The answer to the question: What happens to my tax refund if I file bankruptcy is: it depends. Tax refunds received, after you file your case, have to be paid to the Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee, at least in the 6th Circuit, which covers Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, because the U. S. Court of [...]
Kurt O'Keefe, Attorney at Law
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 [...]
Reaffirming is the only way to remain liable on a debt that is otherwise dischargeable in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. At least in Michigan, signing a reaffirmation agreement is never a good idea, unless the bank is changing the terms to your advantage. If you keep up the taxes and insurance, and make the payments, [...]
Proprietary mortgage modifications, not HAMP mortgage modifications, lead the way according to HOPE NOW Loan Mod statistics. 120,000 modifications have been done by the mortgage companies themselves, compared to only 27,840 HAMP mortgage modifications, compared to HAMP has been, and remains, a gigantic government failure. It was supposed to lower the foreclosure rate. There are [...]
We have lots of divorces and too much debt in America today. As an attorney who has done lots of domestic law work, I recall the time when the court divided the property between the husband and wife, including the value in their house. Well, those days are gone, as the song says. One of [...]
Judicial mortgage modification, also known as mortgage cramdown, would NOT disrupt the residential mortgage lending market, but would prevent home foreclosures Says who? Says a Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland study just released.. See the L. A. Times article by Lew Sichelman for a more readable explanation of mortgage cramdown. Judicial mortgage modification, NACBA‘s euphemism [...]
