The great recession landed the second of a one-two punch as San Bernardino this week followed closely on the heels of Stockton, California in voting to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. San Bernardino is reporting a $45,000,000.00 budget deficit and is “so broke it can’t cover its payroll.” San Bernardino will follow Mammoth Lakes, a […]
Inspired by the national attorney general mortgage settlement, California has passed a landmark foreclosure law that Governor Brown is expected to sign within days. Here are 3 reasons why the rest of the country will be watching the Golden State in the months and years ahead: No “Dual Tracking” The California law is designed to […]
The classic silent film Metropolis by director Fritz Lang thrilled audiences in the 1920s by depicting a fantastic Art Deco image of a future civilization. Only four posters from that landmark film survive and one of them found its way into the hands of collector Kenneth Schacter, according to this article from Blastr.com. Schacter apparently […]
It’s that second mortgage that’s causing all the problems. Values have taken a nosedive in the last 5 years and many of those junior liens are now completely underwater. Say the home is worth $250,000, the first mortgage is $300,000 and the second mortgage, maybe a home equity line of credit (HELOC) is $75,000. The […]
An 89 year old WWII vet hid $66,000 in gold and silver in his backyard, didn’t tell his lawyer about that and then filed for bankruptcy. His home, owned free of all secured claims other than a few minor judgment liens, is to be sold and he is forced from it. This story is creating […]
In 2005 the credit card companies finally aligned all the stars to get BAPCPA passed: the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. Although BAPCPA has been roundly – and soundly – condemned as mucking up a perfectly good bankruptcy code, symbolically it rang true to the tone that most Americans believed: debtors simply had […]
(Note: much of the facts in this blog are quoted from the Wikipedia article on Elizabeth Warren) I have long admired, and will probably always admire, Elizabeth Warren. Since before my career began in 1985 as an aspiring bankruptcy lawyer (I was in law school then, to graduate in 1986) Elizabeth Warren has been a […]
Sometimes, there’s a reason to hurry up the bankruptcy filing. This usually happens when the client really needs protection from creditors. Trying to stop an impending foreclosure sale, Sheriff Levy, wage garnishment, or seizure of a bank account are all very good reasons to get that bankruptcy case filed. When the creditors are moving to […]
