When people need to reorganize and repay their debts, they turn to Chapter 13. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy allows people to catch up on house or car payments, and is a consolidation of all personal debts. Sometimes, people have so much debt that they can’t qualify
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New State Median Incomes for Bankruptcy Means Test as of April 1, 2014—What Does That Mean?
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the new State Median Incomes to be used with the Bankruptcy Means test. This figure is based on the size of your family and where you live. In general, if your family is below the median, you would
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Questions to Ask as You Interview a Lawyer for your Bankruptcy Case
When you are trying to decide who to hire to be your attorney for a bankruptcy case, as much as you are trying to figure out what to do, you are trying to see if the lawyer will be the right one for you. Just
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Watch out for Bankruptcy Petition Preparers – They are not Lawyers
The Bankruptcy law does allow non-lawyers to help people file for bankruptcy protection on their own. They are called “Petition Preparers” and there’s a whole section of the Bankruptcy Code devoted to them. But, just because they are out there, does not mean that they
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Illinois Foreclosure Help—Talk to a Lawyer Before Filing an Answer in Court!
During the last few years of the “housing crisis”, I’ve seen many people whose houses are in foreclosure. They want to save their house. They get the “court papers”- the Complaint for Foreclosure. So they go to court and try to figure out what to
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Be Careful if you decide to Short-Sell Your house in 2014! Tax Break on Homeowner Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Expired.
Since 2007, when the housing market crashed, Congress created an exception to the normal rule. The normal rule is that if a mortgage lender forgives some of the debt on your house from a short sale or “deed in lieu of foreclosure”, you, the one
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When to Lift the Bankruptcy Stay in Family Law and Divorce Cases
Many times, when people are getting divorced, they are also having debt issues, and possibly bankruptcy may follow. I wrote about the issues that come up when deciding about filing for bankruptcy and divorce in my article: Bankruptcy and Divorce- Getting Through the Maze. But,
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Same-Sex Couples Who are Legally Married Can Now File Bankruptcy Together- How Does This Impact Means Test?
In the wake of the recent US Supreme Court decision ensuring equal rights for same-sex couples, the Justice Department has issued new rules to allow them to file a joint Bankruptcy case if they are legally married. According to a Wall Street Journal article, President Obama’s
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What to do if you Get at 1099-C From a Mortgage Company After Foreclosure and Bankruptcy?
You did everything right. You needed to give up your house because it was under water, and couldn’t short sell it. So, you filed bankruptcy, and let the house get foreclosed on. So, as a result of the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you can’t be sued
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Bankruptcy Law Chicago—On the Move!
The big day is here—and I’m not talking about the Super Bowl! Bankruptcy Law Chicago’s main downtown office is moving! We aren’t moving across town, or even down the street… We are moving down the hall. Now, why am I writing about this, not a
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