New York Bankruptcy Lawyer Archives - Page 23 of 55 - Bankruptcy Attorney in Brooklyn, New York

U.S. Supreme Court: Bad-Debt Buyers Are Not Debt Collectors Under the FDCPA

Bankruptcy, Creditors, Debt / By Matt Leichter

A few months ago I alerted readers to a case before the U.S. Supreme Court addressing whether the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to buyers of defaulted debts. The FDCPA offers debtors legal options for resolving disputes with debt collectors. In Henson v. Santander, the Court unanimously sided with the debt-buyers, closing off …

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Can a Hospital Deny Treatment to Bankrupt Patients?

Bankruptcy, Debt / By Matt Leichter

Although there’s plenty of good evidence that the ACA reduced medical bankruptcy, it doesn’t necessarily answer another question debtors might have: whether they can be denied treatment for filing bankruptcy. The short answer for emergency room visits is no, which I’ll discuss, but in other cases the answer might be yes. For emergency care, debtors …

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How to Keep Your Pets in New York Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Exemptions, Means Test / By Matt Leichter

More than two-thirds of American households have pets, and sometimes they run into financial difficulties. For the most part, though, New York bankruptcy protects debtors’ pets, but there are additional considerations that should assuage pet owners. New York exempts pets. Section 5205(a)(4) of the New York Civil Practice and Law Rules exempts domestic animals from …

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What Are ‘Special Circumstances’ in the Means Test?

Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Means Test / By Matt Leichter

A while back I spent several posts discussing the means test in a chapter 7 New York bankruptcy. If debtors’ incomes are above the median family’s for their state, they must take the means test. Sometimes they fail it, but the Bankruptcy Code allows debtors an out: “special circumstances” that reduce their current monthly incomes …

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How Does the ‘Bankruptcy Flag’ Affect Credit Scores?

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy / By Matt Leichter

One of the most common questions a New York bankruptcy lawyer hears is: How does bankruptcy affect credit scores? The best response is that credit scores are trivial compared to debtors’ financial problems. Bankruptcy is about accepting sunk costs of bad debt, even if it’s triggered by unfair circumstances such as a job loss or …

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Household Debt Returns to Prerecession Levels! … So What?

Bankruptcy, Debt / By Matt Leichter

The New York Times Dealbook blog reported that household debt has reached what appears to be an ominous milestone: As of the first quarter of 2017, American households now owe about $12.7 trillion, equal to what they owed in the third quarter of 2008—the previous peak before panic gripped the financial sector. So should New …

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U.S. Supreme Court: Bad Proofs of Claim Do Not Violate the FDCPA

Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Creditors / By Matt Leichter

A few months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court chose to hear a case deciding whether a chapter 13 bankruptcy debtor could sue a debt collector for violating the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) for filing a proof of claim on an expired debt. For New York bankruptcy debtors, the answer already is no, but …

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Two Reasons to Incorporate Before a Business Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy, Business Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Debt, Trustee / By Matt Leichter

Debtors operating sole proprietorships can encounter disadvantages in a chapter 7 New York business bankruptcy as compared to more common no-asset, low-income, non-business debtors in the same chapter. They both face chapter 7’s income thresholds, yet non-business debtors need not worry whether a trustee will put a stop to their incomes or sell the assets …

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How Much Did the ACA Reduce Medical Bankruptcies?

Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Debt, Means Test / By Matt Leichter

Before the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (ACA), which Congress passed in 2010, medical bankruptcy was alarmingly common. Because many Americans could not afford health insurance, if they suffered an injury or were diagnosed with a serious illness, then they could face very large, unpayable bills. It doesn’t help that the U.S. has one of …

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Beware Grace Periods, Debtors

Bankruptcy, Creditors, Debt, Foreclosure, Mortgage / By Matt Leichter

Too often, debtors see grace periods offered by lenders as free benefits. “Grace” makes it sound so innocent. However, debtors who routinely rely on grace periods when making payments will find themselves facing financial difficulties that might lead to bankruptcy. The reason is that although creditors offer grace periods to debtors, they also use them …

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