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 [...]
Surrending Your Vehicle in Bankruptcy
Most clients have only one asset of value that can be taken by a trustee in bankruptcy: their vehicle. The vehicle will be treated as non-exempt, meaning you will either have to surrender it or pay to keep it. Trustees require us to use the NADA Guides clean retail value, which may substantially higher than [...]
FL Supreme Court Permits Homeowners The “Wildcard” Exemption for Bankruptcy
The Florida Supreme Court ruled that homeowners who choose not to seek the Florida homestead exemption for their home on their bankruptcy petition are generally entitled to the benefit of the “wild card” exemption of $4,000.00 in its place. The decision impacts bankruptcy trustees who receive a percentage of payments received from debtors. The trustee [...]
Trends in Bankruptcy
In 2010, nearly all of my clients sought Chapter 7 bankruptcy to eliminate excessive debt and buy them more time to complete short sales and loan modifications. This year, we continue to see new clients walking in the door with tremendous amounts of credit card debt relative to their current monthly income. Regardless of the [...]