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Bankruptcy

The Debt Podcast

Hosted by Jay S. Fleischman, a bankruptcy and consumer lawyer located in New York City. Information and news designed to help you learn more about bankruptcy, debt relief, and consumer credit options.

Post Frequency: 4.9/day

Last Entry: November 23, 2010 at 18:33:08

Did Bankruptcy Reform Fail?

Posted on December 21, 2008
“Did Bankruptcy Reform Fail” is the title of a study to be published in an upcoming issue of the American Bankruptcy Law Journal, according to the Consumer Bankruptcy News. The study, conducted by the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, compared cases filed in 2007 under BAPCPA, with cases filed prior to the passage of BAPCPA...

7th Circuit Allows Car Ownership Deduction

Posted on December 21, 2008
Seventh Circuit Allows Car Ownership Deduction If you liked that post, then try these...Violations of the Discharge Injunction are big business. by Carmen Dellutri, Attorney at LawIf I File Bankruptcy, Can I Still Have Credit Cards For Emergencies? by Susanne Robicsek, North Carolina Bankruptcy AttorneyMORTGAGE REAFFIRMATIONS by Kurt O'Keefe, Attorney at Law

Maine Bankruptcy Court Disallows Car Ownership Deduction

Posted on December 18, 2008
The Maine Bankruptcy Court recent denied confirmation in the case of In re Coffin, 396 B.R. 804 (Bkrtcy.D.Me. 2008) based on the debtor taking the means test ownership deduction for vehicles he owned outright. The court thus added a new voice to the surrounding din on this issue and disagreed with the Massachusetts Bankruptcy [...

What If I Wreck My Car While I?m In Chapter 13?

Posted on December 17, 2008
A wreck is a traumatic experience no matter what the circumstances, but it can present some special challenges if you are in Chapter 13 when it happens. Don#8217;t worry, though#8211;you can work your way through it. I tell my clients that when their car is involved in an accident, the first call should be to 911, [...

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Job Losses, Home Value Erosion Driving Up Middle Class Bankruptcies

Posted on December 17, 2008
Bankruptcy Law Network President Jay S. Fleischman of Brooklyn tells New York Times readers that increased bankruptcy filings are caused by job losses and erosion of home values. ?We are seeing debt-collection efforts really being ratcheted up over the last couple of months,? said Fleischman...

Chapter 13 Trustee For Eastern District of Louisiana Announces New Trustee Fee

Posted on December 17, 2008
S. J. Beaulieu, Jr., the Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of Louisiana announced that effective on October 1, 2008 the trustee#8217;s fee for administering a Chapter 13 bankruptcy would be set a 6.7%. The trustee#8217;s fee in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is based upon a percentage of the gross amount collected from the debtor...

Bank accounts and bankruptcy filing: avoid disaster

Posted on December 16, 2008
The money in your bank account at the moment you file bankruptcy belongs to the bankruptcy estate. It may be claimed exempt; the trustee may walk away from small bits of money, but the legal right to it belongs to the estate created by the bankruptcy filing...

Surprise! Bankruptcy Filings Up

Posted on December 16, 2008
Okay, from the queen of the obvious here, bankruptcy filings are up for 2008: Bankruptcy filings rose 30% during the government’s 2008 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, according to figures released Monday by the Administrative Office of the U...

Do I Qualify to File Bankruptcy?

Posted on December 16, 2008
Qualification to file Bankruptcy. This seems to be a major concern for many people. The truth is that if you are having trouble paying your bills, you qualify to file for relief under the Bankruptcy act. As my colleagues have written, there are several kinds of bankruptcies...

Rescission and HOEPA Claims in Bankruptcy

Posted on December 16, 2008
Rescission and HOEPA Claims in Chapter 13 BankruptcyHomeowners faced with foreclosure because of refinanced home loans with abusive terms can bring an adversary action in bankruptcy to rescind them if there are violations of the Federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) or the Home Owner’s Equity Protection Act (HOEPA)...

Who Are The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees For the Eastern District of Louisiana?

Posted on December 16, 2008
This article updates a previous list of the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The current Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees are: David V. Adler P.O. Box 55129 Metaire, LA 70055 E-mail: adler_d@bellsouth.net Phone: (504)834-5465 Wilbur J...

When is Unpaid Tuition a Nondischargeable Student Loan?

Posted on December 16, 2008
As many know, student loans are not dischargeable in bankruptcy unless a debtor proves “undue hardship.” This showing is rare and usually requires medical evidence of a present and future inability to work in any field. The question, however, sometimes arises: is unpaid tuition a student loan...

Can Bankruptcy Court Bind Claims Against Debtor?s Insurer? U.S. Supreme Court to Decide in Asbestos Case

Posted on December 16, 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court decided Friday to determine whether the bankruptcy court can bind claimants of a chapter 11 debtor’s liability insurer. Johns Manville Corp. filed chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1982 after being sued for lung cancer and other health-related damages caused by asbestos, a substance found in insulation and fire retardant building materials...

Why File Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

Posted on December 13, 2008
Why file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy? There are three main reasons to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy. 1) Chapter 13 is for people who have the means to repay their debts. This means that they have some money available to make payments. They make more that what is required to live on, but may not be able [...

Real Estate Relief of Stay: New Requirements?

Posted on December 13, 2008
In both Chapter 13 and Chapter 7, real estate lenders can not continue foreclosure proceedings against real estate without first getting permission from the Bankruptcy Court. This permission is most commonly pursued by filing a motion for “relief of stay...

Real Estate Relief of Stay: New Requirements?INei

Why Chapter 11? The Answer Has Always Been Jobs

Posted on December 13, 2008
In these days where we are all wondering which industry giant will be the next to file Chapter 11, and perhaps feeling a little schadenfreude about some of those names, it may occur to you to wonder why Chapter 11 even exists. After all, why does the government sponsor (and spend a lot of taxpayer money) [...

New Massachusetts Means Test Decision

Posted on December 12, 2008
In the case of In re Bernard, 2008 WL 5050132 (Bkrtcy.D.Mass.2008), Judge Rosenthal of the Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court addressed two important means test issues. The United States Trustee had moved to dismiss the debtors’ Chapter 7 case arguing, among other things, that a presumption of abuse had arisen under the debtors’ means test...

Schadenfreude Moment: GMAC May Go Bankrupt

Posted on December 11, 2008
GMAC, the large consumer lender, as well as the Big Three auto makers are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Consumer debtors may be forgiven for taking a certain pleasure in their potential discomfort. GMAC has been in severe financial distress for some time now...

Discharging Income Taxes in Bankruptcy: Four of Four

Posted on December 10, 2008
This past week, I wrote about discharging taxes in bankruptcy and about the three-year, 240-day, and two-year rules. This is the fourth and final installment regarding income tax dischargeability concerning unfiled or fraudulent returns and tax evasion...

Bankruptcy Basics: 2 Kinds of Bankruptcy but 5 Chapters

Posted on December 10, 2008
There are only two types of bankruptcy: 1) Straight / Liquidation and 2) Reorganization, but there are five chapters of bankruptcy to consider. Straight bankruptcy is always Chapter 7. Chapter 7 wipes out most unsecured loans (debts without collateral) in exchange for giving up all of your property, except the property you own that is exempt [...

Renters Can be Victims of Foreclosure

Posted on December 10, 2008
Last week the Atlanta Journal Constitution published an important article entitled “Foreclosures Reach Renters.” The article described the plight of tenants who had regularly and reliably paid monthly rentals for homes but were nevertheless faced with eviction if the property owner failed to make mortgage payments, resulting in a foreclosure...

Exemption Planning After Addison

Posted on December 09, 2008
Maximizing your homestead with unprotected assets before filing bankruptcy received another boost today in the Eighth Circuit. The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel handed down its first decision applying the circuit court’s Addison doctrine, previously discussed by my friend, Minnesota bankruptcy attorney Craig Andresen...

How to Find a Credit Counseling Vendor Who Speaks Your Language

Posted on December 09, 2008
As you probably know, before you can file most consumer bankruptcy cases, you will need to obtain a credit counseling certificate from an approved vendor. The U.S. Trustee’s website offers a handy tool that will help you identify credit counseling vendors in your State...

Discharging Income Taxes in Bankruptcy: Three of Four

Posted on December 08, 2008
This is the third installment in a series of posts analyzing when an income tax can be discharged in bankruptcy. The first two requirements–the three-year and 240-day rule–were discussed previously, and the third requirement is this: If a return is filed late, it must not be filed within two years of a bankruptcy for [...

Judge Federman Of the Western District Of Missouri Outlines Requirements For A Reaffirmation.

Posted on December 08, 2008
Judge Federman issued a new opinion on November 17, 2008 outlining the requirements for the Court to approve a reaffirmation. A reaffirmation allows a debtor to keep an asset while at the same time the agreement will hold the debtor liable for the debt post discharge...

A conservative argument for bankruptcy reform ? Part 2 ? Make student loans dischargeable

Posted on December 08, 2008
In Part 1, I discussed the necessity of cramdown to marshal rational behavior in the marketplace. Student loans are a rare exception to the bankruptcy discharge, meaning that only in the extreme of circumstances will a debtor be able to escape that financial obligation...

Who Will File For Bankruptcy Next?

Posted on December 08, 2008
According to the USA Today, the Tribune Company is contemplating filing for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. The Tribune Company has not filed for bankruptcy protection yet; however, it’s management is looking at the option of bankruptcy, as any good management team would in today’s economy...

Trade-in loan balance, gap insurance, service contracts, fees not part of car loan purchase money security interest

Posted on December 07, 2008
Negative equity, GAP insurance, service contracts, and administrative fees rolled into your car loan are not entitled to the special protection for purchase money security interests in cars, a Kansas bankruptcy judge ruled this week in In Re Miller, Case No...

A conservative argument for bankruptcy reform ? Part 1 ? The necessity of cramdown

Posted on December 07, 2008
As a Jacksonville Florida bankruptcy attorney, I have come to understand bankruptcy not just as a social safety net but also as a necessary market tool. Without the threat of bankruptcy, lenders engage in unnatural business behavior that is not only bad for individuals, it is bad for our society as a whole...

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