Does someone other than the debtor get to choose which chapter a bankruptcy case is filed under? Some seem to think so. There’s an ongoing tug of war in the courts between the bankruptcy establishment on one side and debtors and their lawyers on the other about whether a Chapter 13 that pays only the attorneys […]
Dead Debts Haunt Home Purchase
Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. It’s also the price of freedom from old debts, as my former bankruptcy client learned. He was about to close escrow on a new home a couple of years after his discharge. But the sale came to a screaming halt when an old, discharged debt reappeared on his […]
Facing Foreclosure? Your Kids Can Cope
I talk with clients about walking away from underwater houses day after day. * Yet despite the pain and the roadblocks, these clients express reluctance to move because of the impact on their children.> It’s our home, they intone. It’s as though there can be only ONE home, and it’s this piece of real estate. They imagine […]
Tugging On Superman’s Cape
When a Chapter 13 trustee complains that the means test is not easy to administer when only one spouse files, should I be sympathetic? After all, Chapter 13 confirmation is often a negotiation on disputed issues between the trustee and debtor’s counsel. Here’s what I said recently at ConsiderChapter13.org on that issue. Come on, Madame […]
California Anti Deficiency Laws Trump Short Sale Agreement
A California homeowner who negotiated a short sale of her home that left her personally liable to the lender for the shortage scored an appeals court victory expanding our understanding of the anti deficiency provisions of California law. Coker v. J.P.Morgan Chase, decided by the 4th Appellate District court, barred enforcement of the seller’s agreement to […]
Super Bankruptcy Lawyer Spotted in Redwood City
Cathy Moran was again named a Super Lawyer in Bankruptcy for Northern California in 2023 for the 17th year in a row. This is pretty heady stuff, Cathy was heard to admit. But then, it’s just part of the job of getting clients out of debt and back in a sound financial place. Between this site, BankruptcySoapbox.com […]
California Pulls The Plug On Debt Buyers
Up until now, old debts lived on, until the person who owed the debt pulled the plug. That’s right: it is the person who is liable for the debt who can kill the debt off, not the person to whom the money is owed. Because, at law, there’s a limit on the age of a […]
The Realtor’s Guide To Home Sales In Bankruptcy
Sooner or later, every realtor will encounter a property involved in a bankruptcy case. Or a property that could escape foreclosure and sell, using bankruptcy. Bankruptcy’s a different world when it comes to real estate. It pays to know how to deal. Let’s walk through the principles and procedures involved when buying or selling real […]
The Struggle To Surrender Underwater Real Estate
How difficult it can be to surrender real property in bankruptcy when you have no hope of paying for it. After all, the lender takes a mortgage on the property so they can take it from you if you don’t pay. My client’s bankruptcy plan said he would make no payments on the rental’s mortgage […]
Claim Tax Deductions Lurking In Your Chapter 13
Tax deductions may be hiding in your Chapter 13. Did you file for an extension of time to file your income tax return? Well, time to get the return done is running out: returns are due October 16th in 2023. If you are in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, you may have deductions you haven’t […]
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