The United States Trustee just announced that effective November 1, the median income figures will increase. The median income is the figure that half of the people with that household size are above it, and half are below. Debtors who are below the median income...
When Legal Matters Become Personal
Chapter 13
Eighth Circuit Permits Lien Stripping
In a ruling issued August 28, 2014, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals followed the other seven federal appellate courts in permitting stripping of a wholly unsecured junior residential mortgage in a chapter 13 plan. Jamie and Keeley Schmidt owned a home valued at...
Bankruptcy Filing Fees increasing June 1, 2014
The Judicial Conference approved $29 filing fee increases effective June 1, 2014. The total new filing fee for each chapter will be as follows: For filing a petition under Chapter 7: from $306 to $335 For filing a petition under Chapter 13: from $281 to $310 If you...
8th Circuit Court of Appeals takes “Lien Stripping” case under advisement
The 8th Circuit of Appeals heard arguments on Wednesday March 12 in a case involving whether wholly unsecured junior second mortgages can be stripped in chapter 13 bankruptcy. A ruling will be issued “in due course,” which will likely be 1-3 months. The case is...
Can an individual be held liable for post separation debts incurred by the other spouse?
Yes. Debts are the same as negative assets, and the presumptive date for dividing a marital estate is the date of your pretrial, which is often many months after separation. There are two exceptions, which is that the parties can agree on a different date (and most...
How long after a bankruptcy does it take to qualify for a mortgage?
The answer is “it depends”. It depends on what type of mortgage you are seeking, which chapter of bankruptcy, and perhaps most importantly, it depends on what the underwriting requirements are at the time you are actually seeking a mortgage. For instance, the...
How to Maximize Your Time in a House That is Going into Foreclosure by Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Part 4 in a series on how we help people in underwater homes When I talk to someone who is going into foreclosure, I ask them if they want to save their house, and 9 out of 10 people say “yes.” So usually the best way to do that is by way of a loan modification, which...
How to save your house with a chapter 13 bankruptcy
Part 3 in a series of how to save your house When a person who is behind on their mortgage payments calls me, I go through a hierarchy of questions: A. Do you want to save your house? B. Can you afford your mortgage payments? C. Have you tried a loan modification? D....
Extension of Sheriff’s Sale of Foreclosure Under State Law
The first thing I ask people when they are facing foreclosure, is whether they’ve tried to get a loan modification. A prior blog entry suggests how to go about that. Often, people have assumed that loan modifications are handed out on a silver platter, but it’s not...
How to get a loan modification
It seems that every time I read the paper, there’s a new program to help homeowners, or a new lawsuit against mortgage companies that was settled, and they talk about how it helps, but there are never details on how to go about it. And few people actually get the help...