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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

Debts Are Not Inherited - Don?t Go Bankrupt Trying to Pay Other People?s Debts

Posted on August 31, 2009
If a relative dies owing money at the time of death, the debts are not inherited. According to North Carolina laws, and likely other states, those debts might have to be paid from property owned by the person who died, but if the deceased didn’t own property then the debts may have died with the [...

Convert Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 and Keep New Assets

Posted on August 30, 2009
Debtors having trouble making monthly payments often consider conversion of their Chapter 13 case to a Chapter 7 case. In general, a Chapter 13 case can be coverted or dismissed at the debtors’ option. However, if the plan has been in operation for several years, the debtor may have acquired new or different assets that were [...

Working Overtime, or Having a Part-time Job: Can the Debtor Quit Before Filing Bankruptcy?

Posted on August 30, 2009
Some persons considering filing a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy case might be concerned about their level of income being inflated due to working overtime hours, or having a part-time job in addition to their main full-time job. The concern is that the heightened level of income might render the debtor ineligible for chapter 7 [...

What are the advantages of filing Chapter 7?

Posted on August 30, 2009
Most clients come to see me not because they don’t want to pay their bills but because the bill collectors won’t quit calling them. If they qualify, I advise them to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy for two primary reasons. First, the filing of the case imposes an automatic stay which stays any creditor from collecting [...

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Bankruptcy and Mortgage Problems

Posted on August 29, 2009
The mortgage industry has insisted they could fix the mortgage problem. Then they convinced congress that they can fix the mortgage problem. Then the mortgage industry convinced congress that giving the Bankruptcy Judges the ability to modify first mortgages was unnecessary...

Can I Refile My Bankruptcy If It Is Dismissed?

Posted on August 29, 2009
Can you refile your bankruptcy if it has been dismissed? The answer is yes, you can refile your bankruptcy if it has been dismissed. However, changes to the Bankruptcy Code that were in Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) can limit the relief that you receive when you refile...

Means Test Vehicle Ownership Expense Allowed Without a Debt, Says 8th Circuit

Posted on August 29, 2009
Whether to allow a debtor to claim a deduction on the bankruptcy means test for the ownership expense of a car if there is no debt on it is quickly being resolved by the courts. Today, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the deduction would be allowed...

Figuring Out the Monthly Payment in a Chapter 13 Case ? What?s It All About?

Posted on August 29, 2009
How is the monthly payment calculated in a chapter 13 bankruptcy case? For most, the monthly payment under a chapter 13 plan consists of what the debtor can afford to pay, after paying all of the monthly living expenses which are necessary to maintain a normal middle class type lifestyle...

What Happens To My House If I File Bankruptcy?

Posted on August 28, 2009

Eviction After Foreclosure?Is There An Automatic Stay?

Posted on August 28, 2009
Many clients face eviction from their homes after foreclosure. At first glance, even a bankruptcy filing might not help, since § 362(b)(22) states that there is no automatic stay of eviction where a pre-filing judgment for possession has been entered...

RECAP the Law and Privacy Concerns

Posted on August 27, 2009
I recently published an article on RECAP, the Firefox extension that creates a public archive of federal court documents accessed from the PACER system and provided to PACER users without charge. Many federal courts use the CM/ECF electronic records system to store and manage case records...

I Filed Bankruptcy And My Mortgage Company Has Stopped Sending Me Statements?What Now? Standing Modification of the Automatic Stay

Posted on August 27, 2009
We all know that the automatic stay serves to stop almost all creditor attempts to collect a debt. The automatic stay has been discussed extensively on this blog. But many times, creditors will stop sending monthly mortgage statements because they are under the impression that it violates the automatic stay to continue to send statements...

What Happens If I Forget To List A Debt In My Bankruptcy?

Posted on August 26, 2009
When you file for bankruptcy you need to list all of the debts that you owe to you unsecured creditors. The potential consequences if you knowingly fail to list creditors was discussed by Boston Bankruptcy attorney Nicholas Ortiz. So what happens if you simply forget to list a debt that you owe to an unsecured creditor? The answer depends on a number of [...

RECAP, Recycled Bankruptcy Documents for the Public

Posted on August 25, 2009
It costs eight cents per page to look at “public” records in most bankruptcy courts. With the advent of CM/ECF, the electronic federal court system for managing and storing case files, the Administrative Office of the US Courts has made many of these records accessible to the public through the “Pay Per View” system described [...

What is a ?Dragnet Clause??

Posted on August 25, 2009
Many debtors are unaware of “dragnet clauses,” only to find out the same after a bankruptcy is filed. Dragnet clauses are “cross-collateralization” clauses typically used by credit unions to secure other contractual obligations against collateral that didn’t exist when the original security agreement was created...

New Bankruptcy Laws Tougher on Creditors Violating Automatic Stay

Posted on August 23, 2009
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) which went into effect on October 17, 2005, appears to be living up to its name with the changes to 11 USC 362. Indeed, for creditors who violate the automatic stay, there no longer appears to be a good faith exception due to new “consumer protections...

Converting a Chapter 7 case to a Chapter 13 bankruptcy

Posted on August 23, 2009
My friend and colleague, Brett Weiss, wrote a great post on converting a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. He pointed out a number of good reasons to do it, and a number of benefits. But what if you?re in a Chapter 7, and get behind in your home or car payments? Under those [...

test

Posted on August 23, 2009

What is calculated in ?gross income? for the Means Test

Posted on August 22, 2009
When Congress passed the ‘new’ bankruptcy law in 2005, it included a provision that Debtors must prepare and file what is called the Means Test. It looks at all of your income from every source except Social Security benefits. If your income exceeds a certain amount (less allowed expenses) a presumption arises and you are not [...

The Means Test: Don?t Try This at Home

Posted on August 22, 2009
The “means test” is complicated and, as is much of the new bankruptcy law, is interpreted in wildly different ways throughout the country. Don’t try to take the test on your own. The means test has been justifiably criticized since the new bankruptcy law (”BAPCPA”) went into effect in 2005...

Converting From Chapter 13 to Chapter 7

Posted on August 22, 2009
Your Chapter 13 case is in trouble. The stay has been lifted on your house, or the plan payments are behind and the trustee is threatening to dismiss your case, or you’ve finally decided that the house isn’t worth the headaches you’re going through, and you just want out...

I Filed Bankruptcy A Few Years Ago, Can I File Again?

Posted on August 21, 2009
With the grim economic times today, often people who had previously filed bankruptcy are finding that they are facing difficult financial issues today. The question is often asked, can I file bankruptcy today when I had filed a few years ago? As is often the case, the answer depends on very particular circumstances...

Business bankruptcy: whose debt is it?

Posted on August 21, 2009
Small business owners feel as though they and their business are one. Before a bankruptcy filing, we have to separate the business from those who operate the business to determine who needs to file. This is most dramatic when the business is a separate legal entity, a corporation or an LLC...

How Can I Afford to Pay My Bankruptcy Attorney?

Posted on August 20, 2009
“How do you get paid?” is the question I’m asked most often at parties. After all, they say, if your clients don’t have any money, how can they pay you? The answer depends on the details of a particular client’s case, but there are several ways I usually get paid...

Liens on vehicles and car title loans means your vehicle is not paid for

Posted on August 20, 2009
One of the things a bankruptcy attorney needs to know to properly advise a client is whether the client owes money on his or her vehicle(s). While going through the bankruptcy questionnaire with clients, I am frequently told the vehicle is paid for...

Game Show Winnings Subject of Tug-of-War Between Trustee and a Charity

Posted on August 20, 2009
This past November, I reported about a high profile bankruptcy case filed in the Northern District of Georgia, just outside Atlanta. State School Superintendent Kathy Cox and her husband, a homebuilder, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. According to news reports the filing was triggered by over $3...

When Should I See A Bankruptcy Lawyer

Posted on August 20, 2009
People are frightened by the thought of seeing a bankruptcy lawyer. This causes them to wait to the last minute to get advice and to get help. Sometimes people wait until it is too late for the right help. They continue to delay meeting with the bankruptcy lawyer...

Reader?s Digest Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Reorganization

Posted on August 19, 2009
Reader’s Digest, founded in 1922 and America’s best selling consumer magazine, said Monday that it would be filing for Chapter 11 reorganization. From a high of 18 million copies a month in the 1970’s, subscriptions had declined to less than 9 million...

Who Will Be At The Bankruptcy Hearing?

Posted on August 19, 2009
When someone files bankruptcy they are normally required to appear at a hearing and testify about their case. The hearings is called a “Meeting of Creditors” or a 341 Meeting. Some people are afraid to get bankruptcy help because they don’t want to go to this hearing, or they’re afraid of having to testify in public...

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