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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

Bankruptcy ? What?s an ?order for relief??

Posted on January 23, 2010
What happens when the case is filed? Automatically, upon filing a voluntary bankruptcy case, without any court appearance, notice, motion or other court proceeding, an order for relief is deemed to have been granted.

How Does Bankruptcy Work?

Posted on January 23, 2010
Mmmm, I bet this person is feeling overwhelmed and doesn’t know where to begin. It’s a painful and frustrating place. A good response might be something like, “What’s bothering you?” That will bring out details which can be fully discussed in bite-sized, understandable pieces...

But I Don?t WANT to File Bankruptcy!

Posted on January 23, 2010
Nobody really wants to file bankruptcy. I know there is a myth out there that there are many people who see bankruptcy as an easy way out of their financial problems. Like most myths, it is not true. The truth is that most people do everything they can NOT to file bankruptcy...

Florida Bankruptcy Court provides Basics of Bankruptcy Video for Consumers

Posted on January 22, 2010
Now more than ever, consumers are doing their homework prior to meeting with a bankruptcy lawyer, and of course, Bankruptcy Law Network is the best starting point for any research on consumer bankruptcy basics. Part of the reason why is that we point you to resources throughout the web, including this helpful bankruptcy basics video [...

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Secured, Priority and Unsecured Claims ? what?s the difference?

Posted on January 22, 2010
Your bankruptcy lawyer will ask you to identify your creditors. ?Not all creditors are created equally. There are three types of creditors in bankruptcy: Secured creditors Priority creditors Unsecured creditors Secured creditors are those who have a lien or security interest in collateral...

Beware of False Notifications of Chapter 13 Dismissals

Posted on January 22, 2010
Recently, folks who are currently in chapter 13 cases have received a document titled “Notification of Debt Relief and Loan Modification” from a company called First American Debt Solutions. The document goes on to state that “[o]ur records indicate that your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy case number 08-xxxxx-x-xxx has been dismissed...

Deciding Whether to File Bankruptcy

Posted on January 22, 2010
I have found that when people research bankruptcy, the one question they really want answered is “Should I file for bankruptcy?”. The answer varies from case to case, and even a seemingly small nuance about someone’s life can completely change the answer...

Why Would I Ever Sign a Reaffirmation Agreement?

Posted on January 22, 2010
A reaffirmation agreement breaths life back into a debt that could have been discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Such agreements are often made to protect a house or vehicle. Essentially, the debtor is forfeiting bankruptcy protection in exchange for the creditor promising not to repossess the property...

Are U.S. Corporate Bankruptcy Laws a Model to the World?

Posted on January 22, 2010
According to a recent article in the The Economist, ?in one respect at least America remains a beacon for the rest of the world: its treatment of corporate bankruptcy.? The purpose behind America?s corporate bankruptcy laws is ?to put economic resources back to productive use as quickly as possible...

I Thought Bankruptcy Was Supposed To Cure My Money Troubles.

Posted on January 22, 2010
I had a call from a client last week who screamed at me saying, “I thought bankruptcy was supposed to cure my money troubles.” Cure is an awfully strong word that attorneys and doctors do not like use. Why? Merriam Webster defines cure as: “a complete or permanent solution or remedy...

What Do You Mean I Owe Too Much To File Chapter 13?

Posted on January 22, 2010
Bankruptcy law limits Chapter 13, or payment plan bankruptcy, to individuals, that is, persons, not corporations, who have regular income, and who owe less than a certain amount of debt in certain categories. Unsecured debt is debt without collateral, or security, that the creditor can take if you do not pay...

Don?t risk your bankruptcy discharge ? list all your assets

Posted on January 21, 2010
If you file a bankruptcy case, you have to disclose all your assets. You have to show your bank statements to the bankruptcy trustee. You have to show your tax returns to the trustee too. It’s not as easy as you think to hide assets. Nobody will believe that you don’t have a checking account...

Statement of Financial Affairs and Perjury.

Posted on January 21, 2010
When you file bankruptcy whether you file a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 you must file a Statement of Financial Affairs. Brett Weiss has written several articles on the Statement of Financial Affairs. Question 10 asks you questions about transfers in the last year prior to filing...

Life after bankruptcy ? you can restore our credit quickly!

Posted on January 21, 2010
Today, I received a letter from a client. And with her permission, I am repeating her entire letter here, with her name omitted to protect her privacy. We filed a chapter 7 just 5 months ago. Here’s how the world looks like to her today: Dear Mr...

Tax Refunds and Bankruptcy Part One

Posted on January 21, 2010
Its that time of the year when Trustees begin to look for the easy pickings, the hanging fruit of bankruptcy, THE TAX REFUND. If you live in a state like Ohio with limited exemptions your TAX REFUND may be in jeopardy. The Chapter 7 trustee get very excited at this time of the year...

Should I Do a ?Short Sale? if I?ll File Bankruptcy?

Posted on January 21, 2010
I’m often asked by clients about short sales. As I talked about in my blog, Why Short Sales Usually are a Bad Idea, there are a lot of potential problems with short sales. But while they’re usually a bad idea if you won’t be filing, they almost always are bad if you will file...

Cash and Bank Accounts in Bankruptcy: Pay Attention!

Posted on January 21, 2010
Cash and bank accounts (checking, savings, CDs) are property of your bankruptcy estate. You must provide your bankruptcy attorney with exact bank balances as of the date of your bankruptcy filing for all bank accounts. You can obtain this information over the Internet by logging into your account or by calling the bank...

Does My Wife Have To File Bankruptcy With Me If We Are Both On the Deed and Mortgage?

Posted on January 21, 2010
Even if you and your wife are both on the deed and mortgage it is permissible for only one to file for bankruptcy. This is true even if you are past due on your mortgage payments. If only one of you files a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you will include the past due mortgage payments in [...

?Retain and Pay? Rejected by Appeals Court; Reaffirmation Agreements Likely Required by New Ruling

Posted on January 20, 2010
No notice is required before a bank repossesses your motor vehicle after a chapter 7 bankruptcy, unless you formally reaffirm the vehicle loan, according to a recent federal appeals court decision. This case casts doubt on the “option” of “retain and pay,” where the debtor simply continues payments on a vehicle loan after filing chapter [...

A Fresh Start is a State of Mind Too

Posted on January 20, 2010
Bankruptcy is about fresh starts. The law gives you a discharge of many debts which is what we call a “fresh start.” But actually getting your money’s worth out of it is as much about what you do and how you approach this new chance as it is about the law and finance...

How can I be ?insolvent? if I am paying my bills? One of a series

Posted on January 20, 2010
We have a problem in our nation. Millions of families have spent money beyond their ability to repay. It's not bad that a family can make normal monthly payments on a credit card. However, credit card lines of credit are not assets. They are potential liabilities...

The Worst Kind of Debt You Can Have: Student Loans (Part Two)

Posted on January 20, 2010
The current standard for discharging student loans is ?undue hardship.? Over the last three decades, Congress has made it increasingly difficult to discharge student loans. The chronology of this noose tightening around debtors? necks is as follows: Student loans were dischargeable throughout most of the 20th century...

Can I keep my credit card after bankruptcy?

Posted on January 19, 2010
Clients frequently file bankruptcy because they have too much credit card debt. Sometimes, a client asks if they can’t keep just one credit card after they file a bankruptcy case. Maybe the client needs to buy gas or small items with it. Maybe she travels and needs to charge her airline tickets or automobile rentals...

How To Get Out Of Debt

Posted on January 19, 2010
There are numerous ways to get out of debt. The first is obvious: find a way to make minimum payments until the problem is resolved. Unfortunately, in today?s economic climate, the credit card companies charge so much in interest, that it takes years to pay off even a modest amount of principal...

Can I Include My Business Debts In My Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

Posted on January 19, 2010
I am seeing more and more small business owners that are in need of filing a personal bankruptcy? In the case of a small business owner filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the question I hear most often is whether the small business owner can discharge his business debts? Generally speaking a small business owner can discharge his [...

In Chapter 13, It?s Crucial to Make Mortgage Payments on Time

Posted on January 19, 2010
It?s probably a no-brainer, but it?s critical to make your mortgage payments on time while you?re in Chapter 13. And by ?on time,? I mean by the due date. The due date is the date that you payment is due. For most people, that is the first of the month...

Co-Signing Your Way to Bankruptcy

Posted on January 19, 2010
All debts are either sole or joint. This is true concerning mortgages, car notes, personal loans, or credit cards. It all comes down to how the account was established. If you have good credit, the account is based on your promise to repay. No one else needs to co-sign the account because you are not considered a [...

Bankruptcy Law Network iPhone App Now Available

Posted on January 17, 2010
Got an iPhone or iPod Touch? Want to get the most recent information and videos on bankruptcy, credit, debt, and mortgages including foreclosure issues as they are posted, but don’t want to surf the web to get it? Now you can get the Bankruptcy Law Network iPhone App...

Why Do Creditors Rarely Show Up at Chapter 7 341 Hearings?

Posted on December 30, 2009
Today, December 29, 2009, was a cold and miserable day in Atlanta, Georgia. Unfortunately I had a Chapter 7 bankruptcy 341 hearing to attend at the federal courthouse in Atlanta. I bundled up the best I could, took the train to the nearest stop – about 1/2 a mile from the courthouse – and braved [...

Unfair Discrimination in Chapter 13-Part 2

Posted on December 29, 2009
I previously wrote about the rule against unfair discrimination between similarly classed creditors in Chapter 13. There is an important and under-utilized exception to this rule. Section 1322(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code allows a debtor to treat unsecured co-debts differently than other unsecured debts...

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