By Scott Riddle Posted in Creditor Law,Debt Collection & ForeclosureThe U.S. Department of Education recently announced a new process to identify and assist borrowers with disabilities who may be eligible for Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) federal student loan discharge. More information about qualifications and the application process can be found by clicking here. You can also read the April 12, 2016 Press Release… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 13,Chapter 7,Debt Collection & ForeclosureThe primary goal of most Bankruptcy cases is to get a discharge of some or all of your debts. The discharge order is an important document that will permanently protect you from future attempts to collect all debts that were discharged, and you have your important “fresh start.” It is your time to move on… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 13,Chapter 7Georgia is not a big (legal) gambling state, other than the state sponsored Georgia Lottery, and most gambling is done on a cash basis. However, occasionally clients do come in with some gambling debts to include in their Bankruptcy case. In one case, a person made enough trips to casinos in Las Vegas that he… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 13,Chapter 7If you are required to file tax returns, it is very important that you make sure all returns are filed before you file for Bankruptcy, if at all possible. Surely there are times when it is not possible to catch up on prior returns, such as when a foreclosure is coming up soon, but even… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 7In recent posts, we have discussed the basics of reaffirmation agreements, whether or not you should reaffirm your home loan, and why you should not get legal advice from lender representatives who told you it was a mistake to not reaffirm in your Chapter 7 cases and they will not refinance because of this. This… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 7We have covered the basics of Reaffirmation Agreements and whether you should reaffirm your home loan, and now we’ll tackle whether reaffirming your car loan is a good idea. While Bankruptcy lawyers rarely recommend reaffirming a home loan (in fact, we almost always oppose it), the analysis is a little different for vehicles. It is… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 7One of the most common issues that comes up in Bankruptcy cases, primarily Chapter 7 cases, is “reaffirmation.” It is also sometimes one of the most confusing issues. Simply stated, a Reaffirmation Agreement is an agreement between a debtor in a Bankruptcy case and one of their creditors whereby the debtor agrees to repay a… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 7For homeowners in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy cases, the decision of whether or not to reaffirm their home loan is one of the most important decisions that can be made in the case. Please remember this: You do not have to reaffirm your loan(s) to keep your house! We discussed the basics of Reaffirmation Agreements in… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Chapter 11,Chapter 13,Chapter 7If you own a small business that is organized as a corporation or limited liability company you probably understand that you are generally not personally responsible for the business debts unless you agree to be responsible (for example, personal guarantees). However, one exception to the rule is personal liability for payroll taxes that should… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Chapter 11,Chapter 13,Chapter 7As this post is written, many people have either recently filed their tax returns or are getting ready to file by the April 15 deadline. While most of us are not happy happy happy this time of year, for some people it is a reminder of their lingering tax debt from prior years. A common… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 13,Chapter 7I recently came across an article listing fifteen shocking facts about student loans in the United States. You can access the article by clicking here, but fair warning that it is one of those pictorial lists that have taken over the interwebs these days. I will not copy the entire list, but here are the… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 13,Chapter 7As we discussed in this post about the discharge of student (or educational) loans, most courts apply some version of the Brunner Test in determining whether a student loan should be discharged because of undue hardship. The Brunner Test is named after a 1987 case in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Brunner v. New… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Chapter 13,Chapter 7As we go along with this Blog we will discuss cases about one of the most important financial issues of our day – student loans. We know from this post that they are difficult to discharge in Bankruptcy, although there is a reason that we should probably try more than we do to get them… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Chapter 7Student loans are one of the most important financial issues of the day, and as discussed in this post, are hard to discharge in Bankruptcy. The test of “undue hardship” is definitely a high bar, and depends on the specific facts of the case. Because of this, we will occasionally discuss cases in which Courts… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Chapter 13,Chapter 7When we think about student loans, we normally automatically think about loans taken out for college or other higher education. In the Bankruptcy context, we also know that public and private student loans are generally nondischargeable unless the borrower meets the tough “undue hardship test.” However, the fact is that Bankruptcy law does not limit… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 13,Chapter 7One thing that Bankruptcy lawyers generally agree on is that it is very difficult to get a discharge of student loans and other educational obligations under the Bankruptcy Code and the cases that interpret the law. We discussed the legal test in this post, and under the law we often say that a discharge takes… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 11,Chapter 13,Chapter 7The Bankruptcy discharge is what it is all about. It is why people file for Bankruptcy, even though they also benefit from the automatic stay, lien stripping and other advantages in Bankruptcy. Even if some debts are excepted from the discharge, the Bankruptcy discharge typically frees up enough money to that the individual or couple… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 7The great majority of people who have to file a Bankruptcy case receive a full discharge of all of their unsecured debt, such as credit cards and medical bills, and many also receive a discharge of their secured debts unless they choose to reaffirm the debts. However, there are categories of debts that are not… Continue Reading
By Scott Riddle Posted in Bankruptcy Basics,Chapter 13,Chapter 7Student loans have become a huge burden in the United States. Recent statistics show that current outstanding student loan debt is more than $1.1 Trillion. That is “Trillion” with a “T.” We can point our fingers in many directions to cast the blame for this high number, including lenders, borrowers, schools, and the federal government,… Continue Reading
