The Legal Blog
Bankrutpcy Exemptions
Posted February 26, 2010 by inOne of the most common fears of my clients upon deciding to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is that they will lose all of their property. While this fear is a valid feeling, the truth could not be further away. 99% of Chapter 7 bankruptcy filers are able to get a full discharge of their debts and not lose a single item of property: there are three reasons for this:
Reason 1: You do not own the property.
Continue readingForeclosure vs. Bankruptcy: Which one is better?
Posted February 3, 2010 by inI recently ran across a question on a legal forum in which a person asked "why should I file for bankruptcy when my house is in foreclosure and that is my only debt?" She clarified that she had consulted a lawyer and he told her that foreclosure and bankruptcy led to the same result and that she should not bother with a bankruptcy filing.
This is the worst advice this woman could have been given! There is a world of difference between bankruptcy and foreclosure.
Let me explain the differences between foreclosure and bankruptcy.
FORECLOSURE
Continue readingThe CAN SPAM Act
Posted January 24, 2010 by inThe thing to do in marketing these days is move online. Every year, more and more businesses are launching websites and turning from expensive paper mail campaigns to cheaper email advertising. Customers, for their part, have gotten increasingly frustrated with the amount of junk in their inboxes, and Congress has listened. Before you click that send button, make sure you are aware of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
Continue readingProposing a 0% Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan
Posted January 17, 2010 by inIn a normal Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, the goal is to propose a plan to repay your debts over a period of 3-5 years. This type of plan can be used to save your home from foreclosure, or just pay down debts interest free. The typical Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan contains, among other items, payment to general unsecured creditors of anywhere between 10%-100% of the entire debt. But what happens if the Debtor has so much priority tax debt that the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan payments will not be able to pay back all of the priority claim, let alone provide anything for the other unsecured creditors?
Continue readingStripping off a second mortgage in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Posted January 13, 2010 by inRecently, a number of my Chapter 7 Bankruptcy clients have been presented with a similar situation: the value of their home has fallen so much in the last few years that the second mortgage has become wholly unsecure. Of course the value of the home is subject to different valuations, but in many of these cases the estimate is so low that even the highest estimate would leave the second mortgage in the same situation.
Continue readingPass Through Taxation
Posted January 3, 2010 by inThis time of year is a good time to talk about one of the basic differences between a corporation and an LLC – pass through taxation. Pass through taxation means that the IRS ignores a business entity when collecting taxes and instead takes full payment from the owners on all the business’s income. Pass through taxes can give owners a big surprise on their 1040s at the end of the year, but is still often preferable to the double taxes paid by corporations.
Continue readingPay less for your car by filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Posted December 31, 2009 by inYou have many rights when filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, but I would like to highlight one that I encourage all of my clients to try and take advantage of. Under Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, when you have a secured debt, you have the right to pay back the value of the collateral over the life of the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan as payment in full!
Allow me to clarify:
SECURED DEBT
Continue readingThings You Should Know About Business Litigation
Posted November 18, 2009 by inThe last thing anyone wants to do is end up in Court. Going to court is expensive, time consuming and can also be very stressful. But sometimes the courts are the best place to defend your rights and the rights of your business. A court of law can force parties to honor their contracts or make them pay for breaching. A court of law can stop competitors from selling cheap knock-offs or copying your intellectual property. A court of law can send a message to customers, vendors, partners or competitors that your business needs to be treated with respe
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