Outrage is the usual reaction when a former spouse with child support or alimony files bankruptcy. It reinforces all those less-than-flattering thoughts you harbor about your ex. But,maybe, that’s not the right reaction for two reasons, one old, one new. One is old: support debts can’t be wiped out in bankruptcy. The second reason is new: failure […]
Search Results for: do you need to file bankruptcy
Can You Be Arrested For Not Paying Your Debts?
Despite the story spread all over about federal marshals arresting a man for an unpaid student loan, people aren’t arrested for debt. And Fox News got the story wrong. The man was not arrested because he owed money he hadn’t paid. He was arrested for blowing off a court order that he appear in court. […]
What To Do When Served With A Collection Lawsuit
Being served with papers in a California collection lawsuit doesn’t generally help your critical thinking process. In fact, that surge of adrenaline seems to blur the eyes and fog the brain. So when you scan the lawsuit papers and see a date, months down the road, you exhale and set the problem aside for another day. […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: E is for Exemptions
E stands for exemptions in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. Exemptions describe the possessions you get to keep when you file bankruptcy. E could also stand for Exception, since exemptions are the only place in bankruptcy law where the law is explicitly different from state to state. Exemptions vary The Bankruptcy Code gave the states the right […]
Free Bankruptcy Advice: 5 Reasons Why I’m Not Free
There’s no free bankruptcy advice in my office. Unlike many, we charge for that initial meeting with a lawyer. (There’s no free lunch either.) That makes us different from lots of other bankruptcy lawyers. Different enough to offend a prospective client who called up this week. He was unwilling to pay for a consultation, and stormed […]
High Income Earners Pass Bankruptcy’s Means Test
ALERT: Being above the median income on the means test is not an automatic bar to filing bankruptcy I’m so used to railing against deliberate campaigns of misinformation about bankruptcy that I forget that there’s a lot of innocent ignorance out there. Start with “qualifying” for bankruptcy. A very earnest and ethical financial counselor was […]
What’s New In Bankruptcy Law in 2021
The new year of 2021 brings us face to face with a desolate economic landscape and the hope of better things to come. For some significant slice of Americans, bankruptcy will be a consideration. You’ll want to know what’s new in 2021 in the array of bankruptcy options and alternatives. I’m writing after passage of […]
What Your Bankruptcy Lawyer Can’t Tell You
Replace your car before filing bankruptcy. That’s a secret, just between us. Bankruptcy “reform” in 2005 tried in a number of ways to discredit and gag lawyers trying to help debtors. One of those additions to the Bankruptcy Code prohibits lawyers from advising those filing bankruptcy to incur new debt. The statute makes no distinction […]
Six Rotten Excuses Not To File Bankruptcy
I am not a bankruptcy attorney. I never have been. I am a mortgage law attorney. But in the current financial climate, I see clients in my office daily who desperately need to file bankruptcy…And they won’t. The reasons they give, and the parade of horrors they’ve built up in their minds about bankruptcy, are heart-felt, […]
Bankruptcy Discharge vs. Dismissal
Dismissed and discharged. In a bankruptcy case, these two terms are at the opposite ends of the scale of results in bankruptcy. Yet they are often confused. A discharge is a win! The bankruptcy discharge order wipes out your personal legal liability to pay a debt. A dismissal is usually a loss. It means the […]
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