Homestead Accounts Not Applicable For Sale After Filing Bankruptcy
I spoke with a person currently involved in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and is involved in a dispute with the Trustee over her homestead exemption. Prior to filing bankruptcy the debtor listed her house for sale. She filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, on day of filing, she still resided in her house. She claimed the house as exempt homestead. After filing bankruptcy she sold the house. The Trustee is arguing that the house is not homestead because either the debtor intended to abandon home by putting it on the market or because the proceeds from the sale were not reinvested in another homestead.
Continue reading "Homestead Accounts Not Applicable For Sale After Filing Bankruptcy"
May 9, 2008 in Bankruptcy Questions | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Bank of American Gets Tough On Credit Card Payments
People who bank at Bank of America and who have credit cards through the same bank are having problems when they don’t pay credit card payments. Bank of America, more than most banks, is enforcing a provision in their credit card agreements which allows them to take money out of customers’ bank accounts to pay the credit card. They are taking money without any advance notice. No client has asked me to review their Bank of American credit card documents, so I am assuming the bank has a legal contractual basis for their practice.
Continue reading "Bank of American Gets Tough On Credit Card Payments"
April 30, 2008 in Planning Tips | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Can You File Bankruptcy In Florida If You Work And Live Overseas Temorarily?
I received an email from a man who was working overseas on a long-term work assignment. His last residence in the United States was in Volusia County, Florida. He wanted to know if he could file bankruptcy and if his retirement pay, which he received monthly from a prior employer, was protected in bankruptcy. If you leave Florida to work overseas on a temporary basis you are probably still a Florida resident and can file bankruptcy in Florida. He would file in the Middle District of Florida because Volusia County is in the Middle District. Being stationed overseas for work does not forfeit Florida asset exemptions. Pension payments payable to Florida residents are exempt regardless of where the resident resides on a temporary basis.
April 20, 2008 in Bankruptcy Questions | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Debtor Loses Car Titled Jointly With His Child
Parents who buy cars for a child often hold title to the car jointly with the child. In a recent case from the Orlando bankruptcy court a debtor asserted that a titled jointly by the adult debtor and his child was actually the child’s car. The debtor asserted that while his name was on the title, the child held the entire beneficial interest in the vehicle and therefore, the car should not be turned over the Chapter 7 trustee.
Continue reading "Debtor Loses Car Titled Jointly With His Child"
April 17, 2008 in Court Decisions | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
How Do Bankruptcy Trustees Get Paid
Bankruptcy clients sometimes ask how much money a bankruptcy trustee gets paid and how are they paid. I read a good summary of Trustee compensation in a blog post by California attorney Michael Doan on the Bankruptcy Law Network: CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE FEES : Bankruptcy Law Network. Bankruptcy trustees are paid a small flat fee per Chapter 7 bankruptcy case plus a percentage of assets recovered, if any. Essentially, the Trustee is paid on commission to recover your money.
Continue reading "How Do Bankruptcy Trustees Get Paid"
April 13, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Discharge Of Fraud Judgment With Credit Cards
A prospective client consulted with me for "pre-bankruptcy planning." The client had a judgment for over $100,000 from a civil suit where the prospective debtor was found liable for civil fraud. Debts from fraud are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. This debtor had a plan. He said he would get cash advances from different credit cards of about $10,000 per month for ten months being careful not to borrow more than $10,000 per card. He would then pay off the fraud judgment, file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and attempt to discharge the credit cards. He understood that one or more credit cards may object to the amount of charges within a year of bankruptcy, but he figured not all creditors would object. If a credit card company did object he said he was earning enough money to settle for an amount less than the face amount of the debt. In other words, his plan would effectively discharge a debt that he was not allowed to discharge.
Continue reading "Discharge Of Fraud Judgment With Credit Cards"
April 13, 2008 in Bankruptcy Questions | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
