The topic of income tax refunds comes up periodically in New York bankruptcy. It’s important because in chapter 13 cases, New York trustees will demand the full refund to repay the creditors, and in chapter 7 it’s an asset that will be taken by the trustee if the debtor can’t protect it with an exemption. …
4 Debts That Are Subject to Income Tax Refund Offsets Read More »
One reason people find themselves in New York bankruptcy is that the interest rates on their debts are too high, which raises their monthly payments needlessly.Hopefully this is common sense, but according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) many Americans don’t consider interest rates when buying homes. Specifically, they don’t “shop” for mortgages, often …
CFPB Finds That Few Americans ‘Shop’ for Mortgages Read More »
I recently wrote about priority claims in New York bankruptcy, and notably, the types of claims with the highest priority are called “domestic support obligations.” Readers probably have a fairly good idea of what these might entail, but the role the play in bankruptcy isn’t so obvious. Because bankruptcies often coincide with divorces, they are …
Liens on underwater junior mortgages survive chapter 7 New York bankruptcy, which means homeowners will need to keep paying them to prevent foreclosure. Often, the response is to file a chapter 13 case after the chapter 7 one to strip the lien, but there are reasons to be cautious about taking that course of action. …
Alternatives to Chapter 13 After Discharging an Underwater Mortgage Read More »
Even after the Affordable Care Act, hospital bills are still a big enough problem that they can only be solved with a New York bankruptcy filing. Somewhat surprisingly, hospitals, even nonprofit ones that are supposed to have charitable purposes, have turned to hiring debt collectors to compel payment from patients who are behind on their …
Treasury and IRS Clamp Down On Nonprofit Hospital Debt Collections Read More »
New York bankruptcy requires debtors to pay some creditors what they are owed before others. These are called “priority claims” or “priorities” in the Bankruptcy Code. In chapter 13, for instance, creditors with priority claims must be repaid in full. Consequently, it’s important for debtors to have an idea of what these kinds of claims …
For homeowners struggling with high mortgage payments, there are alternatives to filing New York bankruptcy. One of them, refinancing, is underused by homeowners, according to a report that was recently published by National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). (The NBER is best known for setting the official start and end dates of U.S. recessions.) The …
Most of the time when the term “avoid” comes up in New York bankruptcy it’s used in the context of preferential transfers to creditors. That is, the debtor transfers money to a creditor he or she likes more than the others, such as a relative, and the trustee chooses to nullify (“avoid”) the transfer. The …
For creditors who need help on the New York bankruptcy defense side or those who have filed a bankruptcy themselves but need to initiate an adversary proceeding against creditors or the trustee, it is in fact possible to effect “service of process” via the U.S. postal system. Usually service of process, the system of giving …
It’s Possible to Receive Notice of an Adversary Proceeding in the Mail Read More »
Supposedly, during the Punic Wars, Roman soldiers were away from homes for so long that their family farms went bankrupt and were bought up by the wealthy. Veterans crowding into Rome led to unrest as well as the failed land-reform proposals by Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. Fortunately, there is a federal law in place to …
How Can the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Help Debtors? Read More »
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