Now that a new year has begun, some debtors might consider changing their tax withholdings to free up income to pay debts. The idea is that they can stay current on their bills now and repay the IRS next April. In most circumstances, reducing withholdings to pay debts is a bad idea and New York …
Reducing Tax Withholdings to Pay Bills Is a Bad Idea Read More »
(Click here to read, “Who Are Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Debtors?” part 1.) In the first post on this topic, I displayed tables from the 2016 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) Report. The report contains a large amount of information, albeit with a little less detail than one would hope, that can help …
Who Are Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Debtors? (Part 2 of 2) Read More »
I recently completed a series of posts providing data on who chapter 7 New York bankruptcy debtors are. The source, the 2016 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) Report, can help answer questions about the characteristics of bankruptcy filings in most chapters, and today I’ll focus on the next most common chapter New …
In my post discussing how many people file New York bankruptcy each year, one unusual number jumped out: “business filings” in chapter 13. In 2016, 31 debtors filer in the Southern District of New York, which covers Manhattan, the Bronx, and a few other downstate counties, filed in chapter 13, even though the Statistical Tables …
When Should Debtors Consider Chapter 13 for ‘Business Filings’? Read More »
New York bankruptcy debtors often have retirement accounts, investment retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k) plans with their employers, and they regularly consider depleting those accounts to pay off creditors rather than file bankruptcy. One feature that tempts debtors into doing this is the ability to take out loans against their retirement accounts. Essentially, they are …
I recently analyzed bankruptcy data to find out who chapter 7 New York bankruptcy debtors are. The dataset came from the federal courts’ 2016 BAPCPA Report, which contains information on people who file bankruptcy but owe mainly consumer debts. However, not all bankruptcy debtors are consumer debtors, so the post gave incomplete information on how …
How Many People File New York Bankruptcy Each Year? Read More »
Many working debtors have retirement accounts, chiefly investment retirement accounts (IRAs) or 401(k) accounts through their employers. These accounts are assets, but New York bankruptcy exemption rules shield them completely while the federal exemptions protect them up to an enormous amount—more than $1.2 million. Debtors sometimes ask whether retirement contributions are allowed in bankruptcy, but …
Increasing Retirement Contributions (IRA, 401(k)) Before Bankruptcy Read More »
The only situation in which debtors can file a joint New York bankruptcy case is when they are married (to each other). Debtors can only create joint cases by filing together simultaneously. Debtors may not join spouses after they have filed their individual cases. What happens, though, when debtors in a joint case no longer …
Ideally, debtors’ circumstances and not their ethnicities should influence bankruptcy chapter choices. According to a ProPublica study from September, however, the United States falls far short of that ideal. In a series of articles, the advocacy group’s researchers discuss the significant racial disparities in debtors’ chapter choices and outcomes: Specifically, black debtors tend to file …
ProPublica Finds Significant Racial Disparities in Bankruptcy Outcomes Read More »
Not all areas of the law are the same, which can lead to confusion for people who are unfamiliar with the law. This can be especially true for bankruptcy because it’s a mundane court process that millions of Americans have encountered, even though it takes place in federal court. One question debtors may ask is …
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