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Timeshares: A Liftetime Of Debt – Not An Investment »

It is nearly impossible to sell many timeshares.  So what do you do if you can’t pay the timeshare payments and/or the timeshare maintenance fees?  First, try to sell it.   Even if you loose money, getting out from under the loan payments and fees may be wise. 

Some Assets Are More Protected Than Others: Bankruptcy Exemptions »

As unemployment rates continue to rise, it is a good idea to try to bunker down and prepare for the worst so you can ride out the storm if you find yourself among the unemployed, or facing a pay cut.
There was some good advice in an article in the Wall Street Journal on November 6, [...]

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Is Not A Death Sentence »

Clients who fail the bankruptcy “Means Test” and have to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case look at me as though they have been given a death sentence.  I  reassure them that Chapter 13 bankruptcy is not the end of the world.
The fact of the matter is that they are almost always usually much better [...]

Bankruptcy Means Test Irony: As Incomes Drop, More May Have To File Chapter 13 »

There is a new irony dealt by the bankruptcy means test, which has been required since the 2005 changes to the bankruptcy laws. On November 1, 2009 a new set of median income figures will apply to debtors seeking relief under bankruptcy that will kick more people when they are down.

A House May Be Exempt In Bankruptcy, But You Don’t Get A Free House In Bankruptcy »

You will have to keep making your mortgage payments if  you have a mortgage and want to keep your house after filing for bankruptcy.  I have had a number of phone calls recently from people who can’t afford their mortgage payments.  They were under the impression that by filing bankruptcy, they could keep their [...]

Bankruptcy Protects Your Future Property, Even If Your Property Isn’t At Risk Today »

People are often surprised to learn that even if they don’t file for bankruptcy, their property may be protected (exempt) under their state’s exemption laws.   Debtors have to be careful to follow the rules required to protect themselves from their creditors and timely file forms to claim protected property, but if they do there may [...]

Banks and Credit Unions Can Keep Your Money When Bankruptcy is Filed »

If there is money in a credit union or bank account when a bankruptcy case is filed, the lenders may keep the money in the borrowers banking account to apply against debts owed to them.  Credit unions often give their members loans or credit cards, and because the debt is owed to the “bank” that [...]

Lawyers File Bankruptcy Cases Electronically on Internet »

Filing for bankruptcy is usually done on the internet by your attorney, helped by special bankruptcy software that most attorneys have.

Debts Are Not Inherited – Don’t Go Bankrupt Trying to Pay Other People’s Debts »

If a relative dies owing money at the time of death, the debts are not inherited.  According to North Carolina laws, and likely other states, those debts might have to be paid from property owned by the person who died, but if the deceased didn’t own property then the debts may have died with the [...]

NC Bankruptcy Debtors To Get Higher Home Equity Protection »

Bankruptcy protects some property from creditors, and in North Carolina that protection is set to increase when the amount of residential home equity protected from creditors goes from from $18,500 per debtor to $35,000 per debtor.   Gov. Perdue signed into law H.B. 1058, which becomes effective on December 1, 2009 to raise the NC homestead exemption. 
Many people mistakenly think [...]