When an IRA owner dies and designates an heir, other than his spouse, as the beneficiary of his IRA the beneficiary acquires an “inherited IRA” from the decedent. Federal bankruptcy exemptions protect IRAs up to approximately $1 million. Some bankruptcy ... Read full article
Bankruptcy debtors are supposed to file bankruptcy where they live. The Florida bankruptcy court system is divided into divisions where each division (e.g., Orlando Division, Tampa Division, Miami Division….) handles bankruptcy filings of debtors residing ... Read full article
The common wisdom is that is nearly impossible to discharge a student loan in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy . I recently saw a Florida bankruptcy case where a bankruptcy judge did order the discharge of a debtor’s student loan. ... Read full article
An Maryland attorney wrote me an email about his representation of a person who received what was determined to be the fraudulent transfer of a piece of real property. His client had spent money maintaining and repairing the property. The attorney wanted ... Read full article
People who receive money from Ponzi schemes usually have to return the money if the Ponzi organizer filed bankruptcy. The bankruptcy trustee typically pursues recipients of Ponzi profits as transferees of fraudulent transfers made by the Ponzi organizer. ... Read full article
A bankruptcy court today gave one of my bankruptcy clients a $10,000 judgment against one of his creditors for attempting to collect a debt after the entry of the debtor’s discharge. A key part of my client’s success was his detailed documentation of ... Read full article
There has been significant bankruptcy litigation over whether or not a debtor loses his Florida homestead exemption if he uses his home to conduct business. Courts are divided; the law differs depending upon the district where the debtor files ... Read full article
A reader wrote me stating that she had filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy because a bank was suing her for the amount of her home mortgage. This was not a deficiency action. The bank sued the reader for default under the promissory note without foreclosing on the ... Read full article
Is it ever possible for a Chapter 7 trustee to take a debtor’s exempt assets? The answer is “yes” in extraordinary cases. The issue was addressed in a recent bankruptcy court decision. ... Read full article
A bankruptcy court can dismiss a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing for “bad faith” even if the debtor passes the means test or is exempt from the means test because his debts are primarily non-consumer debts. A Florida bankruptcy court dismissed a Chapter 7 ... Read full article
A married man used exempt money from his retirement funds to pay off a $400,000 mortgage on his homestead . Within three years thereafter, the same man filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The Chapter 7 trustee is challenging the man’s homestead exemption because ... Read full article
An attorney called me to ask whether he continue a residential eviction after the tenant filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The landlord’s attorney had already obtained a writ of eviction for non-payment of rent. ... Read full article
There has been significant bankruptcy litigation over whether or not a debtor loses his Florida homestead exemption if he uses his home to conduct business. Courts are divided; the law differs depending upon the district where the debtor files ... Read full article
An Maryland attorney wrote me an email about his representation of a person who received what was determined to be the fraudulent transfer of a piece of real property. His client had spent money maintaining and repairing the property. The attorney wanted ... Read full article
The common wisdom is that is nearly impossible to discharge a student loan in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy . I recently saw a Florida bankruptcy case where a bankruptcy judge did order the discharge of a debtor’s student loan. ... Read full article
A married man used exempt money from his retirement funds to pay off a $400,000 mortgage on his homestead . Within three years thereafter, the same man filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The Chapter 7 trustee is challenging the man’s homestead exemption because ... Read full article
A reader wrote me stating that she had filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy because a bank was suing her for the amount of her home mortgage. This was not a deficiency action. The bank sued the reader for default under the promissory note without foreclosing on the ... Read full article
Is it ever possible for a Chapter 7 trustee to take a debtor’s exempt assets? The answer is “yes” in extraordinary cases. The issue was addressed in a recent bankruptcy court decision. ... Read full article
People who receive money from Ponzi schemes usually have to return the money if the Ponzi organizer filed bankruptcy. The bankruptcy trustee typically pursues recipients of Ponzi profits as transferees of fraudulent transfers made by the Ponzi organizer. ... Read full article
A bankruptcy court can dismiss a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing for “bad faith” even if the debtor passes the means test or is exempt from the means test because his debts are primarily non-consumer debts. A Florida bankruptcy court dismissed a Chapter 7 ... Read full article
