If you’re having trouble making your mortgage payments, or other home-related debts, here’s a list of the many ways how bankruptcy can help. Here’s the List We’ve got a list of 15 separate ways that bankruptcy can either save your home now or protect it in the near future. Here are the first 7—the other 8 we’ll give you … Read More
Reducing Payments on Furniture and Other Secured Debt
You can lower your monthly payments, the interest rate, and amount you pay on furniture purchases, secured credit cards, and pawn loans. Our last 4 blog posts have been about Chapter 13 cramdown of vehicle loans. For most people filing a consumer bankruptcy case, their vehicle loan is their largest and most important personal property debt. But cramdown can also … Read More
Example of Vehicle Loan Cramdown
This example of Chapter 13 vehicle loan cramdown illustrates better than any list of rules how you can save money immediately and long-term. Our last 3 blog posts have been about Chapter 13 cramdown of a vehicle loan. Cramdown can reduce your loan’s monthly payments, its interest rate, and the total you pay for your vehicle. Often you end … Read More
Don’t Need to Pay Late Payments through Vehicle Loan Cramdown
With Chapter 13 vehicle loan cramdown, you don’t have to pay any late payments. And that’s on top of reducing your future monthly payments. Our last two blog posts have been about lowering monthly vehicle loan payments through Chapter 13 cramdown. This also often reduces the total that you pay on the loan until your vehicle is free and … Read More
Qualify for Cramdown of Your Vehicle Loan
You qualify for cramdown (reducing your monthly vehicle loan payment and total paid until you’re free and clear) mostly through good timing. Last week’s blog post was about lowering monthly vehicle loan payments through Chapter 13 cramdown. This also often reduces how much you end up paying on the loan, and often even reduces its interest rate. Cramdown usually … Read More
Keep Your Vehicle by Reducing Loan Payments through Cramdown
Chapter 7 reaffirmation requires you to make full monthly vehicle payments. Consider reducing loan payments through cramdown in Chapter 13. The last two blog posts have been about keeping your vehicle in a Chapter 7 case. Two weeks ago was about the benefits of reaffirming the vehicle’s loan. Last week was about possible ways of keeping the vehicle by … Read More
Keep Your Vehicle without Reaffirming Its Loan?
Can you keep your vehicle without signing a reaffirmation agreement and putting up with the risks of owing a debt after a future repossession? Last week we discussed keeping your vehicle in Chapter 7 by entering into a reaffirmation agreement with your vehicle lender. Through this agreement you exclude your vehicle loan from the discharge (legal write-off) of your debts. In … Read More
Reaffirm Your Vehicle Loan in Chapter 7
To keep your vehicle and be able to afford to pay for it, reaffirm your vehicle loan in Chapter 7 and discharge your other debts. A Vehicle Loan is a Secured Debts We started this series of blog posts on debts by introducing secured debts as follows: Each of your debts is either secured by something you own or it … Read More
Dealing with a Debt Not Listed in Your Bankruptcy Case
The consequence of a debt not listed in your bankruptcy case is you may still owe it afterwards. So how do you make sure to list every one? Several blog posts ago we introduced the law that debts “neither listed nor scheduled” risk not being forgiven in bankruptcy. Section 523(a)(3) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This follows the bankruptcy principle that debts … Read More
Dealing with a Debt Sold to a Collection Agency
You should list all your debts when you file bankruptcy, but what if one was sold to a collection agency without you knowing about it? Our blog post two weeks ago was about needing to list all your debts in a bankruptcy case in order to write them off. This is part of a series of blog posts about … Read More
Debts Included Because Creditor Learns about Your Bankruptcy
You should list all your debts when you file bankruptcy. But a debt may also get discharged if the creditor timely learns about your case. Last week’s blog post was about the importance of listing all debts in a bankruptcy case to write them off. Debts “neither listed nor scheduled” in the bankruptcy documents are not discharged (legally written … Read More
Debts Not Listed in Bankruptcy
You must list all your debts when you file bankruptcy. So don’t skip any on purpose. Plus debts not listed you could still owe afterwards. Supposed to List All Creditors You can’t pick and choose which debts to include in your bankruptcy case. The U.S. Bankruptcy Code says that the first duty of a bankruptcy debtor is to provide … Read More
Bankruptcy Discharges Debts from Non-Intoxicated Vehicle Accident
Bankruptcy discharges claims against you from a vehicle accident, even if you don’t know how much you owe. But not if you were intoxicated. Vehicle Accident Claims If you had a vehicle accident, you could owe many kinds of debts from it. You could be liable for the current and future medical bills, loss of wages, pain and suffering, … Read More
Student Loans that Cause Undue Hardship Can Be Discharged
Bankruptcy does discharge a student loan, but only if it meets a tough legal standard called undue hardship. Here’s what you need to prove. Criminal fines and restitution and child and spousal support are types of debts that bankruptcy essentially never discharges. Income taxes can be discharged but only after meeting certain conditions. We’ve covered these in our last … Read More
No Discharging Child or Spousal Support
Bankruptcy does not discharge child or spousal support. The rare exception: if the support debt is not a “domestic support obligation.” We’re in a series of blog posts about special kinds of debt which bankruptcy may not discharge—write off. So far we’ve covered criminal fines and restitution, and income taxes. Child and spousal support are more like criminal debts … Read More