“Loss Mitigation” sounds like an intimidating term, but it’s really just a mechanism within New York bankruptcy to help parties resolve foreclosure issues to debtors’ and creditors’ benefits. That is, its objective is to keep debtors’ principal residences out of foreclosure or reduce needless costs to creditors. It involves negotiations between the parties, possibly including …
Discharging tax debts can be difficult but not impossible in New York bankruptcy, but what about more mundane debts to the government, like traffic tickets? Are these subject to the same rules as tax debts or are they nondischargeable because they’re unsecured debts? It’s a common concern by debtors. The answer is, it mostly depends …
A few weeks back, I wrote about how New York bankruptcy addresses publicly issued licenses, ranging from driver’s licenses to occupational licenses. Now I’ll discuss private licenses, which generally come up in bankruptcy cases with a business dimension. What are these and how do they work? Actually, people buy private licenses all the time without …
It’s understandable that debtors would pawn property before considering New York bankruptcy. It’s sort of like a securitized payday loan. It’s also common for debtors’ property to be repossessed, which I’ve discussed here. What’s not necessarily intuitive is why after a debtor files bankruptcy the repossessed property is returned but the pawned property is not. …
Pawned Property Versus Repossessed Property in Bankruptcy Read More »
In 2014, I wrote about the role that a proof of claim plays in New York bankruptcy, but not all creditors use those. Notably, when the IRS enforces a debt in bankruptcy it will instead file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien (NFTL). What are these? As with all statutory liens, an NFTL creates a …
The Notice of Federal Tax Lien: The IRS’s Gateway to Bankruptcy Read More »
On May 16, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a split among the circuit courts of appeal regarding the definition of “actual fraud” in the Bankruptcy Code. Section 523(a)(2)(A) states: A discharge … does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt for money, property, services, or an extension, renewal, or refinancing of credit to …
Supreme Court Holds ‘Actual Fraud’ Does Not Require Misrepresentation Read More »
I recently wrote about what happens to condo or homeowners fees in New York bankruptcy, but I left out the prominent alternative, non-renting urban residence: co-ops. That wasn’t an accident; the reason is co-op maintenance fees are paid before mortgage payments, so a debtor would default on a mortgage before co-op fees. The result is …
The trustee in a New York bankruptcy case is usually not the debtor’s ally. His or her purpose is mainly to administer the bankruptcy estate or ensure the debtor’s repayment plan goes according to plan. Trustees pursue preference payments, fraudulent conveyances, and other malfeasance committed by debtors. They frequently initiate adversary proceedings against debtors. In …
How Can a Debtor (or Creditor) Get a New Trustee? Read More »
I wrote a few posts about the 2005 bankruptcy reform, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA), but I left out one topic that doesn’t really address whether the law benefited debtors in New York bankruptcy. Specifically, what were some of the unintended consequences of the BAPCPA? One answer is the industry spawned …
Where Do Debtor Education Fees End Up? A Multi-Million-Dollar Industry Read More »
In addition to mortgage modifications, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure offers, New York bankruptcy, and other options, the federal government has finally created the effective solution that until now has been off the table for underwater homeowners: mortgage principal reductions. On April 14, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the Principal Reduction Modification program, which would …
At Last, a Principal Reduction Opportunity for Underwater Homeowners Read More »
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