You’ve finished your Chapter 13 and emerged from bankruptcy with your home loan current. But your credit report is a blank page as to your mortgage. The mortgage servicer isn’t reporting your payments to the credit reporting agencies [CRA’s]. Nothing. Nada. Crickets. So, even though you’re making regular payments, you’re not visibly rebuilding your credit. […]
The Judgment Lien That Escaped Your Bankruptcy
What do you do when you discover old judgment liens on your home long after you filed bankruptcy? Your bankruptcy case is closed. You’re recovering nicely. Then you find there’s a judgment lien on your house that you didn’t know about. And the law says that liens survive a bankruptcy case, unless the bankruptcy court […]
Forgiveness Starts At Home
The need for forgiveness in bankruptcy extends beyond forgiving debts. Kansas City bankruptcy lawyer Rachel Foley wrote about forgiveness in the bankruptcy context. She wasn’t talking about the forgiveness of debt, but about the negative emotions that can eat you up. Shed the anger at others who threaten your family’s well being, she counseled, and […]
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 […]
Bankruptcy Drives Credit Score Surprise
Bankruptcy improved my client’s credit score, almost on the spot. Before bankruptcy, a miserable credit score was no surprise. This client reported a 498 credit score before he filed. What was surprising is that, three month after he filed bankruptcy, his score was 614! That’s a 116 point increase in his score in three months. […]
Life After Bankruptcy: What’s It Really Like?
What’s life really like after bankruptcy? Everyone suffering through financial difficulties wants to know whether filing bankruptcy just trades one form of pain for another. Will you be shut out of the American dream forever? Unable to function in a world centered on electronic payments? Here’s a collection of our best stories and advice on […]
When Debt Collectors Won’t Stop, Despite Bankruptcy
Get a collection notice after you’ve filed bankruptcy and after you’ve gotten a discharge, and it’s easy to be distressed. You’ve taken the hard step to get a fresh start, and it appears not to have worked. It’s easy to assume that the collector has a right to its money. Easy, too, to assume their […]
Tax Liens Live On After Bankruptcy, Unless….
You mean the tax liens won’t go away when I get a bankruptcy discharge? The client was startled that the lien would live on beyond his bankruptcy. So, if all my debt doesn’t go away, what do I get from the bankruptcy discharge? he asked. I thought the tax debt went away when I filed. […]
Ten Debts That Follow You After Bankruptcy
Some debts just follow you out of bankruptcy. Not many but a few. These debts continue to be collectible even after a Chapter 7 discharge. The discharge in Chapter 13 is different and broader: just another reason to choose Chapter 13. 1. Family support Regardless of what it’s called, court ordered payments for support […]
