A few months ago, Jonathan Ginsberg posted an article on these pages about what happens if you fail to complete a financial management course.
As Jonathan pointed out, if a bankruptcy case is filed without the certificate that you completed the financial management course, and the case is closed without a discharge, most judges will [...]

Popularity: 9% [?]

Before you sign your bankruptcy petition, you must review all of the schedules for accuracy.  One of the schedules, called “Schedule J - Current Expenditures of Individual Debtor(s)” is where your monthly expenses are listed.  If there is one place on the bankruptcy petition that my clients consistently get wrong, it is on “Schedule J”.
Very [...]

Popularity: 13% [?]

Generally, if a creditor doesn’t file a proof of claim in a timely fashion in your Chapter 13 case, that creditor does not get paid.  If it is a dischargeable debt, and if the creditor got proper notice of the Chapter 13, the debt will be discharged at the end of the case.
So why would [...]

Popularity: 16% [?]

As noted recently on these pages by Doug Jacobs, a California Bankruptcy Attorney, a judgment lien against your real property can be removed from the property if the lien impairs an exemption you claim in your bankruptcy.  In New York State, you can only remove a judgment lien against your personal residence.  Your attorney needs to [...]

Popularity: 14% [?]

As you probably know, there are companies that gather information about the history of your payments on your credit obligation.  These are called Credit Bureaus, and they not only gather your information, but they also report this information to anyone who pays for it, including your creditors, potential employers, landlords and insurance companies.
The three credit [...]

Popularity: 10% [?]

Each of us has our own goals as to how much we would like to have set aside for retirement.  There are a variety of retirement plans available.  Some are sponsored by employers and others are more individual.
Employer-sponsored plans include:

401(k) plans are offered by employers to their employees.  401(k) plans allow you to withhold from [...]

Popularity: 7% [?]

There are many ways a bankruptcy trustee can try to increase the amount your spouse’s creditors will get paid in the bankruptcy.  The trustee can look at any single expense of the household and try to attack it as being unreasonable.  If s/he tries to take the position that you, the non-filing spouse, should not [...]

Popularity: 5% [?]

If your spouse files a bankruptcy, will that affect your ability to pay for your children’s continuing education?  It all depends on what level of education your children are attending.
The new (now nearly 2 1/2 years old) bankruptcy law specifically allows a debtor to deduct from the means test a certain amount for education expenses [...]

Popularity: 16% [?]

You can try.  You will be held personally liable for some of your LLC’s tax debts.  Examples include sales tax, and the trust fund portion of employee withholding taxes.  If you file a personal Chapter 13 (an LLC cannot file a Chapter 13), you can put your personal liability for the LLC’s taxes into your [...]

Popularity: 20% [?]

When your spouse files for bankruptcy, s/he must complete income and expense schedules that detail your household income and expenses.  Even though you are not part of your spouse’s bankruptcy, your income and expenses must be shown on the schedules.  Sometimes the schedules will list only the contribution you make on a regular basis to [...]

Popularity: 16% [?]