chapter 7

Student Loans In Bankruptcy

by Kurt O'Keefe, Attorney at Law

At least the graduate in the picture has a job.  Being that is involves wearing a chicken suit, it might not produce enough scratch to pay off his share of the more than $1 trillion dollars in student loan debt now owed in our country. The issue is on this site because now, more than [...]

Means Test and Attorney Fees

by L. Jed Berliner, Springfield, MA Bankruptcy Attorney

I wrote about attorney fees as a means test deduction some time ago.  BAPCPA’s provision, codified at section 707(a)(2)(A)(iv) of the Bankruptcy Code, says that priority claims are deducted from income.  Priority claims include a Chapter 13 debtor’s counsel’s fees.  See sections 507(2), 503(b)(2), and 330(a)(4)(B).  Therefore, our attorney fees are a means test deduction.  Oddly, the [...]

Filing Bankruptcy: Do I Have To Keep My Condo?

by Kurt O'Keefe, Attorney at Law

Colleague Dana Wilkinson calls it “foreclosure limbo.” You made the difficult decision, accepted reality, you cannot pay your debts, and, even filing bankruptcy, cannot keep your condo.  Or, like one of my clients, the condo you bought for your son’s family, which they could no longer pay. Whether in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or Chapter [...]

How to Do Your Bankruptcy Credit Counseling

by Russell A. DeMott, Charleston Bankruptcy Lawyer

  The Bankruptcy Code mandates that the debtor take a credit counseling course within 180 days prior to filing bankruptcy.  The course is one of the many useless hoops debtors must jump through prior to filing their bankruptcy petition. If you really want to avoid bankruptcy, this “course” is not helpful I, like any other [...]

Bankruptcy Petition Preparers: A Really Bad Idea

by Russell A. DeMott, Charleston Bankruptcy Lawyer

  Bankruptcy Petition Preparers.  Should you hire one? Let’s face it.  Folks with financial problems aren’t exactly flush with cash. So it’s tempting to cut corners in purchasing legal advice and to opt for the services of a bankruptcy petition preparer. But as with most things, you get what you pay for. Preparers really can’t–at [...]

Don’t Pay Your Bankruptcy Lawyer With Post-Dated Checks

by Eugene S. Melchionne, Connecticut Bankruptcy Lawyer

So you’ve found the cheapest bankruptcy attorney in the market.  For only the price of $250.00 and the court costs, he’ll file your case provided you give him several post-dated checks for the balance of his fees.  So you can file now and pay later.  Great!!! (For you, not for him – read on to [...]