Dieppa Law BlogBankruptcy
Social Security Not to be Included in Disposable Income for Bankruptcy Plan
The 8th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel recently ruled that Chapter 13 bankruptcy filers do not have to include social security from consideration as disposable income. The law has always allowed a debtor to voluntarily use social security payments to fund a repayment plan, but a bankruptcy trustee may not object where the debtors fail to apply these funds [...]
Bankruptcy’s 90 Day Rule
Most people filing for bankruptcy are still using their credit cards or have open account limits. I always warn the those clients about the rule that allows a trustee in bankruptcy to recover payments the debtor made on legitimate debts if the payments were made in the 90 day period before filing. Credit card companies [...]
Is Chapter 13 Worth The Pain?
Most of my clients dread being told they must file Chapter 13 and are stuck being in bankruptcy court for five years. A small percentage of them realize the substantial benefits of Chapter 13. In particular, the ability to modify or “cram down” a mortgage on an investment property and to strip away liens on [...]
Chapter 13 or Chapter 7, Which is Best for You?
While some individuals will have no choice but to file Ch. 13 under the post-2005 bankruptcy law, others will have to make a choice between the two types of bankruptcy: Chapter 13 or Chapter 7. A typical scenario is a single income earner who must choose whether they want to try and save their home [...]
Negotiating with The Ch. 7 Bankruptcy Trustee
When an individual files a bankruptcy petition, they frequently are “over exempt” with respects to their assets, meaning they have more assets than they have protections under the state statutes. For example, the state of Florida gives each person a $1,000 auto exemption. The value of an auto exceeding $1,000 is over exempt. Typically, the [...]