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Did The Means Test Effectively End Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

The means test is essentially just another form to file on an already-long list, and has very little, if any, impact on your decision to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. The 2005 Bankruptcy reforms While most “reform” legislation is usually a proposed solution to an existing problem, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA, […]

Is the Credit Counseling Requirement a Legitimate Excuse to Avoid Filing?

The credit counseling requirement was one of the more talked-about Chapter 7 reforms in the last round of legislative updates. Now, almost a decade later, what does this prerequisite mean in practical terms? Does the average consumer filer even notice this requirement? Credit counseling background The main reason that legislators took up bankruptcy reform in […]

Consumer Debt Reaches Pre-Recession Levels

Household debt rose $241 billion in the third quarter of 2013. Analysts at the New York Fed say the 2.1 percent increase was the largest jump since 2007. The debt was primarily mortgage debt and new car loans, which is seen as a sign that consumers are gaining confidence in an improving economy. However, student-loan […]

Avoiding Consequences of Long-Term Unemployment through Bankruptcy

Sustained high unemployment has permanently changed our economy, and the middle class must change to keep up. This situation is not entirely new; for example, unemployment peaked at 10.8% in 1982. But then, the jobless could count on unemployment benefits and other government benefits to tide them over. The unemployment rate quickly went back down […]

Are Student Loans Dischargeable in Bankruptcy?

Student loans are very difficult, but not impossible, to discharge in bankruptcy. Prior to the 2005 bankruptcy reforms, student loans were segregated into two classes: private loans and federally-guaranteed loans. Private loans, mostly loans obtained to attend a private technical school or career-training school, were generally dischargeable in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy at any time. […]

Government Contractor Files for Bankruptcy; Cites $500M in Debt

In late 2013, a car-charger maker with a large government contract filed for bankruptcy. Phoenix-based Ecotality, Inc. sought Chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona, listing assets of $50 million and debts of $500 million, including a large contract with the Department of Energy. In court papers, Ecotality […]

Giving a Face to the Long-Term Unemployed

Florida has more long-term unemployed workers than almost any other state in the country. A recent report gave more identity to the long-term unemployed, or those who have been jobless for more than 26 weeks. In Florida, Alaska, California, Illinois, North Carolina, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island, between 46% and 60% of the jobless […]

Returning What You Never Had

Assume that you and your neighbor disagree over the ownership of a house, and you file a lawsuit to quiet title. Before the case is heard, the house burns down. What happens at the court date? Most courts have refused to enter a decision in this situation, explaining that the point is now moot because […]

Five Recoveries from Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy does not have to mean the end of the game. When you and your friends played “Monopoly,” declaring bankruptcy meant financial failure so intense that recovery was difficult or impossible. Some moneylenders and debt-buyers like to perpetuate that idea in the real world, to keep honest American families form declaring bankruptcy to eliminate debt […]