New Yorkers who are on a tight budget might look at their mortgage payments in isolation from the other costs of owning a home. This is a serious mistake as the other, hidden costs of home ownership might be harder to budget, but they can easily turn a shoestring budget into a reason to sell, refinance, . . . → Read More: House Costs Are Greater than Sticker Price

Business owners entering bankruptcy almost always have more complex cases than simple private bankruptcies, especially because the business owners themselves are filing on their own behalves as well. The differences in how the tax code applies to small businesses as opposed to individuals don’t help either.

One quirk business owners need to be aware of in particular . . . → Read More: Why Using a ‘Loss Carryforward’ before Bankruptcy Is a Good Move

“Zombie debt,” for New Yorkers unfamiliar with the term, is a debt you no longer owe that a collector has bought from a creditor nonetheless—whether it originated the loan or not—for a fraction of the price. The collector then tries to enforce the loan hoping you’ll repay it. Elsewhere, you may have heard the term, “charged . . . → Read More: Note to New Yorkers: “Charged Off” Debt is NOT “Zombie Debt”

After the housing bubble burst, millions of Americans found themselves underwater in their mortgages, meaning they owed more to the bank than their houses were currently worth. In this nasty situation, people are still looking for options for making things easier for themselves, particularly because selling a house at a loss leaves the homeowner liable for . . . → Read More: Mortgage Modifications in New York: A Quick Guide

When a creditor cancels a debt owed to it in New York or elsewhere, and the debt is greater than $600, then it must send the now-former debtor IRS Form 1099-C. The debtor includes this in his or her income tax filing to demonstrate that the canceled debt is in fact income subject to income tax. . . . → Read More: What Is Form 1099-C?

Starting in the 1980s, 401(k) plans rapidly become one of the most popular retirement savings vehicles for workers in New York and elsewhere. The concept grew to replace the corporate pension because it became more common for workers to move between industries instead of work in just one company.

Here’s how they work, if you didn’t already . . . → Read More: 401(k) Loans Can Put New Yorkers Deeper into Debt

People who file New York bankruptcies often have a lot of credit card debt, auto debt secured by their cars, and mortgage debt. Some people, though, own their houses outright or at least have significant equity in them. In these circumstances, the equity can be placed into the bankruptcy estate and sold to the creditors to . . . → Read More: How to Handle the “Exclusion of Gain from Sale” in New York Bankruptcy

Many New Yorkers have difficulty with auto loans. In some cases, the car’s value has depreciated significantly, making resale difficult, and in others the car was over-financed to begin with, which is more common when the dealership plays the role of lender as well. Unlike the underwater mortgage, the bankruptcy code offers solutions that are more . . . → Read More: How to Use Bankruptcy to Reduce Auto Loan Payments in New York