Short answer: Usually not. Longer answer: Let’s start with what a reaffirmation agreement is. A creditor may ask a debtor in a New York bankruptcy to sign a reaffirmation agreement to renew the debt related to a secured asset. The creditor’s goal is simple: making money off the debtor in exchange for probably nothing. To …
Should You Sign That Reaffirmation Agreement With That Creditor? Read More »
I’ve discussed married couples in New York bankruptcy and what happens to a joint account in bankruptcy, but there is one more common situation that debtors’ spouses need to be aware of: bank accounts belonging to non-filing spouses. It’s easy to imagine that this should be a non-issue. Your assets are in your name, so …
What Happens to My Bank Account When My Spouse Files Bankruptcy? Read More »
Do you have financial problems? Do you tend to ask your friends for advice? Is one of your friends an experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer who will explain the process for you? Are your friends otherwise knowledgeable people? The answer to these questions may be, “Yes but you don’t know it.” Although many bankruptcy lawyers …
Non-Lawyers’ Explanations of Bankruptcy May Be Wrong Read More »
A while back, I wrote several posts to illustrate who Brooklyn bankruptcy and New York bankruptcy debtors are by the chapter they file in. (For example here is, “Who Are Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Debtors?“) Although I think the posts covered the topic quite well, one of their weaknesses was that they used averages from aggregates, …
Recently I wrote about the agreements big banks were striking with colleges to make money off their students. The Washington Post ran an article about similar agreements between hospitals and banks for lending money to patients to pay for their medical expenses. From a New York bankruptcy context, debtors should try to avoid these loans …
Excessive Credit-card debt is very common in New York bankruptcy. In fact, in 2016 in the Eastern District of New York, which includes all Brooklyn bankruptcy cases, the average debtor owed tens of thousands of dollars in unsecured debts. (Information from “Who Are Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Debtors?“) The question is, what are the main reasons …
Study: ‘Making Ends Meet’ Most Common Cause of Credit-Card Debt Read More »
There’s been some discussion lately on bankruptcy lawyers steering debtors to chapter 13 when chapter 7 is more appropriate, e.g. when ProPublica found significant racial disparities in bankruptcy outcomes. This isn’t so much of an issue in New York bankruptcy cases because New Yorkers, particularly downstate, tend to file in chapter 7. However, there is …
Reason to File in Chapter 13: Future Deteriorating Financial Conditions Read More »
In recent weeks, you may have heard of the bursting Bitcoin bubble and the faltering stock market. These types of events are naturally associated with recessions, job losses, and people filing bankruptcy. The sudden turn in markets isn’t nearly so ominous, but there are some things debtors should know about financial assets in New York …
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 »
No, not debt collections, I’m talking about personal collectibles. Probably everyone has heard the urban legend about the baby boomer whose parents threw out his baseball-card collection that had a priceless Honus Wagner among them. Contrary to the parents’ perception that it’s just junk, collectibles of all kinds can be quite valuable. In fact, people …
How Much Is That Collection Worth in Bankruptcy? Read More »
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