ESPN tweeted the names of some 60 professional athletes who have filed bankruptcy and asked which names surprised the Twittersphere. Included were Johnny Unitas, Bernie Kosar, Mike Tyson, Dorothy Hamill, Gaylord Perry of my very favorite baseball team, and Roscoe Tanner, from my very favorite university. While titillating reading, none of them surprised me. Bankruptcy is not […]
Foreclosure And The Tax That Follows: What You Must Know
The homeowner did the right thing: faced with the threat of foreclosure, he called his tax professional in advance. He did the right thing that nearly produced the exceedingly wrong result. Because the tax pro asked the wrong question and got the wrong result. The illusion of professional advice about taxation upon foreclosure almost cost my client […]
Skip Filing Your Tax Return And The Tax Lives Forever
It’s tax season and tax myths are everywhere. Know what the most dangerous one is? If you can’t pay the tax on the return, you’ll escape collection action if you keep a low profile by not filing the return. I hear it repeatedly, each year, year after year. And it’s wrong, over and over. Four […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: X is for oeX
I had to stretch, I admit, for X in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. An OEX under California debtor/creditor law is an Order Of Examination that is issued when a creditor has a judgment. It’s a tool for the creditor to find and collect his money. The OEX allows the judgment creditor to eXamine the judgment debtor […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: W is for Wait
W is for Wait in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. As in “Wait! Wait! Don’t file yet.” Timing a bankruptcy can be critical. Sometimes, the bankruptcy journey begins, not with a mad dash to the courthouse, but with a short wait. Having made the decision to get out of debt, why would you wait? Many reasons, most of […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: U Is For Unsecured
U stands for Unsecured debt in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. Unsecured describes a bankruptcy creditor who has no collateral to secure his debt. The world is full of pivotal distinctions: male/female; apples/oranges; cold/hot. The distinction between unsecured debt and secured debt is huge in bankruptcy. A secured creditor has a lien on the debtor’s […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: P is for Priority
Priority is the P word in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. Priority is the order in which claims of creditors are paid in a bankruptcy case. While all people may be created equal, not so for claims. Recent income taxes and unpaid child support are among the priority claims that get paid first and in full before […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: N Is For Nondischargeable
The letter N, in my Bankruptcy Alphabet, stands for Nondischargeable. These are the debts that simply don’t go away, even when you get a bankruptcy discharge. Family support heads the list of nondischargeable debts, at least figuratively. Whether it’s called child support, alimony, maintenance, or a domestic support obligation, the debtor’s obligation to pay […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: M Is For Modify
M is for Modify in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. The Bankruptcy Code provides that a borrower can modify the terms of some secured debts, like car loans, judgment liens, and some mortgages. And in the midst of the current pandemic mess, the automatic stay can prevent foreclosure while a homeowner seeks a mortgage modification on their […]
Bankruptcy Alphabet: I Is For IRS
“I” stands for IRS in my Bankruptcy Alphabet. Bankruptcy law treats the IRS little different than other creditors. The tax collector is just one of the boys. But the most important point is that income taxes can be erased in bankruptcy. There are rules, three of them in fact, that govern when income taxes […]
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