A chapter 13 bankruptcy requires a Plan to repay some of a debtor’s obligations; afford a debtor the chance to catch up on those debts where he or she is behind, such as a tax obligation or a house payment; and re-classify some debts to pay only the secured amount rather than what is owed. [...]
Bankruptcy Basics
Isn’t my case over? I got my discharge. Why’s the bankruptcy trustee still hounding me?, my client asks. People who’ve filed bankruptcy are focused on the discharge as their goal. With their discharge in hand, they think it’s all over. They lose sight of the fact that the administration of a bankruptcy estate by the trustee [...]
Bankruptcy remains a source of financial relief for most borrowers. Most debts are discharged in bankruptcy and folks receive a “fresh start”. However, there is one huge exception that is not discharged automatically in any bankruptcy. Student loans. both government and private loans, are not discharged in bankruptcy without effort. Student loans are [...]
With the Supreme Court’s hearing two major cases addressing same-sex marriage this term, Hollingsworth v. Perry and United States v. Windsor, we have been getting questions about how same-sex marriages are dealt with in bankruptcy. The answer is, “it depends.” The first issue is the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”). Sections 2 and 3 of DOMA are relevant here, [...]
You may be putting off filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 debt consolidation because of concern about not having the exact debt balances due on your credit cards and other debts. After all, bankruptcy involves a federal court filing under penalty of perjury. Let me reassure you that you do not need to [...]
For people who are engaged in a profession that is based upon communication, lawyers can be very bad at communicating. Bankruptcy lawyers, including me, don’t always communicate effectively with clients. Like any other specialized profession, we tend to think and talk in jargon, and we forget that other people, including clients, aren’t always up to [...]
