The “family-friendly” Congress elected in 2004 did an odd thing in 2005 when they passed BAPCPA, the bankruptcy “reform” law. In the process of ignoring how the American family has evolved since “Father Knows Best” was a television mainstay, they encouraged the break-up of the indebted family. The Eighth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, in effect, [...]
Marriage and Debt
When filing bankruptcy, one of your most important assets (a fancy word for property) is your real estate. All interests you have in real estate must be listed on Schedule A of the bankruptcy paperwork. You think this is easy? Usually it is. But here are some pointers. Be sure you know what interest in [...]
Filing for bankruptcy and filing for divorce often go hand in hand. This is unfortunate, but the news isn’t all bad. I believe that filing for bankruptcy can help save some marriages by eliminating overwhelming debt, which is a a major source of stress that causes marriages to break up. Even in cases where divorce is [...]
There are times when only one spouse in a marriage will want to file for bankruptcy. Some of the factors to consider in determining whether spouses should file a joint or separate bankruptcy are discussed by New Mexico Bankruptcy Attorney Gini Nelson in her article Must the Non-Filing Spouse’s Information Be Disclosed? Unfortunately, even when only one spouse files for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy code requires [...]
#6 My Spouse Does Not Want To Cooperate! What Do I Do Now? This continues the series I’m Filing, My Spouse Isn’t-What Happens? The series is introduced here. First, take a breath. The primary point in a bankruptcy is your good faith to fully and truthfully disclose all required information. You cannot make your spouse [...]
We recently filed a chapter 13 case for a married couple. Suddenly and tragically, the husband died. What could we do? Well, it turns out to be not so simple. Married People Filing Jointly Really are Two Cases with One Bankruptcy Case Number Most of the time, married couples think of themselves as filing just [...]
