According to an article on the US Trustee website, random debtor audits, which were halted in January 2008 due to budgetary problems, will resume on May 12, 2008. The only change appears to be that instead of randomly auditing one out of each 250 cases filed, the UST will audit one out of each 1,000 […]

We’re often asked by new clients what we actually do for them. I thought I’d put a list together:

We let you answer your phone without your heart seizing with fear that it’s someone calling to collect a bill.
We give you room in your mailbox for birthday cards instead of bills.
We let your answering machine be […]

I’ve taken over a number of cases where a debtor prepared and filed the various bankruptcy documents without the help of an attorney–what is called filing pro se or pro per. Apart from the fact that the schedules generally have to be completely redone (the exemptions are usually wrong, debts are not listed, assets are […]

While traditionally, Maryland has not been the most homeowner-friendly state in terms of its foreclosure procedures, things have gotten far worse with the deepening of the mortgage crisis. According to State officials, Maryland has jumped from No. 40 to No 15 in foreclosures nationally. A recent article in The Washington Post summarizes the recommendations of […]

BusinessWeek published online (and will publish in its magazine) an amazing article, “Prisoners of Debt.” This major story talks about the increased selling and collection of debt discharged in Chapter 7 cases. A must read.
BusinessWeek has two companion articles: “Conveniently Not Updating,” about improper credit reporting of discharged debt, and “Whose Second Chance,” about improper […]

My friend, California State Bankruptcy Attorney Cathy Moran, wrote a recent blog titled, “To Tell the Truth,” talking about the information that is now required from clients to file under the new bankruptcy law (BAPCPA).
Cathy correctly notes that, “Calling for gobs of only marginally relevant information was one strategy that creditors included in the bankruptcy […]

During the third quarter of 2007, more than 635,000 foreclosure filings were reported nationwide. This works out to one foreclosure for every 196 households. The filings include everything from default notices to auction sale notices to actual bank repossessions.
According to Realtytrac, a foreclosure tracking service, “August and September were the two highest monthly foreclosure filing […]

Just about everyone, regardless of how much debt they have, can qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy (so long as they are eligible under the Means Test). But Chapter 13 bankruptcy is different. In a Chapter 13 case, you have to owe less than a certain amount of debt to qualify.

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On October 19, 2007, the Bankruptcy Court announced changes to Local Rules applying to Chapter 13 cases and to the form Chapter 13 Plan. These changes take effect on November 1, 2007, and are fairly significant. (The new/changed language is in italics):

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addthis_title = ‘Changes+to+Maryland%27s+Chapter+13+Local+Rules+and+Form+Plan’;
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I am often told by potential clients that they want to file a “medical bankruptcy.” Is there such a special type of bankruptcy designed to deal only with medical debts? No. But a recent blog I posted to the Bankruptcy Law Network discusses how someone with crushing medical bills can file for bankruptcy relief while, […]