A colleague’s rant about murky language of notices from the bankruptcy court struck a cord. In an attempt to provide notice, the court sometimes sows confusion. But my pet peeve is the client who calls up and says, literally, “I got this letter from {insert name of court or creditor, or trustee}. What does it […]
Perversity run amok
The clients in financial trouble couldn’t get the attention of their mortgage lender about the coming train wreck. But you’re current, said the telephone representative for the lender. So, the clients deliberately missed a payment to make their point that they needed help. Care to guess what happened next? Determined to remain only one payment […]
Negotiate to the last minute at your peril
The would be client had millions of dollars of equity in the house at stake, yet waited til the week of the foreclosure to look for a bankruptcy lawyer. The required case would be a Chapter 11, which is heavy on procedure. I didn’t have the capacity to take on such a case on an […]
Short sales no boon to credit score
When the house is unaffordable, homeowners often look to a short sale or deed in lieu in the belief that avoiding foreclosure means avoiding the credit score hit. Not so. Sharon Epperson’s bit in USAWeekend today points out that a deed in lieu or a short sale will likely be reported as “not paid as […]
Mortgage modification bill returns to Congress
A bipartisan group of Representatives is planning to offer an amendment to the Wall Street reform bill being debated on December 9th that would allow bankruptcy judges to approve changes to mortgages on the family home. Currently, lenders are protected from plan terms that change the terms of loans secured by personal residences. Judges can […]
Should you pay the mortgage?
Homeowners should be walking away from underwater houses in droves, according to the analysis of University of Arizona law professor Brent White. And they shouldn’t feel guilty about it either. White’s argument is that until borrowers make clear headed economic, rather than emotional, decisions about paying for underwater houses, the banks will not be moved […]
Money management and the things we “deserve”
American Express radio commercials are touting a women’s money group, The Smart Cookies, who, we’re told, got control of their personal debt problems within two years. The five women they featured collectively owed $50,000, which seems small relative to the clients I see. But what set my teeth to grinding was one woman’s assurance that it […]
Thankful amid hard times
As families and well established businesses pour through my office, I remain thankful that our bankruptcy laws and societal mores provide an economic fresh start for those who have no reasonable hope of repairing their finances The process of filing bankruptcy is no more traumatic than the participant makes it; the lead up to admitting […]
Retirement contributions in Chapter 7
As befits a Moran, I got my Irish up at a 341 meeting when the UST’s representative announced that “we don’t allow retirement deductions on Schedule I”. Huh? Did she intend to utter fighting words? First point, as far as I could see, she wasn’t wearing a black robe, so the issue of “allowance” was […]
Medical bankruptcies not obvious
On the surface, my initial consult had a tax problem: years of unpaid income taxes. The salary was on the upper end of what I usually see. It was only after we talked at length that the story came out: the client had a mentally ill child and had drained retirement savings to pay for […]
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