The bankruptcy process is filed with obstacles and milestones: hiring an attorney, filling out complicated forms and pulling the trigger to file the case itself. On top of all this is at least one public appearance: meeting with the trustee. In Chapter 7 the trustee’s meeting should follow careful planning and execution. In Chapters 11 […]
Two stories tell different sides of the US housing crisis. In Philadelphia, a struggling homeowner tells her story of a tortured loan modification nightmare: at one point it appears she is to be forced from her home because her payment was short thirty-five cents. With no accountability and no predictability, banks who offer loan modification […]
Debtors have options when their assets exceed exemptions. They can file chapter 11 or chapter 13 and make a stream of payments to buy back their property’s surplus equity. They can file chapter 7 and negotiate a buyback from the trustee, or else just release the assets outright. They can stay out of bankruptcy and […]
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 […]
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 […]
(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 […]
