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Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Law Network

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Post Frequency: 2.1/day

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

How can I be ?insolvent? if I am paying my bills? One of a series

Posted on January 20, 2010
We have a problem in our nation. Millions of families have spent money beyond their ability to repay. It's not bad that a family can make normal monthly payments on a credit card. However, credit card lines of credit are not assets. They are potential liabilities...

The Worst Kind of Debt You Can Have: Student Loans (Part Two)

Posted on January 20, 2010
The current standard for discharging student loans is ?undue hardship.? Over the last three decades, Congress has made it increasingly difficult to discharge student loans. The chronology of this noose tightening around debtors? necks is as follows: Student loans were dischargeable throughout most of the 20th century...

Can I keep my credit card after bankruptcy?

Posted on January 19, 2010
Clients frequently file bankruptcy because they have too much credit card debt. Sometimes, a client asks if they can’t keep just one credit card after they file a bankruptcy case. Maybe the client needs to buy gas or small items with it. Maybe she travels and needs to charge her airline tickets or automobile rentals...

How To Get Out Of Debt

Posted on January 19, 2010
There are numerous ways to get out of debt. The first is obvious: find a way to make minimum payments until the problem is resolved. Unfortunately, in today?s economic climate, the credit card companies charge so much in interest, that it takes years to pay off even a modest amount of principal...

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Can I Include My Business Debts In My Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

Posted on January 19, 2010
I am seeing more and more small business owners that are in need of filing a personal bankruptcy? In the case of a small business owner filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the question I hear most often is whether the small business owner can discharge his business debts? Generally speaking a small business owner can discharge his [...

In Chapter 13, It?s Crucial to Make Mortgage Payments on Time

Posted on January 19, 2010
It?s probably a no-brainer, but it?s critical to make your mortgage payments on time while you?re in Chapter 13. And by ?on time,? I mean by the due date. The due date is the date that you payment is due. For most people, that is the first of the month...

Co-Signing Your Way to Bankruptcy

Posted on January 19, 2010
All debts are either sole or joint. This is true concerning mortgages, car notes, personal loans, or credit cards. It all comes down to how the account was established. If you have good credit, the account is based on your promise to repay. No one else needs to co-sign the account because you are not considered a [...

Bankruptcy Law Network iPhone App Now Available

Posted on January 16, 2010
Got an iPhone or iPod Touch? Want to get the most recent information and videos on bankruptcy, credit, debt, and mortgages including foreclosure issues as they are posted, but don’t want to surf the web to get it? Now you can get the Bankruptcy Law Network iPhone App...

Why Do Creditors Rarely Show Up at Chapter 7 341 Hearings?

Posted on December 30, 2009
Today, December 29, 2009, was a cold and miserable day in Atlanta, Georgia. Unfortunately I had a Chapter 7 bankruptcy 341 hearing to attend at the federal courthouse in Atlanta. I bundled up the best I could, took the train to the nearest stop – about 1/2 a mile from the courthouse – and braved [...

Unfair Discrimination in Chapter 13-Part 2

Posted on December 29, 2009
I previously wrote about the rule against unfair discrimination between similarly classed creditors in Chapter 13. There is an important and under-utilized exception to this rule. Section 1322(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code allows a debtor to treat unsecured co-debts differently than other unsecured debts...

7 Reasons To Choose Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Posted on December 29, 2009
The US Bankruptcy Code offers several choices to one who is struggling with debt. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the most common form and preferred option for most debtors. Here are seven reasons why. Time: a typical Chapter 7 bankruptcy takes about 100 days from beginning to end...

Unfair Discrimination in Chapter 13-Part 1

Posted on December 29, 2009
First of all, the type of discrimination referred to in the title of this post pertains to creditor claims. In general, creditor claims of the same class must be treated the same in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Broad classes of claims include priority, general unsecured, and secured claims...

What Is The Function Of Bankruptcy Law?

Posted on December 29, 2009
In discussing why bankruptcy is important, I am met with a number of viws regarding bankruptcy. For people that do not seem to have issues involving too much debt, they seem to view bankruptcy with a sort of disdain. For those who do have a lot of debt, being free of that debt is a [...

Can I Keep a Credit Card in Bankruptcy?

Posted on December 29, 2009
People often ask if they can keep a credit card after filing bankruptcy. Maybe they have a credit card they use for travel, maybe it’s one used for everyday purchases and paid in full at the end of every billing cycle, maybe it’s one with a zero balance...

Chapter 11 bankruptcy can prevent suicide

Posted on December 23, 2009
Sadly, a longtime Jacksonville Beaches developer, Arthur Kirschman, took his own life on December 22nd because of his deteriorating financial condition. As a bankruptcy lawyer, I am always particularly disturbed by stories like this because I believe I could have given hope in a seemingly hopeless situation...

What is ?median family income? and why do I care? One of a series

Posted on December 23, 2009
Congress thinks that people who are above-average earners are abusing the bankruptcy system when they file chapter 7. Congress wanted above-average earners to file cases under chapter 13 and devote 5 years of their disposable income to paying some of all of their debts.

Bank Accounts in Bankruptcy

Posted on December 23, 2009
One of the common questions I hear from clients is whether they can keep (or open) bank accounts while they are in bankruptcy, or after bankruptcy. The short answer to that question is that there is nothing in bankruptcy laws that would prevent you from having or keeping your bank account open...

Stress!

Posted on December 23, 2009
I do not know about you but I am completely and totally stressed! Why? My clients are stressed, my judges are stressed, my trustees are stressed, our nation in general is stressed, so I guess it is natural that I am stressed. So why is there so much stress during the holidays? Our society has driven [...

Chapter 11 bankruptcy can provide emotional stability

Posted on December 23, 2009
Sadly, a longtime Jacksonville Beaches developer took his own life on December 22nd at least partly because of his deteriorating financial condition. As a bankruptcy lawyer, I am always particularly disturbed by stories like this because I believe I may have given some hope in a seemingly hopeless situation...

What?s a ?family farmer?? Someone who can file Chapter 12

Posted on December 22, 2009
Chapter 12 is a little known part of the Bankruptcy Code that can be exceptionally helpful to family farmers and family fishermen. Under chapter 7, debtors discharge all of their debt but lose all of their non-exempt assets. Under chapter 13, debtors keep all of their non-exempt assets but devote 5 years of disposable income toward [...

No Modification For You !

Posted on December 21, 2009
You may recall the “Soup Nazi” episode from the hit television series Seinfeld. In the video, the Soup Nazi can be seen taking away soup from George because George cannot seem to follow the proper protocol. I like to compare the soup nazi to the mortgage companies who are supposed to be helping homeowners modify [...

Why do ?domestic support obligations? matter in bankruptcy?

Posted on December 21, 2009
Domestic support obligations are the top priority in any bankruptcy case. They come ahead of taxes and every other type of of unsecured claim. So if a person files a bankruptcy case, other creditors get nothing until back child support and alimony is paid in full.

I Can Only Keep One Car If I File Bankruptcy, Right?

Posted on December 21, 2009
I only get to keep one car if I file bankruptcy, right? Wrong. Often you can keep several cars when you file bankruptcy. Exactly what you can save and what you can?t keep depends on two factors: the type of bankruptcy you file and the kind of exemptions you can claim...

The Worst Debt You Can Have: Student Loans (Part One)

Posted on December 21, 2009
I?ll bet that if you asked the average person what debt is the worst kind of debt, he?d say taxes. But owing student loans is, ironically, far worse than owing Uncle Sam. During my next few posts, I?ll examine exactly what a ?student loan? is, a bit of history of how the [...

Will They Take My Annuity if I File for Bankruptcy?

Posted on December 20, 2009
A 32-year-old single mother of two filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in Kansas and lost her $900 monthly lifetime annuity payment. This week she lost her attempt to protect the annuity from her creditors and the bankruptcy trustee. The chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee likely will sell the future stream of annuity payments for a lump sum [...

Why ?current monthly income? is not current or monthly

Posted on December 20, 2009
Oddly enough, "current monthly income" is neither "current" nor "monthly". What we do is take the average of your gross income from all sources - another point of controversy - for the last six months.

Am I liable for my spouse?s debts? About ?community claims?

Posted on December 19, 2009
Most community property states are in the South and West. That’s because the idea of community property came from Civil Law in continental Europe rather than from Common Law in England. Some of the Southern and Western states originally were Spanish or French territory...

How Do I Make the Phone Calls Stop?

Posted on December 18, 2009
Creditors want to get paid. When you don’t send them the regular monthly minimum, your telephone becomes the debt collector’s weapon of choice. Creditors will use the telephone in a way to get the desired result. They have no problem calling you 12 times a day to get you to send them a payment...

Can a limited liability company file for bankruptcy? Yes, but not chapter 13.

Posted on December 18, 2009
Limited liability companies can and do file bankruptcy cases. When they do, they are treated as corporations.

What Do Chapter 7 Trustees Dream About? CASH!

Posted on December 18, 2009
Chapter 7 trustees are paid the small sum of $60 for administering each case. The real money a trustee makes is from finding and selling assets, and no asset is more favored than cash. According to the statutory formula, in addition to the paltry fee of $60 per case, Chapter 7 trustees are paid a commission [...

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