There was a lot of hoopla about the reasoning behind the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. When it was first enacted, some thought that bankruptcy was going to be nearly impossible for consumers. And, at first, bankruptcy filings were slow as noted by my colleague and fellow blogger, Peter [...]

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In Rachel Foley’s recent posting here, she urges readers to think once, twice, three times about trying to represent yourself in bankruptcy. About a month ago, I posted on a “painful to watch” 341 hearing with two debtors who tried to use a bankruptcy petition preparer and save money. Each [...]

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Recently, I attended a meeting of creditors for Chapter 13 debtors. There were two people there, each all alone, sitting nervously, waiting for their names to be called. Each had used a paralegal to “type” up their bankruptcy papers.
Paralegals who type up bankruptcy papers have a special name: Bankruptcy Petition [...]

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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 [...]

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Jill Michaux recently wrote a piece on What To Expect At Your 341 Hearing. She provided a list of questions, typically asked at the 341 Hearing, also known as the Meeting of Creditors. These questions were also probably provided in different forms in the homework provided by your attorney. [...]

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I recently visited a bankruptcy law blog which was supposedly written by an attorney offering advice on debts in bankruptcy. Why do I say, “supposedly?”. The writer discussed the importance of knowing what kind of debt you might have: secured vs. unsecured.
That was a good point, but then, the writer [...]

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Recently, I filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy for a couple who had a first mortgage of approximately $130,000 on their residence, along with a second mortgage of $34,000. While talking with the couple and reviewing their county property tax statement, I noticed that the county had valued the residence at $110,000.
I asked how [...]

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When a person files for bankruptcy protection, whether the petition is filed under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, the U.S. Bankruptcy Code imposes an automatic stay against the collection of all debts. That stay applies to all creditors and all debt collectors. There are small exceptions, for example–for ongoing domestic support [...]

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When my clients come in to retain my services for bankruptcy, I give them a form to keep at home by the telephone to keep track of phone calls/letters from creditors or debt collectors.   I also tell them their other choice is to keep a notebook by the telephone for the calls from creditors.   I [...]

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Children whose parents have large educational debts can be enslaved to pay off those debts, says the US District Court judge John D. Rainey in the case of Pratt v. ECMC. The judge backed ECMC, a well heeled collector and, in effect, told Mrs. Pratt she has too many children.
I commented earlier on ECMC’s predatory [...]

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