Chapter 7 New York bankruptcy is often offered as an option for stopping a foreclosure. However, debtors should ask why it’s worth the trouble if they think they will lose their homes anyway. It’s a fair point: Debtors who are behind on their mortgages might not keep their homes in chapter 7. Ultimately, the answer …
Why File Chapter 7 to Delay an Inevitable Foreclosure? Read More »
Sometimes people will refer to bankruptcy as a shield and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as a sword, or vice versa. It’s contradictory, but the point is that both laws are designed to protect debtors in different contexts that hopefully don’t overlap. Bankruptcy allows debtors to get rid of debts without punishing overbearing …
Remedies for FDCPA Violations Versus Discharge Injunction Violations Read More »
A long time ago, I discussed the requirements in New York for a successful deed-in-lieu of foreclosure agreement, also called a mortgage release. The benefits of such an agreement are that the lender is able to resell the property and the borrower is no longer obligated to pay on an ultimately unaffordable mortgage. The question, …
Is Renting Your Underwater Home From the Bank a Good Idea? Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
A few months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court chose to hear a case deciding whether a chapter 13 bankruptcy debtor could sue a debt collector for violating the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) for filing a proof of claim on an expired debt. For New York bankruptcy debtors, the answer already is no, but …
U.S. Supreme Court: Bad Proofs of Claim Do Not Violate the FDCPA Read More »
Going by a Bloomberg article, the City of Detroit has not learned about debt collectors that are adopting new technologies to target borrowers. Like cities in New York State, Michigan authorizes its municipalities to collect income taxes from its residents. Detroit concluded its chapter 9 bankruptcy in late 2014, and in the meantime nearly half …
Detroit Learns That Threatening Letters to Tax Debtors Gets Results Read More »
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