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Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Law Network

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Last Entry: March 18, 2011 at 11:35:04

Don?t Look Down On People In Bankruptcy

Posted on April 13, 2010
What is one of the most important things you probably want to tell your bankruptcy lawyer? That you are not a bad person and you never imagined you’d ever have to talk to us. But if you feel like you can look down on others who file bankruptcy (whether you need to or not), you should [...

Chapter 13 Plan Payment May Fluctuate During The Plan

Posted on April 12, 2010
The amount that you pay each month for your Chapter 13 Plan payment may fluctuate during the lifetime of your Plan. It is not uncommon for debtors to believe that once a Plan payment is approved by the Court it will never change again. This occurs regardless of the number of times that attorneys advise the [...

Bankruptcy And Inherited IRAs ? You?re Protected!

Posted on April 12, 2010
In bankruptcy, an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is usually protected from creditors. But a controversy has been brewing over protection for an IRA when it is inherited from another person. This should not be controversial and the 8th Circuit’s Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) doesn’t think it’s that complicated either...

File Bankruptcy with Ex Spouse?

Posted on April 09, 2010
When recently divorced parties have joint debt, is it advisable to file a joint bankruptcy, asked a prospective client. I was divorced within the past year. While I was married, my ex-husband and I incurred over $50,000 in credit card debt. Some of this debt is joint, some is in his name and a little in [...

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Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Feasibility

Posted on April 08, 2010
To get your Chapter 13 bankruptcy confirmed (approved) you’ll need to show that you’ve proposed a “feasible” plan. If you haven’t, your plan can’t be confirmed, and your case must be dismissed. Chapter 13, unlike Chapter 7 (straight bankruptcy), is all about your plan...

What?s My Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Monthly Plan Payment Going to Be?

Posted on April 07, 2010
When a client is considering filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, one of the first questions I’m asked is, “What will my Chapter 13 Plan payment be”? I almost always answer, “I don’t know yet.” Why? Because of the complex way plan payments are determined...

Filing for Bankruptcy ? Listing Your Real Estate

Posted on April 04, 2010
When filing bankruptcy, one of your most important assets (a fancy word for property) is your real estate. All interests you have in real estate must be listed on Schedule A of the bankruptcy paperwork. You think this is easy? Usually it is. But here are some pointers...

Filing for Bankruptcy: Don?t Hide Property

Posted on April 04, 2010
Filing for bankruptcy requires full disclosure of all your property and financial affairs. Never hide property or assets when filing for bankruptcy. Everyone leaves a trail. Even you. If you think you can hide, you’re making a mistake. For example, if you have property you mentioned in a prior document, you will be found out...

Bankruptcy ? Do I Have the Right to Remain Silent?

Posted on April 04, 2010
Even in bankruptcy, the fifth amendment gives you the right to remain silent. Even in bankruptcy, if you are accused of a crime or fear that you might be, you need to think about the fifth amendment. The United States Constitution protects people against being required to incriminate themselves...

Bankruptcy judge strikes back against zombie debt

Posted on April 04, 2010
The sale of debt discharged in bankruptcy to a collector violates the bankruptcy discharge. The decision in Laboy v. FirstBank Puerto Rico held the seller liable for attempts by its unrelated buyer some 15 years after the bankruptcy to collect a discharged account...

Bankruptcy: What Do I Do at My Meeting of Creditors?

Posted on April 04, 2010
After filing for bankruptcy, you will meet with a trustee. Be prepared. There is a way to act and not to act at a meeting of creditors. These tips will help you know what to do. Here’s what to do at your 341 bankruptcy meeting with the trustee. Be on time Dress reasonably – not too sharp but not [...

Odds Low for Bankruptcy Audit

Posted on April 04, 2010
Honesty and full disclosure are required to get a bankruptcy discharge, but the odds of your case being audited are low. One in 583 cases out of 1.4 million bankruptcies filed was chosen for audit in fiscal year 2009. Compare that with a little more than one in 100 tax returns audited by the IRS...

Bankruptcy: ?But I Don?t Want to File On?.?

Posted on April 03, 2010
Filing bankruptcy means listing all your debts, even those you eventually plan on repaying after bankruptcy, like debts to relatives or your mortgage and car payments. As I tell my clients, you need to list anyone in the Milky Way Galaxy to which you owe money...

Debt Canceled v. Discharged: A Taxing Matter

Posted on March 27, 2010
Under the US Bankruptcy Code, if a debt is discharged in a bankruptcy case, it does NOT count as taxable income. Bankruptcy-discharged debt is, therefore, much more powerful than merely canceled debt. While canceled debt usually creates an income tax liability, discharged debt does not...

Individual Chapter 13, Court Allows Joint Second Mortgage Lien Strip

Posted on March 27, 2010
A second mortgage lien in the wife’s individual Chapter 13 bankruptcy case has been stripped by a Court, even though the mortgage and lien were in the name of the wife and her non-filing husband. Eastern District of Michigan bankruptcy Judge Rhodes wrote the opinion, stripping second mortgage liens, finding the debts totally unsecured, designated for [...

Can Student Loans Garnish My Paycheck?

Posted on March 26, 2010
Payments on student loans that are guaranteed ultimately by the federal government — the vast majority of student loan debt, in other words — can be garnished from your paycheck. And it can be done without going to court. But bankruptcy can stop the garnishment...

How to file bankruptcy ? #17 of a series ? the ?secondary presumption?

Posted on March 25, 2010
Dear readers – after almost a week, we’ve finally come to the end of the bankruptcy means test form. We’ve figured out your current monthly income, your current monthly disposable income, your allowances and your deductions. And we’ve established whether your are an “above-median income” debtor or not...

How to file bankruptcy ? #15 in a series ? the ?multiplier?

Posted on March 24, 2010
We’ve been spending the last week or so showing you just how simple it is to complete the means test form. Now, we have just one little box that could lead you to pull your hair out. You need to consider you “projected chapter 13 payment” as well as the “multiplier” which applies to your “projected [...

Supreme Court Says Creditors Should Read Their Mail

Posted on March 24, 2010
Yesterday, a unanimous Supreme Court concluded that bankruptcy creditors ought to read their mail once in awhile. Perhaps even pay attention and act upon what they read there. Otherwise, they have only themselves to blame. This not so remarkable — yet important — decision involved a complicated — yet simple — case...

Before Filing Bankruptcy, Consider Changing Bank Accounts

Posted on March 24, 2010
There is a simple checklist of things that you need to prepare for filing for bankruptcy. The first is to change your bank account if you owe any money to the bank where your accounts are located. If you have a personal loan, a car loan, or even a credit card with that bank, it’s [...

Bank of America?s Mortgage Writedown: Too Little, Too Late, and Too Confusing

Posted on March 24, 2010
Three years into the mortgage foreclosure crisis, a major lender has finally announced that it will reduce principal on “underwater” mortgages. Sort of. According to The New York Times, BoA won’t actually write down loans to the value of the property (which is more than it would get in a foreclosure)...

How to file bankruptcy ? #14 of a series ? Prepetition Priority Claims

Posted on March 23, 2010
People think they can file bankruptcy by themselves. It’s easy. Just fill out the forms. Or get some petition preparer to type them out. I have one word in response. Ha! Here’s another good one in our continuing series demonstrating just how easy it is to file a bankruptcy case all by yourself...

How to file bankruptcy ? #16 of a series ? The ?presumption of abuse?

Posted on March 23, 2010
Congress really knows how to paint a bulls-eye on your behind. If you can afford to pay something under a chapter 13 plan according to the means test, you are presumed to be abusing the system by trying to file a chapter 7 case – a straight bankruptcy...

Chapter 11 May Be a Good Option for ?Land Rich, Cash Poor? Clients

Posted on March 23, 2010
Recently, I’ve met with a number of clients with the same situation: In addition to their homes, they also own several pieces of investment property, some without any mortgages on them. As a result of the economy, they have had trouble with their tenants paying rent, and haven’t been able to sell the properties...

Chapter 13 plan too much?

Posted on March 23, 2010
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan calls for regular payments; if you can’t continue to make those payments, consider converting your case to Chapter 7. By converting, you get the continued protection of the automatic stay and a discharge of dischargeable debts within a couple of months...

How to file bankruptcy ? #13 in a series ? Cure Amounts

Posted on March 22, 2010
So you thought we were done with the Means Test? Ha! If y0u’re planning to file a bankruptcy case, it might be that you are behind in your payments under your mortgage. In that case, you can and should deduct the amount of money you’d have to pay to “cure” the default in your mortgage...

How to file bankruptcy ? #11 in a series ? Deductions for Debt Payments

Posted on March 21, 2010
Sometimes the “Means Test” is called the “mean test”. Why? Congress seems to say that it cares a great deal how you spend your money but if you are already spending it paying your creditors, then everything is OK. Why is this so? Well, as a matter of policy, Congress decided that money you are paying [...

How to file Bankruptcy ? #10 in a series ? ?Other Necessary Expenses?

Posted on March 20, 2010
The Means Test is so much fun when you are filing for bankruptcy. Last time, we talked about mechanical amounts, are allowances, which can be deducted from income under the means test. You don’t need to look at your own records or spending to figure out allowances in most cases...

How to file bankruptcy #9 of a series ? Allowances

Posted on March 19, 2010
So we’re still looking at that creation of Congress – lovingly known as form B22A. Once we calculate your “current monthly income” and we compare it to the “applicable median income”, we know whether your chapter 7 case is presumed abusive...

Discharges And QDROs

Posted on March 19, 2010
QDRO: That nasty Qualified Domestic Relations Order that divvies-up a pension after a divorce. Bankruptcy: That other nasty procedure that may, or may not, get rid of all your debts. Okay, listen up. No bankruptcy can get rid of a family support order...

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