Overdue debts will not send you to jail. Please repeat: overdue debts will not get you jailed. Yet it is disturbing how many people fear that not paying their debts is criminal and might land them in jail. Relax: America abolished debtors’ prisons some 250 years ago. But that’s not all that folks worry about when they can’t […]
Bankruptcy Busts Taxes If The Timing Is Right
Got unpaid taxes for 2017? Three tax discharge timing rules control when those taxes can be wiped out in bankruptcy. On April 15, 2021 those taxes reached the end of the line as priority claims in bankruptcy. Or, the magic date may be October 15, 2021, if you got an extension to file the return. […]
What Causes Bankruptcy?
I was playing in my head with a piece I was writing for consumers about the bankruptcy decision. I caught myself thinking about “whether the bankruptcy was caused by mortgage debt or ….” . And I hauled myself to a halt. How did the words “bankruptcy” and “cause” get linked in my head? In my […]
Behind on car loan?
Are you looking over your shoulder for the repo man every time you park your car? You’re not alone. Delinquent car loans are on the rise: almost 1 in 20 vehicle loans are in default. If you’re in that group of Americans struggling to pay for your wheels, there are solutions in bankruptcy. If you […]
How Much Should You Pay To Get Out Of Debt?
Shop for a bankruptcy lawyer, and you’ll end up wondering what bankruptcy should cost. When you’re flat broke and under pressure, cheaper sure looks better. If a lawyer will do your Chapter 7 for $600, what’s the point of paying $1000? Or even $2000? Like answers to many legal questions, it depends. Bankruptcy relief depends on […]
Bouncing Back From Bankruptcy: The To-Do List
Recovering from bankruptcy isn’t hard. You’ve hurdled the debt chasm and finished your bankruptcy case. There’s a fresh start ahead. But where do you start on that fresh start? Consider this to-do list for bouncing back from bankruptcy. Keep on keeping on Whether your bankruptcy case was a Chapter 7, over and done in months, or […]
What The Wild Things Teach Us About Bankruptcy
I miss Maurice Sendak, the late author of children’s books. What does a book about a naughty child who adventures in a nighttime land of monsters have to do with bankruptcy? The last image in his signature book, Where The Wild Things Are, is my touchpiece for clients afraid to file bankruptcy. Do you remember […]
The Biggest Lie About Bankruptcy
Read anything about Chapter 7 and you get, “Your possessions are sold in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.“ That is, flat out, the biggest lie about bankruptcy. It’s a liquidation proceeding and your stuff will be sold to pay creditors, the lie goes on. No wonder people are scared off from getting relief from debts they can’t […]
Bankruptcy Disclosure: Don’t Let Orange Be The New Black
How will anyone know? That’s the question clients ask about assets that they don’t want to disclose on their bankruptcy schedules. Clients are usually afraid of losing the property or of involving family and friends with the bankruptcy court. They really just want to fly under the radar in their social circles. Why do we […]
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