Archives for 2015

Save Your Home & Pay Your Mortgage.. Through Chapter 13 Bankruptcy It is understandable that you will have tremendous fear when you fall behind on your mortgage and you start to receive threatening letters. You may not even know that bankruptcy is an option to save your home and stop a foreclosure case. You probably think like most people that bankruptcy will mean giving up the house and getting a fresh start. That would be true under chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Many homeowners during the peak of the foreclosure crisis decided that they simply could not afford their homes and elected to file a chapter 7 fresh start and walk away from their homes. There were many + Click Here For Read More

The case was filed with the understanding that the debtor would go ahead and file the most recent four years of taxes within 1 to 2 weeks of the date of filing. The debtor did have those taxes prepared however he was not able to pay the tax preparers entire fee. For this reason, copies of those returns were not furnished to the debtor and thus not turned over to the debtor's attorney or to the chapter 13 trustee. If the chapter 13 trustee does not receive proof of the federal tax return filings within 46 days of the bankruptcy case filing, then the case is automatically dismissed. In this particular case, the chapter 13 trustee brought a motion to dismiss for failure to provide proof of + Click Here For Read More

I have been getting more and more inquiries regarding prior clients with regard to their mortgage companies.  It appears that the mortgage companies are not reporting their timely payments to the credit bureaus. For this reason, I decided to address it in this blog. The bottom line is that your mortgage company is not required to report your timely payments once you file for chapter 7 bankruptcy and not reaffirm the debt. What you have is a unique situation whereby you still own the property and are allowed to make voluntary payments towards the debt. However, you are no longer legally obligated to make those payments. The bankruptcy code provided for reaffirmation agreements on specific + Click Here For Read More

It is understandable that nerves will run high at a bankruptcy creditors meeting. After all, the debtor is likely filing his first and only bankruptcy case in his life. He understands that he must appear in front of a trustee and be examined under oath with regard to the petition and schedules that were filed on his behalf. He really is unsure as to what the trustee is going to ask. He does not know how long the meeting is going to last.  He does not know which of his creditors will attend and try to ask probing questions. He may start to wonder whether or not he was 100% accurate in the information that he provided to his attorney. He may have neglected a particular item and he is wondering + Click Here For Read More

The Repo List It seems like in these tough economic times, there are more and more people driving around town worried about the repo man. After all, you don't have to fall very far behind in your car payment to have the creditor calling you day and night about your payment. From there it's only a short period of time until the vehicle hits the repo list. Once you're on that repo list, your vehicle could be taken in the blink of an eye. I have had clients who couldn't get to work because the car was taken prior to them getting into the driveway in the morning. I have had other clients that could not get home from work because their car was taken during the work day in the employee parking + Click Here For Read More

Trustee’s Meeting With Debtor Once your bankruptcy case is filed, the clerk of the United States Bankruptcy Court will send a notice of your upcoming 341 meeting of creditors. The notice will be sent to all creditors, the debtor and the debtor’s attorney. This meeting of creditors is an opportunity for the panel trustee to examine you under oath with regard to your income, assets, expenses and debt. It is also an opportunity for creditors to appear and ask questions if they so choose. In order for the meeting to be held, the trustee must have received in advance of your meeting your most recent federal tax return as well as your most recent two months’ worth of pay advices. The problem is + Click Here For Read More

Powerful Collection Tool A very powerful collection tool is for a creditor to freeze a debtor's bank account. Most large creditor law firms and other collection lawyers have the ability to find out where you work and where you bank. Once a creditor has obtained a judgment and has knowledge as to where you bank, the creditor can send a third-party citation to discover assets. This citation is served upon the bank and inquires as to what monies you may have on account at that financial institution. If you have an account at that bank, pursuant to the citation, the Bank is obligated to freeze twice the amount of the judgment for a short period of time. This gives the creditor an opportunity to + Click Here For Read More

Credit Score Concerns Everybody is concerned with their credit score these days. Everybody wants to rebound as quickly as possible after a bankruptcy case. A better credit score will indicate that you are a better risk for future credit opportunities. The interest rate that you can garner will be better if your score is better and your overall financing opportunities will be better. Now if you make your payments on time each month, you should be rewarded with either a better score or at the least reported evidence of those timely payments. Unfortunately, this is not the case for a mortgage debt which is not reaffirmed in a bankruptcy case. Reaffirming Mortgage Debt The bankruptcy code is + Click Here For Read More

Foreclosure I think it's safe to say that the peak of the foreclosure crisis is behind us. Many people have already lost their homes, sold their homes, walked away from their homes or reorganized their debt through chapter 13 bankruptcy. Others have received modification offers from lenders, offers for deeds in lieu of foreclosure, relocation assistance and in some cases releases of liens. However, even though the worst is behind us, we still see many people who are struggling to either save their home or to stay in their home for as long as possible. Filing bankruptcy is a method by which some people can extend the time in their home for either a small duration or permanently. It really + Click Here For Read More

Most bankruptcy attorneys utilize an intake questionnaire to gather information about the potential client. This information is critically important to determine whether or not chapter 7 or chapter 13 would apply. It is also important to know what type of assets are involved, what type of debts are involved, and importantly, the income and expense budget analysis. Without this critical information, there is no way for a bankruptcy attorney to advise a potential client. Just this morning, I received an email from a potential client with regard to the bankruptcy intake questionnaire that's located at the top right-hand corner of my website. Her concern was a novel one. She basically felt + Click Here For Read More