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Category Archives: Bankruptcy Basics

10 Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Bankruptcy: #4 Most People Keep All of Their Property

Published on February 18, 2010 by Kathleen Munden

One of the many common bankruptcy myths is that a debtor in a bankruptcy case will lose much of their property. Recently, one of the financial “experts” on the Today Show stated that in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, “you lose all of your property except for your retirement accounts.” Now, millions of people believe [...]

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10 Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Bankruptcy: #3 Claims May Be Lost If Not Pursued

Published on February 17, 2010 by Kathleen Munden

If you have a client who is listed as a creditor in a bankruptcy, the debt may be discharged automatically, even if it falls into one of the categories of non-dischargeable debt. If a debtor lists your client’s claim as a general unsecured claim, it could be discharged unless your client asserts his or her [...]

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Discharging Student Loans In a Bankruptcy Case

Published on December 21, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

Student loans can only be discharged in a bankruptcy case by obtaining a favorable ruling in an adversary proceeding, which is essentially a mini-lawsuit filed within the bankruptcy case. Courts use the factors set out in Brunner v. NY State Higher Educ. Serv. Corp., 831 F.2d 295 (2nd Cir. 1987) to decide if a discharge [...]

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What Happens To My Car In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

Published on October 20, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

When you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, you must propose a plan to repay your creditors. Usually, your unsecured creditors (such as credit cards, personal loans, medical bills, and other debts for which no collateral is pledged) will be discharged without any payment. However, if you want to keep your secured assets, such [...]

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What Happens To My Car When I File a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

Published on October 19, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

When you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, all creditor actions, including repossession of vehicles, is prohibited. In fact, if your vehicle has been repossessed shortly before the case is filed, it may be possible to force the creditor to return it. However, if you wish to keep your vehicle, you must bring the payments [...]

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Failure By Mortgage Companies To Modify Mortgages May Reawaken Bankruptcy Cramdown Legislation

Published on October 15, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

According to an article in the Journal of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the failure by mortgage companies to pursue voluntary modifications of mortgages may renew the push to allow judges to modify mortgages within bankruptcy cases. Since the “Home Affordable Mortgage Program” (HAMP) went into effect in March 2009, only about 360,000 homeowners have [...]

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Find Out Who Is Really Calling You

Published on September 15, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

If you are receiving calls from debt collectors, telemarketers, or scam artists from a toll-free number, you can find out who those callers really are and read notes from other people who have had experience with those callers. The website 800Notes allows you to enter the phone number that has called you, and link into [...]

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What Can I Expect At My Chapter 7 Trustee Meeting?

Published on September 1, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

Normally, the only meeting or hearing a Chapter 7 debtor must attend is the “341 meeting,” also called a creditor’s meeting or trustee meeting. Section 341 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code requires that the meeting be held “within a reasonable time” after the case is filed. In the Northern District of Texas, which covers the [...]

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What Is a Reverse Mortgage?

Published on August 28, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

A reverse mortgage allows people 62 and older to convert equity in their homes to tax-free income without having to sell the home, give up title, or take on a new monthly mortgage payment. When the borrower leaves the house, the property reverts to the lender to pay off the loan.
Although reverse mortgages have been [...]

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Credit Counseling Requirement Before Filing Bankruptcy

Published on August 24, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

One of the changes made to the Bankruptcy Code in 2005 was the addition of a requirement to take a credit counseling course before filing a bankruptcy case. The theory behind this requirement was that if people just knew how to prepare a budget and live within their means, fewer people would have to file [...]

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How Can I Rebuild My Credit After Bankruptcy?

Published on August 19, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

Having a bankruptcy filing on your credit report is obviously not a positive event. The bankruptcy notation stays on your credit report for 10 years, and does have the effect of lowering your credit score. However, there are steps you can take to minimize the negative effect of the bankruptcy notation, and rebuild your credit [...]

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How Can a Chapter 13 Case Help Me With Delinquent Child Support?

Published on August 14, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

If you are delinquent in your child support payments, you may be facing wage garnishment, the seizure of your income tax refunds, and possibly even jail time. By filing a Chapter 13  bankruptcy case, you will be able to stop those actions, so long as you are able to pay back all of the delinquent [...]

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How Can a Chapter 13 Case Help Me Stop a Foreclosure?

Published on August 11, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

When a homeowner is faced with foreclosure, there are few feasible options available to stop the sale. Unless the homeowner can bring the delinquent payments current immediately or refinance the home, the best option for stopping the sale may be the filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.
As long as the case is filed [...]

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What Is a Motion to Lift Stay?

Published on August 10, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

The “automatic stay” that goes into effect when a bankruptcy case is filed prohibits creditors from taking action to collect debts from the bankruptcy debtor. However, in some situations, creditors can file a motion to lift the stay, allowing them to proceed with collection efforts just as they would have if the bankruptcy case had [...]

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Bankruptcy Filings Reach 2005 Levels

Published on August 5, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, consumer bankruptcy filings reached 126,434 in July 2009, the highest monthly total since the rush of filings that occurred before the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act was implemented in October 2005. The data came from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). The July 2009 consumer filing total [...]

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What Is the “Automatic Stay” In Bankruptcy?

Published on August 4, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

The fiing of a bankruptcy petition acts as an immediate stay of any act against the debtor to collect a debt. It is called an “automatic stay” because no action, other than the filing of the petition, is necessary in order for the stay to go into effect. Although there are many exceptions to the [...]

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Home Values In North Texas Back To 1990 Levels

Published on July 9, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

According to a study released recently by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, falling home prices have wiped out billions of dollars in residential property values in North Texas. Overall, home prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have slipped to 1990s levels, when adjusted for inflation.
The Harvard researchers [...]

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Should You File For Bankruptcy?

Published on July 6, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

Making the decision to file a bankruptcy case is very difficult and confusing for most people. To make matters worse, there is so much misinformation about bankruptcy, both in the press and among the public, that most people have no idea where to find real answers to their bankruptcy questions.
Recently, I was watching the “Today” [...]

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Local Bankruptcy Attorneys Agree That Medical Bills Play a Role In a Majority of Bankruptcies

Published on June 30, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

In the wake of a Harvard study published in the American Journal of Medicine, which found that medical bills were a factor in 62% of bankruptcies nationwide, the Dallas Morning News interviewed local attorneys and consumer advocates concerning those findings.
Carolyn Chesnutt, a bankruptcy lawyer with Addison-based Charles R. Chesnutt, P.C., stated, “Often the most responsible, [...]

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Harvard Study Finds Illness and Medical Bills Are Linked To Nearly Two-Thirds of Bankruptcies

Published on June 29, 2009 by Kathleen Munden

According to research conducted jointly by Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, and Ohio University, medical bills were a factor in 62.1% of all bankruptcies filed in 2007. The data for the study was collected prior to the current economic downtown, and likely understates the current impact of illness on bankruptcy filings.
The study, which is [...]

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