The ground has shifted under California real property law. The change looms as large as a quake along the San Andreas fault that runs through our neighborhood. The words on a real property deed no longer mean exactly what they say when the property owners are married to each other. The newly decided Brace case holds that the […]
How Will Bankruptcy Filers Retire?
Contributions to 401(k) retirement plans during a Chapter 13 are not forbidden, as claimed by a colleague. He paints with far too broad a brush. A better reading of the Parks decision by the 9th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel is narrower: The debtor cannot deduct from their income their on going contributions to a 401(k) […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: L is for Life
In my bankruptcy alphabet, L is for the Life you can get back when you get rid of your debts. My bankruptcy clients are often simply consumed by managing their debts. There is no room for rest, savings, dreaming. Life has become the struggle to make the next round of payments. L could also be […]
Update Your Mental Money Software To 2.0
What kind of life style are you entitled to? When was your sense of your place in the economic world formed? Just like the anti virus software on our computers and the operating systems on our smart phones, our internal software about our money needs an update. Outdated expectations My theory: our view of how […]
Can You Afford The Cost of Retiring Here In California?
Care to guess what it will cost a retired couple in San Mateo County to meet their basic living needs? If they rent, it takes $3193 a month. If they have a mortgage, it rises to $4247. Those dollars cover housing, food, medical, transportation and $376 for everything else. Social security doesn’t cut it The average Social […]
The Dozen Most Important Bankruptcy Posts Of 2016
Last week, I let readers pick their favorite new bankruptcy posts from 2016 . It was a good bunch. Now, it’s my turn. Here are the dozen new posts for this year that struck a chord with me. If there’s a theme, it’s the subject matter, rather than the style. Each post is on target on issues […]
Last Call For Loan Modifications Under HAMP
If your house is teetering on the edge of foreclosure, the time to act has a deadline. HAMP, the government program incentivizing home loan modifications, ends in 2016. To qualify for HAMP, you must submit a complete Initial Application Package by December 30, 2016. That package must include: A RMA form which includes a required hardship […]
Your Picks For The Best Of Bankruptcy Soapbox For 2016
Jumping the gun on year-end by a bit, I’ve gathered up the 10 most-read new posts on Bankruptcy Soapbox in 2016. Without need of an envelop, please, here they are, in reverse order: 10. Why The Gap Between Judges & Attorneys About Fees Most bankruptcy judges never walked a mile (or any distance) in the […]
Spotting The Mean In The Means Test
Just being a consumer is enough to put you on Congress’s bad side when it comes to bankruptcy. How do I know? I read the “reformed” bankruptcy code where the means test discrimination is blatant. Only those individuals whose debts are primarily consumer debts have to prove that they aren’t abusing the bankruptcy laws. The […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: S is for Strip
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 […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- …
- 71
- Next Page »
