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The Importance of Disclosing Transfers
The bankruptcy forms require that the debtor list all property, other than property transferred in the ordinary course of business or financial affairs of the debtor, transferred either absolutely or as security within two years immediately preceding the commencement of…
U.S. Supreme Court Rules to Protect Debtor's Exemption
A recent case before the Supreme Court addressed the fear of many debtors contemplating bankruptcy: what if all my property is taken away from me and I have nothing left to live on? Personal bankruptcy offers debtors the opportunity to…
EDNC Case on Whether Unauthorized Charges are Consumer in Nature
Eastern District of North Carolina Chief Judge Randy Doub issued an opinion on February 20, 2014 in a case where the debtor attempted to argue that certain debts were primarily non-consumer in nature. The debtor argued that the debts were…
Auto Loan Delinquency Increasing at An Alarming Rate
More people holding auto loans are behind in their payments, leading some to question whether rising auto loan delinquency is an economic indicator and others to suggest poor lending practices are to blame. According to Bloomberg News, the number of…
Currency in the Bankruptcy Context
For most debtors who are filing bankruptcy, there is no benefit to holding currency versus holding funds in a bank account. All assets, regardless of form or location, must be disclosed on the bankruptcy schedules. In that sense, currency in…
Mel Gibson's Ex-Girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva , Files for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Oksana Grigorieva, best known as the ex-girlfriend of Mel Gibson and the mother of his youngest daughter, filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in California on January 6, 2014. On her bankruptcy petition, the Russian singer claimed to have only…
Refiling Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Chapter 13 cases can run up to five years. During that five year period it is very common for a debtor to experience a financial setback (e.g. job loss, health problems, vehicle repairs, domestic problems etc.) and be unable to…
Childcare Expenses and the Means Test in Bankruptcy
The purpose of the means test in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases is to determine the minimum amount that an above-median debtor has to pay back to general unsecured creditors (e.g. credit cards, medical bills, etc). The purpose of the means…
January 2014 Bankruptcy Statistics
January 2014 bankruptcy filings totaled 68,153 in the United States. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, this is a 13% decrease from the 78,602 bankruptcy filings in January 2013. In comparison to last month, January 2014 filings increased 3% from the…
Imputation of Fraud Between Spouses
If the benefits of bankruptcy are designed to flow to the “honest but unfortunate debtor”, what, then, of the dishonest debtor? We sometimes encounter creditors who believe that any breach of a contract is evidence of dishonesty on the debtor’s part, but…
