No Escape From The Muddy Goo: Almost Any Adult Can Be Served At The Defendant’s Home On TV, process servers appear as clowns, ice cream vendors or construction workers and after engaging the hero in offhand chatter force papers into his hand announcing “You’ve been served!” The hero looks down with an expression as if […]
The means test imposed by § 707(b)(2) following adoption of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) has created a new universe of bankruptcy jurisprudence. The means test, and the Forms 22A, B and C that manifest the test, were created to provide a mechanical and formulaic guide to whether an […]
Most modern real estate settlements and other contract signings are frenzied and intimidating affairs. A person may be asked to sign dozens of documents they have had no chance to review. The documents contain hundreds of paragraphs of boilerplate printed in a tiny font. There’s no reason to “look out for the small print” because […]
Where you file bankruptcy is not supposed to make a difference, but it does. A client’s distance from the courthouse, comfort with an attorney, applicable law, practice and custom all differ from one district to the next. The rules concerning the venue of a bankruptcy case offer debtors a variety of choices in where to […]
Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code offers extraordinary relief: a fast track to walk away from all dischargeable debts. My clients are often stunned by the scope and the speed of the Chapter 7 process, because most cases are successfully closed, with discharge entered, less than 120 days after filing. There is a bar to […]
The mortgage and foreclosure crisis that continues to sweep our country has been national news for almost five years. Media accounts tell different sides of the suffering and the attempts to alleviate the suffering. Neighborhoods, towns and even cities are threatened with long-lasting blight and devastation as homes become vacant and vandalized. Legislators draft emergency […]
The answer to this question will depend on your home state. Some states are judicial foreclosure states, some states are non-judicial foreclosure states, and some states like Maryland are quasi-judicial foreclosure states. Judicial foreclosure: Delaware, Pennsylvania. In a judicial foreclosure state, the lender will file a complaint seeking a money judgment and mortgage foreclosure. This […]
Don’t Panic: Bare Legal Title May Keep Property Out Of Bankruptcy Sometimes it’s convenient to add the name of a parent, child or sibling to property or a bank account. Usually done for estate planning purposes, co-ownership of property allows title of the asset to pass seamlessly from one person to the other upon death, […]
Learning the truth about a bankrupt debtor’s finances can sometimes become a daunting task. Even if debtors don’t hide their assets or conceal their transfers, the complexity of even fairly simple economic transactions frequently require a deep study of a debtor’s books and records. For this reason, the federal bankruptcy laws provide for a number […]
The vast majority of bankruptcy cases begin when a debtor files a petition seeking relief from creditors. This document is known as a “Voluntary Petition” and usually results in the bankruptcy court assuming jurisdiction over a debtor’s assets and, in the case of an individual, entry of an order discharging pre-bankruptcy debts. Debtors are not […]
