If you are behind on child or spousal support, Chapter 13 is better because it stops collection of this unpaid support. Chapter 7 doesn’t. Last week we discussed situations in which Chapter 7 would help if you’re behind on child or spousal support payments. We made clear that Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” provides only limited help. Mostly it gives you relief … Read More
Chapter 7 and Unpaid Child or Spousal Support
If you are behind on child or spousal support, Chapter 7 writes off all or most of your other debts so that you can catch up on your support. If you are behind on child or spousal support payments Chapter 7 may or may not be a good solution. Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” is the most common type … Read More
An Income Tax Chapter 13 Plan
An income tax chapter 13 plan lets you to pay the IRS whatever you can afford, avoid some or all penalties, and stop interest from accruing. Today we put the facts of last week’s blog post into a Chapter 13 plan, showing how it actually works. You’ll see how Chapter 13 saves you money and avoids stress as you … Read More
Income Tax Penalties and Interest in Chapter 13
Chapter 13 can save you money with both already accrued and ongoing income tax penalties and interest. So you pay less and finish faster. Last week we got into the advantages of paying priority income taxes through a Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” case. Those are the usually-recent income taxes which cannot be written off (“discharged”) in bankruptcy. Today … Read More
Pay Income Tax Debts through Chapter 13
One of the smartest ways to pay your priority income tax debts—ones that can’t be discharged, written off—is through Chapter 13. Last week we discussed the advantages of paying priority debts through a Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” case. We referred to recent income taxes as one of the most important kinds of priority debt. Today we show how … Read More
Pay Priority Debts through Chapter 13
One of the smartest ways to pay your priority debts—including recent income taxes or child/spousal support arrearage—is through Chapter 13. Priority Debts under No-Asset and Asset Chapter 7 Our last two blog posts described how Chapter 7 can sometimes be a sensible way of dealing with priority debts. (Those are ones you can’t “discharge”—legally write off–the most common being … Read More
Priority Debts in an Asset Case
If you have a Chapter 7 asset case, your bankruptcy trustee collects and sells your asset and pays your priority debt with the proceeds. Our last blog post was about what happens to priority debts in a no-asset Chapter 7 case. Most consumer “straight bankruptcy” Chapter 7 cases are no-asset ones. This means that the bankruptcy trustee does not … Read More
Priority Debts in a No-Asset Case
In a Chapter 7 no-asset bankruptcy case, the trustee collects nothing from you and pays nothing on your debts, including your priority ones. Most Chapter 7 Cases Are No-Asset Cases Chapter 7—“straight bankruptcy”—is the most common type of consumer bankruptcy case. They are generally the most straightforward, lasting about 4 months start to finish. Usually everything you own is … Read More
Priority Debts in Bankruptcy
In bankruptcy some debts are treated much, much better than others. Priority debts are treated much better in various important ways. Debts Are Different So the Law Recognizes Some Differences The law does not treat all debts the same. That’s because you have different kinds of creditors that you owe for very different reasons. The law tries to be … Read More
Challenged Co-Signed Debt
If you have a co-signed debt, your discharge of that debt may be challenged by either the cosigner or the underlying creditor. Last week we discussed obligations on co-signed debts, both to the joint creditor and to your co-signer. In that discussion we assumed that both those obligations could be discharged (written off) in bankruptcy. But what if the … Read More
Co-Signed Debt
If you have a co-signed debt, you’re concerned not just about the joint debt, but also about your separate liability to your con-signer. If you have a co-signed debt you tend to be more concerned about one of two sets of problems. You’re either mostly worried about the other co-signer, or about the creditor you’re both owe on the … Read More
More Resolving Mortgage Accounting Disputes
Chapter 13 gives you a good way to resolve accounting disputes about a lender’s additional fees and charges, and whether you’ve cured the default. Last week we described a Chapter 13 procedure to force mortgage lenders to resolve mortgage accounting disputes. This procedure focuses on changes to the monthly mortgage payment amount during the case. These are often just … Read More
Resolve Mortgage Accounting Disputes
It’s often hard to get straight answers from your lender about the right monthly payment amount. Here’s one way to resolve mortgage accounting disputes. Catching Up on Your Mortgage over Time A Chapter 13 case gives you the power to catch up on your home mortgage(s) over an extended period. This “adjustment of debts” type of bankruptcy can give … Read More
Bankruptcy Buys Time to Sell Your Home
Chapter 7, in the right situations, buys time to sell your home. It may buy only a couple of crucial months, or sometimes much longer. Our last several blog posts have been about using bankruptcy to either prevent various kinds of liens hitting your home or deal with those liens if they happen. For example, in the last few … Read More
Bankruptcy Protects You from Your Homeowners’ Association
Homeowners’ association debts are dangerous. Chapter 7 may help, but Chapter 13 protects you better by giving you lots of time to catch up. Filing bankruptcy gives you limited, but potentially very useful protection from your homeowners’ association liens and debts. A Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” filing could especially help. Your Homeowners’ Association Is a Particularly Dangerous Creditor … Read More