News Topic: Bankruptcy Discharge

 In re: Moser, No. 09-11945 (Bankr. N.D. Calif., May 18, 2011). In your interactions with the bankruptcy court, it is important to be as kind and respectful, and honest as possible.  The bankruptcy court has a lot of discretion in making important ... Read full article

Whether it’s receiving a discharge under chapter 7 or chapter 13, the result is the same: you do not owe anyone, any amount, on your unsecured non-priority debts that existed prior to filing. If you listed it and you received a discharge, then you are no ... Read full article

How Much Control Do Bankrupt Dodgers Have Over Baseball Decisions?   Not long ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers filed for bankruptcy.  This move was controversial, and concerned many baseball fans.   As sports fans are well aware, good players demand high ... Read full article

When people are current with their utility bills, utilities rarely become an issue in bankruptcy.  That is because Section 11 U.S.C. § 366(a), prohibits utility companies from discriminating against people based solely on bankruptcy filing.  However, often ... Read full article

What is a Lien strip? A Lien strip is possible only in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and only if the fair market value of the property is less than the total amount of money due on the first mortgage. In that case a second and third mortgage if any can be ... Read full article

Chapter 13 bankruptcy may provide some relief to borrowers overwhelmed with debt. Often, the most significant benefit that bankruptcy offers is the discharge of debt. The discharge releases the debtor from all debts included in the bankruptcy. Under ... Read full article

If you have recently sought bankruptcy protection, you might be wondering, what now? Or maybe you are considering filing for bankruptcy and wonder what happens after your debts are discharged. As a bankruptcy attorney in Dallas, I teach my clients that ... Read full article

Nothing new we learned from a recent court decision (In re Dandrum, Bankr. D.ND. August 19, 2011): The debtor has to take his duty to disclose transfers before filing and to list income and assets accurately seriously or risk denial of discharge (and even ... Read full article

In short the debtor is responsible for assessments as long as the debtor is the owner of the property. In a chapter 13, the debtor who wants to keep his property wants to add the pre-petition assessment fees into his plan if they are delinquent. The ... Read full article

In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may be able to ask the court to lower the amount that you owe on a mortgage.  Actually, it is slightly more complicated than that, but it boils down to the same thing. If you have a mortgage that you owe more on than your home ... Read full article

It’s often said that the three most important things about the value of real estate are location, location and location.  One of our local bankruptcy judges has stated (in my opinion correctly) that the three most important words related to a bankruptcy ... Read full article

Things you shouldn’t do right before filing for bankruptcy If you’ve made the decision to file for bankruptcy, you’re making the choice to get back on track to financial stability. If you know you’re going to file soon, there are a few things you should ... Read full article

Although debtors are typically required to pay at least some of their unsecured debts in Chapter 13, and are required to complete a plan, it may sometimes be strategic to convert a Chapter 7 case to Chapter 13.  When would this be? If a creditor objects to ... Read full article

It is not unusual in my practice to see student loan debts well in excess of $100,000 and clients that have minimal prospects for ever paying back the debt. Since the standard for discharge of these debts in bankruptcy is so high (see article below), often ... Read full article

What steps need to be taken when you file for bankruptcy?  How will the thing pan out?  To avoid the fear of the unknown, here is a general run-down of the basic steps of filing for bankruptcy and receiving a discharge. Before you file your petition, you ... Read full article

Options for Dealing with a DL30 Driver License Suspension In the State of California, if a driver is involved in an automobile accident and is at fault and does not have sufficient insurance to cover the damages caused by the accident, the driver will ... Read full article

In our current tenuous economic climate, more and more normal, honest, hardworking people are turning to bankruptcy for relief from overwhelming debt. In fact, most people who file for bankruptcy are perfectly responsible citizens who have lost homes, lost ... Read full article

It is a harsh reality of today’s post-collegiate environment – two-thirds of all students now graduate with burdensome debt that can follow for many years to come. Following a recent news story on CBS Evening News, a comment was made that a student CAN ... Read full article