You’ve heard the ads – they’re everywhere. “We will cut your credit card bills in half!” they claim. “You have a right to credit card relief” say others. “We will reduce your interest rates and your monthly payments,” boast some. It all sounds so appealing, especially to people who are getting behind on their payments […]
For many people, going to see a lawyer about bankruptcy is a bit like going to see a dentist about a root canal. They put it off until the pain is almost unbearable. Almost half of my clients cancel their first appointments. Because I understand this apprehension, my primary goal at that first meeting is […]
We’ve all heard it said that there are two things in life that are certain–Death and Taxes. But wait: In bankruptcy, there are some taxes that you can avoid. Taxes first due within three years of the date a bankruptcy petition is filed and taxes assessed within 240 days of the bankruptcy filing, or which […]
Question: How are student loans and herpes alike? Answer: You can’t get rid of either one of them. When I first began practicing law (more years ago than I care to remember) it was common for students to incur substantial debt by means of student loans, and then to discharge those loans in bankruptcy shortly […]
It is important to note that if you are divorced, and your divorce decree requires you to pay credit card debt incurred by your former spouse during the marriage (including cards on which you are jointly liable with your former spouse), you likely will not be able to discharge the obligation to your former spouse […]
Domestic support obligations, which include alimony, spousal maintenance, and child support, are considered priority claims under bankruptcy law. This means that if the debtor is making monthly payments under a Chapter 13 plan, the full monthly domestic support obligation must be paid in full as part of the plan, including those payments that become due […]
I frequently counsel with people who have a regular income, but simply cannot keep up with all of their monthly payments. Fortunately, there is a provision in the bankruptcy law called Chapter 13, which allows people with regular monthly income to fashion their own affordable repayment plan. Each month, the debtor makes one payment into […]
Nearly every day I speak with clients who tell me they postponed coming in to see me for months – and sometimes years! – because they were afraid they would lose everything in a bankruptcy action. The good news is that most of my clients don’t lose anything in the bankruptcy process. This is because […]
If you obtained a loan to purchase your car, chances are the company that lent you the money has a lien against the car. This means if you don’t make the payments, the lender can repossess your car. In bankruptcy proceedings, you can keep your car by signing a new agreement with the lender to […]