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If you are considering filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and are anticipating receiving a tax refund, you may be wondering whether you can keep it. The answer will depend on the amount of the refund compared with the value of your other assets. If you are anticipating a...
If your car is worth less than the amount you still owe on a loan that you received more than 2 years and 8 months ago, it may be possible for you to “cram down” or “strip down” the lien on your car to the present value of your car. In addition, if you file Chapter...
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act expires on December 31, 2013 and has not yet been extended by Congress. This Act is designed to help homeowners who sell their properties at a short sale or whose properties were sold at foreclosure sales from having to pay...
One of the most powerful laws used by debtors in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases is the ability to avoid or “strip off” wholly unsecured second or third liens on their personal residences. For example, where spouses own a home worth $200,000, with a first mortgage of...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, CFPB, has developed new rules that will take effect on January 10, 2014. These rules are designed to help people who are struggling with their mortgages. Under the new regulations, if a borrower is having problems paying the...
The United States Bankruptcy Court Judge Rhodes ruled last week that Detroit was eligible to file bankruptcy. In municipal cases, it is not a matter of Schedules I and J showing no disposable income, as in individual cases. Municipalities do not need to present a...
Jeffrey Shankman, a former head of the Global Markets Division of Enron filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2008. His goal was to discharge his debt. A debtor is required to file Schedules in his bankruptcy case which contain detailed information about his assets,...
Bankruptcy law requires all creditors to cease collection activity when a debtor files for bankruptcy. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) also imposes restrictions on collection activity by debt collectors. In a recent decision by the Third Circuit Court...
1. Don’t leave out any Bank, Brokerage, Credit Union accounts (checking, savings, money market, CD, trust, escrow). 2. Don’t file if your income is greater than your expenses. 3. Don’t use your credit cards. 4. Don’t take credit card cash advances. 5. Don’t use...
In a recent case in Texas, In re Morgan, WL 4519608 (Bankr. S.D. Tex 2013), the bankruptcy court sanctioned a debtor for his willful failure to obey its order to provide the trustee with documents. The debtor was a physician who operated his practice as a professional...