Bankruptcy does not discharge (legally write-off) student loans "unless excepting such debt from discharge. . . would impose an undue hardship on the debtor and the debtor’s dependents. . . ." See Section 523(a)(8) of the U.S Bankrutpcy Code. That is, to discharge a student loan you and your lawyer would need to show … [Read more...]
Writing off Non-Support Debts to an Ex-Spouse
October 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Confusing Divorce Debts and Bankruptcy Law In a Chapter 7 "straight bankruptcy" case you CANNOT discharge—legally write off—ANY obligations arising from your divorce decree. This includes support-related and non-support divorce debts. But under Chapter 13 "adjustment of debts" you CAN discharge NON-SUPPORT divorce debts. This is a confusing … [Read more...]
Pay off Newer Income Taxes at Your Own Pace through “Adjustment of Debts”
September 7, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Chapter 13 vs. Chapter 7 with Income Taxes Chapter 13 is a court-approved payment program which usually takes three to five years to successfully complete. While you might think that being in a payment program doesn't sound nearly as good as simply discharging (legally writing off) your debts in a Chapter 7 case, the fact is that some debts … [Read more...]
Write off Older Income Taxes Through “Straight Bankruptcy”
August 22, 2016 by Leave a Comment
To discharge (write off in bankruptcy) an income tax debt, the tax must meet four main conditions, as follows: 1. Three years passed since the tax return was due? Every income tax obligation has a fixed date for which its tax return must be filed, of course usually by April 15 of the following year. Three years must have passed from that due … [Read more...]
Addressing Business Litigation through Bankruptcy
August 2, 2016 by Leave a Comment
If you are running a business and are being sued, filing bankruptcy may well help you. It may help whether you are closing the business or want to keep it operating. If you are closing the business, most of the time filing a Chapter 7 "straight bankruptcy" will stop the lawsuit and will discharge (legally write-off) any related debt, and do so … [Read more...]
How to Prevent Future Judgment Liens
July 22, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Letting a creditor get a judgment against you is dangerous, for a lot of reasons. One of the biggest dangers is a judgment lien on your home. You can often prevent them from hitting the title to your home, and can really help yourself if you do. Creditor Judgments Happen All Too Easily It's very easy to get a judgment against you. If you … [Read more...]
Dealing with a Debt Collector’s Threat to Challenge the Discharge of its Debt
July 2, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The main goal of most bankruptcies is the discharge—the legal write-off of debts. If you are considering filing bankruptcy to get a fresh financial start through a discharge of your debts, you probably don't want to hear a bill collector telling you that you won't be able to discharge that debt. So what is the truth about prior threats to … [Read more...]
Filling Chapter 13 Even Without Getting a Discharge of Your Debts
June 22, 2016 by Leave a Comment
A recent blog post discussed how usually you would have to wait four years between filing a Chapter 7 "straight bankruptcy" and a subsequent Chapter 13 "adjustment of debts" one. But that's only if you need to get a "discharge" of your debts. There are reasons to file a new Chapter 13 case even if you don't get a "discharge" of your debts. The … [Read more...]
How to Keep Your Home through Chapter 13
June 2, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Filing either a Chapter 7 "straight bankruptcy" case or a Chapter 13 "adjustment of debts" one stops a pending home foreclosure, and prevent one from starting. If you're behind on your mortgage (or are about to be) and want to keep your home, whether Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 makes more sense depends on how far behind you are and how much help you … [Read more...]
How to Keep Your Home through Chapter 7
May 22, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Whether you can keep your home when filing a Chapter 7 case mostly depends on the answers to two questions: Are you current or close to current on your mortgage and other debts on your home, and Is the equity in your home protected by your "homestead exemption"? Let's focus today on your mortgage. If You Are Current on Your … [Read more...]
