January 17, 2007

• Can An Ex-Spouse Use Chapter 7 to Avoid Paying a Credit Card Debt That Is Part of a Divorce Decree Obligation?

  A divorce lawyer called me today with a question about the impact of bankruptcy on a debtor's obligations under a divorce decree.  The divorce lawyer represented a man who was the co-signer of a credit card along with his ex-wife.  The divorce decree provided that the ex-wife would be responsible for payment of this credit card debt. (…)

January 15, 2007

• What Should a Potential Bankruptcy Debtor Do About a Potential Inheritance?

  My colleague, Florida bankruptcy lawyer Jonathan Alper, recently wrote a post on his Florida Bankruptcy Law blog about issues arising in the case of a debtor's receipt of an inheritance within six (6) months of filing.  Under the bankruptcy law, any inheritance received by the debtor within six months of filing becomes property of the estate and can be seized by the trustee and distributed like any other non-exempt asset. (…)

December 19, 2006

• 401(k) Loan Repayments Not Allowed in Means Test Calculations

  Evidence continues to mount that Chapter 7 will not be a friendly place for debtors who end up in the means test.   As you know, you can only qualify for Chapter 7 if (1) their household income falls below the average income for a similarly sized family in your State, or (2) if your household income exceeds the average income, but you pass the "means test." 

  The means test sets out a budget using expense numbers that the IRS has deemed "reasonable."  If your actual expense for a particular category exceeds the IRS number, too bad. (…)

December 11, 2006

• What Prompts a Dischargeability Objection by a Credit Card Lender?

  First, I think you have a very insightful blog about bankruptcy issues. I refer your blog to the bankruptcyforum.com sight to all the guest and members there. (…)

November 4, 2006

• Time Spent Preparing Your Bankruptcy Budget is Time Well Spent

  Requests for documents and records by Chapter 7 trustees at 341 hearings are now a fact of life in the consumer bankruptcy world.  No longer will standing Chapter 7 trustees rely on a debtor's best estimates - everything in your petition is fair game for review. (…)

October 10, 2006

• Random Bankruptcy Case Audits Coming Soon

  Illinois bankruptcy attorney Mazyar Hedayat reminds us in his DuPage County Bankruptcy blog that random bankruptcy case audits will start on October 17, 2006.  October 17 is, of course, the one-year anniversary of the effective date of the BAPCA change to the nation's bankruptcy laws. (…)

August 27, 2006

• Voluntary Dismissal of a Chapter 7 Not Always Available

  My colleague, Orlando bankruptcy lawyer Jonathan Alper, recently wrote about the rules for voluntarily dismissing a Chapter 7 case.  Jonathan discusses the McDaniel case out of Florida, where the bankruptcy judge allowed a pro se debtor to dismiss a case after the debtor discovered that his tax debt was not dischargeable.  The sole reason that the debtor had filed Chapter 7 was to discharge tax debt and the judge used "the court's discretion" to find that fairness and a lack of prejudice to the IRS warranted approval of the debtor's request to dismiss. (…)