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What Happens to Second Homes in Bankruptcy?

Most of the time, a New York bankruptcy will involve at most only one property, but it’s not unusual for debtors to own more. I’ve touched on the topic of investment properties before, but the topic of second homes or vacation homes is a little different because it’s more personal. So, what happens to them? …

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3 Post-Petition Assets That Can Be Roped Into the Bankruptcy Estate

In most New York bankruptcy cases, the debtor’s assets that are placed into the bankruptcy estate for distribution consist only of what the debtor owns at the time of the bankruptcy filing, less exemptions. Debtors can keep most assets they obtain after filing, except if they file in chapter 13, then that’s a windfall they …

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New York’s Student Protection Unit Announces Closure of Debt Relief Provider

Just last week, I wrote about LegalZoom’s offer to help sign student debtors onto the federal government’s income-based repayment scheme, even though the process is meant to be done by debtors themselves for free. There were two points from that post: One was that LegalZoom might not be the usurper of traditional legal services as …

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Surrendering a Car to Avoid Bankruptcy Probably Won’t Work

Most of the time people want to keep their cars when they’re considering New York bankruptcy. Cars are frequently necessary for commuting, running errands, going on trips out of town, etc. However, sometimes people think that surrendering a vehicle to a lender extinguishes the debt as well. It doesn’t. The situation is similar to that …

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LegalZoom Charges $699 for Help With Completing Free Government Forms

It’s understandable for New York bankruptcy lawyers to cast a wary eye at LegalZoom, the Internet-based legal services company. Most media portrayals treat it as the innovative new business that disrupts the lawyer-dinosaurs, allowing everyday Americans to obtain cheap legal services without the help of an expensive licensed professional, including drafting wills and even preparing …

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Football Players Regularly File Bankruptcy

Some people feel discouraged from talking to a New York bankruptcy lawyer because they believe bankruptcy is something only irresponsible people do. That’s understandable, if misguided. Occasionally, however, the news provides opportunities to reassure people of the truth. For example, in April the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) published a paper researching “short-lived income …

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CFPB Finds Reverse Mortgage Advertisements Confusing and Misleading

A few months back I wrote that it was fair to allow the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to share its two cents about reverse mortgages. It was a rebuttal of sorts to a neutral explanation I had given previously. Recently, the CFPB authored a piece on the subject again, so now it’s a little …

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Corporate Rewards, Perks, Miles, and Gift Certificates in Bankruptcy

There was a time when businesses didn’t reward their customers with points, rewards, or whatever they call them, but nowadays the typical American with any amount of purchasing power knows how they work and has probably amassed them. The question is whether the trustee can claim that they’re assets in a New York bankruptcy—or more …

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State Actions Against Student Loan Debt Relief Scams Growing

New York has taken some steps to stop student loan debt relief scams, but other states are going further. Notably, the attorney general of Illinois, Lisa Madigan, has filed additional lawsuits against student loan debt relief companies. Madigan made the news by suing two such companies in the middle of last year. Now there are …

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Two Mortgages, One Lender, One Foreclosure

Elsewhere in the country there have been stories about foreclosure lawsuits filed by lenders against homeowners and … themselves. It sounds like a robo-signed document. What’s going on here? The homeowners owed the same bank two mortgages, and the lender has to sue itself to proceed with the foreclosure. It’s a bizarre—but not uncommon—situation, particularly …

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