It is well known throughout the legal community that when a debtor files for bankruptcy everything surrounding the bankruptcy comes to a halt. This includes any other cases or hearings that are brought in state court or otherwise. In a recent case an overzealous creditor learned the consequences of pursuing litigation against a debtor who […]
Post Petition Inheritance May be Property of the Bankruptcy Estate
In a recent Chapter 13 case, a Trustee’s motion to modify a debtors confirmed plan to include a debtors post petition inheritance was granted. The debtor with a monthly income of $2,096, who had unsecured debt amounting to more than $20,000, had notified the bankruptcy court that he would be receiving between $25,000 and $40,000 […]
The Bankruptcy Estate
The potential filer for Chapter 7 bankruptcy should understand that in such a bankruptcy there is not plan of repayment on the part of the debtor, like there is in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. What occurs in a Chapter 7 is the creation of what is known as the “bankruptcy estate.” Under 11 U.S.C. § […]
Caught in Unemployment’s Revolving Door
Gretchen Ertl for The New York Times Jenner Barrington-Ward says that she has been told, “point-blank to my face, ‘We don’t hire the unemployed.’ ” On a cold October morning, just after the federal government shutdown came to an end, Jenner Barrington-Ward headed into court in Boston to declare bankruptcy. It took weeks to put […]
Why You Should FIle Bankruptcy Now…and Why Delaying Makes You Feel Better
Originally published in the Bankruptcy Law Network here It’s an old saying among bankruptcy attorneys that their clients should have seen them at least a year ago. If they did, they wouldn’t have done all of the things that cost them lots and lots and lots of money: Taking money out of retirement programs to […]
Why You Shouldn’t Reaffirm a Mortgage in Bankruptcy
I recently got a phone call from a client. She got a letter from her mortgage company giving her the “opportunity” to reaffirm her mortgage. She wanted to know whether she should do this. I told her, “Absolutely not.” In the overwhelming majority of cases, it makes absolutely no sense to reaffirm a mortgage debt. […]
Prior Tax Debt Could Burden a Debtor Post-Discharge
A recent case has left a debtor who has received a discharge pursuant to a Chapter 13 plan saddled with a significant amount of old tax debt. The Bankruptcy Court recently dismissed a debtors complaint and held that their tax debt was unaffected by the bankruptcy because “the lien was not addressed and treated in […]
Significant Damages for a Violation of the Automatic Stay and Discharge Injunction
In a recent case in the Third Circuit the Bankruptcy Court ordered Commonwealth Financial Systems (CFS) to pay damages in the amount of $88,480 for violating an automatic stay and discharge injunction. 4 Years prior to the debtors filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, CFS obtained a judgment for the amount of $23,307.49 against her. Following […]
Undue Hardship and the Discharge of Student Loans
Earlier this year a Wisconsin Bankruptcy Court decided that debtor Bradley A. Mhyre was entitled to have his student loans discharged in bankruptcy under the Brunner Test for determining undue hardship. In 1994 Mhyre sustained a neck injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down leaving him limited use of his shoulders and arms. […]
Super Heroes Fight Debt
by Cathy Moran, California Bankruptcy Lawyer The GetOutOfDebt guy is my hero. He’s not quite as swashbuckling as Batman and Superman. Not as suave as Elliot Ness, battling crime gangs. But he’s fighting for a better world, nonetheless. He fights Debt, a blight on too many in our squeeze-the-middle class, consumer society. Steve Rhode sings […]
