Clients frequently ask whether they need a social security number to file bankruptcy. The answer is no. Let’s explain this. Nothing in the bankruptcy code requires that you have a social security number to file bankruptcy. Yet, the official bankruptcy forms ask for your social security number. Don’t use somebody else’s number. Don’t use a [...]
January 2011
As banks go back to having lending standards, they turn down more borrowers. A new industry has sprouted in between traditional lender, like banks and finance companies, and traditional loan sharks like HBO’s Tony Soprano. They call themselves payday lenders. Some states, unfortunately not Michigan, have outlawed these parasites. Payday lenders charge effective annual interest [...]
Unless you are a mortician most people do not like to think about death, especially when considering filing bankruptcy. However there are times when death comes into play whether it be the death of the debtor or the death of a loved one. Inspiration for these blogs come from the everyday experiences in my practice [...]
People frequently ask whether they can file a bankruptcy case without their spouse. The simple answer is yes. The complicated answer is that your spouse matters for several reasons. Let’s assume that you and your spouse are married and living together. Then you have one household. There are at least two of you and maybe [...]
For the first time, a federal appeals court has ruled that the bankruptcy code does not forbid a private employer from refusing to hire a person based solely on the fact that he or she filed for bankruptcy. The court distinguished refusing to hire a person based upon having filed for bankruptcy from other forms [...]
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece by George Mason University law professor Todd Zywicki entitled Dodd-Frank and the Return of the Loan Shark. If you do not subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, you can read more about this topic from Professor Zywicki by clicking on the link. The gist of Professor Zywicki’s [...]
