Bankruptcy has an official secrets law and it is contained in §526 of the bankruptcy code.  A lawyer can not advise a client to take out a new loan before filing bankruptcy.  The Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 includes this rule and I am going to break it legally.
Why would someone want [...]

When will they figure it out?  Wells Fargo and Chase have announced they plan to kick consumers while they are down again.  Credit card rates are being increased, 3 percentage points by Wells following a similar increase by Chase, in the worst economic climate since the 1930s.
A Wells Fargo spokesman said that the bank waited [...]

According to a report by the Center for Responsible Lending that was recently released, banks and credit unions have set up systems that intentionally drive up the costs of overdrafts for consumers.  Since over 50 million consumers overdrew their checking account at least once in the last 12 months, this practice has been generating a [...]

What happens when the debtor in bankruptcy dies or becomes incompetent before the case is closed?
In the case of a Chapter 7, death or incompetency does not change anything.  Because the Chapter 7 trustee is in charge of administering the estate for the benefit of the unsecured creditors, it makes sense that the case be [...]

The US Supreme Court plans to hear oral argument on several important bankruptcy cases in its 2009/10 term.  One case, Milavetz Gallop v. U. S., deals with the relationship between bankruptcy lawyers and their clients.  The case of U. S. Student Aid Funds v. Espinosa will determine what type of procedural steps must be taken [...]

What is Oregon Tax Amnesty and how do I get some?   It is a special program to allow Oregonians and others who owe Oregon tax to come clean without financial punishment.  An Oregon tax scofflaw can qualify for the amnesty program on pre-2008 tax liability by filling out an application and submitting it to the [...]

The IRS program for voluntary disclosure of secret foreign bank accounts has been extended to October 15, 2009.  Several months ago the IRS announced a program to allow voluntary disclosure of foreign bank accounts by US Citizens who had failed to previously disclose them.  This program is important to some taxpayers since the failure to [...]

The College Cost Reduction & Access Act went into effect July 1, 2009.  This legislation provides for forgiveness of federally-guaranteed student loans for individuals in certain public service occupations provided they meet certain conditions.
Eligible borrowers must consolidate the loans into an Income Contingent Repayment Plan (ICRP) or Income Based Repayment Plan (IBRP), make scheduled payments [...]

Federal court documents, including Bankruptcy Court filings, accessed through a new program called RECAP (PACER spelled backwards) can be viewed without cost.   RECAP is an add-on to the free internet browser Foxfire.  Because the courts generate revenue to operate their electronic record system called CM/ECF, a program that bypasses their ticket window causes some court [...]

Debtors having trouble making monthly payments often consider conversion of their Chapter 13 case to a Chapter 7 case.  In general, a Chapter 13 case can be coverted or dismissed at the debtors’ option.  However, if the plan has been in operation for several years, the debtor may have acquired new or different assets that were [...]