So you’re getting a higher education as a means to start or further your career, but the debts you’ve amassed over the past few years are vying for your attention. You may have thought about using your student loans to pay down credit cards or other debts… but is it really worth it? When you [...]
July 2009
The chorus is growing — two more appeals courts have ruled that the bankruptcy “means test” (also known as Form B22C) doesn’t establish how much a chapter 13 debtor needs to pay each month into the plan. Instead, both the Fifth and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently said that the means test only provides a “starting [...]
A bankruptcy reaffirmation agreement is a new promise to pay an old debt. A reaffirmation agreement is enforceable if it is properly executed and approved by the court. There can be many reasons to reaffirm a debt. However, it is important to understand what happens if you reaffirm. If you reaffirm a debt to one [...]
Last week I was attending a meeting of creditors in a Chapter 13 case. I tell my clients who are nervous at the thought of attending a meeting of creditors that no one is ever going to make a television show about bankruptcy court–it’s just boring. Most of the time, the trustees ask the same [...]
A recent study shows that in some areas of the Country, renting is cheaper than owning. In Florida, especially Southwest Florida, that study speaks volumes. Cities in Southwest Florida, like Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres and Port Charlotte have been hit pretty hard by the devastating real estate market and foreclosures. Home prices have [...]
Although the recent downturn in real estate is driving thousands to seek chapter 13 bankruptcy relief to save their homes, the same downturn is also having the ironic affect of denying eligibility to debtor for that very relief. To file for chapter 13, a debtor must meet the qualifications of 11 USC 109. Essentially, they must [...]
