In the Northern District of Georgia, where I practice, Chapter 13 debtors pay their mortgage payments directly to the mortgage lenders, rather than sending their mortgage payments to the Chapter 13 trustee for subsequent disbursement to the mortgage lender. What happens when a Chapter 13 debtor falls behind “post petition” – after his plan has [...]
atlanta bankruptcy
A lot has changed in the consumer bankruptcy world during the last 20 years, but one thing is constant – the written notices issued by the clerk of court and by the Chapter 13 trustee’s office will cause panic and confusion in the minds of bankruptcy filers. Perhaps the most common confusion notice – at [...]
Although it has been in effect for several years, the median income/means test provisions of the Bankruptcy Code continue to confuse potential bankruptcy filers. In my Atlanta, Georgia bankruptcy practice, I regularly get questions from new clients about the two “budgets” that are filed in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases. The first “budget” is [...]
As you may know the Bankruptcy Code provides that Chapter 13 plans must last at least three years but no more than five years. As a practical matter, most of the Chapter 13 plans I file in my Atlanta area bankruptcy practice end up as five year plans (this is because the disposable income calculations [...]
For the first time since means testing was introduced in 2005, several of the median income numbers for Georgia families have gone down. This means that the presumption of abuse is more likely to arise for Georgia filers. Here is an example: if you have a family of 4 and file Chapter 7 on October [...]
