Blog Posts in 2011
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Posted on Sep 13, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
If you are knee deep in overwhelming debt and heading straight towards bankruptcy, hold on your breath and think twice as other alternatives are there which can help you to pay down your debts faster, ...
Continue reading "Does Debt Settlement Trump Bankruptcy?" »
Posted on Jun 1, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
I wanted to write something about what makes those who procrastinate file bankruptcy. First of all, procrastination and bankruptcy often go hand in hand. The unknown is scary and making a move during ...
Continue reading "What Causes an Emergency Bankruptcy?" »
Posted on Jun 1, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
I recently got a phone call from a client. She got a letter from her mortgage company giving her the “opportunity” to reaffirm her mortgage. She wanted to know whether she should do this. I told her, ...
Continue reading "Why You Shouldn’t Reaffirm a Mortgage in Bankruptcy" »
Posted on May 16, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
All too often today people are declaring bankruptcy because they get sick or are injured in an accident. In America about half the people declaring bankruptcy are doing so because they cannot pay ...
Continue reading "Medical Bills send People Bankrupt" »
Posted on May 16, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Going bankrupt is a devastating decision to make. It affects you emotionally and psychologically for years to come. The pressure of impending foreclosure , debt collectors and creditors constantly ...
Continue reading "Life after Bankruptcy" »
Posted on Feb 14, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
This year, it seems that more creditors than ever are sending IRS Form 1099-C to their debtors who have filed bankruptcy or settled debts with them. While in many cases it is unnecessary for the ...
Continue reading "In Bankruptcy? Don’t Fear the 1099-C" »
Posted on Feb 11, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Business owners who find themselves liable for unpaid payroll taxes are in deep trouble. The trust fund portion of the tax, the amount withheld from employees' checks, becomes a personal debt of ...
Continue reading "Tell The IRS Where To Put It" »
Posted on Feb 7, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
What happens to my tax refund if I file bankruptcy is: it depends. Tax refunds received, after you file your case, have to be paid to the Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee, at least in the 6th Circuit, ...
Continue reading "Income Tax Refunds In Bankruptcy" »
Posted on Feb 4, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Keep your emotions in check when dealing with your financial problems. No one wants to file bankruptcy, but sometimes it's your only meaningful option. "I don't want to file bankruptcy," a client said ...
Continue reading "Bankruptcy and Emotions" »
Posted on Feb 3, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
On Groundhog Day, it is fitting to consider whether you are living in a financial 'Groundhog Day.' Remember the Bill Murray movie? A self-absorbed weatherman is doomed to repeat the same day over and ...
Continue reading "Same Old Debt as Last Year? Stop Living a Financial ‘Groundhog Day’" »
Posted on Feb 2, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires credit reports to be accurate. What is accurate reporting during a bankruptcy case? In general, creditors have no duty to report anything at all to credit ...
Continue reading "Credit Reporting During Bankruptcy" »
Posted on Feb 2, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Few concepts are as difficult to grasp for a potential bankruptcy debtor than the " means test ," which Congress added to the bankruptcy law in 2005. To be sure, the means test can be confusing, and ...
Continue reading "The Bankruptcy “Means Test” Explained in English" »
Posted on Feb 2, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
A common question I get this time of year is whether the trustee will take the debtor’s tax refund if he files for bankruptcy. The answer depends upon many factors. The Trustee has a duty to ...
Continue reading "Will The Bankruptcy Trustee Take My Tax Refund?" »
Posted on Jan 31, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Recently, Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon has been speaking very loudly about the need for the current Congress to amend the Bankruptcy Code to allow cramdowns of first mortgages on primary ...
Continue reading "Mortgage Modifications In Bankruptcy – A New Wave Is Beginning" »
Posted on Jan 28, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Your mother entrusted her funeral expense money to you last year. You spent it on living expenses. You don't want your mother to get notice of the bankruptcy as a creditor because you are very much ...
Continue reading "Family Debts, Loans, Payments, and Repayments in Bankruptcy" »
Posted on Jan 22, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
A Michigan bankruptcy court recently took the unusual step of denying a discharge under bankruptcy code section 707(a) to a debtor whose debts were primarly business debts, based upon the court's ...
Continue reading "Business Bankruptcy Debtor Denied a Discharge Under Section 707(a) for Ability to Pay" »
Posted on Jan 21, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Five years after bankruptcy reform, and millions of cases later, the Supreme Court is still deciding issues affecting the most basic administration of bankruptcy cases. The latest case, In re Ransom , ...
Continue reading "Should the Supreme Court Teach a Bankruptcy Seminar? Yes, as soon as possible." »
Posted on Jan 20, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Lately, a number of clients coming to see me have just transferred real property (or their interest in real property) to a family member or friend, or they are inquiring about transferring their ...
Continue reading "Transferring property before bankruptcy is risky business!" »
Posted on Jan 14, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Foreclosures have been getting a lot of media attention lately, but credit card debt probably accounts for more bankruptcies than foreclosures. And a lot of people who fall behind on mortgage payments ...
Continue reading "Credit Cards and Bankruptcy" »
Posted on Jan 11, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Student loan debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. That's not news-it's pretty much common knowledge. But student loan debt for newly-minted lawyers is a growing problem, since the job market for ...
Continue reading "Bankruptcy and Student Loans-Time to Reconsider Discharge" »
Posted on Jan 10, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Unless you are a mortician most people do not like to think about death, especially when considering filing bankruptcy. However there are times when death comes into play whether it be the death of ...
Continue reading "Death and Bankruptcy." »
Posted on Jan 10, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Holidays are wonderful… and sometimes, some parts, not so wonderful. Some of us know this because we are barely now relaxing from the rush to prepare, having battled traffic and crowds and lines in ...
Continue reading "After the Holidays — Now Comes the Hard Part" »
Posted on Jan 7, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
People frequently ask whether they can file a bankruptcy case without their spouse. The simple answer is yes. The complicated answer is that your spouse matters for several reasons. Let's assume that ...
Continue reading "Can I file bankruptcy without my wife? Can I file bankruptcy without my husband?" »
Posted on Jan 6, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece by George Mason University law professor Todd Zywicki entitled Dodd-Frank and the Return of the Loan Shark . If you do not subscribe to the ...
Continue reading "The 2009 Credit CARD Act – Does it Do More Harm than Good?" »
Posted on Jan 6, 2011 By Joseph Tosti
For the first time, a federal appeals court has ruled that the bankruptcy code does not forbid a private employer from refusing to hire a person based solely on the fact that he or she filed for ...
Continue reading "Bankruptcy Discrimination in Hiring Approved by Federal Appeals Court" »
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