Bankruptcy cases often resemble ticker tape parades: lots of paper flying in all directions. Debtors with primarily business debts — that is, more than 50% of their debt total is from a failed or failing business — get a break when they file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy: they can skip the means test, meaning they […]
Category Archives: Practical tips
Debtors with primarily business debts may still need to provide evidence of income to bankruptcy trustees
Also posted in Means Test
Comments closed
Whoops! “I filed bankruptcy, but forgot there was a lien on my house!”
What happens if you file a bankruptcy case, then years later you go to sell or refinance your house and discover there is a lien from one of the creditors still on it? Well, it may be possible to reopen the case and file a motion to have the lien removed. This motion would be […]
Also posted in Real estate
Comments closed
Converting a bankruptcy to Chapter 7 offers chance to eliminate more debt
Bankruptcy debtors involved in a Chapter 13 case often find the payments too much, or life throws them a curve, and they are forced to abandon their payment plans. The usual strategy in this situation is to convert the case to Chapter 7 (a few cases are even converted back and forth several times). Once […]
Also posted in Chapter 13, Chapter 7
Comments closed
Zillow printouts start to gain acceptance in bankruptcy courts
Back in 2010, Massachusetts bankruptcy court judge Melvin Hoffman went out on a limb and trashed the use of Zillow.com printouts as an improper way to value real estate in a bankruptcy case. At the time, Hoffman’s opinion in the Darosa case was the only published comment from a bankruptcy judge in the United States […]
Also posted in Real estate
Comments closed
Bankruptcy laws can stop debt collectors cold
National financial columnist Michelle Singletary today reported on a slew of alleged abuses by a debt collection firm that has led to one of the biggest fines ever levied by the Federal Trade Commission — $3.2M against the collection firm Expert Global Solutions. Singeltary’s article contains a litany of the most maddening debt collection abuses […]
Also posted in Bankruptcy News
Comments closed
Bankruptcy certificates may soon be filed directly
As it stands, today, debtors looking for a bankruptcy discharge must complete a financial education course (either online or over the phone) before the discharge will be granted. Proof that the course was taken comes in the form of a certificate which must be filed with the bankruptcy court. (The certificate isn’t nearly as grand […]
Also posted in Bankruptcy News
Comments closed
Would your ex-spouse torpedo your bankruptcy case?
Russell DeMott, a bankruptcy lawyer from South Carolina has written a very entertaining article about the extents that ex-spouses can go to make life miserable for their old partners — including combing through bankruptcy petitions and making all sorts of objections, from the accurate to the ridiculous. DeMott’s point is that if debtors with an […]
Posted in Practical tips
Comments closed
Which credit cards should a debtor declare on a bankruptcy petition?
One of the most common questions bankruptcy lawyers get from clients runs along these lines: “Which of my credit cards do you think I should declare in the bankruptcy?” This one actually has a simple, straightforward answer: all of them! There are a few reasons why. First of all, the bankruptcy law simply requires debtors […]
Posted in Practical tips
Comments closed
Bankruptcy effective against plague of collection lawsuits
The Boston Globe and Washington Post reported on May 29, 2013 that debtors across the United States were facing a new wave of collection lawsuits, many of them based on questionable facts. According to the Globe article, a number of collection cases have been built on shoddy records. “Authorities in California, for instance, say JPMorgan […]
Also posted in Bankruptcy News
Comments closed
Bankruptcy hearings can be over before the fat lady sings
A recent opinion from United States bankruptcy judge Henry Boroff in Massachusetts helps to clarify a much debated question of bankruptcy law: when is the debtor’s “meeting of creditors” really over? Each person filing a bankruptcy case is required to attend a “Meeting of creditors,” also known as a “341 meeting” after the code section […]
Also posted in Exemptions
Comments closed