One option for those who've gone through Bankruptcy and are looking to borrow again is the FHA Loan. Before the housing bubble burst in 2008 FHA loans were considered the choice for buyers with little credit or bad credit; or for those with low incomes. But since everyone's home value began falling - taking credit...Read More
Domestic support obligations are exempt from discharge in Bankruptcy and entitled to priority payment in a plan of reorganization. The tricky part is determining just what constitutes a "domestic support obligation" entitled to special treatment. Would a spouse's Attorneys' Fees be entitled to special treatment? Interest on unpaid sums? Court sanctions for unpaid support?Read More
The Bankruptcy Judge had the benefit of hearing the Debtor's testimony and deemed her credible: he knew her approach was wrong but thought she was sincere in her beliefs. The Appellate Court focused on the telltale signs that the Debtor had not been sincere and reasoned that it couldn't trust her as there were too...Read More
The Bankruptcy Court pries apart a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings brought by banks and servicers that claim to be entitled to collect mortgage payments from the Debtor while peering into the world of securitized mortgages - the process of bundling loans into trusts, slicing trusts into securities, and trading those securities on Wall...Read More
Recently I got an e-mail from the newly-formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). You remember the CFPB, right? No? That's alright. But you probably remember the agency's public face, now-Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. So, after coming out of the shoot a few years with the President's blessing and much fanfare, the CFPB has released...Read More
The Federal Reserve and Government forecasters agree: the Great Recession is over. But not for millions of Americans whose homes remain underwater thanks to the sub-prime mortgage scandal. Nor is it over for the millions more who lost their jobs and have only been able to secure part-time work with less pay and no benefits.Read More
When you file for bankruptcy you sign sworn schedules that itemize your assets. If you fail to disclose in full or fail to update your asset summary, you risk a creditor objecting to discharge on the basis of fraud. Claims that arise after the bankruptcy filing like future lawsuits are also assets of the Estate....Read More
When it comes to Bankruptcy, many Debtors don't know what they don’t know about real estate taxes. Confused? So were the District Courts until the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the issue in the case of In re LaMont, Opinion 13-1187 (January 7, 2014).Read More
This piece from the Wall Street Journal’s Real Time Economics site answers the question with charts galore! The short answer comes in 3 parts: 1) For working people, 2013 was more of the same slow, jobless recovery; 2) For high net-worth individuals and corporations it was a bonanza; and; 3) The housing sector underwent a...Read More
Priority disputes can be played out in Bankruptcy court. Take the case of In re Jones, in which Chapter 11 Debtors owned several pieces of property encumbered with mortgages cross-collateralized with other property of the Estate. That's when the trouble started...Read More
