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What is an Emergency Bankruptcy Filing and When is an Emergency Filing a Good Idea?
Here’s a common problem a bankruptcy attorney encounters regularly: A potential client comes in and desperately needs relief from her debts, but is also losing 25% of her paycheck to a creditor who received a judgment against her and who’s now garnishing her wages. She wants to file bankruptcy, but she can’t bear another garnishment […]
Do I Have to Pay My HOA Dues After I file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?
While the idea of a Homeowners’ Association (HOA) doesn’t appeal to everyone, for some folks in the Denver metro Area, especially in suburbs like Highlands Ranch and Parker, these associations help ensure every house and yard in a neighborhood is kept up to the community’s standard, and keep up common areas such as community parks […]
What to Do if You Can’t Make Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Payment – Part 2
Filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy can often be the perfect solution to your debt issues, especially if you’re way behind on mortgage or auto loan payments, or if you need to protect some piece of property (such as a home with significant equity) that you might lose if you filed the more simple, “straight” chapter […]
What is a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Discharge?
There’s a pretty simple short answer to this one: The chapter 7 discharge is the reason you file chapter 7 bankruptcy in the first place. The discharge is actually a court order doing two separate, but related things: 1) Giving you complete forgiveness of any dischargeable debt you owed to any person, business, or government […]
Supreme Court Sets a High Bar for Drug-related Immigrant Deportations
Imagine this scenario: You’re a 19 year old college student and resident of the Denver Metro area. Your family immigrated to the U.S. several years ago, and while you are a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., you are not yet a citizen of this country. One Friday night at a house party some friends […]
Supreme Court Disallows Lien-stripping in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cases
More on this later, but for now, I wanted to share the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest big bankruptcy decision, Bank of America v. Caulkett, issued by the Court today. The decision prohibits debtors from “stripping” their “wholly unsecured liens in chapter 7 bankruptcy cases – something which had been very rarely allowed by bankruptcy courts anyway, and […]
What is a “No Asset” Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case?
When you file for bankruptcy protection under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, you have to tell the court and your trustee about all property you own. You list all “real property” (your home if you own it; your rental property; land, etc.) on Schedule A of your bankruptcy schedules, and all “personal property” (everything […]
What to Do if You Can’t Make Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Payment – Part I
Unless there’s a good reason for doing otherwise, it’s very important to make your chapter 13 bankruptcy payment each month. Section 1307 of the Bankruptcy Code allows for dismissal of a bankruptcy case for a “material default by the debtor with respect to a term of a confirmed plan.” The biggest “term” of your chapter […]
What is a Meeting of Creditors and Why do I Have to Go?
Bankruptcy can be a life saver to someone who is drowning in debt, but to take the plunge and file a chapter 7 or chapter 13 takes work and effort from both you and your attorney. One crucial requirement with which every debtor in bankruptcy must comply is attending his or her Section 341(a) meeting […]
Supreme Court Allows for Debtor Refunds in Converted Cases
Picture this scenario: You’re a Colorado homeowner fighting to save your home from foreclosure, paying several hundred dollars each month to a chapter 13 trustee to get caught up on your mortgage. Through no fault of your own, you lose your job and must let go of your home. You see your bankruptcy attorney about […]