Weekly Posts

Rats! I need a new car and I’m stuck in Chapter 13

09/05/23

Do You Need to Finance a Car in Chapter 13? The last thing you want to do is get further into debt while you are in Chapter 13.  (The goal of Chapter 13 is to get out of debt.)  But sometimes you need to replace a broken down junker. So, you need financing for a […]

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Inflation Adjustment for Family of Two Goes the Wrong Way

05/15/23

Bankruptcy Means Test Inflation Adjustment for Family of Two Goes the Wrong Way Budgeting food and clothes in the bankruptcy court for a family of two just got harder. According to the Justice Department (who gets them from the IRS, who gets them from the Bureau of Labor Statistics), the average cost of food, clothing […]

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Bankruptcy Trustee Hearings Will Soon Be on Zoom

04/30/23

Bankruptcy Court Trustee Hearings Will Soon Be On Zoom Bankruptcy Trustee hearings are now telephonic. That started for the pandemic, effective April 9, 2020. They are moving to Zoom, soon. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta made that announcement Friday at the annual convention of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.  Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah […]

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Paying Your Mortgage with Money Order is a Bad Idea

04/19/23

Paying Your Mortgage with Money Orders is a Bad Idea Handing somebody a money order to buy a car or something–that’s sometimes safer than cash.  But mailing a money order to pay your mortgage–that’s almost always a bad idea. Let me tell you about Norman.  Norman filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy with different lawyer.  He later […]

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Inflation Adjustment on income–But not on Expenses

04/02/23

Bankruptcy income eligibility got easier April 1, 2023 Income eligibility to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Virginia got easier April 1, 2023.  The median income–that’s the cutoff for automatic eligibility based on income–shot up six to ten thousand dollars. The median income for a family of four increased from $124,304 to $134,252.  For a family […]

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Ten Years Out of School and Still Struggling with Student Loans?

03/08/23

Are You Ten Years Out of School and Still Struggling with Student Loans? Recent student loan policy changes by the Biden Administration can help people still struggling with student loans. These are new rules making it possible to discharge your student loans in bankruptcy.  In bankruptcy, you can clear your federal student loans if you […]

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I Just Renewed My Membership in Consumer Advocates

03/03/23

Why I’m a Member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates I’m a bankruptcy lawyer.  When I first started I said “All I do is Bankruptcy.”  What I found out is that people in financial trouble are magnates for illegal stuff being done to them.  A lot of that is fair credit reporting violations and […]

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Chapter 13 and Tax Relief for Seniors Save Marian’s House

09/18/22

Marian Saves Her House from Reverse Mortgage Foreclosure: She Filed Chapter 13 and Got Fairfax Senior Citizen Tax Relief Before her husband died, Marian had taken out a reverse mortgage on her home. That way, they hoped, she wouldn’t have a house payment and she’d never have to worry about having a place to live. […]

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Settling Her Debts through Americor, Sheriff Brings a Warrant

09/10/22

Trying to Settle Her Debts through Americor, Liz gets a Warrant in Debt Liz was shocked when the sheriff brought a warrant in debt for her $2680 Victoria’s Secret account. Liz Tried to Settle Her Debts Liz tried to settle her debts. She worked through Americor and gave them $664 per month. Victoria’s Secret was […]

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We knock out Dyck-O’Neal, Save Lonnie’s Clearance and his Family Home Place

07/15/22

We knock out Dyck-O’Neal, Save Lonnie’s Clearance and his Family Home Place Lonnie was about to lose his federal job. His clearance review showed he owed Dyck-O’Neal $127,153 from a foreclosure deficiency. He needed to take care of that. Or he’ll lose his clearance and his job. Obviously he didn’t have $127,153.  And when we […]

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