13 Reasons To File A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
I f you are considering filing a bankruptcy, the best advice I can give you is to discuss your financial situation with a competent bankruptcy attorney.  She will tell you that for most consumers, there are often two options: file a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. [...]

In a move that shocked and amazed the South Carolina bankruptcy community, attorney Dennis Toney of Charleston scored a big victory for his clients by successfully challenging the application of the 910-day rule.  Toney’s keen analysis has led some to question whether Toney is part Vulcan, or 100% human as previously thought.  An investigation is [...]

In Chapter 13, if you want to retain your vehicle, you cannot alter the principle amount owed on the vehicle if you bought it within 910 days of the filing of the bankruptcy petition.   This is notoriously known as the “hanging paragraph” of Bankruptcy Code § 1325(a).
However, as Jacksonville Chapter 11 attorney Brett Mearkle explains, [...]

Gregory Smith recently held up a payday loan establishment in Indianapolis, IN.  He felt that his back was against the wall and had no where to turn.  Mr. Smith went into the Advance America to take out a payday loan so that he could put food on the table for his young child.  When Angela [...]

In Chapter 13, a consumer can reduce how much is repaid on an automobile under certain circumstances.  But the law limits that reduction, called a “cramdown” where the car was purchased with the loan money within the last 2 1/2 years if the car was bought “for the personal use of the Debtor.”
Note, you have [...]

Watch out, if your $18 million home on the beach in Malibu is turned back to the bank–it might become a “Party House”.
This is what happened to victims of the Madoff pyramid scheme, who lost their home as a result. According to this article on AZCentral.com:
A Wells Fargo & Co. executive who oversees foreclosed properties [...]

The Eighth Circuit ruled this week that certain types of car loans are protected from “cramdown”  in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy process, reversing decisions in Eastern Missouri.
Agreeing with its sister circuits which have addressed this issue, the Midwestern federal circuit court of appeals concluded that loans made during the 910-day period prior to a bankruptcy [...]

Many debtors are unaware of “dragnet clauses,” only to find out the same after a bankruptcy is filed. Dragnet clauses are “cross-collateralization” clauses typically used by credit unions to secure other contractual obligations against collateral that didn’t exist when the original security agreement was created.

Your car is worth a whole lot less than you owe on it, and you’re in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Is there a way to lower your loan balance?
In a Chapter 13, you may be able to do a cramdown, where you reduce the loan balance to the car’s value, but you can’t in a [...]

Note: The individuals listed are private parties, not government employees.
Merrill Cohen
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 760
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: (301)881-8300
Steven H. Greenfeld
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 760
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: (202)537-7050
Janet M. Nesse
1150 18th Street, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202)785-9100
Cheryl E. Rose
12154 Darnestwon Road, Box 623
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: (301)527-7789
Fax: (301)527-1233
Gary A. Rosen
One Church Street, Suite 802
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: (301)251-0202
Roger [...]