What happens when you file for bankruptcy and then receive a large inheritance? If your receive an inheritance, should you still consider filing for bankruptcy? Questions involving financial assets can be complicated, and often depend on the timing, as ... Read full article
For those who are considering filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in San Jose, or elsewhere in California, a common misconception is that the bankruptcy trustee will seize or take away all of a debtor’s existing property. This is not true. Debtors are entitled to ... 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
When considering a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, one of the first questions that every debtor wants to know is how much their monthly Chapter 13 Plan payment will be. As with most legal questions, the answer is that it depends. One of the ways to determine how ... Read full article
A bankruptcy discharge is one of the most common reasons for filing for bankruptcy. A discharge releases you from personal liability for debts that qualify under federal law. It is a permanent order granted by a bankruptcy court. Any debts you ... Read full article
Millions of tickets are dolled out every year, not to mention government penalties and fines. Government tickets and fines are one of the most common forms of debt. Can these be discharged through a bankruptcy filing? In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, section ... Read full article
I heard that you can keep your vehicle in Chapter 13 and pay less than your vehicle’s outstanding loan balance. Is this true? In all situations filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition will allow you to keep your vehicle. Even if you are behind on your ... Read full article
Often, people wait too long to file bankruptcy. Considering bankruptcy to be a last resort is probably a wise thing to do, and there are often many things an individual can do to prevent bankruptcy. However, waiting too long can mean that bankruptcy ... Read full article
The following order dismissing the involuntary chapter 11 petition against Bank of America, N.A. was entered by Bankruptcy Judge Michael Romero (Bankr. D. Colo.) shortly after 3 p.m. on Tuesday. For background on the involuntary filing and Bank of ... Read full article
Everyone filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy knows they will make a plan that must be approved by the bankruptcy court in order for them to proceed. But what may be included in that plan? The Bankruptcy Code uses vague terminology such as “fair” and ... Read full article
On Friday at about 5:00 p.m. local time, 34 individuals (from the court filings, it appears not represented by counsel) filed an involuntary chapter 11 bankruptcy petition against Bank of America, N.A. (a banking subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation ... Read full article
The Supreme Court's decision in Schwab v. Reilly , 130 S.Ct. 2652 (2010) last term provoked a lot of concern about the finality of exemptions. Under Taylor v. ... Read full article
A few weeks ago the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision which all chapter 7 trustees should welcome. The BAP upheld the decision of Bankruptcy Judge Kathleen Thompson, of the Central District of California, surcharging the ... Read full article
One of the reforms adopted by BAPCPA was to increase the amount of time a person had to spend in a state before he could take advantage of that state's exemptions. Under 11 U.S.C. Sec. 522(b)(3)(A), a person must live in a state for 730 days to claim ... Read full article
The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Camp v. Ingalls allowed an itinerant debtor to claim federal exemptions that would not have been available to him had he remained in Florida. That was a small victory for the debtor. However, a decision released ... Read full article
In a post last week, I reported on the 9th Circuit BAP’s recent decision, In re Onubah , 2007 WL 2701336 (Bankr. App. 9th Cir. August 31, 2007), which surcharged the Debtor’s allowed homestead and household goods exemptions in the amount of the attorney ... Read full article
A new opinion from the Ninth Circuit illustrates the practical implications of Schwab v. Reilly , 130 S.Ct. 2652 (2010). In Matter of Gebhart , No. 07-16769 (9th Cir. 9/14/10), the Court held that the Trustee was entitled to reap the benefits of ... Read full article
No doubt you have heard the terms “unsecured” and “secured” creditors? But what do these terms really mean? In reality, the concepts are quite simple. First off, a creditor is generally someone who is owed money. A common example is when you take out a ... Read full article
