Tag: debt collectors
Top Things to Know About Bankruptcy
Won’t Bankruptcy kill my credit? By law the fact of your Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing stays on your credit report for 10 years. At the same time, I tell my clients that they will receive credit card solicitations in the months after their bankruptcy case closes. Throw them in the […]
Court Papers – Always Answer Complaints and Other Legal Documents
Court papers, sometimes served by a sheriff or process server, other times arriving by mail, should never be ignored. Failing to respond will result in a default judgment. Always answer a summons within the time limit. When you are served with a law suit, the papers will tell you the […]
Debt Collectors and Bankruptcy Violations
Debt collectors must stop after a bankruptcy filing or they commit one of several bankruptcy violations. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a chapter 7, chapter 13 or other chapter. The filing of a bankruptcy creates what is called an automatic stay. Collection stops because the U.S. Bankruptcy Code imposes the automatic stay with […]
BANKRUPTCY: Is ADHD A Defense Against Not Disclosing All Assets?
Bankruptcy filing requires truthful, complete disclosure of all assets, income and debt. But, the bankruptcy petition, schedules and other forms go on for pages, presenting many questions and issues. One debtor claimed the medical condition of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) prevented him from comprehending everything. He claimed his failure to include […]
BANKRUPTCY: INCLUDE ALL ASSETS INCOME AND DEBT
People sometimes talk about “putting things into” a bankruptcy, or “not putting something into” their bankruptcy. In reality, bankruptcy law requires full complete truthful disclosure of all assets, income and debt. Often, various issues can be addressed in a beneficial manner as long as there is full disclosure. But, when […]
Charge Off: What is it? Do I Still Have to Pay Charged Off Debt?
A “Charge off” is an accounting device used by creditors. Generally, if a debt has not been paid for 180 days or more, the original creditor will write off your debt, removing it from their books. It does not mean that the debt no longer exists or that you no […]
DEBT COLLECTORS & ORIGINAL DEBT
Attorney Myers: I’m being sued in small claims court over a debt from a company I never heard of. I know that I have some past bills. I went through a divorce, an illness and a layoff. The name of the company that brought this claim in court against me […]
BANKRUPTCY: Means Test – Chapter 7
The means test under Bankruptcy Chapter 7 determines whether people are even eligible to file bankruptcy under Chapter 7. Failing the test requires filing a chapter 13, filing no bankruptcy or taking a closer look. First Step To Chapter 7 Means Test The first step is simple math. Add all […]
Too Broke To Go Bankrupt
I didn’t make up the title. Those words headline a CNN Money Magazine article on May 7, 2012. Quoted sources explain how the cost of filing bankruptcy steadily increased after passage of bankruptcy “reform” by the U.S. Congress in 2005. The so-called “Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act”, or […]
Discharge of Student Loans in Bankruptcy: Exception to Rule
Discharging student loans in bankruptcy occurs only as an exception to the rule. Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharges garden variety unsecured debt, largely credit cards. But, student loans are different. To discharge student loans there must be proof that payment imposes an undue hardship as defined in bankruptcy law. Many courts […]
