The government announced today that it may be suspending the Cash for Clunkers program, which began officially July 1, 2009, but funds began flowing this wee (and which was discussed by my colleague, Dana Wilkinson, South Carolina bankruptcy attorney, earlier this week).   Congress appropriate $1 Billion in funds and according to cnn.com, that money may well be used up [...]

Renewed attempts at debt collection following bankruptcy discharge are a serious problem. Aggressive collection agencies buy up old debt for pennies on the dollar, counting on being able to collect some proportion of the debt.
It appears that student loan creditors are now pursing debts previously thought to have been discharged.  Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC), [...]

It’s no secret that if you need to file bankruptcy, you are under stress. Financial problems are horrible, and they are real. But don’t let financial problems consume your life. Concentrate on what’s truly important: your health and your family.
I keep a box of Kleenex on my desk for my clients. By the time [...]

“I don’t want to file bankruptcy on my house!”  “I don’t want to file bankruptcy on my car!”  “I owe my mom some money but I don’t want to file bankruptcy on her!”
Every bankruptcy attorney practicing in this country has heard these phrases or variations of them.  The client wants to keep his home so he thinks [...]

Senior citizens with fixed incomes frequently think about filing for bankruptcy.  Even though we have experienced a horrible mortgage meltdown, many retired people have actually paid off their houses and, at least in theory, still have equity.  Yet their social security income is not enough to live.  Even worse, many pensions have been cut back [...]

Turning in a car to get out from under high car payments may backfire.   Many people think that a “voluntary” repossession won’t come back to haunt them, but any surrender or repossession of a car that does not pay off the loan in full can lead to big debt problems for the borrower.
When you buy [...]

Hat tip to my New York colleague, David B. Shaev, for the excellent coverage and honest statements. Finally, the news media gets their information about bankruptcy right!

Some bankruptcy lawyers need no introduction, but we’re giving one anyway to Carey Ebert, Ft. Worth bankruptcy lawyer and current President of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.  Carey is coming on board as a Contributing Author, and you’ll see her posts here on Bankruptcy Law Network for as long as we can keep [...]

The U.S Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, recently ruled that on the means test’s Form B22A, a vehicle ownership expense is allowed even when the debtor has no car payment.  The court’s ruling in In re Tate, No. 08-60953 (5th Cir. June 10, 2009), agrees with the only other circuit court opinion on this issue, In re [...]

I’ve been having more and more potential clients who are older come see me asking about bankruptcy.  Sometimes, bankruptcy is a good solution for these people.  Sometimes though, bankruptcy is not a good option.  And quite often, very few good options remain to deal with your debt.
Recently, I spoke with an older person who wanted to know if [...]