Before you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy – or even under Chapter 13 – you must first determine if you are above the “median income”. The median income test is based on the average income earned your state and is calculated each year by the U.S. Census Bureau. The “income” you must consider is not necessarily [...]
January 2010
If you are lucky enough to get your mortgage company to offer a meaningful modification of your mortgage while you are in a Chapter 13, you probably can get the Trustee and the Court to agree to allow it. There are a number of issues, however, that need to be addressed. Before modifying your mortgage [...]
Massachusetts Bankruptcy Judge Frank K. Bailey recently endorsed a so-called hybrid Chapter 13 plan which proposed to modify a first mortgage on a multi-family home while, at the same time, extending the payment on the secured claim beyond the life of the plan. The Rhode Island Bankruptcy Court recently reached the same conclusion in a [...]
New trial period rules for HAMP modifications.
In some states, once bank forecloses and gets your house back, you do not owe them any money. But not everywhere. Check with an attorney in your state. In Michigan, we have foreclosure by publication, an auction process, or through a court. If the mortgage company bids the amount you owe at the foreclosure auction, [...]
BAPCPA in effect punishes married Ch. 13 bankruptcy filers if their non-filing spouse has a “decent” income by forcing them into longer plans. One solution might be to get a divorce. Most courts hold that if your income is above the median income for your state, then your Chapter 13 repayment plan must extend for [...]
