Shedding debt so you can save for retirement is the most compelling reason to file bankruptcy in my book. Get rid of the debt that’s dischargeable so you can pay for retirement, I exhort. Between the crippling cost of housing in the Bay Area and parent loans for college, there is so little margin for […]
Last Minute Tax Break For Distressed Homeowners
Days before the end of the tax year, the massive tax bill changed the rules retroactively. And for once, the change benefited individual taxpayers. The tax bill revived, for tax year 2017, the exclusion from income accorded to phantom income upon foreclosure, short sale, or loan modification. The provision that created an exception protecting […]
IRS Shakedown Happening In Bankruptcy Court
The latest IRS scam is happening in bankruptcy, out in the open. Now usually when I write about IRS scams, I’m talking about genuine bad guys either pretending to be the IRS to hijack your money or pretending to be you to the IRS, to hijack your money. But nobody is pretending in the trick […]
Warning: Wells Fargo Can Freeze Your Account
Preparation for filing bankruptcy should include getting your money out of Wells Fargo Bank. Unless, of course, you’re willing to have Wells freeze your money for days or weeks, on its own initiative. Wells says they are “helping” the bankruptcy trustee by denying you access to your money. Only the bankruptcy trustee didn’t ask for […]
Taxes: Building Block of Financial Literacy
You’re a first time employee. Congratulations. Welcome to the world of tax forms, withholding, and tax deadlines. Taxes are the price we pay for civilization, according to Oliver Wendell Holmes. In fact, the first day on your new job you’ll be presented with an IRS form w-4. It’s like a rite of passage into adulthood. Even families […]
Are You Stuck With The Lawyer Who Filed Your Bankruptcy Case?
Your bankruptcy case is filed. It’s not going as smoothly as you expected. In fact, you’re worried you’re going under. Can you change bankruptcy lawyers after your case is filed? Certainly, you can always fire your lawyer. It may be disruptive. It will certainly cost more money. To decide you need to know So, how […]
Your Creditors Lie In Wait For Your Kids
Is your legacy to your kids an encounter with your unpaid creditors? Debt problems for those over 65 may not be problems for the elder at all. Income and assets are largely protected by law from creditors. But that doesn’t trouble creditors: they’ll simply wait and get their money from your kids. Seniors enjoy protection […]
How Your Property Gets Sold In Your Partner’s Bankruptcy
It isn’t just marriage that can get you roped in to a bankruptcy case that isn’t your own. Own community property and a bankruptcy filing by your spouse or your soon-to-be ex can drag you into a bankruptcy court. But the issue is broader: joint ownership of any kind of asset in any state, community […]
Who’s Afraid Of Bankruptcy’s 90 Day Rule
Most folks considering bankruptcy know about the 90 day rule in bankruptcy. They’ve talked to friends or read on the internet. When they get to a bankruptcy lawyer’s office, they’re eager to tell me they know about the rule, though sometimes they have questions about just how it works. Which is all very interesting, except that […]
20 Years Of Bankruptcy In Brief
Twenty years ago this month, Soapbox’s parent website, Bankruptcy In Brief, went live with four pages of basic bankruptcy information. My law partner quietly thought writing about law for the internet was off base. My lawyer colleagues thought I was giving away the store. I persisted (which wasn’t then a catch phrase) because I was […]
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