Private student loans do not often make the news, primarily because the vast majority of student loans are made by or guaranteed by the federal government, and comparatively few people take them out these days. Currently only $108 billion out of the $1.34 trillion in student loans are originated by private lenders with no connection …
NYT: ‘Robo-Signing’ Strikes Private-Student-Loan Debtors Read More »
Around 2012, bankruptcy lawyers began reporting a strange trend: their clients’ bankruptcies were hijacked by third parties, causing significant problems for the debtors’ cases. The fad didn’t reach the East Coast to a significant degree, but New York bankruptcy hijacking is possible. Debtors, especially those who’ve gone without lawyers, should learn what the signs are …
Bankruptcy Hijacking: A Scam on the Unwary Debtor Read More »
What factors influence the likelihood of filing New York bankruptcy? That’s not exactly the question the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Minn., asked in its research on “income risk,” but it addresses the question in some ways. Economists often write about “income inequality,” but that’s just the distribution of income at any given time. Income …
Minneapolis Fed: ‘Income Risk’ High for Older, Lower-Income Workers Read More »
Tax debts can bedevil debtors. They are not easily discharged in a chapter 7 New York bankruptcy, and they are priority claims that must be paid in full without interest in chapter 13. Unsurprisingly, the IRS’s collection efforts will cause more anxiety to debtors than mere credit-card-debt collectors. However, a recent New York Times article …
Talk to a Bankruptcy Lawyer Before Negotiating With an IRS Debt Collector Read More »
The majority of consumer New York bankruptcy cases are filed in chapter 7 rather than chapter 13, usually for understandable reasons. Debtors choosing chapter 7 probably have few assets, low incomes, and they are mostly looking to discharge unsecured debts. Although chapter 13 might not appear right for many, it does discharge some unsecured debts …
7 Debts That Are Dischargeable in Chapter 13 But Not Chapter 7 Read More »
In the last few years you may have heard something in the news that has not happened for a while: The Federal Reserve is gently raising its target interest rate, the effective “federal funds rate.” The Fed held this rate at about zero from late 2007 until the end of 2015, but fearing an overheating …
How Do Fed Rate Hikes Affect Debtors and Bankruptcy Filings? Read More »
In May I wrote about how debt collectors were adopting new technologies to target borrowers, specifically noting a new technique called, “ringless voice mails.” The New York Times recently ran a full article on the topic, and along with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that debt buyers are exempt from the Fair Debt Collections …
NYT: ‘Ringless Voice Mail’ a Plague That May Descend on Debtors Read More »
With a new presidential administration comes new priorities, and for the Trump government’s Department of Education that means revising recently instituted rules that were ostensibly designed to benefit student-loan debtors. If these rules are repealed, then debtors will need to explore either bankruptcy or non-bankruptcy options to resolve their financial problems. According to The New …
Education Department to Reconsider Rules Benefiting Student-Loan Debtors Read More »
In May, Bloomberg reported that the ride-sharing company Uber admitted that it had been underpaying its New York City drivers because it had taken its share of fares before deducting fees rather than after. The company agreed to repay each of its drivers $900. Interestingly, Uber contracts with 50,000 drivers in the city, so it’s …
Drive for a Ride-Sharing Company, Risk Uber Bankruptcy? Read More »
A few months ago I alerted readers to a case before the U.S. Supreme Court addressing whether the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to buyers of defaulted debts. The FDCPA offers debtors legal options for resolving disputes with debt collectors. In Henson v. Santander, the Court unanimously sided with the debt-buyers, closing off …
U.S. Supreme Court: Bad-Debt Buyers Are Not Debt Collectors Under the FDCPA Read More »
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