protecting assets in bankruptcy

T-Boz’s Bankruptcy Case Dismissed

04/03/12

In a high-profile example of the bankruptcy court’s discretion over your bankruptcy case, former TLC member T-Boz, whose real name is Tionne Watkins, was thrown out of bankruptcy court.  Can this happen to you? T-Boz had filed a personal Chapter 13 bankruptcy, claiming more than $750,000 in debts to various creditors.  But instead of granting [...]

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Can Prospective Employers Deny You Employment Because You Filed for Bankruptcy?

02/06/12

Previously, I discussed the bankruptcy rule that employers cannot fire or otherwise discriminate against employees because they filed for bankruptcy.  However, I also mentioned the difficulty in sometimes proving the causation element between the filing and the discrimination, and the fact that a bankruptcy will still come up on credit checks and other types of [...]

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Will My Bankruptcy Affect My Spouse?

08/20/11

When you consider filing for bankruptcy, if you are married you will have to decide whether to file jointly or separately.  If you decide to file jointly, it will be important to know:  what will happen to your spouse? What happens to your spouse will depend most heavily on whether your debts are yours alone, [...]

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Appropriate Use of Available Exemptions Will Protect a Debtor’s Property in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

08/13/11

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 certain exemptions when a bankruptcy is filed.  An exemption allows a debtor [...]

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Can you Strip down a vehicle loan in Chapter 13?

07/13/11

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 vehicle payments by several months or more, a Chapter [...]

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What is a straw buyer and what are the consequences? Is this an option to consider if I can’t qualify the home I want?

06/30/11

A straw buyer is a fake buyer set up to defraud the mortgage company.  If an individual cannot qualify for a loan for a particular home, due to bad credit or some other reason, it may seem like a solution to ask a relative or friend to purchase the home and pay them.  However, this [...]

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Billionaire Bankruptcies?

06/27/11

As reports surface that wealthy socialite Patricia Kluge has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, many have wondered:  how can you file for bankruptcy when you are a billionaire? When United State bankruptcy laws were drafted, the focus was pro-debtor.  The idea was to provide a fresh start for people who had suffered under the [...]

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