You must “tell the truth” on your bankruptcy paperwork, bankruptcy advice sites intone. Most of us shrug that off: we can’t imagine deliberately lying to a court. But carelessness about bankruptcy schedules abounds. If you give the bankruptcy paperwork just a lick and a promise, the resulting schedules aren’t truthful, not because of lies, but […]
Pay No Tax On Debt Discharged In Bankruptcy
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 The Bankruptcy Liquidation Tests Really Work
Is the Chapter 7 trustee going to sell your house when there’s $5000 in non exempt equity? Do you have to pay the total of the equity in your assets to creditors in Chapter 13 under the liquidation test? Far from it. Just because you have equity on paper does not mean a bankruptcy trustee […]
Real-world Values for Assets Critical in Bankruptcy World
Valuing your assets when filing out your bankruptcy schedules can be challenging. After all, what is a closetful of clothes or a garage full of tools worth? You are tempted to ask: why does it matter? Asset value matters in several different contexts in a bankruptcy case. Using the wrong measure of value or over-estimating […]
What You Can Do With Money Before Filing Bankruptcy
Worried that a bankruptcy judge or trustee is going to scour your spending before bankruptcy, looking for behavior that would disqualify you from bankruptcy relief. It’s not so. Yet there seems to be real anguish that “they” are going to toss your case out of bankruptcy court because of some “fault” in how you’ve handled […]
Will I Get a Discharge in My Bankruptcy Case
Getting a bankruptcy discharge is what almost all cases are about. So the question of whether or not you’ll get a discharge looms large in Chapter 7. The short answer is that if you are eligible for a discharge, you’re almost certain to get a discharge. Eligibility, in this context, looks at whether you’ve gotten […]
At Risk of Repossession? How To Keep The Car & Pay Less
If you are one of the 7 million Americans late on your car payments and living in fear that your car will be repossessed, consider how Chapter 13 bankruptcy can save your wheels. Losing your car can accelerate a torrent of nasty financial consequences. No car, no way to work. No work, no income. So, […]
Don’t Tidy Up Before Seeing A Bankruptcy Lawyer
Don’t tidy up your financial affairs before consulting a bankruptcy lawyer to plan for bankruptcy. Your current mess may present opportunities to plan your case for a better outcome. You may waste money or lose bankruptcy options when you make last minute changes to your situation without understanding how that situation plays out in bankruptcy. […]
Can Your Creditor Get A Lien On You?
Can “they” put a lien on me? If you have debts you can’t pay, that’s a critical question. The man sitting across the desk from me owed a fistful of taxes. He proposed to transfer his interest in the family home to save the house from the tax lien which was filed against him. He […]
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 […]
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