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…

If you are filing for bankruptcy but you have an asset that you don’t have information about, can you just put down “unknown” and leave it at that? That depends. The short answer is that you can file your bankruptcy case without all your information, meaning it is possible to do it, however I don’t…

In cases where both a husband and wife have a lot of debt, either individually or jointly, it may make sense and save money for both spouses to file a joint bankruptcy case….but it is never a requirement. Should You File a Joint Bankruptcy? Most of the cases we file where our client is married,…

Having a co-signer is a good way to get more credit. It’s a special issue when you are filing bankruptcy, though. There are a lot of ways to address these debts but you have to be careful. A co-signer is often helpful in getting more credit or better terms on loans. After all, the bank…