If you have been hurt on the job in Georgia and rely on weekly wage benefits from workers’ compensation you know that temporary total disability benefits payable per Georgia law will require you to downsize your standard of living. Sometimes the financial strain caused by your loss of a regular paycheck may lead you to consider Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. What are the implications of pursuing bankruptcy while you are receiving workers’ compensation benefits?
More on Should I File Chapter 13 While I am Receiving Workers’ Compensation?
Filed under Chapter 13 issues, Georgia Bankruptcy by 
My Bankruptcy Law Network colleague Rachel Foley from Kansas City has written a useful article on the Bankruptcy Law Network blog that brings to light a problem that many debtors (and perhaps many debtors’ attorneys) don’t think about too much – bankruptcy fraud.
Filed under Chapter 13 issues, Chapter 7 issues by
Last month, I wrote a post describing a case that was recently heard by one of the judges in the Northern District of Georgia. In this case, a debtor had filed a Chapter 13 the day of a foreclosure. The lender was not aware of the bankruptcy so it went ahead with the foreclosure sale. Like many foreclosure sales in Georgia, the amount of the mortgage was equal to the likely value of the house so there were no bidders at the foreclosure sale. Instead, the lender bid the amount of the mortgage and was, in effect, the winning bidder.
More on Another Debtor Ripped Off by a Foreclosure Scam (Part 2)
Earlier this week, I wrote a post entitled Should I Oppose the Chapter 13 Trustee’s Motion to Dismiss. In that post I spoke about the relatively common scenario whereby a Chapter 13 debtor will fall behind on payments to the trustee or an unexpected claim will cause the plan to run longer than 60 months. In such a case, the trustee will file a motion to dismiss and the debtor and counsel will have an opportunity to propose a cure to the delinquency. Usually this cure takes the form of a lump sum payment immediately with the remaining delinquency paid to the trustee over time.
Filed under Chapter 13 issues, Trustee motion to dismiss by
As you may know, Chapter 13 cases function as payment plans whereby you send your Chapter 13 trustee a monthly payment and the trustee disburses those funds to creditors. Since Chapter 13 cases usually last five years it is not surprising that sometimes a debtor may fall behind on payments, even if the payments are made through an automatic payroll deduction.
More on Should I Oppose the Chapter 13 Trustee’s Motion to Dismiss
Filed under Chapter 13 issues, Trustee motion to dismiss by
I get this question at least once a week – “I need to file bankruptcy but I don’t want to include my [mortgage] [car loan] [debt to my brother] [credit card co-signed by my company]. Let’s leave this debt off my petition.
More on Can I Leave Selected Debts Out of my Bankruptcy Filing?
At least two of the three Chapter 13 trustees in the Northern District of Georgia require a Chapter 13 plan provision which provides that any tax refund payable to the debtor during the term of the debtor’s plan shall be paid to the Chapter 13 trustee. These trustees will object to any plan that does not include a tax refund provision.
Filed under Chapter 13 issues, Trustee motion to dismiss, Trustee objections in Chapter 13 by
In the Northern District of Georgia, every Chapter 13 case must be filed as a “payroll deduction order” case. In other words, you must fund your Chapter 13 with a payroll deduction. In my experience the trustees will allow direct payment of Chapter 13 plan payments only when a debtor is self employed or if the debtor can convince the trustee that the debtor’s job would be in jeopardy if the employer received a payroll deduction order.
Filed under Chapter 13 issues, Trustee motion to dismiss by
As a bankruptcy lawyer, I have to deal with the consequence of what I call “real world” activities. In the non-bankruptcy world people make decisions that will save money and make life easier. For example, blog reader Lou writes me with a question about car titles:
Earlier this month, I wrote a post on this blog setting out the question of whether Congress should enact legislation empowering bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of mortgages within a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
More on Are Mortgage Modifications in Bankruptcy a Good Idea – Part Two
Filed under Chapter 13 issues, Cram downs, Mortgage modifications by
