The chapter 13 process in bankruptcy is surprisingly similar to a marriage. First a debtor seeks out a bankruptcy attorney. Like going to a social event looking for someone to spend the evening with, a debtor will ask around about who is a good attorney, who...
Pride. I'm not the kind of person that files bankruptcy, I often hear. Well, what kind of person is it that files bankruptcy? It's people who've gotten sick, even with health insurance; people who've divorced; people who've lost jobs; and people who got suckered into believing...
Understanding Bankruptcy: A Fresh Start According to Attorney Michael Cibik, Bankruptcy is a legal way to get relief when debt becomes overwhelming. It doesn’t mean failure—it’s a tool to help people get back on their feet. The Two Most Common Types Chapter 7: Wipes out many...
The Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court, pursuant to an enforcement action brought by the United States Trustee, ordered sanctions and issued an injunction against a bankruptcy petition preparer in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The petition preparer, Pinnacle Financial Consulting, LLC ("Pinnacle") along with its owner, were ordered to pay...
Bankruptcy lawyers spend a lot of time working with and thinking about the Bankruptcy Code, which is the series of federal laws that govern what happens in any bankruptcy case. We even speak in "Code," referring to things by their section numbers, like "341 meetings"...
With more and more younger people acquiring debt, and more and more adults going back to obtain a college degree, it is not unusual that some of these future students have filed a bankruptcy. So if an individual has filed bankruptcy, and needs student loans...
Overwhelming consumer debt and unpaid tax debt can feel like a one-two punch. To recover from the consumer debt hit, some consumer debtors must pass a means test and prove they are poor enough to qualify for bankruptcy relief. This can be a problem if...
Credit card companies file lawsuits to show they're upset and they miss your payment. If they win, they have a judgment against you. It's not unusual for debt collectors to say bankruptcy doesn't "work" then. They're wrong! Bankruptcy filings stop collection of debt in its tracks....
Conventional bankruptcy: This is usually when a business files bankruptcy in a response to a crisis. However, when a business files bankruptcy without at least some prior negotiation with creditors, no one can really be sure how a case will turn out. For example, many...
You walk into bankruptcy to get rid of your mortgage. You walk out still owning real estate. How's that happen? It's almost a joke - when does surrender not mean surrender? It's not a funny joke, but one nonetheless. Here's the tip: when you surrender property...