I recently blogged the question “Is it possible to lose my homestead exemption in bankruptcy court?”    This is an important question because people who file bankruptcy want to be sure that their homes will be safe.   
That question has now been clearly answered in the Northern District of New York.   Bankruptcy Court Judge Diane [...]

In Chapter 13, a consumer can reduce how much is repaid on an automobile under certain circumstances.  But the law limits that reduction, called a “cramdown” where the car was purchased with the loan money within the last 2 1/2 years if the car was bought “for the personal use of the Debtor.”
Note, you have [...]

Pledge your car for a small loan and save big when you file bankruptcy. Such idiocy follows from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Ransom.
At issue was whether a debtor got a deduction on the means test for the costs of acquiring a car if the car was fully paid for. [...]

On September 15, 2009, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling in Dumont with a split 2 to 1 decision, holding that “Ride Thru” is no longer an option in the Ninth Circuit as a result of the new Bankruptcy Laws enacted under BAPCPA.  In doing so, it overturned its previous Parker decision, [...]

Recently, the Southern District Bankruptcy Court ruled that certain Chapter 13 Debtors could not qualify for Chapter 13 relief since they exceeded their debt limitations. Pursuant to 11 USc 109(e), chapter 13 relief is not available to debtors with unsecured debt higher than $336,900 or secured debt higher than $1,010,650.00.

The Eighth Circuit ruled this week that certain types of car loans are protected from “cramdown”  in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy process, reversing decisions in Eastern Missouri.
Agreeing with its sister circuits which have addressed this issue, the Midwestern federal circuit court of appeals concluded that loans made during the 910-day period prior to a bankruptcy [...]

When Congress passed bankruptcy “reform” in 2005, it included provisions requiring consumer bankruptcy lawyers to call themselves “Debt Relief Agencies,” restricting the information we could provide our clients, and adding all sorts of disclosures and disclaimers that did little more than generate lots and lots of paper.
These provisions were challenged as unconstitutional by a Minnesota [...]

The mortgage industry has insisted they could fix the mortgage problem.  Then they convinced congress that they can fix the mortgage problem.  Then the mortgage industry  convinced congress that giving the Bankruptcy Judges the ability to modify first mortgages was unnecessary.  Its been several months since this was a hot issue.  It has now  faded away [...]

Whether to allow a debtor to claim a deduction on the bankruptcy means test for the ownership expense of a car if there is no debt on it is quickly being resolved by the courts.
Today, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the deduction would be allowed.  The circuit court joins with the Fifth [...]

Many clients face eviction from their homes after foreclosure. At first glance, even a bankruptcy filing might not help, since § 362(b)(22) states that there is no automatic stay of eviction where a pre-filing judgment for possession has been entered. Such clients are safe, however. The plain language of this section does not apply to [...]