Background The bankruptcy process can provide a fresh financial start for consumers who cannot pay their debts, either because of insolvency or insufficient income to meet creditor demands. Personal bankruptcy generally works in one of two ways: liquidating assets to pay one’s debts under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or establishing a repayment plan under Chapter 13 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …