Bankruptcy - Blogs
- Credit Reports after Discharge: What Should be Reported?
Generally speaking, upon Bankruptcy Discharge, credit reports should report a $0.00 balance on all debts that were discharged. They should also state "Discharged in Bankruptcy" or other similar language for each account discharged. Finally, there should be no additional reporting after the bankruptcy filing date. Unfortunately, this is not always the case since reporting a balance [...]
(October 5, 2008) - Don't Get a Christmas Debt Hangover
According to Wikipedia, "Consumerism is the equation of personal happiness with the purchase of material possessions and consumption" or "retail therapy" as my wife calls it. This results in an odd phenomena I often see debtors go through this time of year: guilty over not being able to purchase Christmas presents for friends and family. We often end up counseling clients that regaining control over their finances is more important than buying Christmas presents. When January rolls around, will...
(October 5, 2008) - A Countrywide Settlement
Bank of America has agreed to settle a deceptive mortgage practices lawsuit on behalf of its relatively new subsidiary, Countrywide Financial, the notoriously aggressive mortgage lender. The attorneys general of Illinois and California negotiated the settlement on behalf of their states and at least nine others. The settlement will cost BOA approximately $3.5 billion in California and $190 million in Illinois. The settlement funds will go towards reducing payments for Countrywide borrowers with...
(October 5, 2008) - Capital One Collects Discharged Debts, Gets Caught, Pays Big
Imagine that you had filed for bankruptcy and thought all your debt was discharged. Now imagine that one day out of the blue, you receive a collection call about a debt you know was discharged. In this instance, no imagination is needed. Capital One Bank may be trying to collect your discharged debt. Capital One filed a proof of claim on approximately 5600 debts that had been discharged in prior bankruptcy cases. A proof of claim is a document that is filed with the bankruptcy court and used to...
(October 5, 2008) - The Tent City Trend
Tent cities are popping up all around the country as the economy worsens, more jobs are lost and the mortgage foreclosure crisis continues.
(October 5, 2008) - Homeowner Mortgage Mitigation in Final Rescue Bill
I have previously posted on this Blog information about homeowner mortgage benefits in the initial bailout bill that was rejected by the House on September 29, 2008. I have reviewed the final, revised bill signed into law on October 3, 2008. The final bill contains essentially the same mortgage modification provisions. The bill directs the Treasury to encourage mortgage service companies to mitigate foreclosure by adjusting the interest rate, payment terms, as well as the mortgage balance of...
(October 4, 2008) - Federal Bailout Bill and the Pork
I was wondering how the Federal Bailout Bill grew from 2 1/2 pages to 451 pages. Here are a few items in the EMERGENCY Senate bill. SEC. 309. EXTENSION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CREDIT FOR AMERICAN SAMOA. SEC. 310. EXTENSION OF...
(October 4, 2008) - Circuit Court of Appeals Cases from Last Week
1st Circuit Court of Appeals, September 22, 2008 Richmond v. New Hampshire Supreme Court Comm. of Prof'l Conduct, --- F.3d ---, 2008 WL ------ (1st Cir. 2008)(cost assessments from disbarment proceedings non-dischargeable) 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, September 24, 2008...
(October 3, 2008) - Catalyst Natural Gas Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Petition In Northern District
Gas Marketer Catalyst Natural Gas, and related companies, filed Chapter 11 petitions in the Northern District of Georgia on October 1, 2008. In re Catalyst Natural Gas, LLC, Ch. 11 Case No. 08-79390, In re Catalyst Energy Group, Inc., Ch. 11 Case No. 08-79392, and In re Catalyst Supply Services, Inc., Ch. 11 Case No. 08-79394. See the Atlanta Journal article here. State law requires marketers to have enough credit to pay for the gas they order. Catalyst lost both that required line of credit...
(October 3, 2008) - 9th Circuit Rules on Effect of Completion of Chapter 13 Plan on Unpaid Student Loans
Espinosa v. United Student Aid Funds (In re Espinosa), ---- F. 3d ----, 2008 WL 4426634 (9th Cir. October 2008) Issue: When a confirmed chapter 13 plan is completed and the discharge injunction is entered, is the unpaid portion of...
(October 3, 2008) - Separated Spouses With the Same Attorney
Bankruptcy attorneys across the country are vigorously split over the practice of representing separated spouses. Those in favor point out that it is permitted, even contemplated by the Bankruptcy Code, and it allows debtors of limited income and assets to save bankruptcy fees and costs. Those opposed reach that position because of potential or actual conflicts [...]
(October 3, 2008) - Need To Reopen Your Case? Maybe Not, Says Texas Bankruptcy Lawyer Chuck Newton
A few days ago I posted about reopening your case to file a lawsuit for violating the discharge order. My friend and Texas colleague Chuck Newton filed the following in response: Enjoyed your last post about reopening your bankruptcy to file a discharge injunction violation. We have stopped doing that, however. Mainly it started when some clerks would insist on payment for reopening the case and I am a skinflint. But, our opinion is that we do not need to do so in that the Court retains...
(October 2, 2008) - Biden Backs Bankruptcy Reform
Economics was a major topic of the vice-presidential debate held on October 2, 2008. Both Governor Palin and Senator Biden spoke about the need for change and economic relief for the middle class. True to their party's politics, each candidate had their own spin on how to accomplish such necessary relief. Truth be told however, [...]
(October 2, 2008) - Bankruptcy Filings Increase Slightly in September
September saw 96,049 bankruptcy petitions, up from 93,987 in August and down a little from 96,385 for July, 2008. That is 286,421 for the quarter compared to 272,000 in the second quarter and 242,000 in the first quarter of 2008....
(October 2, 2008) - Biden, McCain, Palin, Obama And Bankruptcy.
Below is information that I have been able to gather with respect to the candidates about their views on bankruptcy. This article is NOT a political comment nor does it seek to convince you either way. I have always said that knowledge is power and now more than ever you must seek knowledge about the [...]
(October 2, 2008) - Foreclosure Tragedy
An excruciatingly sad story about the human costs of the home-mortgage crisis: [www.cnn.com]. A 90-year-old woman, Addie Polk, shot herself inside her foreclosed, Akron, Ohio home. It appears that she will live, although she is still in the hospital. Representative Dennis Kucinich, a member of her state's congressional delegation, told her story on the House floor during today's bailout debate, saying, "This bill does nothing for the Addie Polks of the world." He voted against the bailout,...
(October 2, 2008) - The Chapter 13 Plan to Save Your South Florida: Avoid the Second Mortgage and Modify the First ...
Today's new bailout legislation - "TARP" - did not include changes to the bankruptcy laws that were sought by pro-consumer groups to allow greater modification of mortgages secured only by a principal residence. But for homeowners running out of time before a foreclosure sale, the present Chapter 13 bankruptcy law may present an avenue to save their South Florida home, the average of which the media reports has fallen about 28% in the past 12 months. The media reports that a major problem that...
(October 2, 2008) - Total Bankruptcy Week In Review
The week in review: Total Bankruptcy.
(October 2, 2008) - Is the case over in months?
After I explained the time line for my client getting a discharge in Chapter 7, the client struggled with the concept that the bankruptcy trustee would succeed to a cause of action for a suit that hadn't yet been filed. How could that be if I get the discharge in four months?, the client asked. The answer is that the administration of assets in a bankruptcy case proceeds on a separate time line from the discharge. Congress wanted the debtor to know in short order whether he would get a...
(October 2, 2008) - Debtor audits: are they an effective means of detecting bankruptcy fraud? Rand report on fraud ...
Did you know that the United States Trustee Program initiated an independent study on the nature and prevalence of fraud, abuse and error in the bankruptcy system? The final report, by the RAND Corp. entitled, Identifying Fraud, Abuse, and Error in Personal Bankruptcy Filings (authored by Noreen Clancy and Stephen J. Carroll) was completed in June 2007 and is now available here and here. Among the procedures used to identify fraud, abuse and error in bankruptcy cases, the report identifies: (1)...
(October 2, 2008)