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

Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys ? Fall Workshop in Puerto Rico!

Posted on September 19, 2010
As Chairperson of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) 2010 Fall Members-Only Workshop, I am really excited about this year’s event! It will be held November 5 and 6,2010 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I believe we have created a fabulous Workshop to meet all levels of experience from the beginner to the advanced [...

Bankruptcy Issues Could Decide Georgia Governor Race

Posted on September 19, 2010
Two bankruptcy related issues are impacting Georgia’s gubernatorial race and could be the deciding factor in a close race this November. Republican candidate Nathan Deal is facing increasing scrutiny about both his personal finances as well as two Chapter 7 cases filed by his daughter and son-in-law...

My Chapter 13 plan doesn?t meet the Feasibility Test ? what does this mean?

Posted on September 18, 2010
The debtor files a Chapter 13 and can’t afford to pay the amount necessary each month to make his plan payments. But the debtor does have some land that he can sell that will pay a substantial amount of his plan base. So what does the debtor do? He proposes small payments during the first [...

Can I Discharge Tax on Late Filed Returns?

Posted on September 17, 2010
Bankruptcy can discharge income tax if certain conditions are met. One required condition is that returns must have been filed. Some bankruptcy courts have recently taken the position that a return filed after the statutory deadline does not qualify as a return for the purpose of bankruptcy discharge...

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Debt collectors using auto-dialers face BIG fines

Posted on September 15, 2010
The average consumer debt collector employee places 200 collection calls per day or 50,000 calls per year! How do they make so many calls? Most use a technology known as autodialing, even though the use of an autodialer by a collector often violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)...

Can I get a jury trial on a fraudulent conveyance or preference case in bankruptcy court?

Posted on September 13, 2010
Many people think that bankruptcy courts can’t conduct jury trials, and that all preference and fraudulent conveyance cases in bankruptcy cases (called “adversary proceedings”) have to be tried before the bankruptcy judge without a jury...

Thinking of Filing Bankruptcy? Don?t Always Listen To Friends.

Posted on September 13, 2010
“My friend told me that I will lose my house if I file so I know I don’t want to file bankruptcy, but I have so much debt I just don’t know what to do.” The myth that you can’t file bankruptcy and keep your house just won’t go away...

The Reaffirmation Trap ? for Debtor and for Debtor?s Counsel

Posted on September 12, 2010
I deeply respect Jed Berliner and his contributions to the Bankruptcy Law Network, and read with interest his recent post Affirm or Reaffirm After Bankruptcy, It’s Trouble Whatever It’s Called. You’ll notice a lot more posts now about reaffirmation such as Russ DeMott’s series beginning with Reaffirmation Agreements: “Let Them Eat Steel! (Part One)...

One American is filing bankruptcy every 15 seconds

Posted on September 12, 2010
For the fiscal year 2010 ending June 30, 2010, over 1.5 million bankruptcy cases were filed in the United States. For the American people, that is a remarkable rate of one case every 20 seconds. Since many of these bankruptcy filings in the United States involved married couples, it’s obvious that well over 2 million [...

Bankruptcy And All Debts

Posted on September 11, 2010
When you file bankruptcy, regardless of which chapter, you must list all of your debts and all of your assets. Bankruptcy law requires you to list both and you are signing the petition under penalty of perjury that you have listed everything. If you don?t list all of your assets, lots of bad things can [...

American Shingle Bankruptcy Part Two

Posted on September 10, 2010
American Shingle roofing company recently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy leaving many consumers without their deposits and without a new roof. I wrote about the filing earlier in an article American Shingle Files Chapter 7 Bankruptcy but I wanted to give consumers a little more information about bankruptcy procedures since most have never been creditors in [...

Motherhood & The Bankruptcy Bargain

Posted on September 10, 2010
Two different clients recently have approached the means test and the good faith test in Chapter 13 like Momma Grizzlies. Their assumption was that anything they spent on their children was beyond question. One single mother assumed that she was entitled to deduct from the means test her child’s college expenses over the life of [...

Are Debtor?s Prisons Primed for a Comeback?

Posted on September 09, 2010
Debt collection attorneys know that you cannot be thrown in jail if you do not pay your credit card debts. Debtor’s prisons were formally abolished in the United States in 1833, and, except for cases involving past due child support or tax debts, you will not face jail time if you are unwilling or unable [...

4 Collection Steps After You Stop Paying Credit Card Debt

Posted on September 07, 2010
As a bankruptcy lawyer, one of the first things I advise my clients to do when they decide they are filing bankruptcy and hire me is to stop paying on their credit cards. More on this later in the post. Recently, though, before I could offer that advice, a client asked me: “What happens when [...

Pigs Get Fat And Hogs Are Slaughtered In Bankruptcy.

Posted on September 07, 2010
When you file bankruptcy, you should become acquainted with the phrase: Pigs get fat while hogs get slaughtered. It is a great phrase to live by, not only during bankruptcy but in everyday life as well. This phrase goes back to the basics of bankruptcy and life...

Lawyer?s Advice on ?Exemption Planning? Not Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege, 8th Circuit Appeals Court Says

Posted on September 06, 2010
The U.S. Court of Appeals recently held that a bankruptcy attorney could be compelled to testify against his own clients in a case involving the conversion of nonexempt assets into exempt assets, a process commonly known as “exemption planning.” This case, In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 609 F...

Create a Document File When You File Chapter 13

Posted on September 06, 2010
This afternoon, I appeared at a Section 341 meeting of creditors hearing with a married couple who I represent in a Chapter 13 case. One of the questions asked by the trustee had to do with mortgage payments – specifically, were the debtors current with their post-petition mortgage loan payments...

American Shingle Files Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Posted on September 05, 2010
American Shingle filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Georgia owing millions of dollars to creditors. Among the creditors are hundreds of homeowners who paid the company to roof their home but did not receive services promised. A recent hailstorm in Charlotte NC brought in several out of town roofing companies who went door to door [...

Homestead Exemptions if You?re ?Livin? in a Van Down by the River?

Posted on September 03, 2010
When you file bankruptcy, you claim “exemptions” in property you wish to keep free of any claims of the bankruptcy trustee. And the “homestead” exemption–the exemption used to protect your home–is the most important exemption for many debtors...

Stay on Your Bankruptcy Lawyer?s Good Side

Posted on September 02, 2010
You’ve finally hired a bankruptcy lawyer. You’ve done your research and found a lawyer with whom you think you can have a good working relationship. How do you preserve that good working relationship through the course of your bankruptcy case? I’m going to focus on things that are particularly relevant to bankruptcy cases, rather than [...

I Think I Need To File A Chapter 7 But I?m Scared I May Lose My Home!

Posted on September 02, 2010
Many times people come into my office and want to file a chapter 7 but they are worried about losing their home in bankruptcy. Often, this fear probably means they have delayed seeking some advice for a very long time. In most instances, the chapter 7 trustee is not going to sell your home to [...

Can Bankruptcy Help a Mortgage Modification Gone Bad?

Posted on September 02, 2010
Sigh. I hate loan modifications. I just got off the phone with a potential bankruptcy client. This call was from yet another borrower who has been working on a loan modification for months, but now is looking for a attorney to file an emergency Chapter 13 to try to save her house...

Foreclosure, HAMP & Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Posted on September 01, 2010
Before the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) came into existence if a client’s house was in foreclosure you had two basic options: Either file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and give the house back to the creditor, or file a Chapter 13 and pay the arrearages though a Chapter 13 Plan...

What Can I Do To Stop Creditors From Contacting Me?

Posted on August 31, 2010
A sure way to stop creditors from contacting you is to file for bankruptcy protection. Under the Bankruptcy Code, once you file with the Court, an order called the “automatic stay” goes into effect immediately and without you or your attorney doing anything more than filing your petition...

Affirm or Reaffirm, It?s Trouble Whatever It?s Called

Posted on August 28, 2010
You’re told you need to “affirm” or “reaffirm” your mortgage loan to keep your home despite your bankruptcy. Don’t do it. Here’s why. First, I’ll put on my lawyer hat. It’s called “reaffirm”, although it’s a weird word and people often only remember “affirm”...

Creditor Garnishes Funds Held by Chapter 13 Trustee

Posted on August 28, 2010
Can a judgment creditor seek to garnish funds in the possession of the Chapter 13 Trustee after a Chapter 13 case is dismissed? The answer is yes in Orlando. A recent bankruptcy decision in the Orlando Division of the Middle District of Florida holds that if a Chapter 13 Debtor’s case is dismissed and the [...

Chapter 12 Farm Bankruptcy Helps Family Farmers Keep Their Farms

Posted on August 27, 2010
Chapter 12 Bankruptcy is a powerful tool for operators of small farms to resolve their debt problems. Farming and debt often go hand in hand. This is particularly true for New York dairy farmers. They are being paid 20 percent less for unprocessed milk than they received in 2008 – even while milk prices at [...

Absolute Right to Dismiss a 13? That?s What It Says

Posted on August 25, 2010
Modern bankruptcy is largely a voluntary idea, a relief for those in need. The matching right to drop out of a case is less well recognized. This is true even in Chapter 13 where the right to dismiss your own case seems absolute. On the other hand, many courts have concluded the right to dismiss [...

Signs That You Picked The Wrong Kind Of Mortgage

Posted on August 25, 2010
Are you having problems paying a monthly mortgage payment? Are you living in fear of default? Here are some of the warning signs that your mortgage is a time bomb waiting to go off. The first is the size of your mortgage payment. If your payment is more than third of your monthly take-home pay, [...

Consider Non Bankruptcy Alternatives For Debts

Posted on August 24, 2010
If you are considering bankruptcy, mortgage modification, debt relief, debt settlement, debt management (credit counseling) or debt consolidation, you should look at all of them to be sure you are making the right decision for you and that you have all the facts...

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