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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

Lift Stay Motions in Chapter 13: Filing a Response Need Not Be Difficult

Posted on February 12, 2008
If you are in a chapter 13 case, you might eventually receive an ominous-looking document entitled “Motion for Relief From Stay,” or some similar caption. This multi-page document is filed by a secured creditor, such as your mortgage lender or car loan finance company, when it wants to obtain bankruptcy court permission to foreclose or [...

I?m Still Being Collected Upon By A Discharged Debt. Now What?

Posted on February 10, 2008
Collecting upon a discharged debt is a violation of the Discharge Injunction under 11 USC 524. In the Ninth Circuit, it is punishable by contempt. In the Southern District of California Bankruptcy Court, up until this last week, a lawsuit, called an Adversary Proceeding, could be filed in the Bankruptcy Court to sue the [...

The Ninth Circuit BAP Has Ruled No More Ride Thru

Posted on February 10, 2008
On February 6, 2008, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel issued its ruling confirming the Bankruptcy Courts decision that Ride Thru no longer exists as a result of the new Bankruptcy Laws that went into effect on October 17, 2005. So what does this mean? First of all, a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP)decision is not binding [...

Can a Vehicle Lender Refuse to Reaffirm My Loan?

Posted on February 10, 2008
Can a car lender refuse to reaffirm? I received this question from a Utah reader of my Atlanta Bankruptcy blog: We had our car loans lumped together into one loan for both cars. Both vehicles are worth about 14,000 together and we only owe 6,500. If we’re filing a chapter 7 will the bank try to [...

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What Is The Difference Between A Chapter 7 And A Chapter 13 For Consumers?

Posted on February 10, 2008
Last year, my friend and colleague, Susanne Robicsek, wrote a great comment on the different types of bankruptcies. Susanne covered all the types of bankruptcies, but what I want to do is outline the basic pros and cons between a Chapter 7 and a Chapter 13...

Means Test: Don?t Give Up, Even If You Think You?ve Flunked It, Part 11

Posted on February 10, 2008
Having an expense account means that money you spend in the course of your employment is returned to you by your employer. That’s a sensible business move that keeps an employee happy — usually. However, expense account reimbursements can create a problem for someone filing bankruptcy, because the U...

How Does Redemption Work in Chapter 7

Posted on February 09, 2008
What are your options in Chapter 7 if you own a vehicle that is worth thousands of dollars less than the debt on the vehicle - in other words, you are upside down on the vehicle. Further, what if you are behind on your payments or you have a spotty payment history? The Bankruptcy Code provides [...

American Home Bankruptcy: Consumers Still Can?t Catch a Break

Posted on February 08, 2008
Just because your mortgage servicer is bankrupt and your loan is nearly worthless to other lenders, don’t expect you’ll catch a break. That’s the lesson coming from the latest round in the American Home Mortgage bankruptcy. As we have noted before, American Home Mortgage Investment Corp...

How Does Reaffirmation Work in Chapter 7?

Posted on February 08, 2008
What are your options for keeping your vehicle if you file Chapter 7? What if you owe far more than the vehicle is worth - do you have any leverage to negotiate? There are basically two options. I’ll discuss the first option - reaffirmation - here, and I’ll discuss the second option - redemption - in [...

Congressional Amendment on Private Student Loans Deserves Support

Posted on February 07, 2008
A proposal to repeal the enhanced nondischargeability provisions of the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention Act relative to private student loans is scheduled for a vote in The House of Representatives today as an Amendment to the Higher Education Reauthorization Act...

Bankruptcy Rules Committee to Meet

Posted on February 06, 2008
The bankruptcy rules advisory committee will meet March 27 and 28, 2008, in St. Michaels, MD. The committee reviews the federal rules of bankruptcy procedure and makes proposals for changes to the Judicial Conference of the United States. The process is open to the public...

NACBA Lobby Day In Washington DC

Posted on February 06, 2008
The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) has been lobbying congress since 1993. In those early days, founding members Ike Shulman, Norma Hammes, and others struck out for Washington, DC, on their own to twist congressional arms and argue for fairness on behalf of consumer debtors in bankruptcy...

Tax Refunds in Bankruptcy - Don?t Spend Them Without Talking to Your Lawyer First!

Posted on February 05, 2008
It’s tax refund season. If you are currently in a bankruptcy, you should not spend your tax refund before talking to your lawyer! Otherwise the court may deny or revoke your discharge. That is a double-whammy — you’ll have a bankruptcy on your credit report but not wipe out the debts! The Eighth [...

Consumers Can Still File Bankruptcy, Dallas Morning News Reports

Posted on February 05, 2008
Although the mainstream media has recently been full of reports on subprime mortgage lending, credit crisis, and the housing market woes, that same reports often overlook the obvious solution to some of those problems for consumer–bankruptcy relief...

Save Your Tax Refund In Bankruptcy

Posted on February 05, 2008
It’s tax time again, and for people considering filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy it is time to start planning so you can keep your tax refund. A tax refund is your money, just like money in any bank account. When bankruptcy is filed, those funds due must be accounted for in your asset [...

The Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2008

Posted on February 05, 2008
This bill, introduced by Representative Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), would increase the Federal Homestead Exemption in Bankruptcy to $250,000 for ?medically distressed debtors?. The bill also prohibits trustees in such instances from dismissing a case or converting to Chapter 13 based on the substantial abuse provision of 707(b) of Title ll...

Post filing taxes can torpedo Chapter 13 case

Posted on February 05, 2008
The IRS has become more aggressive in the Northern District of California in bringing motions to dismiss otherwise performing Chapter 13 cases where the debtor has failed to pay taxes that came due after filing. The premise of Chapter 13 is that the debtor gets protection from his pre filing creditors, and pays them from his [...

Bankruptcy Crimes: Will we see more of this in the future?

Posted on February 04, 2008
Recently, U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull, sentenced a Billings, Montana woman to the maximum sentence allowable for crimes including bankruptcy crimes against her mother. The woman, named Nancy Short, admitted the wrongdoing and asked for forgiveness; however, the Judge was not persuaded...

When Do I Need To Leave My House When Filing For Bankruptcy And Foreclosure. Part 2 of 2.

Posted on February 04, 2008
In my last post, we discussed that a typical foreclosure in California where a chapter 7 bankruptcy is involved, can typically can take up to a year. This article will discuss how that process may even be lengthened.Lately, there has been a trend across America, especially locally in the Southern District of California Bankruptcy Court, [...

Green Chair of Truth?the 341 Meeting Chair

Posted on February 04, 2008
Jill Michaux recently wrote a piece on What To Expect At Your 341 Hearing. She provided a list of questions, typically asked at the 341 Hearing, also known as the Meeting of Creditors. These questions were also probably provided in different forms in the homework provided by your attorney...

Congress Could Save Your Home From Foreclosure

Posted on February 04, 2008
Congress is considering the “Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007.” This bill would change the bankruptcy code to permit a bankruptcy judge to modify the terms of a home loan in a Chapter 13 proceeding. HR 3609 makes a small change in §1322(b)(2) of the bankruptcy code that now [...

Causes Of Bankruptcy: Snowballing Debt And Interest Charges

Posted on February 03, 2008
Many people file for bankruptcy to discharge credit cards and other loans they took to buy a few things “on time” that have snowballed to a point that it can no longer be paid off. Buying on time is something that hurts consumers in the long run...

When Do I Need To Leave My House When Filing For Bankruptcy And Foreclosure? Part 1 of 2

Posted on February 03, 2008
In most cases, a Bankruptcy will usually delay any foreclosure process. This is because when a bankruptcy case is filed, a restraining order is entered under 11 USC 362 called the Automatic Stay, which prevents any further debt collection efforts against debtors or their property...

Does Bankruptcy Cause Divorce?

Posted on February 03, 2008
Does bankruptcy cause divorce? No. However the underlying factors that led to the bankruptcy may cause you to consider divorce. My office manager and I were recently discussing this factor because so many of our clients lately have filed for divorce...

What Will They Ask Me at My Bankruptcy Hearing?

Posted on February 03, 2008
Fellow blogger Susanne Robicsek told you what to expect at your meeting of creditors, nicknamed your 341 hearing. What will the trustee ask me, you wonder? Here is the list of questions your trustee is required to ask you and a list of sample questions your trustee may ask you depending on the facts [...

Reports of Soaring Bankruptcy Filing Numbers Hit the Front Page

Posted on February 02, 2008
This past week both the Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution published feature stories about the soaring rates of bankruptcy filings in the Atlanta metro area. Statistically, the northern district of Georgia ranks second only to Detroit as the nation’s busiest filing district, and it ranks in the top 5 in the per [...

Do I Need a Lawyer to File Bankruptcy?

Posted on February 02, 2008
No, you don?t need a lawyer to file bankruptcy. Anyone can represent themselves. The real question is the cost versus benefit ratio. The major reason to not hire an attorney is to save the fee. But that?s a lot like saving the cost of a map when you are somewhere you?ve [...

What Happens if I Fail to Complete a Financial Management Course

Posted on February 01, 2008
I periodically receive emails from bankruptcy debtors who write me in a panic because they failed to complete their financial management course. As you may know, the Bankruptcy Code requires debtors to attend a financial management course within 45 days of their 341 hearing in order to receive a discharge...

Means Test: Don?t Give Up, Even If You Think You?ve Flunked It, Part 10

Posted on January 31, 2008
Child support you receive is counted as income for purposes of the “means test” in both chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases. In a chapter 7 case, there is little that can be done if the inclusion of child support income causes your means test income figures to become too high to file under that chapter...

When Your Chapter 13 Is Finished

Posted on January 31, 2008
Completing a Chapter 13 Plan is quite an accomplishment for anyone, and it’s something to be proud of, no matter the circumstances. I recently discovered that one of my clients had not only completed her Chapter 13 Plan payments (which totaled more than $1000 per month for 60 months) but that she had never [...

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