The small business owner wants to know what the options are for a struggling business. To identify those options, I need to know the following: Do you have the time, energy, and desire to continue the business? Could the business prosper if it wasn’t servicing old debt? Could the business prosper if it shed equipment [...]
October 2009
I encountered tales of the foreclosing creditor who didn’t foreclose everywhere I looked this week. My colleague Rachael Foley handed me a decision of one judge who ruled that the delinquent homeowner couldn’t deed the property back to the lender without the lender’s consent. Then the latest AARP Bulletin highlighted a woman who moved out [...]
I was sitting in a Section 341 Creditors’ Meeting a year or so ago and a somewhat elderly lady was at the table with the chapter 7 trustee. She had filed her petition herself and she was answering the trustee’s questions. The trustee asked her about real estate that she had transferred. She replied that it [...]
Chapter 13 has always been an option for individuals, couples, and sole proprietors (not corporations) who are struggling financially. Since the changes to the Bankruptcy Code under BAPCPA in 2005, more people may have to opt to file Chapter 13 rather than Chapter 7. When a debtor’s income exceeds the state’s median income, he may [...]
Most people want to file their bankruptcy case right away. That’s not always the best idea. Why? There can be many reasons Means Testing The means test looks at your average income during the past six months. If you received a bonus or an unusual item of income during the past six months, it might [...]
According to a report by the Center for Responsible Lending that was recently released, banks and credit unions have set up systems that intentionally drive up the costs of overdrafts for consumers. Since over 50 million consumers overdrew their checking account at least once in the last 12 months, this practice has been generating a [...]
