The latest variety of tax scam picked the wrong target when they called my fellow bankruptcy lawyer Wayne Silver. Your social security number has been suspended, claimed the caller. Having no identity is scary. What’s a guy to do without a Social Security number? It’s sad that we are reduced to needing a number to validate […]
Step By Step Guide To Business Shutdown
There’s lots written on how to start a business. Not so much about shutting down a business. Even pre-pandemic, half of all new businesses fail within 5 years. This year, the pain is so much greater. So let’s walk through how to close a business, tie up loose ends, and minimize problems that may follow […]
Find The Hidden Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction In Bankruptcy
Is your Chapter 13 plan paying back mortgage payments that were delinquent when you filed bankruptcy? If so, a mortgage interest tax deduction lurks, unclaimed, in the trustee’s records. Track down that tax deduction, add it to your tax return, and you reduce your federal income tax burden. But it’s difficult because, for reasons I […]
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 […]
What’s After Forbearance
Last spring, the CARES Act entitled everyone with a federally backed home mortgage to a forbearance of 6 months, extendible for another 6 months. 15 USC 9056. The end of the mandated forbearances is approaching for many. But the law provides no clue as to what comes after forbearance. Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage […]
Does My Bankruptcy Lawyer Need To Be From My City?
If you’re inclined pull up a map application to find a bankruptcy lawyer, I gotta ask: is proximity really the most important factor? Not by a mile. You want an experienced, local lawyer, but “local” means active before the judges in the federal judicial district where you live. It doesn’t mean having an office around […]
Hold Or Fold? How To Decide If Filing Bankruptcy Is Right For You
You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em; know when to walk away, know when to run… So goes the gambler’s advice to the young card player in the hit Kenny Rogers song. Hum along as we think about how we play our cards when we’re in debt: the hardest call is […]
The Real Causes of Bankruptcy
The columnist who equated debt problems with irresponsibility nearly caused me to melt down, right in my office. Irresponsibility, he said! The idea that people who find themselves with bills they can’t pay got in that mess through flighty behavior or self absorption is sooooo wrong. The real causes of bankruptcy Mindless spending is seldom […]
Laboring Over Bankruptcy Papers
Why is filing bankruptcy so much work? Paper. Statements. Tax returns. Car contracts. Pay stubs. Appraisals. Title reports. Credit counseling. It gets tedious fast. So, why is bankruptcy so complicated? Do you want the polite, professional answer, or the pointed, political answer? Bankruptcy bargain Polite answer first: the bankruptcy bargain, your deal with the legal system […]
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