Can You Lose Your IRA Investment in a Bankruptcy Proceeding? The Factors that Can Put Your Retirement Assets at Risk The 2005 revisions to the Bankruptcy Code specifically excluded individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from seizure by the bankruptcy court to satisfy creditors in a Chapter 7 liquidation proceeding. The exemption, however, is not … [Read more...]
Can Chapter 13 Help You Restructure Income Tax Debts?
September 18, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Using the Bankruptcy Laws to Address Personal Tax Liabilities If you have fallen behind on your taxes, you may be under the impression that you cannot use the bankruptcy laws to help you get a handle on that debt. While it's generally true that most income tax arrearages cannot be discharged in a Chapter 7 liquidation proceeding, you may still be … [Read more...]
Filing Chapter 7 When You Don’t Want to Keep Your Home
September 12, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Using a Liquidation Proceeding to Terminate Your Mortgage Obligation Often, when you decide that a personal bankruptcy filing is your best option for getting your finances under control and getting a new start, you still want to keep your home. But what if that's not really in your best interests? What if the costs of keeping your home will be too … [Read more...]
Filing for Chapter 7 Protection When You Want to Keep Your Home
September 4, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Using a Personal Bankruptcy Proceeding to Keep Your House One of the most common factors leading to the decision to file for bankruptcy protection is the inability to stay current on mortgage obligations. If you're in over your head, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding can allow you to permanently discharge certain debts. That usually involves … [Read more...]
Protecting Your Rights When Threatened with Repossession
August 27, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Strategies for Keeping Your Vehicle Are you struggling financially because of an injury, a divorce or the loss of your job? Are you in arrears on the payments for your car or truck? Have you received notice that your vehicle is about to be repossessed? You have rights! Here are some steps to take to protect your interests. The Requirement of a … [Read more...]
Bankruptcy or Divorce—Which is the Chicken and Which the Egg?
August 24, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Which Should You Do First—File for Bankruptcy or Finalize Your Divorce? Far too often, the underlying cause of divorce is financial difficulty. Even if financial problems are not the cause of divorce, they can arise when you no longer have two incomes to pay for your lifestyle. If you are considering filing for divorce, or if you know that your … [Read more...]
Your Rights When Dealing with a Bully Creditor
August 20, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Strategies for Working with Aggressive Creditors When you are having a difficult time making ends meet, the stress and anxiety you face can make your life a continual struggle. At times like these, there's nothing worse than an aggressive creditor or collection agency, someone calling you at all hours of the day or night, threatening you with … [Read more...]
How You Can Lose the Protection of the Automatic Stay
June 27, 2019 by Leave a Comment
The Ways You Can Jeopardize Your Protection under the Bankruptcy Laws When you file for personal or business bankruptcy, an automatic stay goes into effect immediately, prohibiting your creditors from calling you, writing you or attempting to collect debts from you in any other manner than through the bankruptcy proceeding. The automatic stay … [Read more...]
What Are the Implications of Bankruptcy on a Co-signer?
June 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment
To What Degree Will a Loan Guarantor Be Liable for Debts in Bankruptcy It's not uncommon, when you have less than perfect credit, or no credit history, to find a friend or family member who will co-sign on a debt. But what happens if your financial situation gets worse and you find it necessary to file for bankruptcy protection? How will the … [Read more...]
Discharging Debts or Damages from Business Litigation
June 13, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Can You Permanently Rid Yourself of Debts Incurred in Commercial Lawsuits? In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, available to individuals and businesses, you can permanently wipe out certain obligations in exchange to transferring "non-exempt" assets to the bankruptcy court to partially satisfy creditors. What happens if you are a small business … [Read more...]
