The Honorable John H. Squires, Bankruptcy Judge of the Northern District of Illinois, says NO!
Michael Mason was popped in Dekalb County IL for possession with intent to deliver over 30 grams of weed.  The Circuit Court set bail at $700 Grand.  Illinois law permits a criminal defendant to post a cash bond of 10 percent.  [...]

Popularity: 3% [?]

What do rising gas and food prices have in common? They both eat up a substantial part of your monthly budget. And if you filed chapter 13 within the past few years, you submitted a plan of monthly payments based on a budget before gas and some food prices doubled. It may [...]

Popularity: 7% [?]

You all know the words to Graham Nash’s 1970 hit and by now the tune is melancholically playing in your mind.  And like most music of the slash decade, 60/70’s, it provides a life message.  Teach Your Children involves communication between a parent and a child.  One teaching life lessons to the other and the [...]

Popularity: 10% [?]

Do 401(k) withdrawals during the prior six-months before a bankruptcy filing “count” as income for the means test? My friend Andy Miofsky outlined today the well-reasoned Zittel decision from Southern Illinois that concludes they do not.
The decision was set in opposition to In re Sanchez from my neighboring district, the Western District of Missouri, [...]

Popularity: 22% [?]

The Southern District Bankruptcy Court of Illinois sits along the east bank of the Mighty Mississippi River from a spot just north of St. Louis, Missouri to the southern most point in Illinois. Across the river and far across the state of Missouri is the Western District Bankruptcy Court of Missouri. Geography aside, [...]

Popularity: 24% [?]

There was a Judge, a Federal Reserve Chairman and a lawyer, each pondering why the mortgage mess keeps dragging down the overall market economy. The Judge could not believe banks would not rewrite loans for a small loss to avoid taking a bigger loss in foreclosure. The Fed Chairman publicly encouraged banks to [...]

Popularity: 19% [?]

There have been alot of reports for the last few weeks on a new company, “You Walk Away”. The company says that, with their help, distressed homeowners can “walk away” from their mortgages, homes, and suffer no consequences. Can this be true? The NewYork Times article by John [...]

Popularity: 31% [?]

Chapter 13 bankruptcy permits a debtor to cure a delinquent mortgage payment over a period up to five years in length. Typically, a debtor proposes a plan to repay, or cure, the arrearage in equal monthly payments during the life of the plan. Some plans might involve staggered payments, eventually paying off the [...]

Popularity: 22% [?]

An interesting article written by Patrick Enright of Newsweek.com explores a correlation between evangelical Christians, in the Bible belt and Mormon mountain West, and states with a high concentration of payday lenders. The article examines the results of a state by state count of these two groups conducted by two law school professors for [...]

Popularity: 19% [?]

A debtor in a chapter 7 case can reaffirm the exempt portion of an interest in real property and retain the property after the bankruptcy case. Debtor keeps the house and the reaffirmed loan survives the bankruptcy discharge. A creditor is not required to consent to a reaffirmation agreement, but if one is [...]

Popularity: 26% [?]