The Debt Podcast: Bankruptcy

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Bankruptcy Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

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

Why Does a Chapter 11 Cost So Much?

Posted on July 06, 2010
When I give lectures on individual and small business Chapter 11 cases, I always advise new Chapter 11 attorneys to buy a thick towel for their desk. After I get a confused look from the audience, I explain: “It’s to protect your client’s jaw when it hits your desk after you tell them your fee!” All [...

Wells Fargo?s Procedure of Freezing Accounts After A Bankruptcy Filing Invalidated

Posted on July 06, 2010
Last week, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) for the Ninth Circuit decided Mwangi v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. At issue was Wells Fargo’s national procedure of running a computerized comparison of all newly filed chapter 7 bankruptcy cases against Wells Fargo’s list of account holders...

Bankruptcy War.

Posted on July 05, 2010
Bankruptcy has become an epic war between debtors and creditors. These two groups are constantly battling for control of the debt in question. The debtors are seeking to either reject or modify the debt while the creditors are seeking to enforce the debt...

Bankruptcy Documents: ?Turn the Page?

Posted on July 05, 2010
A big part of filing bankruptcy is providing your bankruptcy lawyer with documents. After you and your bankruptcy lawyer decide bankruptcy is your best option, she’ll give you a list of documents she’ll need in order to file your case. At first, the list may seem intimidating, but it’s really not that bad...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Should I Reaffirm My Mortgage After Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

Posted on June 29, 2010
Your mortgage company will probably ask you to reaffirm your mortgage after you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. These days in our country, many homes with mortgages are underwater, worth less than what is owed on them. If you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, your home is worth $200,000, and you owe $#240,000 on it...

Bankruptcy Fraud ? What Happens When You Are Caught?

Posted on June 23, 2010
The Topeka-Capitol Journal Online reported today one Debtor?s bankruptcy fraud criminal conviction yesterday in the U.S. District Court in Topeka, Kansas. His wife?s trial is reported as scheduled for August 2d. According to the article, James Moser: Concealed information about their option to purchase 16...

Should Chapter 13 Plan Require ALL The Debtor?s Disposable Income

Posted on June 22, 2010
At the same time the bankruptcy community is pondering the Lanning decision on what “projected disposable income” is in a Chapter 13, I read Judge Eugene Wedoff’s thoughts on whether Chapter 13 plans ought to require the payment of all of that disposable income to the trustee...

Debt Settlement Companies Come Under Increasing Scrutiny from Regulators

Posted on June 19, 2010
The lead article in the Economy section of the June 18, 2010 New York Times offers revealing insight into the practices of “debt settlement” companies. Debt settlement companies position themselves as alternatives to bankruptcy, suggesting that they have insight into “secrets that the credit card companies don’t want you to know...

I?ve Been Sued?Is It Too Late To File Bankruptcy?

Posted on June 17, 2010
No, it is never too late. However, waiting until after a judgment is entered may not be a good idea. Once you file for bankruptcy protection, the automatic stay prohibits creditors from taking any action against you. If you have been sued, this means that the creditor cannot pursue the matter to judgment without asking the [...

Bankruptcy Fraud: ?Your Cheatin? Heart?

Posted on June 17, 2010
Bankruptcy fraud is an important issue. And there’s no shortage of posts here at Bankruptcy Law Network warning of the evils of cheatin’ the bankruptcy system. Craig Andresen, Bloomington, Minnesota bankruptcy attorney and BLN member, recently published an intriguing post entitled, “No, A Bankruptcy Lawyer Should Not Withdraw from the Case if the Client Won’t Tell [...

Divorce Attorney?s Fees Not Dischargeable in Bankruptcy; Debtor Intended to File Bankruptcy All Along

Posted on June 17, 2010
A Georgia bankruptcy court has ruled that a chapter 7 debtor could not discharge $35,625.00 in fees owed to her divorce attorneys. In re Bucchiarelli, 2010 WL 2033146 (Bky.N.D.Ga. Feb. 22, 2010), held that the debtor had planned on filing bankruptcy before hiring her divorce attorneys, and that she never intended to pay them for their services...

Entire Reverse Mortage May Be Paid Off in Chapter 13 Plan After Death of Debtor?s Mother, Court Rules

Posted on June 16, 2010
In re Brown, 2010 WL 1903771 (Bky.D.S.C. March 2, 2010), a recent South Carolina bankruptct court decision, held that the entire balance of a reverse mortgage could be paid off over the five year life of a chapter 13 plan. In this case, the debtor and her daughter had lived in the home belonging to the debtor’s mother [...

The Biggest Landmine of All in the Bankruptcy Law?s Means Test

Posted on June 14, 2010
If you’re a higher income peron considering bankruptcy, think about this: the biggest landmine in the means test is one that’s not even in the means test itself. Instead, this landmine is present because of human nature, the attorney client relationship, and the unique legal issues contained in the means test...

Letters Threatening ?Share Loss? and ?Loss of Services? Did Not Violate Bankruptcy Protection, Court Says

Posted on June 10, 2010
A Tennessee federal court recently approved of a credit union mailing letters to a chapter 13 bankruptcy debtor threatening loss of shares and suspension of services, ruling that such informational letters did not violate the protection against collection activity upon a bankruptcy debtor...

New Mexico Bankruptcy Court Announces New Policy

Posted on June 10, 2010
The United States Bankruptcy Court, District of New Mexico issued a new policy yesterday, that will become effective August 1, 2010. It changes the local practice for requirements on Debtors’ Counsel concerning reaffirmations being proposed to the Court for approval...

Afraid to File Bankruptcy? You Might Already Be There.

Posted on June 09, 2010
Bankruptcy is a tough pill to swallow for anyone. The word means “failure” to people more often than it means “fresh start.” That’s good marketing by the credit industry, but it isn’t the truth. First, it is critical to understand when you really got into trouble...

Appeals Court Discharges $300,000 in Student Loans, Despite Purchase of Deck and ?Loaded? SUV

Posted on June 09, 2010
The 8th Circuit Federal Bankruptcy Appellate Panel recently upheld a Minnesota bankruptcy court’s discharge of $300,000 in student loans, even though the debtor’s husband was paying for a newly installed screened-in deck and had just purchased a luxury Chevrolet Suburban...

Supreme Court decides Hamilton v Lanning: Projected Disposable Income in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is not Strictly Mechanical

Posted on June 08, 2010
One of the fundamental requirements to confirm a plan in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is that (unless creditors are paid in full) the Debtor must pay for the benefit of unsecured creditors his or her “projected disposable income” to be received in an “applicable commitment period” (36 or 60 months)...

Motions for Relief From The Automatic Stay and Reducing Bankruptcy Costs

Posted on June 08, 2010
We all want to save money. Especially when you have filed for bankruptcy protection under chapter 13 and saving money is at a premium. One tip to save a lot of money is to ensure that you continue to make your secured debt payments if those payments are made directly to the secured creditor or, [...

Bankruptcy Lawyers And Learning The Ropes

Posted on June 08, 2010
Here at Bankruptcy Law Network we do what we can to pass along good information and, ultimately, leave you a little more “in the know” than you were before you got here. We know you’re just as likely to be a bankruptcy lawyer as a consumer in search of solid information, so sometimes we get [...

Credit Card Charges by Laid-off Debtor Held to be Reasonable; Debt Discharged

Posted on June 07, 2010
A recent Michigan bankruptcy court decision allowed the discharge of a chapter 7 debtor’s credit card debt, even though the credit card was used while the debtor was laid off from his job at a saw mill, just before the bankruptcy was filed. In an usual move, the court also invited the debtor to submit [...

No, a Bankruptcy Lawyer Should Not Withdraw from the Case if the Client Won?t Tell the Truth

Posted on June 06, 2010
Bankruptcy lawyers often ask one another for advice about difficult questions, especially questions involving how to handle problem bankruptcy clients. A question that sometimes comes up is what the lawyer should do if the bankruptcy client tells the lawyer that something in the bankruptcy papers is false, because the client has intentionally concealed something from the [...

Foreclosure: Should You Embrace It?

Posted on June 01, 2010
Foreclosure or not? I’ve been using the f-word a lot in here in my Summerville, South Carolina law office. (That’s “foreclosure,” not the other f-word, by the way.) And I’ve noticed a transition in attitudes among clients...

Filing Bankruptcy and Your Bankruptcy Judge

Posted on May 30, 2010
When you file bankruptcy, you might think you?ll have a trial in a courtroom with a judge ruling on whether you can discharge your debts. Clients in my Charleston, South Carolina bankruptcy practice often have that misconception of the bankruptcy process...

How Does Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Work? Part Two: The Means Test

Posted on May 28, 2010
In my previous article, I discussed the purpose for which Chapter 13 bankruptcy was originally intended before the credit card lobby convinced Congress that people who file for bankruptcy are bad people. The October 2005 enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) saw the introduction of a new requirement to file bankruptcy: [...

Employer Credit Cards, Worth the Hassle? Not If You Carry A Balance

Posted on May 28, 2010
If you work at a large retailer, the store probably offers a “store brand” credit card. If you’re getting stretched financially, you probably shouldn’t take advantage of this “benefit.” If you are getting deeper in debt, definitely don’t...

How Not To Successfully Complete A Bankruptcy Case

Posted on May 27, 2010
Now that you have visited with your bankruptcy lawyer and paid him the required fees, probably the last thing that you are thinking is, “how can I torpedo my own bankruptcy case?” While there are numerous ways that this can be accomplished, perhaps the easiest way to avoid a blow-up is to stay in contact with your lawyer! For [...

My Stuff Is Paid For?Why Do I Have To List It In A Chapter 13 Case?

Posted on May 26, 2010
This has been addressed previously but the question keeps coming up. In figuring out a chapter 13 plan payment, there are several “tests” that must be considered. One test is the “best interests of the creditors” test as set forth under 11 U...

Filing For Bankruptcy ? Combatting Fear With Information

Posted on May 25, 2010
The other day I spoke with a young couple with a history. The wife and her best friend had been friends since they were five years old. They had grown up next to each other and were otherwise always together. When the house next door came available for purchase (at the [...

Shopping for Bankruptcy Lawyers? Six Things Not To Do!

Posted on May 22, 2010
Looking for a bankruptcy lawyer is tough. No one likes even talking about bankruptcy and now you have to go lay it all out — with a lawyer, no less. We know. I’ve said before we’re like a financial VD clinic. We have seen it all...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

New Jersey Legal Update - Podcast # 57
This week's New Jersey Legal Update podcast will address federal l...

New Jersey Legal Update - Podcast # 53
This week's New Jersey Legal Update podcast will discuss the landm...