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Bankruptcy filings were down 11% in 2011. Since 2006, the number of bankruptcy cases filed each year has grown. Last year, for the first time in several years, they fell nationally. There are a couple of reasons for this. The most optimistic perspective on these numbers is the…

When the curtain was pulled back on the mortgage industry a few years ago, one of the alarming surprises was to find what an out-sized role Mortgage Electronic Registration System, Inc (MERS) played in the home loan industry – not an illegal…

Historically, the upper floors of the Century Station building at 300 Fayetteville St. was bankruptcy land in Raleigh. The old second-empire building housed the court rooms, judge’s chambers, 341 hearings, the clerk of the bankruptcy court, and the Bankruptcy Administrator….

Here is a common set of facts: A potential client comes into our office. During the conversation we learn that the potential client owns assets that would be vulnerable to liquidation by a trustee in a chapter 7 case. Maybe the asset is $10,000 in a…

If you’ve spent much time listening to the news this week, you’ve probably heard about the settlement reached by 49 state attorneys general and the five largest mortgage providers arising from sloppy foreclosure procedures. And don’t worry, North Carolina wasn’t the lone state that…

A lot of factors are considered when helping a client choose what bankruptcy chapter to file. The New York Times published a story last week alleging that an unspoken factor considered by some bankruptcy attorneys is a client’s race. We’ll leave aside,…

This month, The New Yorker ran one of those articles that seemed a lot more common a year ago. In it, they described the phenomenon of simply walking away from real estate where the loan exceeds the value of the property. The…

Today’s Wall Street Journal had a story about Capital One continuing to collect on debt that had been discharged in bankruptcy cases. It’s not uncommon for a stray collection letter or two to make their way to a debtor’s mail…

Chapter 13 cases can last a long time, often up to five years. All kinds of things can happen during that time: jobs lost, jobs found, children come, children go, and unexpected medical expenses can arise. Most of life’s changes don’t affect a chapter…

We take our religious piety pretty seriously around here, so when a client expresses dismay over the ethical dilemmas that bankruptcy invites, we listen carefully. The last thing we want to do is shrug off the spiritual components of our clients’ financial…