In the Northern District of Georgia, our Chapter 13 plans are often filed as “step” plans. Basically a step plan is one in which the debtor’s trustee payment changes (steps up or steps down) when a known event happens. For example, in this district, vehicle leases are paid directly to the lender. [...]

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One in 56 Tennessee households and one in 60 Georgia households filed for bankruptcy relief in the first quarter of 2008*, according to statistics recently released by the National Bankruptcy Research Center.
The national average was one personal bankruptcy per 119.1 households. Here is a list of the top 10 states for bankruptcy filings per [...]

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Bankruptcy Law Network member Kurt O’Keefe wrote an interesting post on this blog about mortgage company abuses. Kurt referenced a story in the Atlanta newspaper about the Atchleys, a Waleska, Georgia couple who filed Chapter 13, and thereafter found themselves subject to multiple motions for relief from stay based on post petition payment [...]

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Bankruptcy attorneys practicing in the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division received the following email from Chapter 13 Trustee Doug Neway:
“Effective with all cases filed on May 1, 2008 or later: . . . All plans should be calculated using a 10% fee. This change is necessary to insure sufficient fund are collected during the [...]

Popularity: 27% [?]

Several times a month, I receive email with detailed case questions from bankruptcy debtors who already have cases filed and who are currently represented by counsel.
I think that as a group, consumer bankruptcy lawyers are almost always willing to answer questions and we genuinely desire to help people in the community. However, if [...]

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Several months ago, I referred a potential bankruptcy client to a colleague because the case involved a business situation very similar to a somewhat complicated case my colleague had handled previously.  The prospective client called my friend and actually paid a fairly sizeable retainer, but never ended up hiring him.
Now, some 18 months later, the [...]

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Yesterday, I served as a judge in a contest organized by a local paralegal school. The class of prospective paralegals had just completed their 4 week bankruptcy unit and the teacher divided the students into three groups. One group presented a paper and oral explanation about Chapter 7, another about Chapter 13 and [...]

Popularity: 27% [?]

As you know, Chapter 13 requires on-going payments to the trustee. What happens if you get laid off from work? Is your case dismissed automatically? How do you find out?
Because your bankruptcy is part of a legal process, very little will happen without notice being given to you.
If you liked that post, [...]

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I get a lot of questions from visitors to my Atlanta bankruptcy blog or Georgia bankruptcy law web site that include detailed fact patterns and requests for an in-office consultation. Many of these callers or emailers turn into clients. But not all of them do.
Today, I spoke to a woman about a [...]

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This past week both the Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution published feature stories about the soaring rates of bankruptcy filings in the Atlanta metro area. 
If you liked that post, then try these…Can a settled debt hurt my credit? by Eugene S. Melchionne, Connecticut Bankruptcy AttorneyAuthorized User: Piggybacking Practice To End by Wendell [...]

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