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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

Is Bankruptcy Right For You?

Posted on December 07, 2008
Is Bankruptcy my best alternative? Will it work for me? That is probably the question I get asked most in my capacity as a consumer bankruptcy attorney. It is never an easy question to answer, and depends on many factors. Do you have a home? Have you filed for bankruptcy before, and if so, when and [...

What is ?Bankruptcy Fraud? and Are You at Risk?

Posted on December 06, 2008
ecently I have noticed that both the Internal Revenue Service website and the website for the Office of the United States Trustee have published a great deal of material about “bankruptcy fraud.” What exactly is “bankruptcy fraud” and how can you avoid doing things that might put you at risk? In the consumer bankruptcy area, the [...

Small Business Bankruptcy: Many Are Like ?Joe the Plumber?

Posted on December 06, 2008
The election is over, and Joe the Plumber isn’t on the forefront anymore. He became the symbol of people everywhere who wanted to own their own business and become rich doing it. The ultimate “American Dream“. Because of my 20+ years experience as a bankruptcy lawyer in Charlotte NC, I think that I may have [...

The trick to discharging credit card debt-Part Two

Posted on December 06, 2008
Credit card debt is dischargeable in bankruptcy unless the debt was incurred by fraud, as I explained in an earlier article on credit cards in bankruptcy. Fraud, in this context, is incurring the charge without the intention to repay. In some circuits, incurring a debt you know you can’t repay is within the definition of [...

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New Bankruptcy Forms Effective December 1

Posted on December 05, 2008
Changes in official bankruptcy forms went into effect December 1, 2008. Also, new official form B283 Chapter 13 Debtor’s Certifications Regarding Domestic Support Obligations and Section 522(q) is now required. Four forms were amended to be fill-in versions: B1D Exhibit D (Form | Committee Note), B8 Statement of Intention [...

Discharging Income Taxes in Bankruptcy: Two of Four

Posted on December 05, 2008
As I previously wrote, there are four general requirements for discharging income taxes in bankruptcy. The first is the three-year rule. The second, which I’ll discuss here, is the 240-day rule. For an income tax to be dischargeable, it must not have been assessed with 240 days of the filing of the [...

A Foreclosure Fix That Won?t Cost Taxpayers a Dime

Posted on December 05, 2008
I know a lot of lawyers who are like me. As corny as it sounds, we really like to help people. We see ourselves as riding to the rescue, and it hurts us to have to say “I can’t help you.” But that is exactly where I found myself yesterday...

Court Issues New Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Discharge Eligibility Form

Posted on December 04, 2008
When a Chapter 13 bankruptcy debtor finishes making his plan payments, he must certify he satisfies two requirements for a discharge of his debts. The federal courts have adopted new form B282 for debtors to make that certification effective December 1, 2008...

Bally Fitness Is Not Fiscally Fit.

Posted on December 03, 2008
Bally Fitness filed for Chapter 11 protection in the Southern District of New York today, December 3, 2008. Bally just emerged from a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy a little over a year ago an an attempt to manage $800 millon dollars of debt. This time they have about $811 millon dollars of debt and will look to either [...

Discharging Income Taxes in Bankruptcy: One of Four

Posted on December 03, 2008
There are four general requirements for discharging an income tax in bankruptcy. In this post, I will discuss the first: The tax must be one for which the return was not last due within three years of the filing of the bankruptcy. Therefore, if a 2005 income tax return was last due on [...

Bonuses and Means Test Income

Posted on December 03, 2008
Year-end bonuses may be prorated over the covered 12 months, instead of being counted 100% as income when received, according to a recent case interpreting Means Test Income. I recently posted on this case from Judge Joel B. Rosenthal of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, which ruled that a paycheck, received after [...

Outstanding Payday Loans and Bankruptcy

Posted on December 01, 2008
Post-dated payday loan checks can be cashed even after a bankruptcy is filed, according to a federal appellate panel. They may not be able to keep the money, however. Most bankruptcy filings trigger an automatic stay which stops collection of debt by creditors...

Bankruptcy Law Network Chosen by the ABA as a Top 100 Legal Blog

Posted on December 01, 2008
aba-blawg-100 Each year the American Bar Association publishes a list of the top 100 legal blogs. This year, the ABA has recognized this site as a one of the top 100 legal blogs - and the only legal blog dealing with bankruptcy, credit and debt issues...

Creditor Requests for Tax Returns in Bankruptcy

Posted on December 01, 2008
The BAPCPA amendments to the Bankruptcy Code allow creditors to request a tax return directly from a debtor. Section 521(e)(2) provides that: (A) The debtor shall provide- (i) not later than 7 days before the date first set for the first meeting of creditors, to the trustee a copy of the Federal income tax return required [...

Can Creditors Repossess Or Foreclose On Property After A Bankruptcy Is Discharged?

Posted on December 01, 2008
Many people file for bankruptcy and keep their homes and cars. However creditors may sell property after a bankruptcy discharge is granted via repossession or foreclosure if a default under state law has been triggered allowing the sale of collateral for the loan...

Bankruptcy Judge for Chapter 13 Reform

Posted on November 30, 2008
No one has advocated Chapter 13 bankruptcy reform, to allow courts to re-write the terms of mortgages secured by homes, longer than the bloggers on this site. I have not seen our argument for Chapter 13 bankruptcy reform put better than in this Washington Post article...

Social Security Benefits Not Exempt If Already Received, Minnesota Court Says

Posted on November 30, 2008
When social security benefits have already been received, but not yet spent on the date a bankruptcy case is filed, the funds cannot be claimed exempt under the federal bankruptcy exemptions, according to In re Carpenter, 2008 WL 4567128 (Bky.D.Minn. Oct...

Free Bankruptcy Basics Videos Launched by Courts

Posted on November 30, 2008
Eight free web videos on about filing for bankruptcy are now available on the federal court website: Introduction Running Time: (2:38) Types of Bankruptcy Running Time: (3:55) Limits of Debts Running Time: (4:34) Filing for Bankruptcy Running Time: (2:57) Meeting of Creditors Running Time: (1:27) Court Hearings Running Time: (6:58) This Discharge Running Time: (1:27) Legal Assistance Running Time: (4:58) General bankruptcy information [...

Chapter 13 Payments Misapplied without Penalty

Posted on November 30, 2008
An appellate court has held that a mortgagee may wrongfully apply post-bankruptcy payments to the pre-bankruptcy account without penalty. Ameriquest Mortgage kept two separate books to account for mortgage payments, one computerized and one manually...

Senate Bill 3690 Proposed to Change Bankruptcy Laws to Help Homeowners.

Posted on November 29, 2008
On November 17, 2007, Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL] introduced a new bankruptcy bill to the Senate to help struggling homeowners save their homes from foreclosure in bankruptcy. Its purpose is “to help struggling families stay in their homes and to ensure that taxpayers are protected when the Secretary of the Treasury purchases equity shares in financial institutions...

Tax Refunds, Actual Tax Expenses, and the Means Test

Posted on November 29, 2008
The Means Test reduces income by actual tax expenses, among other permitted reductions. Problems arise when calculating an actual tax expense where there was a refund in the previous year. A refund occurs when someone over-withholds from their income to pay their taxes...

Why Am I Still Getting Billed By My Mortgage Company After Bankruptcy?

Posted on November 29, 2008
This is a frequent scenario. A debtor files for bankruptcy, gets a discharge, and continues to get billing statements from the mortgage company. These statements and other communications come despite being promised by his or her attorney that all further communications must cease and that any future communications are a violation of the discharge injunction, [...

H.B. 7307: Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Home Mortgage Modification Bill Introduced

Posted on November 28, 2008
Democratic Congressional leaders introduced House Bill 7307 this week to remove a ban on modification of a homeowners residential mortgage in chapter 13 bankruptcy. It would correct a 30-year-old anomaly in the Bankruptcy Code allowing the modification of nearly all loans except a family?s home...

Income ?Derived? and ?Received? for Means Test

Posted on November 28, 2008
One of the many sticking points about the Means Test is defining income when comparing one’s income for the past six months against the median income. Income is defined in sec. 101(10A) of the Bankruptcy Code as ”the average monthly income from all sources that the debtor receives (or in a joint case the debtor and the [...

Giving Thanks - For Bankruptcy!

Posted on November 27, 2008
Today I am giving thanks. I am spending the day with my sons, their wives and children, and my mother-in-law. We have much to be thankful for. So why am I giving thanks for bankruptcy and the bankruptcy system? Every week I meet with dozens of people in financial distress...

I Filed Bankruptcy And Got A 1099 Do I Owe Tax?

Posted on November 26, 2008
The IRS requires banks and financial institutions to report the cancellation of debts. This can happen when there is foreclosure, if there is a settlement on a consumer debt, or if the bank is simply unable to collect the debt within the time allowed by law...

What am I thankful for? Let me count

Posted on November 26, 2008
I’m thankful that the founders of this country understood the energizing effect of the foregiveness of debt and provided for bankruptcy laws in the Constitution. I’m thankful that debt in this country is not an irremediable condition, that those who have encountered misfortune, bad judgment, or business failure can start over at tolerable cost through bankruptcy...

Where Do The Bankruptcy Notices Come From?

Posted on November 25, 2008
In June 2008, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts awarded a bankruptcy noticing contract to BAE Systems information Technology for a one-year period with nine option years, according to Susan M. Thurston, of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in her October 2008 article in ABI Journal...

Motions to Abandon

Posted on November 25, 2008
In a Chapter 7 case, usually property that can’t be exempted is sold and distributed to creditors by the trustee. However, at times property is burdensome or of little value to the bankruptcy estate. In these circumstances, abandonment of the property is appropriate...

Paid every 2 weeks is NOT the same as being paid twice a month!

Posted on November 24, 2008
Frequently while going over a client’s monthly income, I discover the client has stated their monthly income as less than what it really is due to the way they calculate their paychecks. Unfortunately, for many of my clients, the difference between the two calculations can cause them to not have enough income to qualify for [...

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