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

Statement of Financial Affairs: Question 6

Posted on June 04, 2009
This is the sixth in a series of blogs about the Statement of Financial Affairs and the questions it asks. Question 6 of the Statement of Financial Affairs is a two-parter. The first part asks about “Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors,” and the second part asks about receiverships...

Should I Talk With a Bankruptcy Lawyer Instead of A Debt Settlement Company?

Posted on June 03, 2009
More and more, I’m seeing folks in my office after attempting debt workouts through debt settlement companies. Usually, the debt settlement companies that these people used were ones that advertise heavily on television and in other media. And usually, the potential clients have paid a lot of money to these debt settlement firms and gotten very little out of it...

Tell Your Bankruptcy Attorney Everything

Posted on June 03, 2009
You have decided to file bankruptcy and even taken the first step of finding competent counsel to help. Hopefully you have met with the attorney and he has given you some forms to fill out or told you what he needs to prepare the paperwork. You need to get him the information right away so he [...

Credit Union Automatic Deductions & the Automatic Stay

Posted on June 02, 2009
Banks and credit unions love to have automatic payroll deductions from their customers. It helps them guarantee as long as you work, you pay them. What happens when you file bankruptcy? The bank or credit union should think twice about continuing to “accept” these payroll deductions...

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?Stealth? Plan Provisions: Confirmation of Chapter 13 Plan Did Not Alter Domestic Support Obligation

Posted on June 02, 2009
A Tennessee bankruptcy court recently ruled that confirmation by the court of a chapter 13 plan did not affect the debtor’s obligation to continue paying his ex-wife’s house payment. The chapter 13 plan did not specifically say that the ex-wife’s rights were being altered by the proposed plan, although the plan implicitly treated the ex-wife as [...

Hear GM and Chrysler Bankruptcy Hearings Online

Posted on June 02, 2009
You may listen online to the audio recordings of the Chrysler LLC, 09-50002, and General Motors Corporation, 09-50026, bankruptcy hearings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. Available Online: Recordings of GM and Chrysler Bankruptcy Case Hearings The recordings are being made available online through through a pilot project of [...

Top 20 Cities for Credit Card Spending

Posted on June 02, 2009
Forbes.com says the top 20 American cities for credit card (over)spending are: Miami, FL Tampa, FL Los Angeles, CA Jacksonville, FL Orlando, FL Riverside, CA San Diego, CA San Antonio, TX Las Vegas, NV Sacramento, CA Virginia Beach, VA Pittsburgh, PA Phoenix, AZ Columbus, OH Cleveland, OH Charlotte, NC Austin, TX Cincinnati, OH Indianapolis, IN Houston, TX Miami households owe 22...

After Filing Bankruptcy, Banks Can?t Keep Your Money For Pre-petition Debts

Posted on June 01, 2009
It is a good idea to make sure that you don’t have funds in bank accounts at banks you owe money to, particularly if you are going to file for bankruptcy. Banks will often keep the funds in your account on the day your file for bankruptcy to set off against the debt owed to [...

One Violation; Two Lawyers

Posted on June 01, 2009
A simple enough situation. After a bankruptcy case was filed, a large telephone and Internet ervice provider sent bills from its special bankruptcy administration office for a pre-bankruptcy debt. I filed a motion for sanctions. The provider then sent a notice of termination of services...

Can You Get Rid Of A Mortgage: An Update

Posted on May 31, 2009
A Massachusetts Chapter 13 debtor has been able to remove (”cancel” or “rescind”) a second or refinancing mortgage, without having to pay the full principal balance, if there was a serious defect in the closing papers. See Cancel That Mortgage: Why Bankruptcy and Remove That Mortgage !! A recent intermediary appellate decision just changed that ruling...

Married Debtors; Separate Bankruptcy Estates

Posted on May 31, 2009
Two spouses file one bankruptcy case. They get one trustee, one case number, one meeting of creditors, etc. But they are still two separate people with two separate bankruptcy estates. Here’s why it’s important. If someone dies within six months after a bankruptcy is filed, the inheritance is property of the bankruptcy estate...

Personal Bailouts - Should You Bailout A Friend or Relative?

Posted on May 31, 2009
In this era of corporate bailouts, it makes you wonder how many individual bailouts are happening, and, more importantly, is it the right thing to do? Three times in the past week, a client has called to request that we close the file because they no longer have to file for bankruptcy...

Lawyer Fails to File Bankruptcy or Otherwise Carry Out Debt Repayment Plan; License to Practice Law Revoked

Posted on May 30, 2009
In Santulli v. Texas Board of Law Examiners, 2009 WL 961568 (Tex.App.-Austin, April 10, 2009), the Texas Court of Appeals upheld the revocation of a lawyer’s license to practice law, based upon his failure to either make payment arrangements for his outstanding debts or discharge them in bankruptcy...

Does The Stress Over Debts or Mortgage Foreclosure Lead to Suicide?

Posted on May 30, 2009
Suicide can be a tragic byproduct of the current financial and mortgage foreclosure crisis. We have all heard of people jumping out of buildings in last century’s Great Depression. But how many actual suicides or attempts at suicide have occurred because of today’s situation? At the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys annual convention in Chicago, [...

Resolving a Motion for Relief - A Costly Exercise

Posted on May 30, 2009
Many Chapter 13 cases arise from mortgage payment problems. A significant number of Chapter 13 debtors enter into bankruptcy with a mortgage arrearage and they use the arrearage cure mechanism of Chapter 13 to stop the foreclosure process and to pay back the missed mortgage payments over time...

Seventh Circuit Says ?Give back the Car? in bankruptcy - Even in Chicago

Posted on May 29, 2009
If your car is repossessed before you file a chapter 13 bankruptcy case, you want it back. You want a chance to make your payments. In most of the country, if the car is repossessed before chapter 13 bankruptcy, the lender has to give it back so you can have your chance to keep your [...

List all of your assets in your bankruptcy case - it?s a crime not to

Posted on May 29, 2009
I’m not filing bankruptcy on my motorcycles. Some debtors believe that if they file a bankruptcy case, they get to keep all their property. That’s not true. A debtor in chapter 7 gets to keep his or her exempt property. However non-exempt property could be sold by the trustee to pay creditors’ claims...

To File Your Case, Your Lawyer Will Need All Info, All At One Time

Posted on May 29, 2009
When you file your bankruptcy case, whether it is a Chapter 7, Chapter 13, or Chapter 11, you will have to put together a lot of financial information, and make it available to your attorney. The more complicated your financial situation, the more information you will need to provide, but almost everyone finds that it [...

I Didn?t File For Bankruptcy! How Can The Trustee Sell My House?

Posted on May 29, 2009
I had a client come in to see me recently. She had received a notice from a Chapter 7 Trustee that the Trustee was going to hire a real estate agent to market and sell the client’s house. The client had not filed for bankruptcy, so how was this possible? The answer became apparent after reviewing the notice from the [...

Can?t Access Pacer or ECF? You May Need to Change a Setting in Your Browser

Posted on May 28, 2009
I am writing this post for the benefit of fellow lawyers and other colleagues who may be having the same problems I have accessing bankruptcy court records electronically. If you use Firefox (Mozilla) or Opera as your browser, you will notice that your browser software periodically updates, and sometimes those updates create unintended consequences...

Credit Default Swaps Could Force General Motors Bankruptcy

Posted on May 28, 2009
GM Investors holding credit default swaps [CDS] may get a better return on their investment if GM files what would be history’s 4th largest bankruptcy. A credit default swap is a derivative contract between two parties where one party pays the other party a fee and receives a payoff if the specified investment fails...

You can recover damages if creditors harass you after you file your bankruptcy case

Posted on May 28, 2009
One of the most important benefits of your bankruptcy case is the automatic stay. In plain English, this is a great big stop sign to your creditors. Once your bankruptcy is filed, they have to stop bothering you. No more calls at home. No more calls at work...

Real Estate Commissions Lost to Chapter 7 Trustee, Even When Closings Occurred After Bankruptcy Filing

Posted on May 27, 2009
According to the Eighth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, real estate commissions due from purchase agreements entered into prior to the filing of a chapter 7 case were property of the bankruptcy estate, even though the closings occurred after the case was filed, and even though the real estate agent continued to perform services after the [...

How Flexible is Chapter 13 After You?ve Filed?

Posted on May 26, 2009
A big advantage to a Chapter 13 is there is a great deal of flexibility even after your case is filed, should your financial situation change. After all, a Chapter 13 plan typically runs three to five years (closer to five in my experience) and most people experience changes in any three to five year [...

Satisfy a Car Loan by Surrender in Connecticut

Posted on May 26, 2009
On February 24, 2009, Judge Dabrowski of the U.S. Bankrupcy Court in Connecticut ruled that a car may be surrendered toa creditor in a bankruptcy case to satisfy a car loan that is less than 910 days old. Well, there’s a mouthful. In short, 910 car claims are given special treatment in bankruptcy...

What Is the Difference Between Chapter 11, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

Posted on May 26, 2009
One of the most common questions asked is what is the difference between the types of bankruptcy. When people want to know what the difference is between types of bankruptcy, they really mean “What is the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13?” Both Chapter 11 bankruptcy and Chapter 13 bankruptcy are reorganizations that provides for [...

Do Not Hide From Your Lawyer

Posted on May 25, 2009
Question: When is it a good idea to hide from your lawyer, refusing to return his calls and ignoring a pending court date? Answer: never. I experienced this situation last week in a case involving a Chapter 13 client who had completed almost 4 1/2 years of a 5 year plan, then ended up with a [...

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