Bankruptcy Man vs Mortgantua appears in Maxinars Newsletter
Saturday, March 6th, 2010We’re pleased to share that Bankruptcy Man vs. Mortgantua – Part 6 recently appeared in the March 2010 issue of Maxinars Newsletter.
BankruptcyBill.usBankruptcy cartoons, culture and information for everyone
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We’re pleased to share that Bankruptcy Man vs. Mortgantua – Part 6 recently appeared in the March 2010 issue of Maxinars Newsletter.
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*In case you missed it, here are the previous BAPCPA Man vs Mortgantua cartoons: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.
*For additional information on mortgage cramdown, foreclosure and related mortgage and bankruptcy issues, have a look at the following blog posts:
Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)
Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
Special thanks to the following bankruptcy attorneys for their help with the technical aspects of the cartoon:
*WE DO CUSTOMIZED CARTOONS… Click here for more info.*
*Get your BAPCPA Man and Mortgantua T-shirts, Mugs, Cards and More!*
*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com or http://www.gideonkendall.com/blog. Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.
It’s time to vote for your favorite song submitted for…
Bankruptcy Bill’s Bankruptcy Song Contest!
(Click here for rules and prizes.)
1. “AMEND IT MY WAY” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California)
2. CABARET” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California) (Click song title or scroll down the page to see lyrics.)
3. “DON’T CRY FOR ME HOUSEHOLD FINANCE” by Judge Sheri Bluebond (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California)
4. “DEBTS IN WRONG PLACES” by Judge Alan S. Trust (United States Bankruptcy Judge, Eastern District of New York)
5. “‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE FILING” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))
6. “PHARAOH OBAMA – LET THE DEBTORS GO” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))
7. “THE BANKRUPTCY ABUSE SONG” by Mark Sippel, Esq. (Sippel & Carroll PLLC (Kingman, AZ))
8. “DEBT-FREE GIRL” by Craig Robins, Esq. (Woodbury, NY)
9. “BANKRUPTCY WIFE’S LAMENT” by Arlene Robins (Woodbury, NY)
HOW DO I VOTE? E-mail bill [@] bankruptcybill [.] us with your choice for favorite song. Feel free to include your second and third choices as well for which points will be awarded. (Update: The email address has been corrected to “.us” instead of “.com”. If you sent your vote to “.com,” then it was not received. We’re very sorry for any inconvenience.)
JUDGING CRITERIA: You’re voting based on the lyrics, not the tune. But you know what you like, so go with your gut.
VOTING DEADLINE: December 31, 2009 by 12:00 p.m.
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THANKS! Bankruptcy Bill would like to thank the below-listed parties for their support of the first-ever (to our knowledge) Bankruptcy Song Contest and for collectively making a donation to the National Consumer Law Center in the amount of $25 for each song submitted:

Click image to hear "Bankruptcy Lover" by Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts, the original country song about corporate bankruptcy!
Note: This site is best viewed using a Mozilla Firefox or Safari browser. If you are viewing this site using Internet Explorer, you may not be able to view items in the sidebar. Clicking on any page or post will cause sidebar items to appear.
*In case you missed it, here are the previous BAPCPA Man vs Mortgantua cartoons: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
*For additional information on mortgage cramdown, foreclosure and related mortgage and bankruptcy issues, have a look at the following blog posts:
Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)
Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
Special thanks to the following bankruptcy attorneys for their help with the technical aspects of the cartoon:
*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com or http://gideonkendall.com/blog. Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.
Now you can get your very own CUSTOMIZED e-Book of BAPCPA Man cartoons!

How it works:
Read on to see some sample pages and for pricing information, customization options and more… (more…)
Note: This site is best viewed using a Mozilla Firefox or Safari browser. If you are viewing this site using Internet Explorer, you may not be able to view items in the sidebar. Clicking on any page or post will cause sidebar items to appear.
Special thanks to the following bankruptcy attorneys for their help with the technical aspects of the cartoon:
For additional information on foreclosure and mortgage issues as they relate to bankruptcy, have a look at the following blog posts:
Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)
*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com or http://www.gideonkendall.com/blog. Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.
Note: This site is best viewed using a Mozilla Firefox or Safari browser. If you are viewing this site using Internet Explorer, you may not be able to view items in the sidebar. Clicking on any page or post will cause sidebar items to appear.
Like this cartoon? Want a customized version for your blog or to use as a greeting card? We’ll be doing a Christmas/Chanukah holiday cartoon as well. So get in touch now to place your order if you’d like a customized holiday cartoon image to share with your clients.
E-mail: bill @ bankruptcybill . us
(We’re just getting started with all the creative potential and possibilities. So stay tuned for more or feel free to contact us to discuss your own ideas.)
In the meanwhile, have a look below at the customized Thanksgiving cartoons we did for the bankruptcy law firms of Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV) and Allmand & Lee (Dallas, TX).


*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com or http://gideonkendall.com/blog. Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.
and the following blog-loving bankruptcy lawyers:
are pleased and excited to announce the first-ever…..
1. FIRST PRIZE: Announcement of the winning entry in a BAPCPA Man cartoon (which will include a cartoon drawing of the winner as one of the characters), plus a signed print of the cartoon.
2. SECOND PRIZE: A BAPCPA Man t-shirt (or other item from our fabulous catalog of BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill merchandise on Zazzle)
PLUS…
3. DONATION: Bankruptcy Bill and each of the above-listed sponsors will collectively make a donation to the National Consumer Law Center in the amount of $25 for each song submitted in this contest.*
Submission Deadline: Wednesday, December 9, 2009, 5:30 pm EST
How the contest works:
Comments: Contest is open to anyone and everyone. Songs must be original, i.e., written by the person(s) submitting. However, it doesn’t have to be new. It’s fine if you already wrote it 3 years ago while sitting through a deathly boring CLE presentation. Songs can be about anything and in any style, as long as they tie in to bankruptcy somehow. You’re more than welcome to indicate if the lyrics are intended for a particular tune or style of music, though it’s not necessary.
Intellectual Property: By sending us your submission, you’re of course giving us permission to post the song lyrics on the Bankruptcy Bill site. But don’t worry. Other than that, you keep all the intellectual property rights in the song.
*Contest Modifications: Since this is the first time we’ve tried something like this, we reserve the right to modify the rules or adapt appropriately using logic and common sense if there’s something we overlooked or that needs to be addressed. Also, if we receive some unexpectedly large number of submissions, we’re not going to bankrupt the sponsors/donors or overly tax their coffers. We’ll just cap it at some appropriate amount, probably work a reference into cartoon somewhere and just go with that groovy BAPCPA flow.
Why are we doing this? Because it’s fun and educational. The goal is to draw on the latent creativity out there in the bankruptcy world, come up with some good (or at least half-decent) songs, build on the liturgy of bankruptcy pop culture and have a good time with all of this along the way.
Questions? E-mail bill [/at/] bankruptcybill [/dot/] us
Inspiration: Have a listen to Bankruptcy Lover, the original country song about corporate bankruptcy. Click here for the lyrics. (For the record, Bankruptcy Lover is not eligible for this contest.)
Additional Inspiration (11.15.09): Check out this post by bankruptcy lawyer Craig Robins on his Long Island Bankruptcy Blog which includes an already existing bankruptcy song by Michael Silverstein of Bloomberg Financial Press on his website www.wallstreetpoet.com.

Friends of Bankruptcy Bill (FOBB) are experienced consumer bankruptcy lawyers willing to share their thoughts and answer bankruptcy questions on this site. Feel free to get in touch if interested in contributing as a FOBB.
Gregory A. Holbus, Esq. is a Green Bay, Wisconsin-based bankruptcy attorney licensed to practice in both Wisconsin and Michigan. To learn more about Greg, you can visit his website (www.holbuslaw.com) or his blog (wisconsinbankruptcy.blogspot.com).
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U.S. Supreme Court to decide Means Test Issue, In re: Lanning
Before I get to the heart of the story, allow me to give you a quick refresher about the Means Test and what it means for a bankruptcy petitioner.
To grossly over-simplify the Means Test, it is basically Congress’ attempt to create a mathematical formula to objectively determine how much money, if any, a debtor can afford to pay to creditors holding unsecured claims. It (Form B22) determines whether you qualify for a Chapter 7, in which all of your unsecured creditors are discharged. And if you don’t qualify for Chapter 7, the same form determines how much income is available to those creditors.
A number of statutory deficiencies exist which have given rise to disputes and some bizarre interpretations to several aspects of the Means Test, often resulting in gross inequities. One example is whether a Chapter 13 debtor can take deductions on the Means Test for payments on a secured debt which the debtor intends to surrender because the payments are contractually due at the time of filing. In re: Dionne, in the Eastern District of Wisconsin says they can. I feel awkward writing about that decision because for one thing – this decision is favorable to debtors, and I am a debtors’ counsel. Also, I have nothing but respect for the judge who rendered the decision.
But I respectfully disagree that a debtor should be allowed to deduct payments on a loan that the debtor knows full well they will not pay again in the future. Fortunately for me, (more…)
Just a quick FYI to let readers know that I’ve joined the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA).
I’m glad to be a member and look forward to learning the secret handshake if one exists. If it does, it would be great if someone out there could email me the protocol. Or perhaps send me a YouTube video so I can observe and practice? (I promise not to have it illustrated in a cartoon.)
Secret handshake or not, I look forward to meeting and connecting with fellow NACBA members.
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*Click here to see BAPCPA Man #7 – BAPCPA Man vs. Mortgantua – Part 1, and here for all previous BAPCPA Man cartoons, or here for all cartoons on the site relating to consumer bankruptcy.
More information on MORTGAGES, FORECLOSURE and LOAN/MORTGAGE MODIFICATION:
Here’s a nice “infographic” on the steps in the Foreclosure Process in Nevada made available in PDF format by the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. And if you’re just looking for bankruptcy information, here’s a helpful bankruptcy link.
Below are some useful posts from bankruptcy lawyer blogs on the topics of mortgages, foreclosure, loan modification and the Making Homes Affordable Program. (Go to the BK Lawyer Blogs page on this site to see a full state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyer blogs. And get in touch if you have a blog and don’t see it listed.)
George Haines, Esq. and David Krieger, Esq. (Haines & Krieger) (Las Vegas, NV)
Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
Craig D. Robins, Esq. – Long Island Bankruptcy Blog (Woodbury, NY)
Jonathan Ginsberg, Esq. – theBKLaw (Atlanta, GA)
Reed Allmand, Esq. (Allmand & Lee) – Reed’s Bankruptcy Attorney Blog (Dallas and Ft. Worth, TX)
*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com and gideonkendall.squarespace.com/journal. Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.
Note: If you are viewing this site using Internet Explorer, you may not be able to view items in the sidebar. Clicking on any page or post will cause sidebar items to appear.
*Click here for previous BAPCPA Man cartoons, or here for all cartoons on the site relating to consumer bankruptcy.
For a more in depth explanation of the automatic stay, have a look at the Wikipedia entry. Also see posts on the topics of automatic stay and debt collection by the following bankruptcy lawyers on their blogs:
Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)
Craig D. Robins, Esq. – Long Island Bankruptcy Blog (Woodbury, NY)
Reed Allmand, Esq. (Allmand & Lee) – Reed’s Bankruptcy Attorney Blog (Dallas and Ft. Worth, TX)
Click here for a state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyers with blogs.
*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com and gideonkendall.squarespace.com/journal. Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.
Note: If you are viewing this site using Internet Explorer, you may not be able to view items in the sidebar. Clicking on any page or post will cause sidebar items to appear.
*Click here for previous BAPCPA Man cartoons, or here for all cartoons on the site relating to consumer bankruptcy.
Below are some helpful posts from bankruptcy lawyer blogs on the topics of mortgages, foreclosure, loan modification and the Making Homes Affordable Program. Go to the BK Lawyer Blogs page on this site to see a full state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyer blogs. (And get in touch if you have a blog and don’t see it listed.)
Update 9.10.09: There’s a great piece on NPR about foreclosures and the black-box decision making process regarding loan modifications (”Major Banks Still Grappling with Foreclosure“). At one point, there’s a clip of reporter Chris Arnold in the Bank of America call center, listening over the shoulder of a call center rep who tells a homeowner they’re not eligible for a loan modification. Arnold questions the rep and receives a not so satisfying explanation. The issue is raised with the supervisors and it turns out the homeowner was in fact eligible for a loan modification. How frequently is this scenario replaying itself?
George Haines, Esq. and David Krieger, Esq. (Haines & Krieger) (Las Vegas, NV)
Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
Craig D. Robins, Esq. – Long Island Bankruptcy Blog (Woodbury, NY)
Jonathan Ginsberg, Esq. – theBKLaw (Atlanta, GA)
Reed Allmand, Esq. (Allmand & Lee) – Reed’s Bankruptcy Attorney Blog (Dallas and Ft. Worth, TX)
*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com and gideonkendall.squarespace.com/journal. Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.
Note: If you are viewing this site using Internet Explorer, you may not be able to view items in the sidebar. Clicking on any page or post will cause sidebar items to appear.
(Click image to see earlier sketch version of cartoon.)
*Correction: The cartoon previously referred incorrectly to a “Chapter 7 repayment plan.” Apologies for the confusion.
Below are some helpful posts from bankruptcy lawyer blogs on the topics of unemployment, median income and the means test. Go to the BK Lawyer Blogs page on this site to see a full state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyer blogs. (And get in touch if you have a blog and don’t see it listed.)
*Also, for anyone trying to figure out their median income, Best Case has a free on-line median income calculator for any state.
Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
Craig D. Robins, Esq. – Long Island Bankruptcy Blog (Woodbury, NY)
Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)
Jonathan Ginsberg, Esq. – theBKLaw (Atlanta, GA)
Reed Allmand, Esq. (Allmand & Lee) – Reed’s Bankruptcy Attorney Blog (Dallas and Ft. Worth, TX)
*Click here for previous BAPCPA Man cartoons, or here for all cartoons on the site relating to consumer bankruptcy.
*To see more of Gideon Kendall’s work go to www.gideonkendall.com and gideonkendall.squarespace.com/journal. Or order yourself a copy of Dino Pets, the wonderfully illustrated children’s book written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by BAPCPA Man’s favorite illustrator, Gideon Kendall.
Bankruptcy Billables is an overview of bankruptcy-relevant coverage and discussion from various law-related blogs.