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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…
Sears Files for Bankruptcy
Sears filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, October 15. In doing so, it stated its plan for turning business around, and seeks to operate through the holiday season. In order to succeed, the company will need its creditors…
Supreme Court Rules That Inherited IRAs Not Exempt
In a defeat for debtors in bankruptcy, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a debtor filing for bankruptcy cannot claim an exemption in an inherited IRA as “retirement funds” under 11 U.S.C. §§522(b)(3)(C) and (d)(12). This case resolved a circuit…
Using Chapter 13 Bankruptcy to Stop Tax Foreclosure Sale
As discussed in one of my prior posts, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can be an effective way to save a home from foreclosure if you are behind on the payments to the mortgage lender. Foreclosures for back property taxes owing to…
Older Vehicle Deduction No Longer Available For Above-Median Chapter 13 Debtors
The Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel issued an opinion (In re Luedtke) last month holding that “above-median” Chapter 13 debtors may no longer claim a $200 “older vehicle operating expense” when calculating “disposable monthly income” for purposes of determining a…
Agreement for Extension of Time Not Enforceable Without a Court Order
The recent case of In re Alazzeh from the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel emphasizes the harsh results that can occur when a litigant fails to obtain a court order approving an extension of time even when there has been…
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…
Divorce and Bankruptcy – More Strange "Bedfellows"
Last month, I posted an article entitled Inheritances and Bankruptcy – Strange “Bedfellows” outlining the odd intersection between inheritances and bankruptcy. This month I want to discuss the how bankruptcy and divorce can interrelate. Most people know that financial stress…