One of the really cool things about restructuring your debt in Chapter 13 is the flexibility to respond to changing circumstances along the way. Most of my clients are in a Chapter 13 for four to five years, and a lot can change in that time. Think back–when was the last time you went five [...]
2007
The Massachusetts Homestead Statute appears on its face to prohibit the protection of manufactured homes on a leased lot unless the owner is disabled or over 62. So ruled U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William C. Hillman in In re Kelly in 2005. It wasn’t appealed, and it was followed by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Joel B. Rosenthal [...]
The credit industry’s aggressive improvident lending is starting to reap the same brambles we saw with the subprime mortgage industry. Let’s punish the lenders of easy credit is the title of a recent article by Liz Pulliam Williams on MSN money. Jill Michaux in her article on bankruptcy reform legislation and Kurt O’Keefe in another article about [...]
The literature on starting a business is endless; advice on going out of business scant. Here are some thoughts on what to do when you’ve made the painful decision to shut down: my checklist of tasks when ownership has decided to close a business without a bankruptcy.
A Missouri judge has disagreed with a Kansas colleague about how Missouri law applies to certain car loans with trade-ins. This is a blow for consumers and unsecured creditors and a win for car lenders. It will cause Chapter 13 plans to pay more to car lenders at the expense of unsecured creditors, while potentially [...]
You have lost your home to foreclosure. Surprise, here is the bill for the income tax you now owe. Maybe not, if you are one of the former homeowners saved from grief by new federal legislation. On December 20, 2007, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 became law. This new law will protect [...]
