I recently wrote about stymieing debt collectors by controlling the personal information you give them. Saliently, a recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) action demonstrates why debtors should be careful with what they tell creditors, especially online. The action, situated in California federal district court, concerns the behaviors of what are called “lead aggregators.” “Leads,”
In chapter 7 and chapter 11 New York bankruptcy, a bankruptcy estate is created and then either liquidated or managed for the creditors. In chapter 7, the estate is controlled by the trustee; in chapter 11, it’s managed by the debtor in possession or a trustee if appointed by the bankruptcy court. It’s easy to
Congress has written a few laws to help protect debtors who fall behind on their bills from creditors. Aside from the Bankruptcy Code, there’s the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The FDCPA regulates what debt collectors can say to debtors; the TCPA limits some of the tools
Credit scores and bankruptcy frequently intersect. Primarily, debtors are concerned about the impact a bankruptcy filing will have on them. It’s not a trivial concern: Credit scores have gone beyond determining creditworthiness to evaluating housing and employment prospects, although New York City has banned many employers from using job applicants’ credit scores as a screening
In New York bankruptcy, debtors are required to list all of their debts in their petitions and schedules. This is true for both chapter 7 and chapter 13. On the bright side, though, debtors who forget to list a debt will suffer few consequences if they file in chapter 7 and have no assets for
The answer has to do with paying money into a pot, not other kinds of pots. There is surprising flexibility in how debtors can structure their repayment plans in chapter 13 New York bankruptcy, especially as they apply to unsecured creditors. The reason for this flexibility isn’t simply to give debtors more options; rather, it’s
The question arises after a November editorial in The New York Times castigated state governments for doing too little to protect everyday Americans from a host of unethical and illegal debt enforcement efforts, including “sewer service,” which occurred in New York State. You can read more in my earlier post about the topic, but the
When problems arise in a chapter 13 New York bankruptcy repayment plan, probably the most common suggestion for staying on track is filing a motion to modify the plan. Usually this means extending the plan’s length, when it’s under 60 months, or changing the monthly payment. There are alternatives to modifying the plan, but they’re
On November 17, The New York Times ran an editorial that rambled a little bit but ultimately reached the conclusion that state governments are much too lax when it comes to protecting the public from debt collection agencies. Debt collectors’ harassing—and occasionally illegal—behavior can force people into needless bankruptcy. Among some of the interesting points
I’ve stated regularly on this Web site that a chapter 13 plan is paid out of a debtor’s disposable income, some of which must go to the unsecured creditors in New York bankruptcy. But what is the definition of “disposable income”? It’s more technical than one might think, and more surprisingly it won’t be found
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