When I tell a client to stop paying credit cards, they look at me as though I’d suggested they jump into shark infested waters. “But they’ll start calling me”, they wail. “I’ll be sent to collection“. In their mind, “collection” is a real place, with manacles dangling, barred windows, and water dripping down moldy dungeon walls. Turns […]
Who Profits When Money Trouble Is Shameful?
Talking about our financial troubles is taboo in this society. In fact, we are more willing to talk about our sex lives than our money troubles. We lionize those who make a fortune. Everyone expects to live the middle class life. It becomes easy to think that something is wrong with you if you aren’t […]
Bankruptcy Changes Your Life, Only Not The Way You Think
How will filing bankruptcy change my life? My clients ask all the time. They imagine the remainder of their life after bankruptcy with neither credit cards nor credit. Outcasts in our economy. Shunned by all. Crippled by bankruptcy. They can see a scarlet “B” tattooed on their foreheads to mark them forever as Bankrupts. My […]
How To Write A Contract Without A Lawyer & Make It Stick
Even in a world where people attempt almost any skilled task with the help of Google, YouTube, or Legal Zoom, people continue to ask: is this contract legal? They aren’t asking (usually) whether the subject matter of the contract is permitted by law. They really want to know: will what I’ve written be enforceable. What makes it […]
Tax Tips & Tidbits To Pay Less
Tax filing deadline approaches, so I thought we’d gather up tax tips and little known tax strategies, especially useful if you’ve filed bankruptcy. The Tax Deduction No One Tells You About If you are paying mortgage interest, state taxes, back support, or business debt through a Chapter 13 plan, those payments made by the trustee […]
The New Rules Of Asset Protection
I coined a new rule about asset protection schemes after meeting with a bankruptcy prospect: If the asset protection plan is too complicated for the owner to explain, it probably won’t stand up to challenge. This man had paid an attorney a fistful of money to create LLC’s and limited partnerships, each of which held fractional […]
Dividing Debts At Divorce: What You Need To Know
The division of the debts of a failed marriage, however carefully crafted at divorce, can be utterly destroyed if one of the former spouses files a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. A Chapter 13 discharge is double barreled. It will eliminate the debts that the filing spouse owes to creditors. It also wipes out any obligation to the […]
7 Essentials For Better Results From Filing Bankruptcy
Plan before filing bankruptcy and you get better, more certain relief. Even if you’re not quite sure that you’re ready to take the bankruptcy plunge, scout the bankruptcy territory. Take some time to learn the rules and explore ways to maximize the relief available in bankruptcy. If you don’t plan ahead and just rush into […]
Reduce Your Tax Hit By Filing Bankruptcy Rather Than Settling Debts
Settle your debts outside of bankruptcy and you may be bitten by taxes you didn’t expect years later. Yet, everyone I talk to would rather cut a deal with their creditors than file bankruptcy. It’s universal. But here’s the killer reason why bankruptcy alone protects homeowners from a unexpected tax consequence down the road. Debt […]
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