Emotions, not reasons, keep people from filing bankruptcy and starting fresh. My fellow bankruptcy lawyer Jay Fleischman has it backwards when he says that for his clients, the decision to file is “purely emotional”. Emotions stand between debtors and a rational decision that their debts can never be repaid and that bankruptcy is the solution….

Even men with debt problems fall in love, and when they do, many of them will come up with a way to give their beloved a nice engagement ring.  Often, heaven and earth will be moved in the search for the proper ring, and the result could be a very expensive engagement ring.  If the…

If you’re back in debt after a bankruptcy, you’re not alone. With millions of people having gone through the bankruptcy system in the past decade or so, it’s inevitable that at least some will find themselves back in tough times. Add to that the troubles of the past four years or so and you’ve got…

First, maybe your goal isn’t $1,000 per month.  It might be $500 a month-and it might also be a higher number like $1500 per month. What you need to save depends on your financial circumstances (income, children, years to retirement, other financial needs, etc.). But let’s call your “number” $1,000 a month for purposes of…

Bankruptcy Judge Arthur B. Briskman recently smacked Bank of America to the tune of $12,500.00 for violating a debtor’s discharge.  The award included $2,500.00 in attorney’s fees.  Shockingly, Bank of America did not attend the evidentiary hearing set by the Court.  However, even if they did attend, I doubt there was much they could have…

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…