American Shingle filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Georgia owing millions of dollars to creditors. Among the creditors are hundreds of homeowners who paid the company to roof their home but did not receive services promised. For homeowners who are owed money, there are a few things to understand about how bankruptcy works and what [...]
September 2010
When you file bankruptcy, you claim “exemptions” in property you wish to keep free of any claims of the bankruptcy trustee. And the “homestead” exemption–the exemption used to protect your home–is the most important exemption for many debtors. But what if your home is the movable kind? And I’m not just talking about mobile homes [...]
Many times people come into my office and want to file a chapter 7 but they are worried about losing their home in bankruptcy. Often, this fear probably means they have delayed seeking some advice for a very long time. In most instances, the chapter 7 trustee is not going to sell your home to [...]
Sigh. I hate loan modifications. I just got off the phone with a potential bankruptcy client. This call was from yet another borrower who has been working on a loan modification for months, but now is looking for a attorney to file an emergency Chapter 13 to try to save her house. In this case, the [...]
You’ve finally hired a bankruptcy lawyer. You’ve done your research and found a lawyer with whom you think you can have a good working relationship. How do you preserve that good working relationship through the course of your bankruptcy case? I’m going to focus on things that are particularly relevant to bankruptcy cases, rather than [...]
Before the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) came into existence if a client’s house was in foreclosure you had two basic options: Either file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and give the house back to the creditor, or file a Chapter 13 and pay the arrearages though a Chapter 13 Plan. Very rarely would a creditor [...]
