Liens on underwater junior mortgages survive chapter 7 New York bankruptcy, which means homeowners will need to keep paying them to prevent foreclosure. Often, the response is to file a chapter 13 case after the chapter 7 one to strip the lien, but there are reasons to be cautious about taking that course of action. …
Alternatives to Chapter 13 After Discharging an Underwater Mortgage Read More »
New York bankruptcy requires debtors to pay some creditors what they are owed before others. These are called “priority claims” or “priorities” in the Bankruptcy Code. In chapter 13, for instance, creditors with priority claims must be repaid in full. Consequently, it’s important for debtors to have an idea of what these kinds of claims …
Most of the time when the term “avoid” comes up in New York bankruptcy it’s used in the context of preferential transfers to creditors. That is, the debtor transfers money to a creditor he or she likes more than the others, such as a relative, and the trustee chooses to nullify (“avoid”) the transfer. The …
Last year, I discussed what happens to income tax refunds in New York bankruptcy, but that post doesn’t address specific concerns that chapter 13 debtors might have. Now that 2015 is here and people are looking through their tax forms (you are doing that, right?), it’s worthwhile to discuss the topic for a few reasons. …
What Happens to an Income Tax Refund in Chapter 13? Read More »
Nope, that’s not a typo. There is such a thing as a zero-percent chapter 13 plan. Although, it is a misnomer in that the debtor is actually going to make some payments on the plan. (Otherwise it would be absurd.) Consequently, a zero-percent plan isn’t the opposite of the more commonly known 100 percent chapter …
What Are the Benefits of a 0 Percent Chapter 13 Repayment Plan? Read More »
Make that two cases the U.S. Supreme Court will decide next year that might affect people filing New York bankruptcy. On December 12, 2014, the Court granted certiorari to petitioner Louis B. Bullard, whose chapter 13 repayment plan was denied confirmation. The other case the Court will hear is Bank of America v. Toledo-Cardona, which …
Supreme Court to Decide Whether Denied Chapter 13 Plans Can Be Appealed Read More »
Usually when bankruptcy lawyers discuss the benefits of successive New York bankruptcy filings, the “chapter 20” strategy comes up (less so the “reverse chapter 20“). Debtors who discharge an underwater junior mortgage in chapter 7 must continue to make the mortgage payments if they wish to avoid foreclosure. They can file a chapter 13 case …
Supreme Court to Decide Underwater Junior Mortgage Lien-Stripping Case Read More »
Last week I discussed an article in The New York Times‘ Dealbook blog that described banks that were failing to report bankruptcy debtors’ debts as discharged. A minor criticism that wasn’t worth raising at the time was the article’s melodramatic characterization of bankruptcy as taking a “heavy toll” on debtors. Actually, New York bankruptcy isn’t …
There’s sort of a joke in New York bankruptcy referred to as “chapter 20,” which isn’t a real part of the Bankruptcy Code but a chapter 13 filing that follows a chapter 7 discharge, mainly to strip a discharged junior mortgage lien. I’ve discussed “chapter 20” in the past—as well as why it’s not always …
Two Situations in Which ‘Reverse Chapter 20 Bankruptcy’ Is Possible Read More »
Whenever people looking into New York bankruptcy hear about the median family income for their state, they usually think that it has something to do with chapter 7. Generally, this hunch is correct. Petitioners with incomes above the state median, after adjusting for family size, will have to take the means test. If they fail …
How State Median Family Income Affects Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Read More »
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