If you find yourself owing substantially more to your car lender than your vehicle is worth, you do have options. First, you need to look at this problem in financial terms. For example, if you owe $30,000 on a vehicle worth only $15,000 today, you effectively have $15,000 unsecured debt, just as if you had…

I have always referred to bankruptcy as a tool in the toolbox. In other words, bankruptcy is but one step toward fixing your financial troubles. You must also think in terms of life after bankruptcy, and rebuilding your credit will help to stabilize your financial future. However, by the time the bankruptcy is completed, debtors…

In the last week or so I’ve had no fewer than three clients tell me that they changed their payroll tax withholding to claim the maximum deductions because it was the “only way to pay the bills.” I’ve seen people do that, and tried to help them fix the consequences, for many years, but lately…

When you filed your Chapter 13 bankruptcy five years ago, the goal was to complete the plan and get a discharge. The “discharge” is the legal determination that all of your unsecured debts that remain after the plan are gone. The collection company or bill collector can no longer bother you or seek payment for…

Should you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy if you want to stall a foreclosure?    Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy can stall a foreclosure and it may give someone additional time for someone to stay in their home  but there is no way to say how long.   So the long answer would be to say is…

Lawyers are not interchangeable. One lawyer is not necessarily as good as another. Price is probably the poorest basis on which to choose an attorney. Bankruptcy law is not about filling out forms. You do file forms in bankruptcy, but the job requires a lawyer because it is not obvious what information goes in those…