News Topic: BankruptcyLawNetwork

There can be no more sickening feeling than to discover that your car or truck has been repossessed.   In Georgia, where I practice, self-help repossession by vehicle lenders can occur quickly and with no prior notice.   Specifically, in Georgia,  lenders ... Read full article

One reason that people considering bankruptcy hire lawyers is to prevent other lawyers involved in the matter from communicating directly with them, to avoid being taken advantage of.  The rules of legal ethics or professional responsibility governing ... Read full article

So far this morning, I’ve gotten two calls from clients who received suit papers over the weekend.  Credit card companies (or the debt buyers who bought the accounts) have filed civil suits in state court, seeking a judgment for the amount owed.  One of ... Read full article

  Miscellaneous fees in the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts increase again on November 1, 2011.  The filing fee to initiate a bankruptcy case is not changing. Debtors will have to pay $30 to amend schedule d, e, f, g, or h, up from $26.  Creditors will have to pay ... Read full article

Filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy can get your Driver’s License back for you when you have lost your license because of no have insurance! Many States require people that own cars to have motor vehicle liability insurance.   These laws, often ... Read full article

New Mexico had its largest wildfire in its history this summer — the Las Conchas fire burned  156,593 acres (244.6 square miles) not far from where I live. To me, the continuing harsh economic times also continue to consume ground people once took for ... Read full article

In the previous installment, we discussed the 8th Circuit’s Benn decision which began a sea change in Missouri bankruptcy exemptions. To see how Benn‘s unusual opinion created  uncertainty in Missouri bankruptcies, one need look no further than our state ... Read full article

I wrote about attorney fees as a means test deduction some time ago.  BAPCPA’s provision, codified at section 707(a)(2)(A)(iv) of the Bankruptcy Code, says that priority claims are deducted from income.  Priority claims include a Chapter 13 debtor’s ... Read full article

As a Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney, I really enjoy explaining the benefits of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy to a potential client.  Bankruptcy is a financial planning tool, plain and simple, kind of like a Swiss Army Knife.  Inside this one ... Read full article

  Yup. Scared?  Well, it just not so simple as that, so don’t believe the collectors when they call and say they will have you arrested and put in jail for not paying a debt.  While it is possible, there are a lot of safeguards for consumers in financial ... Read full article

Natural disasters have recently destroyed countless homes and uprooted huge numbers of individuals and families.  When the flood/hurricane/tornado/wildfire is over you focus on the destruction to your home, car, and business.  You concentrate your concerns ... Read full article

Bankruptcy and identity theft?   How can this be an issue if someone is discharging debt?   There are debtors who file for bankruptcy protection due to someone having stolen their identity.  There are bankruptcy debtors  whose identity is stolen and the ... Read full article

Sometimes a  strategy causes more harm than good.  Many long-accepted Missouri bankruptcy exemptions have become uncertain or been lost due to one such case.  This is the story of how one strategy blew up to create dangerous  uncertainty for consumers. ... Read full article

If your bankruptcy attorney is a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys [NACBA] chances are that attorney participates in a list service discussion of issues along with other bankruptcy attorneys across the country.  The NACBA ... Read full article

If your bankruptcy attorney is a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys [NACBA] chances are that attorney participates in a list service discussion of issues along with other bankruptcy attorneys across the country.  The NACBA ... Read full article

Your bankruptcy filing can stir deep emotions.  More than a few times, I have received calls from individual (as opposed to corporate) creditors who, after receiving a bankruptcy notice, have called me to express their displeasure that my client is seeking ... Read full article

When it comes to payment plans for Chapter 7 cases, all fees and costs must be paid before the case is filed. At first glance, this may disappoint you, but most people it’s not a problem. The payment plan period usually overlaps with the pre-filing ... Read full article

The majority of Chapter 7 bankruptcies in most jurisdictions end up being no-asset cases. This means that all the debtor’s assets are exempt.  In such a case there are no assets for the trustee to administer and distribute to creditors.  An exempt asset is ... Read full article