Question: Dear Steve, I filed chapter 13. I had a title loan on a car that is in my name and my daughter’s name. My lawyer told me I had to include this debt in chapter 13. Well, they didn’t file the paperwork to be paid during my chapter 13 so no payments are being … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I will try to consolidate the story… The house I live in was purchased in my deceased husband’s name only. After 12 years of marriage, you would think you know someone but I found out at the beginning of 2016 that he had molested our daughter at which time he was removed … Read more
New Jersey bankruptcy attorney Edward Hanratty sent in the following guest post. It is an interesting approach to reducing mortgage debt using bankruptcy. This is an example of a bankruptcy client who thought there was a problem with her mortgage and property taxes, and she was right. After some litigation I sent her the following … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, Ended up filing Chapter 13. My student loan is on hold until 2022 until the Chapter 13 is completed. My question is should I try to pay on the student loan or wait. The other question is once Chapter 13 is paid off will that help my credit score? Debbie Answer: Dear … Read more
Last month, ProPublica published a deep examination of how struggling black Americans are much less likely to gain lasting relief from bankruptcy than their white peers. The story focused on Memphis, where the racial gaps in the system are starker than anywhere else in the country. Memphis also has the nation’s highest per capita bankruptcy … Read more
For what appears to be decades, the credit rating agency Equifax has quietly layered three more years of tarnish on the credit histories of hundreds of thousands of people who had filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 13. While its competitors, TransUnion and Experian, placed a flag on such histories for seven years, Equifax left it … Read more
Paul Kiel, a reporter, sent me an email and described his latest article which is fascinating in a bankruptcy kind of way. I can attest having observed similar trends anecdotally for decades but his hard work and documentation makes this far too real. You can read the story How the Bankruptcy System Is Failing Black … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, We filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy September of 2009. The plan was confirmed on January 2010 and ultimately discharged January 2015. Included in the bankruptcy was a home equity line of credit that was deemed unsecured. The creditor has been reporting late 90 days plus every month right through to the current … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, My husband and I are currently in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy (one year in). The attorney we got basically aimed to do things quick and easy and our payment is honestly killing us. I’ve had to stop re-filling my epilepsy medication because I can’t afford it! My husband has suffered health issues … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and it was discharged in 2014. My mortgage was included in this. My question is whether or not my mortgage company can report my mortgage as being late 30, 60 even 90 to 120 days late while in active bankruptcy in 2010, 2011 and 2012? Thanks. … Read more
“Dear Steve, My private student loan defaulted because my co-signer filed for Chapter 13. It was in good standing as of 20 days ago and now it’s in collections with NCO Financial Systems overnight. Lender bounces me off to Collections. If I talk to them they have an assigned agent to my case who states … Read more
“Dear Steve, My husband and I filed a CH13 in efforts to save our home. 2nd mortgage was stripped and court. 4 months into bankruptcy, trustee felt we could pay 100% of debt which we would be paying a lot more than what we were originally paying overall. We pulled out of BK and got … Read more
“Dear Steve, My husband and I are in the middle of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy that has been a disaster from the very beginning. We were told we could only file 13 because of an appraisal on our house, a piece of property we were left from an inheritance along with several other family members … Read more
Below is my growing list of bankruptcy resources and links. If there is something that’s not addressed in one of those articles, guides, then feel free to ask me your question.
“Dear Steve, My husband is 66 and I am 57. My husband lost his job soon after we bought our house in 2009. He is now on social security and was working part time until he became ill and has been in and out of the hospital ( 4 times) since October 2012. He is … Read more