While bankruptcy professionals groaned in dismay when Congress reduced the effectiveness of the chapter 13 “super discharge” with the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Act, it is worthwhile to remember that chapter 13 will still discharge more debts than chapter 7.  In fact, the chapter 13 discharge is still an effective solution for several types of debts which cannot be discharged [...]

Popularity: 2% [?]

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: 12% [?]

Maybe. It depends. Do you owe the IRS any prior monies? Can you claim the monies due to you as exempt?

Popularity: 30% [?]

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A Kansas debtor can NEVER discharge debts to two objecting creditors, according to a recent decision by Judge Dale L. Somers in In Re Lina Buchanan Guebert, Case No. 07-41165, D.Kan. Bankr. April 2008.
The harsh order was the result of a long history of at least 12 bankruptcy cases in 12 years by Guebert. [...]

Popularity: 19% [?]

Debts tinged with dishonesty are part of a small group of claims where the creditor has to take action in the bankruptcy to avoid their discharge. Most debts that are non dischargeable in a bankruptcy case are so just because of the nature of the debt: recent taxes, family support, drunk driving judgments.
A [...]

Popularity: 11% [?]

“Section 8″ is a phrase indicating public assistance, or a subsidy, for rental expenses.  Discrimination against recipients violates Massachusetts law.   A state court judgment for $1.00 actual damages, $5,000.00 punitive damages, and attorney fees issued against a landlord who then filed for bankruptcy protections - and lost as to this award.
 Bernal v Benham (In re Benham), [...]

Popularity: 19% [?]

Car accidents happen all the time and most of us have sufficient insurance to cover the claims of an injured third party.  What happens if you are at fault in an accident and the other driver sues you for thousands or millions of dollars?   I received this question from a visitor to my Atlanta bankruptcy [...]

Popularity: 10% [?]

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: 32% [?]

Was that student loan discharged in bankruptcy, or wasn’t it? Two recent decisions leave the answer to that question in doubt. Hoxie v. Educational Credit Management Corporation (US Dist. SD California, November 13, 2006) and Mersmann v Educational Management Credit Corporation (US App 10th Circuit, September 24, 2007) threaten the financial security [...]

Popularity: 35% [?]

The one thing I really want my bankruptcy clients to do is speak with me before they transfer any assets.
Why? Because the sale of assets before or during a bankruptcy may present potential problems to a debtor in obtaining a discharge.
If you liked that post, then try these…Don’t Charge Your Bankruptcy Fees by L. [...]

Popularity: 20% [?]