Does filing Chapter 13 instead of Chapter 7 alleviate the requirement of the means test?
Subscribe via RSS
Los Angeles Bankruptcy Blog: Current issues, comments, questions and answers in bankruptcy law.
Category Archives: chapter 13
Are Student Loans Counted as Part of Chapter 13 Debt Limits?
An individual can file a Chapter 13 case if they have noncontingent, liquidated unsecured debts LESS than $336,900 and noncontingent, liquidate secured debts of LESS than $1,010,650. (these amounts are adjusted every few years) Student loan debt, as with ANY debt, factors into the debt limits for Chapter 13 under 11 USC 109(e). A client…
Attorneys Fees Awarded in Divorce: Are they Dischargeable?
Are attorney’s fees awarded in a divorce dischargeable in a bankruptcy case?
New Bankruptcy Mortgage Modification Dropped
The new bankruptcy mortgage modification plan has been, or is expected to shortly be, dropped from its agenda.
Debt Consolidation or Bankruptcy: Which is Better?
One of the most frequent questions bankruptcy attorneys are asked by potential clients is whether they should file bankruptcy, or use a debt consolidation company to make payments towards their debts. For those lucky debtors who qualify for Chapter 7 (which requires no repayment of debts but allows in most cases for discharge of all…
SB 61: Eliminate Mortgage Liens in Chapter 13
On January 6, 2009, Senator Dick Durbin (D, IL) introduced Senate Bill 61 called the “Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2009.” The bill has several provisions, which can be analyzed by following the above link, but the main purpose of the bill is to allow homeowners in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy…
Get things in writing and get receipts
If there’s one thing lawyers in general repeatedly see from their clients–in any field of law–it’s the lack of proof or evidence necessary to properly represent them or assist in solving their problems. This is as true for a contracts attorney whose client insists is the victim of a breach of an oral contract with…
How much debt do you need to go bankrupt?
A question I have been repeatedly asked over the years from my potential bankruptcy clients is: How much debt do they need before they can declare bankruptcy? I have found that this question has different intent and meaning to different people. For example, some people think that there actually is a minimum amount of debt…
Discharging consolidated debts in bankruptcy
Another frequent question I get from potential clients is whether debts that they are making payments on as part of a “debt consolidation” program are dischargeable in a bankruptcy case. In fact, I’ve had numerous people think that those aren’t even debts anymore, once they are in a repayment program, or that magically the 15…
Can You Only Bankrupt Certain Debts and Keep Others?
Whether you can discharge (bankrupt) specific debts and keep others is a question that over the years I get asked repeatedly. Actually, strangely enough, clients don’t ask it as a question. They state it as if it were completely possible. “I want to get rid of my large debts and keep the small ones”. After…