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Defending You and Your Assets

Attorney since 1979.
Bankruptcy services, criminal law, real estate transfers, family law.
There is no on else to call.


Terry L. English

812-334-2192 | tlenglishlaw@gmail.com

About Me

Terry L. English has practiced law since 1979 and has handled over 25,000 civil and criminal cases in Bloomington and South Central Indiana since becoming an attorney. He appears regularly in state and federal courts in Indiana and is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

English graduated from the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington in 1979 and was an editor of the Indiana Law Review. Before enrolling in law school, English worked as the associate news editor of the Bloomington Herald-Times newspaper and taught advanced newspaper reporting in I.U.’s School of Journalism (from which he received a bachelor’s degree in 1971). While in college, English was the editor of the Indiana Daily Student, the campus newspaper for Indiana University. English formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame.

English, along with his wife, Carla, have worked tirelessly since 2013 in the establishment and promotion of Seven Oaks Classical School in Ellettesville as the region’s only charter school offering education in classical languages, history and the arts. English, one of the institution’s founders, is on the school’s board of directors and he serves as its legal counsel.

Real Estate Services

Terry L. English is a licensed real estate broker in the State of Indiana and assists clients in the buying and selling of residential and commercial real estate. He lends his skills as a trained negotiator to the often cumbersome sales process and he works to insure satisfactory results in every transaction. English also assists homeowners in selling their real estate themselves without the intervention of a sales professional. As a licensed auctioneer, English can also sell real estate at auction — thereby avoiding lengthy delays in marketing for property sellers. Indiana real estate license number RB17001683.

Auction Services

Terry L. English is a licensed auctioneer in the State of Indiana. He works with clients in the liquidation of assets in estate cases and in situations where down-sizing is appropriate and necessary. English can also conducts real estate auctions — thereby avoiding expensive and lengthy marketing delays for property sellers. Indiana auctioneer license number AU10500098.

Bankruptcy Q&A

What’s the Difference Between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code?

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing will allow you to discharge most consumer-related debts, such as charge cards, medical bills, personal loans, and deficiencies upon previous repossessions of motor vehicles or real estate. In most instances, you cannot discharge student loan indebtedness, taxes owing to the Internal Revenue Service or the Indiana Department of Revenue which have come due in the past three years or debts incurred by fraudulent conduct on your part.

Chapter 13, on the other hand, allows you to reorganize your debts under court protection. In essence, you can reorganize most of your debts under a bill consolidation program and can make a payment monthly to a Trustee who will then distribute money to your creditors. Payments can be made for a period of between 36 and 60 months. At the conclusion of the payment period, most of your unsecured debts will be wiped out.

Why choose a Chapter 13 program over a Chapter 7 filing?

There are a myriad of reasons. First of all, participation in a Chapter 13 program will guarantee that you’ll not lose any of the real estate or personal property which you’ve worked so hard to purchase. Unlike a Chapter 7 filing, the Trustee who’ll be appointed in your Chapter 13 case isn’t interested in seizing your property and liquidating it for the benefit of your creditors. He’ll work with you to fashion a repayment program which you can afford to pay and your property will be protected in the process.

Secondly, the filing of a Chapter 13 case can consolidate all your bills into one monthly payment and, in most instances, can reduce or eliminate interest charges and on-going penalties to unsecured creditors.
Thirdly, the payments owing to secured creditors, such as vehicle lenders, can be safely extended over a period of up to 60 months and the rate of interest which is payable can be dramatically reduced.

Can your regularly scheduled house payment be included in a Chapter 13 filing?

Not ordinarily. If you’re going to keep your house, you must stay current on your regularly scheduled mortgage payments and you must continue to pay your real estate taxes and insurance installments as they come due. A Chapter 13 filing will not change the terms of your mortgage or the scheduled payment.

Chapter 13 is useful, however, if you’re behind on your house payments and your mortgage lender will not work with you in making arrangements to bring the account current.

A Chapter 13 filing will permit you to bring your mortgage payments current under court protection over a period of up to 60 months. No additional interest will accrue on the payments you’re behind while you work to bring them current.

Can you use a Chapter 13 filing to stop a mortgage foreclosure proceeding which is already pending?

Yes. The filing of a Chapter 13 case will stop a mortgage foreclosure proceeding against you at the very instant it is filed. The bankruptcy court will then grant you and your attorney a reasonable time to formulate a plan to bring the account current — including late payments, court costs and attorney fees.

How soon after the Chapter 13 filing will you be required to begin making regularly scheduled payments to your mortgage lender?

Effective August 1, 2009, the bankruptcy court has begun requiring that your regularly scheduled house payments be made monthly through the Chapter 13 Trustee if you’re in arrears at the time of the bankruptcy filing. Your first Chapter 13 installment will be required to be made within 30 days of the date your bankruptcy case is initiated – and thus your house payments will have to resume within a month of the date your case is filed.

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