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,” …
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 …
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 …
Persuasive Reasons to List Every Debt in Bankruptcy Read More »
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 …
What Is a ‘Pot Plan’ in Chapter 13 New York Bankruptcy? Read More »
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 …
New York Times Editorial on Debt Collectors Makes the Case for Cash Read More »
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the pitfalls elderly Americans face when bequeathing their property to their children (or grandchildren). One option I didn’t discuss was what the law calls “remainder interests,” which are a class of “future interests.” Both of these terms relate to mechanisms of transferring (almost always) real estate. A remainder …
New York bankruptcy lawyers aren’t always known for their math skills. In fact, there are many jokes about lawyers as liberal arts majors who can’t do math or science. The issue of lawyers and math, however, is quite serious in consumer bankruptcy, which can be “numbers intensive.” Unfortunately, easy math mistakes can plague a chapter …
Good Math Skills Needed When Amending a Chapter 13 Plan Read More »
Usually lawyers’ role in debt collection is to represent creditors or debtors. Rarely is the core of their business collecting debts. The big debt collection money comes from buying old debts from banks for a fraction of their value and hoping to recover enough of them to make the purchase worthwhile. It often is. For …
It’s one thing to consider filing New York bankruptcy when you run into financial problems, but it’s another thing entirely when a co-signer of a debt files bankruptcy. The co-signer who is doing fine might suddenly find himself or herself in serious trouble. Here are some things for co-signers to consider should a co-debtor file …
Options for Debtors Whose Co-Signers File Bankruptcy Read More »
There are many debts that are not covered by a discharge order in New York bankruptcy, so it might be tempting to try to transfer one to a credit card and then file bankruptcy to get rid of it. This is a bad idea and it probably won’t work, especially for tax debts. Moreover, it …
Paying Debts With a Credit Card Before Bankruptcy Can Backfire Read More »
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