I’m accustomed to advising those on the verge of filing bankruptcy about big ticket debts like mortgages, student loans, and back taxes. I was surprised when a client, resigned to letting her house go to foreclosure after the bankruptcy, was absolutely delighted to know that she could free herself from her unhappy relationship with Verizon Wireless […]
Lien Stripping Works Without A Bankruptcy Discharge
The waiting and uncertainty is over. The judges have decided. Chapter 13 debtors can void underwater junior liens even if they aren’t eligible for a bankruptcy discharge in the Chapter 13 case. So says the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a case called Blendheim, decided October 1. And so, a myriad of Chapter 20 debtors […]
Try The Community Property Two Step
Life and debt often presents us with conflicting imperatives. Bankruptcy is required, but when to file? One pressure says: File now! Another issue says: Wait! I saw this vividly this week when the couple walked in with a foreclosure sale in two weeks and $40,000 in taxes that won’t be dischargeable for 18 months. There’s no […]
Fear of Bankruptcy Misplaced
Fear follows debt, like a shadow follows you. People in debt are afraid of the caller on the phone. They are afraid of the process server. They are afraid of the truth getting out. Yet, they fear bankruptcy more, apparently. They seem to fear that life as they know it will end if they file […]
Collections Is A Boogie Man For Businesses Too
“Being sent to collections” is a boogie man for businesses as well as for individuals, I learned this week. I was counseling a small business with lots of vendor debt. We were looking for a strategy that could keep them in business. When I suggested that management sort their payables into vendors they needed and […]
Mix Old Debts & Good Faith Payments For Bad Results
Old debts don’t live forever. The shell of the debt may hang around, like this mummy, but inside the shell, the debt is dead. But just like a bad mummy movie, old, dead debt can be brought back to life. All it takes is an attempt on your part to be honorable , or an attempt by […]
Donald Trumpets: I Didn’t File Bankruptcy
As much as it pains me to say, Donald Trump was doubly right about filing bankruptcy. He loudly announced at the debate that he had never filed bankruptcy. And, he’d only taken advantage of our laws in filing. Now, he was contemptuous of his creditors and dismissive about what the filings said about his business judgment. […]
No Discharge Chapter 13 Effective To Strip Lien
The wait is over; the decision is in. Homeowners in the 9th Circuit can strip off underwater mortgages in Chapter 13 cases even when they aren’t entitled to a bankruptcy discharge, the 9th Circuit BAP has held. Thus, courts have taken another step in the building consensus that the debtor doesn’t have to be eligible […]
Homeowner Beats Loan Servicer On Foreclosure Appeal
California appeals court slaps down servicer’s attempt to require payment of the entire mortgage loan a condition of homeowner protection. Nice try, Ocwen. But no, says an intermediate California appeals court. Such an interpretation would gut the California Homeowner’s Bill of Rights. Facing foreclosure The facts in Valbuena v. Ocwen are common: Ocwen became the servicer […]
Why No-Look Bankruptcy Fees Are No-Good
Lawyers become lawyers, in large part, because they can’t, or don’t want to, do math. Judges are lawyers who got promoted. And therein is the root of the problem with “no look” attorneys fee for consumer bankruptcy cases. Judges don’t understand mathematics. They expect the “law” of averages to result in fair compensation for debtor’s lawyers, relieving judges […]
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