It’s a story which would make any bankruptcy lawyer cringe: “I deeded my cabin to my brother so I couldn’t lose it to my creditors.  My cousin’s girlfriend’s lawyer told me on the phone that would be a good move.”  Ouch!  As bankruptcy lawyers know, judgment creditors can reverse fraudulent transfers, negating the utility of this manuever.  Worse, [...]

Much has been written on this blog about “reaffirmation” – the process by which a Chapter 7 debtor formally and in writing agrees to opt out of the protections inherent to a bankruptcy discharge and assume again contractual liability for secured (or unsecured) debts like mortgages and vehicle loans.
You should always speak to your lawyer [...]

As unemployment rates continue to rise, it is a good idea to try to bunker down and prepare for the worst so you can ride out the storm if you find yourself among the unemployed, or facing a pay cut.
There was some good advice in an article in the Wall Street Journal on November 6, [...]

Any reader of the Massachusetts Homestead Act must conclude that it only protects homes from contracts incurred after the declaration is recorded. This is not true in the bankruptcy context.
This reading was first confirmed by the Van Rye Massachusetts bankruptcy court decision in 1995. A different bankruptcy judge then ruled otherwise in the 1996 Boucher [...]

The law that defines what you can keep despite filing bankruptcy is found in law books, you’d think. There are two alternate sets of  California exemptions in the Code of Civil Procedure. The state law exemptions, for instance, permit the debtor to keep $2550 in equity in vehicles, while the California bankruptcy exemptions allow $3300.
But [...]

Lawyers have a saying about trying a case: Put the skunk on the table.  It means if you’ve got something really bad going on in your case, it’s best to just deal with it.  Tell the judge or jury before the other side does so you can minimize the damage.
It’s really no different with [...]

California Homestead Amounts To Increase
Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law new legislation that raises the amounts that can be claimed as a homestead in California.  The law, Assembly Bill 1046 is one of several new pieces of California legislation aimed at protecting homeowners.
Previously, the equity in your home was exempt from execution or in a bankruptcy [...]

Pamela Stewart, a Houston/Victoria (Texas) consumer bankruptcy lawyer spoke recently about bankruptcy at The People’s Law School sponsored by The University of Houston Law Center  – Center for Consumer Law.
Highlights of the session included discussion of the different chapters of bankruptcy, who is eligible to file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the meeting of creditors that all [...]

You will have to keep making your mortgage payments if  you have a mortgage and want to keep your house after filing for bankruptcy.  I have had a number of phone calls recently from people who can’t afford their mortgage payments.  They were under the impression that by filing bankruptcy, they could keep their [...]

You can keep property when you file bankruptcy in Chapter 7 in some situations, but usually always in Chapter 13 bankruptcy.