Clients arrive in my office hoping that I can explain  the secret alternative which will solve their debt problems outside of bankruptcy. Why not?  Ads for debt settlement companies and do it yourself books always promise to reveal  the tricks ( known only to someone who wants to sell you something) to make your bills [...]

The client owes a fistful of taxes from years ago and has spent another fistful of dollars with widely advertised outfits that solve your tax problems.  None of these tax professionals told him that old income taxes can be eliminated in bankruptcy.!
The client first hired J K Harris, with no results, except a lighter wallet.  [...]

My client’s business corporation is long dead and he’s back to working for others.  But six quarters of unpaid corporate payroll taxes  not only become his  personal debt, but a  tax that is never dischargeable in bankruptcy and a priority claim which must be paid in his Chapter 13 case.
It is so tempting for the [...]

The borrower’s personal liability for a home equity line of credit or a standard second position home mortgage is dischargable in bankruptcy.  A reader of my website Bankruptcy in Brief, emailed me about conflicting input she was getting in her self prepared bankruptcy case.
I learned that the sources of misinformation continue to multiple:  some HUD [...]

Why is it that consumers and small business owners see bankruptcy as a mark of shame to be avoided at all costs when bankruptcy is touted as a new beginning and a positive step for corporate America?  Is there really anything different about “bankruptcy” when the debtor is General Motors than when it is Joe [...]

I was managing to pay on my credit cards til they jacked the rates to 28%, reports client after client in my bankruptcy law office.  Often, the call to the card issuer for a payment arrangement itself results in an increase in the interest rate.
You have to ask yourself what is the thought process of [...]

Debt collector threats are largely just that:  threats.  The credit card collector calling you on the phone has only three tools to make you give him money that he can’t otherwise get without spending lots of time and money in a lawsuit.
What are those tools?  They are all in YOUR head:  fear, shame, and annoyance.
FEAR [...]

My clients lately are so down on themselves that they insist on worrying that the bankruptcy trustee will strip them of everything, their home, their car, their consulting practice.  Not so, I repeat, and repeat.
FIrst of all, the bankruptcy trustee is only interested in assets that have net equity.  So, the trustee is not going [...]

AARP’s magazine column The Short Answer echoed my view exactly:  stop fighting bankruptcy.  People often wait too long to make the bankruptcy decision, invading retirement and college savings to the detriment of their future.
The fear about “ruining credit” is misplaced:  most of those in deep enough to consider bankruptcy have lousy credit already says AARP.  [...]

Small corporations may have their names on the shareholder’s credit card, but likely are not actually liable for the charges made on the card.  Clients come with lists of “personal” credit cards and “business cards” for their corporation or LLC.  In looking at bankruptcy options, we need to know which debts are those of the [...]