Let’s be frank. If you have more than $10,000 unsecured debt, it may be better to use any stimulus monies to discharge all of your unsecured debt by filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy, rather than simply put it toward the interest that continues to accrue. If this is your best…
How do you feel about discharging student loan debt in bankruptcy? The American Bar Institute (ABI) Consumer Bankruptcy Committee conducted a poll on what changes would attendees like to make to student loan discharges that I found interesting: 10% Recommended no changes – leave it as it is 22% …
Today the American Bar Institute (ABI) Consumer Bankruptcy Committee presented an excellent webinar about the new bankruptcy bill pending in the House. Basically, the House would eliminate the existing Chapter 7 and 13, and replace them with a new Chapter 10 under the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020. While…
As the owner of a small bankruptcy law practice in Tampa, Florida, we were often thought of as the epicenter of the great recession and foreclosure crisis back in 2008-2012. One thing that always made a big impression on me, was the number of people who genuinely believed and tried…
Are you STILL having problems with your mortgage servicer after catching up with your mortgage while in a Chapter 13? Are you being charged a huge sum to catch up even after the bankruptcy is over? A mortgage servicer is required by federal law to perform an annual escrow analysis…
The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) assesses overpayments in any instance where it thinks it may have overpaid benefits. This most commonly occurs when a recipient doesn’t timely report a change in circumstances, such as income. In many cases, the overpayment may be caused by the SSA itself, when it fails…
I’m usually reluctant to talk much about pending bills recently introduced because so much can happen before a bill becomes a law. Remember that cartoon with the little bill walking from place to place? Wow, that dates me a bit. But odds are something along these lines will get passed…
This week I received an email from a borrower who believed that she didn’t have to make her private student loan payments due to COVID and the CARES Act. Not true. While many private lenders have indeed voluntarily agreed to forbearance of two to six months per a recent Wall…
Don’t forget to register and put tomorrow’s (9/1/20) TBBBA consumer Zoom lunch at noon on your calendar. An attendee link was blasted out to all Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association members. This month we have Ha Dao and Barbara Leon presenting: The Intersection of Bankruptcy and Estate Planning: How to…
The TBBBA is entering the Zoom age for the Consumer Lunches starting at Noon August 4 and continuing the first Tuesday of every month. The Zoom coordinates will be sent later in a TBBBA email blast. It’s bring your own lunch – but no commute! CLE credit. First up is:…