I tallied up reader favorites from the 2017 posts on Bankruptcy Soapbox. The balloting is a bit unfair, since the fall and winter posts haven’t had the same exposure that posts from earlier in the year.
But take note: the runner up is only about 8 weeks old.
Your favorites, in reverse order:
10. Making Student Loan Debt Dischargeable
A bill that would change bankruptcy law to make student loans dischargeable after the passage of time was introduced in Congress with bi partisan sponsors. I predict it will take time, persistance, perhaps an economic crisis, and a change in the composition of Congress to make this happen. But here’s to a foot in the door.
9. The Trouble With Loan Modifications
Mortgage lawyer Bill Purdy hit this one out of the park with a catalog of the roadblocks and gamesmanship that mortgage servicers employ against homeowners. With lots of real world experience and impassioned language, Bill provides a manual on how to fight back.
8. Credit Reporting On Your Home Loan Is Allowed After Chapter 13
When the mortgage servicer says they can’t report on your loan payments after Chapter 13, they are lying. (Bill Purdy says I can say that: see above.) Long terms loans aren’t discharged in Chapter 13, so credit reporting doesn’t violate your discharge. See why.
7. How To Lose Both Your House And Your Chapter 13 Discharge
Bankruptcy judges are dismissing completed Chapter 13 cases when the plan provided that the debtor make the post filing mortgage payments directly. When you don’t make the payment on your home loan, as the plan provided, you may be in material breach of the plan. Breach the plan, lose your discharge. See your attorney ASAP.
6. Protect Your Credit
The Equifax data theft caught readers’ eye, as the news broke that information on almost half of the American population was stolen. I gathered up the best information available on what you should do to figure out if your identity was stolen and to minimize the damage.
5. Third Time Is NOT The Charm In Bankruptcy
The true story of a couple who lost their house right after filing bankruptcy because there is no automatic stay in a third bankruptcy filing within a calendar year. They thought to save money by filing without a lawyer; instead they lost their home.
4. Joint Bank Accounts Risk Everything When One Accountholder Files Bankruptcy
The most widely used technique to manage an elder’s money can backfire, big time, if the non-elder files bankruptcy. Bankruptcy trustees claim that if you can spend the money in the account, it’s available for your creditors. There’s a fix in California law.
3. How To Claim A Mortgage Interest Deduction Without A Form 1098
I’ve long campaigned for Chapter 13 debtors to claim deductions for payments made by the trustee. Here I walk you through how to calculate the mortgage interest paid from your Chapter 13 payments so you can claim the deduction without a 1098.
2. The Only Three Situations Where Bankruptcy Is The Right Move
Everyone I meet with debt problems asks if bankruptcy is really right for them. I’ve distilled the three fact patterns where bankruptcy is not only right, it’s righteous. Do any of these describe your predicament?
1. When Your Bank Account Is Seized: A California Action Plan
The most read new post for 2017 addressed your options when your bank account is seized. I walked readers through the immediate steps you need to take, then looked at the long-term questions about how this happened and what to do next.
