If you are in the Western District of Missouri, Kansas City Division, there are 10 Chapter 7 Trustees. You can never choose the trustee for your case, they are assigned by the Court at the time of filing. So far we have introduced you to Mr. David Stover, Ms. Erlene Krigel, Ms. Janice Stanton and [...]

Popularity: 9% [?]

Bankruptcy courts stage some of the most complicated and exotic dramas imaginable. Have you heard the one about the Mexican mining company that is being sued by its own subsidiary while simultaneously trying to buy it back? It’s a tale that could only be told in bankruptcy court.
The story begins in 1999 when [...]

Popularity: 13% [?]

Wiping out student loans in bankruptcy is rare because the law requires a heavy burden:  Proof that repayment creates an “undue hardship” on the consumer.  How rare?  When a contested hardship discharge was granted in St. Louis late last year, most practitioners could not remember the last time it had happened.
To put this in perspective, [...]

Popularity: 14% [?]

Most credit card debt can be wiped out in bankruptcy. The most common way to lose that right is for a lender to prove they were defrauded. Only rarely do folks intentionally charge up a credit card without having some intention of eventually repaying it and they are even less likely to confess it in [...]

Popularity: 34% [?]

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: 25% [?]

The Government has now finalized the 2008 Rebate Checks decision. Are they an asset? In a word, yes. You will need to check with your attorney as to how the rebate checks will be handled if you are currently in a bankruptcy or if you are contemplating filing a bankruptcy.
In the Western [...]

Popularity: 7% [?]

What happens to your tax refunds during the life of your Chapter 13 in the Western District of Missouri? Good question. As of two weeks ago the rules have changed. Previously you could keep the first $1,000 without scrutiny or question. Any amount between $1,001 and $2,500 you would send a [...]

Popularity: 20% [?]

Countrywide is selling itself at fire-sale prices to Bank of America. It has laid off tens of thousands of employees. Investors in its stock and bonds have been hammered. Homeowners across the country are defaulting on its mortgages and the federal home loan bank is on the hook for many of those [...]

Popularity: 22% [?]

Loans to ailing businesses are becoming a rarity. The credit crunch that has hit the consumer across the country is now biting businesses on the brink driving them into bankruptcy — as well as those on the rebound out of bankruptcy.
Last June, we visited this issue and businesses were not seeing much difficulty placing [...]

Popularity: 22% [?]