There is no perfect time to file for bankruptcy. Ideally, you should wait to file at a point when you have not touched your credit cards for several months and your credit card charges over the past year have not taken a big jump. Further there is less chance that you will face any objection if you have made at least the minimum payment over the past 6 months or longer.
Social Media sites, and Facebook in particular, have changed the practice of law. Divorce lawyers regularly review the opposing party’s Facebook profile for evidence of adultery or hidden assets. Prosecutors present online photos to juries as evidence of guilty behavior. Bill collectors troll social media sites looking for assets and debtors.
Filed under Chapter 13 issues, Chapter 7 issues, Protected property issues by 
News reports indicate that former baseball star Lenny “Nails” Dykstra has been charged with bankruptcy fraud by a California based United States Attorney. Dykstra filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2009, scheduling $31 million in debts and only $50,000 in assets.
If you are purchasing a vehicle and you file Chapter 7, your options are (1) surrender the vehicle, (2) reaffirm the existing loan, or (3) redeem the vehicle by paying the lender fair market value. Redemption, which is described at Section 722 of the Bankruptcy Code used to be an uncommon choice. More recently, however, several lenders have entered the market to finance Section 722 redemptions. In this video, I discuss how redemptions work and how to know if a Motion for Redemption under Section 722 is a good idea.
Filed under Chapter 7 issues, Reaffirmation and negotiation by
If you have been reading your local newspapers, you may be aware that Nathan Deal, the Republican candidate for Governor of Georgia, is facing scrutiny about his personal finances and about the bankruptcy filings of his daughter and son-in-law.
More on Will Bankruptcy Issues Affect Georgia Governor’s Race?
Filed under Chapter 7 issues, Georgia Bankruptcy, Revocation of Discharge-Section 727 by
United Press and about two dozen tabloid web sites and blogs are reporting that reality TV star Teresa Guidice, and her husband Joe have been sued by their Chapter 7 trustee for failing to report assets in their bankruptcy petition. Guidice, one of the “Real Housewives of New Jersey,” apparently signed a book contract for a cookbook that will pay her $250,000 but failed to reveal that asset on her petition. The trustee also alleges that the tax returns submitted by Teresa and her husband were fraudulent as well.
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I recently received an email from a blog reader asking about his obligations to his mortgage company when he does not reaffirm:
I have read your blog and you are very through so I write you with hopes that you might answer this question for me. I file Chapter 7 in 08, and did not reaffirm my loan. I am still living in the house and did make some payments. However, i have not for the last 8 months. It is my understanding that I must sign a document to reaffirm and that continuing payment in itself is not a reaffirmation…or? Well it gets a little more complicated. My house is valued at $410,000 and the bank has offered me a deal that is going to be hard to refuse. They have agreed to let me do a short re-fi in the amount of 180k. If I agree to that is that in itself a reaffirmation?
Here is my response: in most cases, when you take out a mortgage loan, you are signing two different types of agreements. The first type is a promissory note whereby you personally agree to make the payments. The second type of obligation creates a property lien, meaning that you, as the owner of the property, pledges that property as collateral for the loan.
More on Can You be Sued for Non-payment of your Mortgage if You Do Not Reaffirm?
The United States Supreme Court rarely accepts cases that affect consumer bankruptcy debtors. Recently, however, the Court considered an issue that potentially impacts all debtors – the treatment of exemptions.
The term “exemptions” refers to property you own that is protected from the reach of the trustee or creditors. For example, every state provides for exemptions that include your clothes, a certain amount of household goods, a certain amount of equity your car, and a certain amount of equity in your home. Georgia has fairly stingy exemptions – you can read the Georgia exemption law by clicking on the link.
More on Ruling by Supreme Court Impacts Bankruptcy Exemptions in Georgia
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Last October, I wrote a post on this blog about bankruptcy fraud, and pointed out that everything included in a bankruptcy filing is subject to scrutiny by the office of the United States Trustee, which is an arm of the United States Department of Justice. In other words, false statements on a bankruptcy petition could land a debtor in hot water – dismissal of the bankruptcy case, fines and even prison.
Filed under Chapter 13 issues, Chapter 7 issues, Fraudulent transfers by
Because the bankruptcy system operates efficiently and quickly and it serves hundreds of people every day, I sense that many bankruptcy debtors forget that everything they submit to the bankruptcy court is done so under penalty of perjury. I recently ran across an article from a Texas newspaper about a Chapter 7 debtor who ended up in federal prison, convicted of bankruptcy fraud, because he failed to disclose an $84,000 insurance payment, proceeds from the sale of a vehicle and several bank accounts. This particular debtor used Chapter 7 to discharge over $1 million in liabilities.
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