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 […]
Your Bankruptcy Discharge Has Teeth: Bite Back
Your bankruptcy discharge is more than a piece of paper. It’s a federal court order prohibiting action to collect the discharged debt from you. And it has teeth. When creditors ignore a federal court order, it has unpleasant consequences. Or should have consequences. So, my call to debtors is to stop being prey to unscrupulous debt collectors. […]
4 Easy Tips To Prepare For Bankruptcy And Beyond
Ready for life after bankruptcy? Even before your case is filed, you can start preparing for your life after bankruptcy. These four steps will probably make the bankruptcy case be smoother, too. Change banks Your money on deposit in “your” bank may not be solely yours. If you have a loan or other debt to your […]
Your Right To Credit Reporting After Bankruptcy
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 from before your bankruptcy that you didn’t know about. And the law says that liens survive a bankruptcy case, […]
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 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 […]
