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The “Forbidden Reason” For Pre-bankruptcy Spending

by Craig Andresen, Minneapolis, MN, Bankruptcy Attorney

Every chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy filing involves a creditors meeting which occurs about one month after the case is filed.  This meeting can unexpectedly become the perfect storm where, if enough of the wrong factors jell together, the debtor may blurt out the “forbidden reason” for spending down his or her bank accounts before [...]

What’s My Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Monthly Plan Payment Going to Be?

by Brett Weiss, Maryland Bankruptcy Attorney

When a client is considering filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, one of the first questions I’m asked is, “What will my Chapter 13 Plan payment be”? I almost always answer, “I don’t know yet.” Why? Because of the complex way plan payments are determined. There is a four-part test. Unfortunately, after running all of the [...]

Bankruptcy: “But I Don’t Want to File On….”

by Russell A. DeMott, Charleston Bankruptcy Lawyer

Filing bankruptcy means listing all your debts, even those you eventually plan on repaying after bankruptcy, like debts to relatives or your mortgage and car payments. As I tell my clients, you need to list anyone in the Milky Way Galaxy to which you owe money.  That means even those who think you owe them [...]

Three years into the mortgage foreclosure crisis,  a major lender has finally announced that it will reduce principal on “underwater” mortgages. Sort of. According to The New York Times, BoA won’t actually write down loans to the value of the property (which is more than it would get in a foreclosure). Rather (and here’s where [...]

Supreme Court Says Creditors Should Read Their Mail

by Wendell Sherk, Missouri Bankruptcy Attorney

This week a unanimous Supreme Court concluded that bankruptcy creditors ought to read their mail once in awhile.  Perhaps even pay attention and act upon what they read there.  Otherwise, they have only themselves to blame. This not-so-remarkable — yet important — decision involved a complicated — yet simple — case.  A man filed a [...]