that these items do not
have sufficient value to justify
taking them from the debtors.
Most retirement accounts are
exempt and cannot be taken.
One vehicle per case, worth
less than seven-thousand five
hundred dollars, is exempt. The
debtors do have to continue to
pay the liens on secured items if
they want to keep the secured
property after filing a Chapter 7
bankruptcy.
More cases are filed under
Chapter 13 in Lake Charles than
under Chapter 7.There are
various reasons for this. If your
income is higher than the
average income for your family
size, the bankruptcy laws may
not allow you to discharge your
debts in a Chapter 7 case. In
a Chapter 13 case, the debtor
has to pay the bankruptcy
trustee monthly payments for
a time period of at least thirtysix
months, unless he can pay
his creditors in full in less than
thirty-six months.
One reason to file under
Chapter 13 is to keep items that
would be taken from you if you
filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
You also may want to file a
Chapter 13 bankruptcy if you
are behind with your payments
on a home or a car or some
other item that you wish to
keep. If you file under chapter
13, and you can make the
required payments, you can
keep the item that you
would otherwise lose.
Most attorneys will file a
Chapter 13 case for less money
up front than a Chapter 7 case.
The reason is that the attorney
can be paid the remainder
of his fee from the payments
that the client pays to the
bankruptcy court. Many clients
don’t mind paying more money
in the long run, in order to get
immediate relief from their
creditor’s collection actions.
David J. Williams, located
at 827 Pujo Street in Lake
Charles, LA is the only Board
Certified Specialist in
Consumer Bankruptcy
Law in Lake Charles. He is
certified by the Louisiana
Board of Legal Specialization
and the American
Bankruptcy Institute.
Contributed Article
Outstanding client service,
ethics and professionalism
have enabled Janet LeLeux,* of
Sulphur, Louisiana, to achieve
membership in the prestigious
Million Dollar Round Table —
The Premier Association of
Financial Professionals. ® LeLeux
is a first-year member of MDRT.
Attaining membership in
MDRT is a distinguishing career
milestone. It requires LeLeux to
adhere to a strict Code of Ethics,
focus on providing top-notch
Janet LeLeux
Investment Executive
337.625.3018
2250 Maplewood Dr, Sulphur
client service and continue to
grow professionally through
involvement in at least one
other industry association.
“MDRT is committed to helping
our members reach even greater
levels of professional and
personal success while adhering
to the highest ethical standards,”
said MDRT President Brian D.
Heckert, CLU, ChFC. “We strive to
deliver the best resources and
benefits to our members so they
can grow their business and
better serve their clients.”
MDRT also provides continuing
education opportunities,
informative and inspirational
meetings and encourages
members to support
community and charitable
involvement through the MDRT
Foundation.
For more information contact
Janet LeLeux at 337-625-3018 or
janet.leleux@ceterais.com.
ABOUT MDRT
Founded in 1927, the Million
Dollar Round Table (MDRT),
The Premier Association of
Financial Professionals®, is a
global, independent association
of more than 43,000 of the
world's leading life insurance
and financial services
professionals from more than
500 companies in 67 countries.
MDRT members demonstrate
exceptional professional
knowledge, strict ethical
conduct and outstanding client
service. MDRT membership is
recognized internationally as
the standard of excellence in
the life insurance and financial
services business.
Life comes with a lot of “what ifs.”
There’s a solution for everyone.
Let’s work together to find yours.
Securities and insurance products are offered through Cetera Investment Services LLC (doing insurance
business in CA as CFGIS Insurance Agency), member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services are offered through Cetera
Investment Advisers LLC. Neither firm is affiliated with the financial institution where investment services are
offered. Investments are: *Not FDIC insured *May lose value *Not financial institution guaranteed *Not a deposit
*Not insured by any federal government agency.
APRIL 2016 WWW.THEVOICEOFSOUTHWESTLA.COM Volume 3 • Number 9 Volume 3 • Number 9 WWW.THEVOICEOFSOUTHWESTLA.COM APRIL 2016