Last spring, the CARES Act entitled everyone with a federally backed home mortgage to a forbearance of 6 months, extendible for another 6 months. 15 USC 9056. The end of the mandated forbearances is approaching for many. But the law provides no clue as to what comes after forbearance. Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage […]
When You Can’t Pay Your Bills Because Of The Virus
The coronavirus has us locked at home where the worry demons play unrestrained in our heads. Money troubles cause us worry, in “good” times. These are hardly good times. As more and more of us are hit with shelter-in-place orders that keep us from work and our kids from school, we have even more time […]
Chapter 13: Know Who Gets Paid First Under Your Plan
Who gets paid in Chapter 13, and in what order, makes a huge different when charting your course. Sometimes, we must realize that reality exists outside of television shows. And when real-world reality hits some debtors, it’s a trainwreck. It comes up for me when Chapter 13 clients and I sit down to write the […]
How To Pay For Bankruptcy When You’re Flat Broke
One of the cosmic ironies of our legal system is that it costs money to file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy gets you out of debt only if you have the money to file. The costs of bankruptcy include the filing fee collected by the court; the required credit counseling; and, if you’re smart, an experienced lawyer to […]
California’s Good Deed: Passing Real Property At Death
The horror stories about do-it-yourself estate planning are both plentiful and tragic. Between the fear of probate and the fear of legal fees, inventive people invent inexpensive strategies for passing property to the next generation. Adding someone to the deed is the most common one I see. It works like this: in order to see […]
Pay No Tax On Discharged Debt
Debt discharged in bankruptcy is tax free, even if you get a 1099 claiming otherwise. It’s unnerving when you get a 1099 after you thought the debt, and all its complications were gone. But for bankruptcy clients, the answer is simple: Debt discharged in bankruptcy is not taxable. Tax on cancelled debt The tax code […]
How To Pick A Bankruptcy Lawyer
How do you pick a bankruptcy lawyer when you’ve never hired any lawyer and never before considered filing bankruptcy? What do you ask a bankruptcy lawyer to determine if the lawyer is the right one for you? After all, the conversation has to move beyond “what does bankruptcy cost?” Financial troubles are tough and bankruptcy […]
Life And Death of Debt In California
CPR has its place when human life is involved. Human life is precious. But when what’s dying is the legal right to collect a debt? Not so fast. You don’t want to breathe new life into an old debt that is legally dead. Yet you can do that, unintentionally reviving a debt that is legally […]
Scofflaws Must Pay When They Violate The Stay
Debtors in bankruptcy got back the right to collect all of their damages for violations of the automatic stay when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals en banc overturned the Sternberg case. We conclude that Sternberg misconstrued the plain meaning of §362(k). To the extent it is inconsistent with this opinion, Sternberg is overruled. I thought […]
Bankruptcy Questions Have Few Quick Answers
The caller to my law office kept telling my assistant: I just want to ask Cathy a question. To which my assistant replied: you need to first fill out our questionnaire and make an appointment. But I don’t want a meeting, I just want to ask a question. At which point, both sides of the […]
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