Americans DO See More Class Conflict
Many more Americans now believe that strong conflicts exist between the rich and the poor. After years of very high unemployment, millions of home foreclosures, and months of the Occupy Movement dominating the news, maybe this is not so surprising. But there ARE some unexpected and important twists in this change in attitude. Earlier […]
The Practical Consequences of Voluntarily Dismissing Your Chapter 13 Case
One advantage of filing a Chapter 13 case is that you can get out of it at any time. But what happens if you do dismiss your case?
The Far Limits of the Means Test
Very few people who want to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy need to take the means test all the way to its limits. But if you do, you better have some iron-clad “special circumstances” to defeat your “presumption of abuse.” The means test triggers whether or not your case is presumed to be an abuse […]
Dumping Your Chapter 13 Case Midstream
You can usually get out of an ongoing Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” bankruptcy case by simply asking to do so.
Dumping Your Chapter 7 Case Midstream, or Switching to a Chapter 13 One
You can usually change from an ongoing straight Chapter 7 case into a Chapter 13 payment plan. But getting out of bankruptcy altogether is generally not allowed.
The Arbitrariness of the “Objective” Means Test
The means test is supposed to be an objective way to decide who qualifies to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. So what’s so objective about whether your “monthly disposable income” is less than $117 or more than $195? Sounds pretty arbitrary to me. Before getting to this step of the means test, let me bring […]
Changing Your Mind After Filing Under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13
You have some wiggle room if you either want to get out of your bankruptcy case or change to the other Chapter.
The “Black Box” of the Means Test
What happens if you make too much money so that you are over “median income,” but you still want to file a Chapter 7 case? You get to go through the “black box” that is the expenses side of the means test. In the last couple of blogs I’ve covered the first part of […]
Income Taxes and Self-Interest in a Marriage
Each spouse in a marriage with significant tax debt has his or her self-interest, which may need a different solution than the other spouse.
Spouse Needs to Join Bankruptcy to Discharge Income Taxes, But Reluctant Because Has No Other Debts and Has Separate Asset
Finding the best way out of this seeming Catch-22 depends on a full understanding of your unique situation and your goals.