Several years ago, the Chapter 13 trustees and the bankruptcy judges in the Northern District of Georgia added a new administrative burden to lawyers who file Chapter 13 cases in the Atlanta area.  Under this local rule, within 30 days after the “bar date” for creditors to file claims, lawyers must review all of the [...]

If your Chapter 13 payments are set by the Means Test and not only by mortgage and priority tax arrears, then a Family Medical Leave can reduce your payments.
The Means Test looks at your average monthly income for the six month period ending with the month before your filing.  If you have not yet filed [...]

Should you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy?
The answer to the question of what type of bankruptcy to file is that it depends on your financial circumstances.
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy and a Chapter 13 bankruptcy are really designed for two different types of debt situations.
If you liked that post, then try these…I still [...]

The United States District Court located in San Diego recently issued an opinion on December 10, 2008, holding that student loans may be discharged in chapter 13 bankruptcy cases where the creditor fails to object after receiving proper notice.  Other cases around the country are also holding the same and the United States Supreme Court [...]

What happens when you cannot make your Chapter 13 payments due to unexpected bills?  A furnace goes, or a car breaks down, or you get sick or hurt.  What then?
There are a number of options.  None of them are “Keep this secret from your lawyer!”
You can ask for a suspension, or moratorium of payments and [...]

Filing  Chapter 7 bankruptcy will stop collection efforts of your creditors, however that relief may be temporary if your debts are of the kind that are not discharged in bankruptcy.
Some debts, like student loans, child support, many taxes, and a few others, are not discharged by bankruptcy.  However you may experience some relief from their collection for [...]

Courts may grant a Motion for Relief from Stay in a Chapter 7 if it was filed because a debtor is behind on the mortgage when filed, and there is no equity in the property for creditors.  Chapter 7 is not designed to stop foreclosures to give people time to catch up on their mortgages.  [...]

The Southern District of California Bankruptcy Court in San Diego recently issued a ruling that allowed a junior lien to be removed in a Chapter 13 case, even though the debtor was not eligible to obtain a discharge. Discharge was not available since the debtor previously filed a chapter 7 petition and the new bankruptcy laws [...]

Ever wonder how a bankruptcy court would rule, if you actually had a hearing on the question of how much a car is worth in chapter 13?  Did you doubt you could really get a court to reduce the amount of the secured claim to take into account the car’s need for expensive repairs?  Maybe [...]

Judge Feeney, Massachusetts Bankruptcy Judge, days ago issued an important decision on an issue of whether a Chapter 13 debtor would be allowed a means test deduction for a payment of a secured debt when the payment was not being paid due to lien avoidance. See In re Marshall, 2009 WL 1652471 (Bkrtcy.D.Mass. 2009). [...]