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Bankrupt Student Loan Borrowers Could Finally Get A Break
A report issued today by the Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy of the American Bankruptcy Institute recommends substantial changes to how student loans are treated in bankruptcy. Under current law (11 U.S.C. §523(a)(8)), a court must find that an “undue hardship”…
Are Debt Buyers Responsible For Driving Consumers Into Bankruptcy?
I recently came across an interesting article challenging the conventional wisdom about why people file for bankruptcy. Most people, myself included, have long concluded that the amount of debt a person has, combined with unfortunate personal circumstances (divorce, job loss,…
Building Credit
I hear it all the time in my practice. People say they want to “build their credit.” Every time I hear this phrase I cringe. It’s held up like a badge of honor, building credit or having good credit. “I…
Why Hire a Bankruptcy Attorney?
Filing bankruptcy can be one of the most difficult choices a person makes. Often you have been struggling to meet your financial obligations. Something happens and the house of cards comes tumbling down, leaving you faced with a proposition that…
Five-Year Plans Now Required For Above-Median Chapter 13 Debtors
When Congress amended the bankruptcy laws in 2005, one of the changes concerned the length of Chapter 13 Plans. “Below-median” debtors (those with incomes below the median in their state of residence for a family of their size) were generally…
U.S. Trustee Audits to Resume
As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Trustee recently announced a resumption of audits of consumer bankruptcy cases to start March 10. Those audits had been suspended due to budgetary constraints. Under federal law, the U.S. Trustee…
Voiding Judgment Liens in Bankruptcy
Under Oregon law (ORS 18.150), a judgment entered or registered in the county where the debtor owns real property generally becomes a lien against that property. Theoretically, a lien creditor may have the right to foreclose on the lien in…
Be Careful When Loaning Money to Someone You Meet on Match.Com!
A recent opinion (Murray v. Hanley) from Judge Dunn of the Oregon Bankruptcy Court is a good illustration of why it may not be a good idea to loan substantial amounts of money to someone you meet online. In that…
Federal Exemptions Now Available in Oregon
On July 1, 2013, Governor Kitzhaber signed Senate Bill 396 which now allows Oregon residents to use federal exemptions when filing for bankruptcy. Previously, Oregon residents were limited to exemptions provided for under Oregon law As discussed on our web…
Federal Exemptions Coming to Oregon?
As discussed in one of our previous blog posts, debtors in bankruptcy are able to “exempt” certain property up to a particular dollar value. This means that a Chapter 7 Trustee is not entitled to take any property from a…MORE