BankruptcyBill.us

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Bankruptcy Billables is an overview of bankruptcy-relevant coverage and discussion from various law-related blogs.

Holding a J.D. and an International Affairs M.A. from Marquette University, Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) is an attorney licensed in Wisconsin and New York.  He speaks Japanese and focuses on comparative and international law, as well as international business.

Above the Law

• Supreme Court Tackles Student Loan Debt
• Breaking: Ninth Circuit Stiffs Anna Nicole Smith’s Estate

Going Concern

• Accounting News Roundup: Dodd Requests Investigation of Lehman “Accounting Manipulation”; Ernst & Young Makes Case to Audit Committee Members; House Passes Health Care Reform | 03.22.10
• Ernst & Young Looking at More Civil and Criminal Liability for Lehman Failure
• Ernst & Young: Talking Points on Lehman Brothers

Credit Slips

• Ambac & the Safe Harbors
• Credit Bidding
• Today’s Consumers Prefer Chapter 7 Bankruptcy 3 to 1
• Consumer Protection & Bank Soundness
• The Financial Stability Oversight Council
• Financial Consumer Protection—The Last Thing We Need Is Federal Banking Oversight
• Debt and the People, Part II: The Hot…and Concluding Disquietudes [Read Part I here]

WSJ Bankruptcy Beat

• Trustee Slams Dykstra’s Bid to Exit Bankruptcy
• The Daily Docket: Bankruptcy for Ambac?
• The Daily Docket: Lehman Seeks Investment Partner
• Salon Files for Bankruptcy on Eve of Owner’s Trial
• Chrysler Seeks American Motors Retirees
• The Daily Docket: VP Warned Lehman Execs
• Hecker Accused of Ransacking Family’s Trust Funds
• Visteon Shares Soar on…Well, Anyway, They Soar
• Maker of Green Products Seeks to Recycle Its Debt
• The Daily Docket: Bankruptcy for Blockbuster?

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BLT (Bankruptcy Lawyer Topics) is a periodic review and comparison of consumer bankruptcy topics being covered on bankruptcy lawyer blogs.

Holding a J.D. and an International Affairs M.A. from Marquette University, Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) is an attorney licensed in Wisconsin and very soon in New York (January 13, 2010!).  He speaks Japanese and focuses on comparative and international law, as well as international business.

• Click on BK Lawyer Blogs for a state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyers with their own blogs.
• Have a blog or know a good blog post you think should be included? Or a suggestion for a future BLT theme?  Send an e-mail to BLT [at] bankruptcybill [dot] us with the link.
• Suggestion to bankruptcy lawyers with blogs: Make sure to include a “Search” function somewhere on your blog.  It makes it easier to find topical posts on your blog and increases the likelihood that a post from your blog will be included in BLT.

GENERAL

Bankruptcy Case Blog – St John’s University Law School

• Means Test Does Not Apply to Individual Chapter 11 Cases

Bankruptcy Law Network

• What is “Median family income” and why do I care? One of a series
• Should My Schedule I Income Always Match my Means Test Income Numbers?

ALABAMA

Collins & Hancock – Alabama Bankruptcy Blog (Cullman, AL)

• Do I Qualify to File a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Alabama under the “New” Bankruptcy Laws?

***SEE MORE BLOG POSTS FROM BANKRUPTCY LAWYERS AROUND THE U.S.*** (more…)

BLT (Bankruptcy Lawyer Topics) is a periodic review and comparison of  consumer bankruptcy topics being covered on bankruptcy lawyer blogs.

Holding a J.D. and an International Affairs M.A. from Marquette University, Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) is a licensed attorney in Wisconsin and soon in New York (January 13, 2010!).  He speaks Japanese and focuses on comparative and international law, as well as international business.

• Click on BK Lawyer Blogs for a state-by-state list of bankruptcy lawyers with their own blogs.
• Have a blog or know a good blog post you think should be included? Or a suggestion for a future BLT theme?  Send an e-mail to BLT [at] bankruptcybill [dot] us with the link.
• Suggestion to bankruptcy lawyers with blogs: Make sure to include a “Search” function somewhere on your blog.  It makes it easier to find topical posts on your blog and increases the likelihood that a post from your blog will be included in BLT.

GENERAL

National Bankruptcy Forum

• Why Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Has Your Second Mortgage Lender Feeling “Undersecured”

Bankruptcy Law Network

• No Modification for You!

Consumer Law & Policy Blog

• HAMP Homeowners Stuck in Limbo

ALABAMA

Watts Law Group, P.C. and M. Stan Herring, P.C. – Alabama Consumer Law Blog (Birmingham, AL)

• Washington Post Article about DC Lawyer Writes about Foreclosure Defenses
• A Tragic Tale of a Mortgage Loan That Should Never Have Been And the Devastation It Caused a Family

***SEE MORE BLOG POSTS FROM BANKRUPTCY LAWYERS AROUND THE U.S.*** (more…)

It’s time to vote for your favorite song submitted for…

Bankruptcy Bill’s Bankruptcy Song Contest!
(Click here for rules and prizes.)

THE BANKRUPTCY SONG ENTRIES (click here to see lyrics):

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)

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VOTING PROCESS

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:

• Bruce Weiner (Rosenberg Musso & Weiner) – NYBankruptcyNet (Brooklyn, NY)
• George Haines & David Krieger (Haines & Krieger) (Las Vegas, NV)
• Russell A. Demott – Charleston Bankruptcy Blog (Charleston, SC)
• Nancy Rapoport (nancyrapoport.blogspot.com), the Gordon Silver Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law (UNLV)

Click image to hear "Bankruptcy Lover" by Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts, the original country song about corporate bankruptcy!

And now without further ado, here are the songs submitted….

(more…)

"So I says to Russ..."

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.

Russell A. DeMott, Esq. is a Charleston, SC-based bankruptcy attorney with over 14 years of experience representing debtors in wide range of bankruptcy matters.  Originally from Michigan, he is licensed to practice in both South Carolina and Michigan.  To learn more about Russ, you can visit his website (www.scbankruptcyattorney.com) or his blog (www.scbankruptcyattorney.com/blog) and also find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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Russell A. DeMott, Esq.

Filing Bankruptcy to Surrender Assets (Sometimes it’s best)

When evaluating your financial situation, don’t let your emotions get in the way.  Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be the right solution, especially if you have assets with no equity.

I recently met a very distressed client.  He had three houses that he had been trying to keep for over two years.  Two of the properties were worth over $400,000 each.  One was worth about $200,000.   However, on each of the properties, the mortgage balances far exceeded the value.  The client had over a million dollars in property, but he owed far more than that.

As we discussed his financial goals and ability to pay his debts, I explained to him that the calculator on my desk was worth more than all three of these properties combined.  He looked puzzled.  After I explained that the calculator was worth something–at least a dollar–and that I owned it free and clear of any liens, I could see that he finally understood.  He also understood that the house payments he’d been paying were nothing more than rent.  It would be years and years before he even got to the break even point with the properties.

Photo by Michael Mulligan

He had been struggling for years to keep the properties.  He’d tried the HAMP (“Home Affordable Modification Program”), he’d tried negotiating, and he’d written letters.  All this was to no avail.  He was emotionally exhausted.  My recommendation was that he file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and surrender the properties.

He left relieved.  He looked like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.  He understood that he couldn’t go on like this and was glad he took time to learn that the bankruptcy laws could give him a fresh start.

Keep in mind that the value of your property is in the equity (fair market value less what you owe on it in mortgages and other liens).  If you have no equity and you can’t afford the monthly payments, you need to take a hard look at just why you are trying to keep these properties.  Think with your head and not your heart.  And keep focused on what’s really important in life.

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)

• The Means Test and the Unemployment Trap

Craig D. Robins, Esq. – Long Island Bankruptcy Blog (Woodbury, NY)

• The Means Test is Often the Key to a Successful Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case
• Long Island Economy: Jobs Down; Unemployment Up; Bankruptcy Up

Haines & Krieger (Las Vegas, NV)

• The “Means Test” and the Median Income for Nevada

Jonathan Ginsberg, Esq. – theBKLaw (Atlanta, GA)

• Chapter 7 and Middle Class Debtors
• How are Year End Bonuses Treated in a Median Income Test Calculation?

Reed Allmand, Esq. (Allmand & Lee) – Reed’s Bankruptcy Attorney Blog (Dallas and Ft. Worth, TX)

• Facing a Job Loss? Don’t Panic!
• Do You Have the Means to File Chapter 7?

*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.