Tag Archive: personal finance

Bankruptcy: How Many Times Can I File?

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       Well, if you are Donald Trump, you just keep filing bankruptcy.  Actually, The Donald never files, just his companies.  His casinos have filed multiple times.  But, those were all Chapter 11 bankruptcies, like the latest one linked to above. What about Chapter 7 bankruptcy?  Is it one and done? No, it is not. …

How Could Your Medical Bills Be A Credit Problem?

Many folks rely on their credit reports when filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy, so they don’t miss listing a creditor.  Because, all bankruptcy chapters include ALL debts.  And, being under oath in a federal court, which all bankruptcy courts are, good idea to tell the whole truth. Why would you want to leave off a debt…

Bankruptcy and RESPA

RESPA stands for Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act. Especially in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, you need to know the correct numbers on your mortgage(s). Some provisions relate to how mortgage companies must handle escrow accounts, and various notices they must provide, and the timing for same. My favorite part requires your mortgage company to…

Bankruptcy Or Debt Consolidation?

Someone going by the moniker “Good Nelly”, on a debt consolidation site, writes about 6 reasons not to file bankruptcy. Well, let me go through them. 1.  Your credit is badly hit. Why are you contemplating bankruptcy if you have good credit?  Now, sometimes foresighted people call me right when they get laid off, or…

Do I Make Too Much To File Bankruptcy?

  Bankruptcy “reform” was enacted at the behest of the creditor lobby, you know, the ones with the money, in 2005 partly on claims that many people were filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy who could afford to pay at least some of their debts in Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Contrary to popular belief, that has NOT happened….

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan Feasibility

  Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and Chapter 11 bankruptcy, are payment plan bankruptcies, unlike Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which is to wipe out debt. Being payment plans, you pay some of your debts in Chapter 13 or Chapter 11, but perhaps a small percentage. How much you pay depends, among other things, how much you make.  But,…

Automatic Stay

utomatic Stay. Upon filing bankruptcy, whether Chapter 7, Chapter 11, Chapter 13, an automatic stay is imposed preventing creditors from taking ANY collection action against you:  telephone calls, letters, lawsuits, garnishments, repossessions, foreclosures, all stopped. Automatically. No judge even looks at the paperwork.  Although there is no paper anymore, all bankruptcy courts now use electronic…

Undue Hardship: Bankruptcy And Student Loans

  You have heard it.  Cannot get rid of student loans in bankruptcy.  You can’t wipe out student loans.  Student loan debt is NOT dischargeable in bankruptcy.  (Though more people are calling for the laws to be changed to allow discharging student loan debt in bankruptcy.) Well, not so fast my friend. In a chapter…

Feel Guilty Filing Bankruptcy? Good!

G Is For Guilty image credit:  Dreamstime Most of us have been taught to pay our bills. If you borrow money, you should pay it back.  We get mad at our “friends” who don’t pay us back. Whether it is money for furniture, a truck, a car, a boat, a house, a vacation, a student…

Homeowner Help? Or Government Sellout?

The long awaited on again, off again, multi-state settlement between the Attorneys General of our various states and the mortgage company rapists, uh, crooks, is apparently on again. Unless this is your first trip to this blog, let me end the suspense:  the proposed settlement is: image credit: dreamstime Sorry to ruin the ending. What…