File your tax returns really late and you may lose out on credit for toward your Social Security. Betcha didn’t know there was a connection between income taxes and your Social Security benefits. This was a new one for me. I’ve written often about the negative consequences of putting off filing tax returns. But Harvard Law professor […]
What You Think About Chapter 13 Is Dead Wrong
The difference between bankruptcy’s Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 is often expressed this way: Chapter 7 is a liquidation proceeding Chapter 13 is a repayment plan And therein lies the biggest misconception about Chapter 13: 13 does not necessarily repay everything you owe. It’s a repayment plan alright, but not necessarily a 100% repayment . […]
How To Exclude A Debt From Your Bankruptcy Discharge
Some debts you may want to carve out of your bankruptcy discharge. Debts that for one reason or another, you really WANT to pay after your bankruptcy. I get it. There are ways to properly exclude a debt from discharge and ways to screw it up. The first way that folks try is simple, and […]
Inherited Homes Now Come With Full Measure Of Consumer Rights
Half a loaf is what you too often got when you weren’t the original borrower on a home loan. No mortgage servicing rights under Federal law came title to the property. Whether you inherited the property or it was awarded to you in a divorce, you get shortchanged by the mortgage lender. Even with a […]
How You Can Collect From The Debt Collectors
I team up with consumer lawyer Mike Cardoza to identify your rights against debt collectors and then to preserve those claims through bankruptcy. The longer you resisted filing bankruptcy, the more likely that you’ve endured harassing encounters with debt collectors. And the more encounters you have with debt collectors, the more likely that you’ve been […]
California Homestead Exemption: The Truth Isn’t What You Think
“They can’t take my house, whatever happens. Right?” The young man in my office “knew” how the California homestead works: he insisted that his home was exempt as a California homestead, even if he filed bankruptcy. He “knew” that credit card debt was dischargeable. And that “knowledge” lead to his conviction that , in bankruptcy, […]
SuperLawyer
I’ve been named a SuperLawyer among Bay Area bankruptcy lawyers. That makes 14 years running. It’s flattering, but probably not much more than that. The real measure of my skills is in the clients’ lives whom I’ve impacted and the young bankruptcy lawyers I’ve mentored. In the meantime, I’m waiting for my cape to be […]
Your Tax Refund In The Crosshairs In Debt Collecting Season
Who knew that there was a season for debt collecting? My friend and colleague attorney Mike Cardoza does. See what he says. The beginning of the year through about the end of March is the big season for debt collection! Why? Because collectors are pretty sure that you have some money in your pocket – […]
The Truth About Tax Liens After Bankruptcy
We have a lien on your name. Not your property, your name. That’s what the county tax collector told my client, years after he got his bankruptcy discharge. And that multi-thousand dollar lien claim threatened to sink the refinance of his house. Eventually, we got the county straightened out without going back to bankruptcy court. […]
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