In my bankruptcy alphabet, Z is for zillion. Zillion is a real word but a made-up number. For certain, it’s lots and lots. It takes a zillion pieces of information, it seems, to file a bankruptcy case. Your last six months of income, business expenses, unemployment benefits. Your last three years of income from work…
Y, in my Bankruptcy Alphabet, stands for Yoke. Debt is a yoke around the neck of a person, harnessing him to the weight of past financial decisions and, sometimes, to events over which he had no control. There are times in life when the right course is to put your shoulder to the wheel…
I had to stretch, I admit, for X in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. An OEX under California debtor/creditor law is an Order Of Examination that is issued when a creditor has a judgment. It’s a tool for the creditor to find and collect his money. The OEX allows the judgment creditor to eXamine the judgment debtor…
W is for Wait in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. Sometimes, the bankruptcy journey begins, not with a mad dash to the courthouse, but with a short wait. Having made the decision to get out of debt, why would you wait? Many reasons, most of which revolve around how much of your assets you get to keep,…
The Letter V is for Value in my bankruptcy alphabet. The value of one’s assets drives exemptions and the question of what you get to keep through bankruptcy. The value of your assets that are subject to liens also determines whether you can void liens on those assets. I’m fond of saying that bankruptcy…
U stands for Unsecured in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. Unsecured describes a bankruptcy creditor who has no collateral to secure his debt. The world is full of pivotal distinctions: male/female; apples/oranges; cold/hot. The distinction between unsecured and secured creditors is huge in bankruptcy. A secured creditor has a lien on the debtor’s assets. That…
In my bankruptcy alphabet, T stands for Tension. I’m not talking so much about the tension the person filing bankruptcy feels, though that is real and not to be discounted. I’m talking about the tension in the law that balances the interests of creditors with the interests of debtors. Bankruptcy law in the US…
S is for Strip in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. Bankruptcy lawyers delight in stripping liens from people’s homes. In any chapter of bankruptcy, a debtor can void judgment liens that have attached to assets that would otherwise be exempt. In Chapter 13, tax liens and other statutory liens can be stripped off the asset if there…
In my bankruptcy alphabet, R stands for Retirement. Retirement plans and IRA’s are safe in whatever chapter of bankruptcy you file. Your rights in an employer’s pension plan or a union pension plan are not even part of the property of your bankruptcy estate. The Supreme Court held almost 20 years ago that ERISA qualified…
The letter Q embodies Questions in my bankruptcy alphabet. Like the storied Light Brigade, “stormed at with shot and shell” , we in bankruptcy are peppered with questions, not canons. Those considering bankruptcy have the profound questions will bankruptcy improve my situation?? what will I give up to get a bankruptcy discharge?? what is…
