The US Treasury Department announced today that it recovered $200 Billion of the $700 Billion bailout for financial institutions. Â Despite popular belief, the Bailout was not a free handout. Â The money came with strings and the banks want out from under the TARP. A number of banks have already paid TARP money back. Â One of [...]
Eugene S. Melchionne, Connecticut Bankruptcy Lawyer
Foreclosures in Connecticut are unlike foreclosures in 48 other states.  (Connecticut and Vermont share this weirdness.)  In most cases, a foreclosure does not result in an auction.  Usually, the lender will just come to own your property without an auction.  (Read Part 1 to find out what the first steps are.) So if there is no [...]
The Means Test is one of the biggest changes to Bankruptcy Law passed since Chapter 13 Budget Plans were first formalized in 1938. The means test is supposed to determine whether there is income available for creditors after certain allowable expenses are deducted. A cornerstone of the means test is household size. The number and [...]
Foreclosures in Connecticut are unlike foreclosures in 48 other states.  (Connecticut and Vermont share this weirdness.)  In most cases, a foreclosure does not result in an auction.  Usually, the lender will just come to own your property without an auction.  How does that happen?  Read on. Connecticut is a Title Theory state.  That means that every [...]
Gift cards are the fastest-growing retail and restaurant product to come along in the last ten years. However, there are traps for the unwary consumer. In August 2010, a federal law will ban inactivity fees or monthly service charges on gift cards for the first year after purchase and will prohibit fees on gift cards [...]
The Means Test in bankruptcy treats 401K loan repayments differently under Chapter 7 versus Chapter 13. A recent case in Connecticut reveals that it may make no difference. If your income is such that no money would be available for creditors under Chapter 13 then the deductions may be allowable under Chapter 7 as well. [...]
