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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

Senate to Vote This Week on S.2636: Bankruptcy Loan Modification for Distressed Home Mortgage Borrowers

Posted on February 24, 2008
Senate Bill 2636 (introduced by Harry Reid, D, NV), which contains a provision that would allow a bankruptcy judge to modify a distressed home mortgage loan in chapter 13 bankruptcy, will be up for a vote by the full Senate this week. Mortgage lenders are fighting this bill, which would help 600,000 Americans save their [...

Who is this Unknown Collector that Filed a Proof of Claim in my Bankruptcy?

Posted on February 23, 2008
It happens all the time. Someone files a chapter 13 case, lists their creditors to the best of their knowledge, and all of a sudden it?s a feeding frenzy no different than sharks chumming on something bloody at my favorite surf break. But who are these sharks? Actually, the proper term is Debt Scavengers and I [...

Will Bankruptcy Get My $15,000 Back?

Posted on February 23, 2008
It happens quite frequently. A lawsuit is filed, supposedly served on the debtor, no response is filed by the debtor in court(since the sewer service usually never notifies the debtor in the first place), default judgment gets entered, and then the consequences: Wage Garnishments, Bank Levies, Real Estate Liens...

How Do I Get a Complicated Median Income Test Question Answered?

Posted on February 23, 2008
Over the past few years, I find that I receive a lot of questions about the median income part of the means test. Here is an example of a question that I recently received through my Atlanta bankruptcy blog: We are trying to determine if my unemployed wife can file a Chapter 7 BK on [...

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Giving Away Your Money Before Filing Bankruptcy and Lying on Your Paperwork May Land You In Jail

Posted on February 23, 2008
Giving away your money to your relatives before you file your bankruptcy case and lying on your bankruptcy paperwork may land you in federal prison, as this Wichita man learned out Friday. A Kansas federal court jury found this former car dealer guilty of making a false statement and bankruptcy fraud...

Countrywide Goes Skiing While You Face Foreclosure

Posted on February 22, 2008
Countrywide is selling itself at fire-sale prices to Bank of America. It has laid off tens of thousands of employees. Investors in its stock and bonds have been hammered. Homeowners across the country are defaulting on its mortgages and the federal home loan bank is on the hook for many of those [...

Lenders Are Fighting Against Help For Homeowners In Bankruptcy

Posted on February 22, 2008
Congress is considering much needed help for homeowners by allowing court supervised modification of home mortgages in bankruptcy court, but the lenders are fighting to stop them. This legislation is important because it gives homeowners facing foreclosure a chance to save their homes by repaying the loans on more favorable terms...

How Do You Know if Your Chapter 13 is Dismissed and Is there Anything You Can Do?

Posted on February 21, 2008
As you know, Chapter 13 requires on-going payments to the trustee. What happens if you get laid off from work? Is your case dismissed automatically? How do you find out? Because your bankruptcy is part of a legal process, very little will happen without notice being given to you...

Rescue Loans: Businesses Feel The Crunch

Posted on February 21, 2008
Loans to ailing businesses are becoming a rarity. The credit crunch that has hit the consumer across the country is now biting businesses on the brink driving them into bankruptcy — as well as those on the rebound out of bankruptcy. Last June, we visited this issue and businesses were not seeing much difficulty placing [...

Find tax deductions in Chapter 13 payments

Posted on February 21, 2008
Don’t overlook payments your Chapter 13 trustee has made in your case last year when preparing your 2007 tax return. Lurking in the list of creditors being paid by the trustee may well be tax deductions to which you are entitled. My analysis says that payments the trustee makes as your agent according to a [...

You Owe, You Owe, It?s Off To Church I Go

Posted on February 21, 2008
An interesting article written by Patrick Enright of Newsweek.com explores a correlation between evangelical Christians, in the Bible belt and Mormon mountain West, and states with a high concentration of payday lenders. The article examines the results of a state by state count of these two groups conducted by two law school professors for [...

Presto Chango The Rules Have Changed Again!

Posted on February 20, 2008
On October 17, 2005 the world of Bankruptcy changed forever with the commencement of BAPCPA. Until recently in the Western District of Missouri we thought that interpretation of the new changes were somewhat settled and agreed upon. Then just about the time you get comfortable, things up and change again...

Bill To Protect Homes Via Change To Bankruptcy Laws

Posted on February 20, 2008
You can’t look at a newspaper or turn on a news program without seeing something about the mortgage crisis, yet no true help has been offered. Experts agree that bankruptcy courts provide a unique opportunity to have experienced judges oversee modifications of loans to help families in crisis and protect our economy...

Chapter 7 and House Mortgage: Reaffirmation of a Current Mortgage in Illinois

Posted on February 20, 2008
A debtor in a chapter 7 case can reaffirm the exempt portion of an interest in real property and retain the property after the bankruptcy case. Debtor keeps the house and the reaffirmed loan survives the bankruptcy discharge. A creditor is not required to consent to a reaffirmation agreement, but if one is [...

Two Different Levels of Information Required to File Bankruptcy: Are You Above or Below Median?

Posted on February 19, 2008
There are two different levels of financial information required to file bankruptcy under chapter 7 or chapter 13.� If you’re lucky (at least from a bankruptcy perspective), your annual household income, for a household of your size, is below your state’s median annual income...

Societal Norms and Social Stigma of Bankruptcy

Posted on February 19, 2008
Sheryl Schelin blogs about the social stigma of filing bankruptcy. She notes that although experts acknowledge that many people who are “entrapped in the prison of debt” should file bankruptcy, they are discouraged from doing so. This is what concerns me about the social stigma placed on bankruptcy filing...

Who Is A Medically Distressed Debtor Under The Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act? Part I

Posted on February 19, 2008
The Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act, H.R. 5138, was introduced in the House of Representatives on January 28, 2008. This bill, if passed in its present form, would amend the Bankruptcy Code is several different ways. Before we begin analyzing the bill and the changes that could be made to the Bankruptcy Code, it is important [...

Real Estate Sales Agents and Commissioned Salespeople - Not a Good Fit for Chapter 13?

Posted on February 18, 2008
I get a lot of questions from visitors to my Atlanta bankruptcy blog or Georgia bankruptcy law web site that include detailed fact patterns and requests for an in-office consultation. Many of these callers or emailers turn into clients. But not all of them do...

What Happens to My Tax Rebate if I File Bankruptcy?

Posted on February 18, 2008
Congress has passed a stimulus package which will offer most taxpayers a tax rebate. Most of us are supposed to receive the rebate by May of this year. But how will that affect you if you file bankruptcy? If you are already in a bankruptcy, the tax rebate may have no affect on [...

What Is The 2008 Median Income For Louisiana?

Posted on February 18, 2008
In a previous article,� I Live In Louisiana!� How Do I Know If I Can File A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?, I discussed, among other things, the amount that a person can earn before they might have to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.� Known as Median Income, this amount increased for 2008 making it possible for [...

Means Test: Don?t Give Up, Even If You Think You?ve Flunked It, Part 14

Posted on February 18, 2008
In a chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy case, it’s important to take an expense on the the means test form (Form B22A or B22C) for all allowable portions of your monthly home mortgage payment. Line 42 of Form B22A, or Line 47 of Form B22C, is where this expense should be listed...

Fraudulent ?Business Opportunities? Can Push You Into Bankruptcy

Posted on February 17, 2008
I recently met with an old client who recently lost his job.� Now almost 70 years old, this individual is anxiously searching for a new job, or, preferably a small business he can buy with a small inheritance he has in the bank. He brought to our meeting some information he had obtained about a greeting [...

Can Bankruptcy Result in Identity Theft? Part II of II

Posted on February 17, 2008
In the first article, Identity theft was discussed when arising from the public disclosure in Bankruptcy Court Documents of confidential information.� In this article, further discussion takes place on its ramnifications.� One may wonder what is the harm with disclosing such information on a person who just filed for bankruptcy protection...

Can Bankruptcy Result In Identity Theft? Part I of II

Posted on February 17, 2008
Yes, if you are not careful! As a matter of law, your social security number in your bankruptcy file should not be viewable by the public. While you must disclose your social security number to the Bankruptcy Court, this number remains confidential and must stay off all public documents...

Converting from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13

Posted on February 17, 2008
One of the things left intact by BAPCPA, the 2005 bankruptcy act, is the ability to convert from one chapter of the bankruptcy code to another.� Thus, even though you filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can convert it to a chapter 13 if you need to do so...

Means Test: Don?t Give Up, Even If You Think You?ve Flunked It, Part 13

Posted on February 16, 2008
Line 40 of Form B22A, also known as the “means test” form for use in chapter 7 cases, allows you to include an expense for charitable contributions.� This line reads as follows: Continued charitable contributions.� Enter the amount that you will continue to contribute in the form of cash or financial instruments to a charitable organization [...

?Legal Aid? Scam Victimizes Thousands Across the Country

Posted on February 16, 2008
The New York Times recently reported a story about a multi-state legal services scam operated by two brothers.� The brothers placed advertisements in newspapers, in yellow pages and on Craigslist offering discount legal services. The hook - all of the advertisements included the term “legal aid” or “legal aide...

Means Test: Don?t Give Up, Even If You Think You?ve Flunked It, Part 12

Posted on February 14, 2008
Line 32 of Form B22A (the means test form for chapter 7),�and Line 37 of Form B22C (the means test form for chapter 13), reads as follows: Other Necessary Expenses: telecommunications services. Enter the total average monthly amount that you actually pay for telecommunications services other than your basic home telephone and cell phone service — [...

Mortgage Loan Modification May Soon Be Allowed in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Posted on February 14, 2008
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate last night will change the bankruptcy law to allow judges to modify a debtor’s mortgage loan on his home. This bill will help families save their homes from foreclosure. The proposed law, S.2636, eliminates a provision of the bankruptcy law that prohibits modifications to mortgage loans on the [...

Chapter 13 and House Mortgage: Surrender and Discharge in Illinois

Posted on February 13, 2008
There are two ways to walk away from a home mortgage loan while in chapter 13, voluntarily and involuntarily.� One voluntary method involves electing to surrender the real estate.� This election can be made at any time during the case, most commonly occurring at the beginning with the original Plan...

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