It can be risky to reaffirm a mortgage in a bankruptcy, particularly when the property is underwater (worth less than what is owed), or you may need to move and sell quickly. A reaffirmation agreement puts you back on the hook to pay for the full amount of the mortgage,…
I just found an eye opening video by Gary Fraley, a certified bankruptcy attorney in California, on why debt relief companies should be avoided! Watch the video – it’s short, to the point, and there’s a cool saddle in the back ground — looks like a former Texas transplant to…
Courts are divided on this issue. The answer may matter as to whether a debtor in bankruptcy must pass the means test. The federal Bankruptcy Code defines consumer debt as debt incurred by an individual “primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose.” … The court may classify student loans as either consumer debt or non-consumer debt. Some courts, like…
The FCRA requires that “[w]henever a consumer reporting agency prepares a consumer report it shall follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates.” 15 U.S.C. Section 1681e(b). That’s a high burden “maximum possible accuracy”! And it is not being…
Filing bankruptcy for small businesses just got a whole lot easier! The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 takes effect on February 19, 2020. Some of the new features are that it adds a new subchapter V to Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code which is good for small business…
Orlando Bankruptcy Judge Jennemann’s ruling to discharge taxes was just affirmed in Mass. Dept. of Rev. v. Shek, Case #18-14922 (11th Cir. Jan. 23, 2020). Several Circuits around the country including the 1st, 5th and 10th hold that tax debts for late filed returns can never be discharged. The 11th…
Are you looking down the barrel of an arbitration clause in your consumer/creditor agreement? I’ve posted before (Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Contracts – How to Avoid Being Thrown out of Court) on some local case law here in Florida to help avoid arbitration clauses – but here’s a new case…
This is a pretty cool map that shows the southeastern U.S. as ground zero for the student loan crisis. Most all of Florida shows this to be a High, Very High or Extremely High debt level according to this map. I’m glad our bankruptcy court for the Middle District of…
On Friday, August 23, 2019 President Trump signed H.R. 2938, the “Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need Act of 2019” or the “HAVEN Act,” into law. HAVEN Act excludes from the calculation of monthly income, for purposes of the Bankruptcy Code’s means test, certain benefits paid by the Department of…
Rogers v. Rogers, 12 So.3d 288 stands for the general proposition that student loan debt incurred during the marriage is a marital liability. See, e.g. Smith, 934 So.2d 636, at 641; Adams v. Cook, 969 So.2d 1185, 1187 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007); Banton v. Parker-Banton, 756 So.2d 155, 156 (Fla.…