One of the rare benefits of filing a chapter 13 New York bankruptcy is the ability to reduce (“cram down”) the balance of an underwater mortgage on an investment property to its current market value. More commonly, debtors in chapter 13 cram down their cars, as discussed here. Cram-downs are not available for debtors’ principal …
All Parties Must Join to Cram Down Mortgages on Investment Properties Read More »
In the late 1970s, Congress amended the Bankruptcy Code to require student loan debtors to demonstrate that their loans posed an “undue hardship” on them in order to be discharged in bankruptcy. Over time, Congress tightened this restriction, eliminating its seven-year time limit and in 2005 extending the requirement to private student loans. The problem, …
Supreme Court Might Hear Law School Debtor’s Bankruptcy Case 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 …
The data-driven news site FiveThirtyEight.com recently ran a discouraging article on low-wage workers. To not belabor its point, workers in minimum-wage jobs are much less likely to move to higher-paying jobs than in the late 1990s, when jobs and pay raises were more common. In 1998, for instance, 20 percent of minimum-wage workers were in …
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 »
Most of the time debtors are the ones who file New York bankruptcy. However, the Bankruptcy Code allows creditors to force debtors into bankruptcy under certain circumstances. Importantly, the debtor in question must be either a for-profit corporation or a person, but not an unincorporated farmer or family farmer. Creditors can initiate involuntary proceedings in …
When Can a Creditor Initiate an Involuntary Bankruptcy? Read More »
New York is home to a dizzying variety of private schools, so it’s common for debtors in New York bankruptcy whose children are enrolled in such institutions to ask whether they will be able to pay for their kids’ private school tuition. For those filing chapter 7, the answer ought to be fairly clear. Because …
There are times when filing New York bankruptcy isn’t a good idea, like when debtors only owe a couple thousand dollars, but it’s a much more difficult proposition advising debtors who can’t file. The Bankruptcy Code doesn’t offer relief for everyone in all circumstances, so it can help to discuss alternatives. But first, here are …
Medical costs are cited as one of the most frequent causes of New York bankruptcy, but there’s at least one study that’s delved into a specific type of health care costs: cancer. It’s an important topic because many types of cancer require long, expensive treatment before remission occurs. The study, which was conducted by the …
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