In the Northern District of Georgia, our Chapter 13 plans are often filed as “step” plans. Basically a step plan is one in which the debtor’s trustee payment changes (steps up or steps down) when a known event happens. For example, in this district, vehicle leases are paid directly to the lender. [...]

Popularity: 4% [?]

On May 2, 2008, the Federal Reserve released a series of proposed rules that would restrict current practices of the credit card industry. Specifically:

Banks would be prohibited from increasing the rate on a pre-existing credit card balance (except under limited circumstances) and must allow the consumer to pay off that balance over a reasonable [...]

Popularity: 8% [?]

Car accidents happen all the time and most of us have sufficient insurance to cover the claims of an injured third party.  What happens if you are at fault in an accident and the other driver sues you for thousands or millions of dollars?   I received this question from a visitor to my Atlanta bankruptcy [...]

Popularity: 10% [?]

I received the following email from a couple who are currently in a Chapter 13, but have seen their income go down:
Last July, my wife and I filed Chapter 13 as we were barely over the median income for Washington State. I am now no longer getting the overtime I did up to the six [...]

Popularity: 15% [?]

Bankruptcy Law Network member Kurt O’Keefe wrote an interesting post on this blog about mortgage company abuses. Kurt referenced a story in the Atlanta newspaper about the Atchleys, a Waleska, Georgia couple who filed Chapter 13, and thereafter found themselves subject to multiple motions for relief from stay based on post petition payment [...]

Popularity: 22% [?]

With the recent rise in gas prices and the ripple effect resulting in increased costs of many goods and services, Chapter 13 debtors may very well discover that a payment plan which worked a year ago no longer works at all.  Here in Atlanta, we are seeing a significant number of Chapter 13 cases fail [...]

Popularity: 13% [?]

Several times a month, I receive email with detailed case questions from bankruptcy debtors who already have cases filed and who are currently represented by counsel.
I think that as a group, consumer bankruptcy lawyers are almost always willing to answer questions and we genuinely desire to help people in the community. However, if [...]

Popularity: 14% [?]

Several months ago, I referred a potential bankruptcy client to a colleague because the case involved a business situation very similar to a somewhat complicated case my colleague had handled previously.  The prospective client called my friend and actually paid a fairly sizeable retainer, but never ended up hiring him.
Now, some 18 months later, the [...]

Popularity: 17% [?]

Recently I have received a number of bankruptcy inquiries from higher earning individuals who are facing bankruptcy because of the real estate slowdown, the sub-prime mess and other problems in the economy.  Some of these folks have hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debt but are fearful about losing their jobs if their [...]

Popularity: 6% [?]

I received this question from a reader of my Georgia Bankruptcy web site.  This question has to do with title ownership vs. “real ownership.”  I get this question frequently - what do you think my reader can do?
I have two friend’s cars in my name because when they each got there income tax refunds this [...]

Popularity: 20% [?]