Bankruptcy exemptions vary from state to state, but everyone gets an exemption of ~$1.75 M for money in an IRA. It’s part of the Bankruptcy Code (section 522(n)) that applies to all filers, wherever they live. The exemption covers both classic, before-tax IRA’s and Roth IRA’s that are funded with after-tax dollars. Roll-overs into an […]
At Risk of Repossession? How To Keep The Car & Pay Less
If you are one of the 7 million Americans late on your car payments and living in fear that your car will be repossessed, consider how Chapter 13 bankruptcy can save your wheels. Losing your car can accelerate a torrent of nasty financial consequences. No car, no way to work. No work, no income. So, […]
Don’t Tidy Up Before Seeing A Bankruptcy Lawyer
Don’t tidy up your financial affairs before consulting a bankruptcy lawyer to plan for bankruptcy. Your current mess may present opportunities to plan your case for a better outcome. You may waste money or lose bankruptcy options when you make last minute changes to your situation without understanding how that situation plays out in bankruptcy. […]
When Your Bankruptcy Discharge Doesn’t End Your Case
Isn’t my case over? I got my discharge. Why’s the bankruptcy trustee still hounding me?, my client asks. People who’ve filed bankruptcy are focused on the discharge as their goal. With their discharge in hand, they think it’s all over. They lose sight of the fact that the administration of a bankruptcy estate by the trustee runs on a parallel track to […]
When The Lender Changes Its Tune After Chapter 13
The mortgage servicer took less than 30 days to change its story, big time. In three weeks time, the loan servicer went from telling the bankruptcy court, under penalty of perjury, that the loan was current, to telling the homeowner that she was $50,000 behind. The whole story appears here. Three weeks! And there, in […]
Can Your Creditor Get A Lien On You?
Can “they” put a lien on me? If you have debts you can’t pay, that’s a critical question. The man sitting across the desk from me owed a fistful of taxes. He proposed to transfer his interest in the family home to save the house from the tax lien which was filed against him. He […]
10 Things Tax Professionals Need To Know About Bankruptcy
As tax season approaches, tax pros need a basic understanding of bankruptcy to serve clients well. Tax preparers stand a good chance of encountering clients who either have filed bankruptcy, or who may benefit from a bankruptcy filing. Here’s my list of bankruptcy nuggets that a good tax professional should have at hand. 1. Debts […]
Discharge Taxes in Bankruptcy: Move Beyond the Myth
Myths about discharging taxes in bankruptcy are as common as myths about fire-breathing dragons. Central to the bankruptcy tax myth is the claim that taxes can’t be discharged in bankruptcy. Not so. Bankruptcy can wipe out many kinds of taxes. And that discharge can restore order to a family’s economy. Which ones are dischargeable? Let’s see. […]
The Real Importance of Your Credit Score
Getting credit after bankruptcy is the most frequent search term that bring visitors to Bankruptcy in Brief, my encyclopedic sister site on bankruptcy. In these visitors’ minds, the impact of bankruptcy on their credit score is critical. It’s ironic that readers, saddled with enough debt to consider bankruptcy, worry about their credit score. After all, […]
Do You Get The Bankruptcy Grubstake Exemption?
The word grubstake never appears in the Bankruptcy Code or the California Code of Civil Procedure where the exemptions available in bankruptcy cases filed in California are found. Yet every bankruptcy lawyer uses the phrase; and seemingly, every bankruptcy debtor struggles to understand it. What’s a bankruptcy grubstake Here’s the standard English definition of grubstake. […]
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