Bankruptcy

If you are expecting to receive a tax refund in the near future, you need to understand how filing bankruptcy can affect that.  When you call me for your free initial consultation, please be sure to mention this, so that we can work together to protect your tax refund in your bankruptcy case. First, a […]

The cost for filing bankruptcy through my office involves two parts: the filing fee and the legal fee. At the present time, the court filing fee for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $335, and $310 for Chapter 13. These are the same whether it is an individual filing or a couple. The legal fee can vary depending on

If you have a life insurance policy and are considering a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you need to seek legal counsel to see how that policy would be affected. If the life insurance policy is an unmatured term policy, then it would not be affected by the filing of a bankruptcy petition.  Any periodic life insurance premium which

If someone has co-signed a debt of yours and you file for bankruptcy, your co-signer may be affected. That could be a parent, a sibling or friend whom you do not want to hurt. We need to consider the different impacts of the two main consumer bankruptcy chapters upon the co-signer. If you file in

Typically in a home purchase closing, the buyers sign a mortgage which gets recorded in the County Clerk’s Office, and the house is rarely sold without paying off the mortgage.  The recent unpublished New Jersey District Court opinion in Gianninoto v. Sywilok gives us a look at what can happen when the mortgage is not

In Chapter 13 cases, a confirmation hearing is a court hearing required by the Bankruptcy Code. Confirmation hearings are not held in Chapter 7 cases. The purpose of the confirmation hearing is to resolve any objection of the trustee, creditors and other parties to the debtor’s proposed Chapter 13 plan. If everyone is in agreement,

I receive many calls from people facing the foreclosure of their home. They want to know whether they will remain liable after the foreclosure to their mortgage lender for any part of the mortgage debt. For a period of 90 days after the sheriffs sale, the mortgage lender has the option of filing a lawsuit

Along with a college education often comes the debt that paid for it. It is not uncommon for graduates to find themselves in six figure debt, and sometimes with no employment opportunities, or in low paying jobs. It would then be logical that bankruptcy could be used to discharge student loans. WRONG! While bankruptcy is

Certain Chapter 13 filers may be able to get rid of a second mortgage or home equity line of credit (HELOC) (referred to as “lien stripping”).  With the real estate market going down over the past few years, some homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.  A Chapter 13 bankruptcy may

Shortly after a bankruptcy petition is filed, the court will appoint a trustee to the case.  Trustees are selected from a list maintained by the court and are usually experienced bankruptcy attorneys. The debtor will meet the trustee when s/he attends the meeting of creditors. It is the trustee’s job to question the debtor under oath