In a boon for debtors, a federal court recently interpreted Section 523(a)(6) very narrowly. Facts In Communitywide Federal Credit Union v. Laughlin, Mr. Laughlin purchased a new car, with an $18,000 loan from CFCU. Ms. Laughlin was awarded the car in their divorce. A short time thereafter, Ms. Laughlin returned the car to Mr. Laughlin,...Read More

New Jersey recently passed Florida as the state with the highest number of home mortgages at-risk for foreclosure. Although there are more mortgages in the Sunshine State that are delinquent overall, 11.7 percent of these loans are “seriously delinquent,” compared to 11.8 percent in New Jersey. New York is third with 9.1 percent. All three...Read More

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,...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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....Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More