When I first started as a Bankruptcy attorney over 20 years ago, I used to advertise in a small free community newspaper call the Little Nickle. Most of my clients came to me because of an old-fashioned newspaper ad, or word of mouth. Today, the internet dominates how we find goods and services...
One of the great frustrations of filing for Bankruptcy is that many of the rules are counter-intuitive. People want to do the right thing and in the case of debt that means paying off bills. When people pay debts, it is a function of having money and who you want to pay. Obviously, people clos...
Many people come to my office after having suffered through one, two, or even three garnishments. The truth is that the vast majority of people would prefer to pay their bills instead of filing for Bankruptcy. Therefore, despite how disruptive a wage garnishment can be, many people accept the gar...
Fairly soon, most people will be receiving their W2 forms and they will be running to their local tax preparer in anticipation of that tax refund. As nice as a tax refund is, it can present some problems if you are planning on filing for Bankruptcy. As always, the best course of action is to ta...
Hi Folks. So as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic issues, rent and finding a place to live are taking center stage for many people. The big problem here is deciding where to live, and when to move in. If you have a place that you like and are behind in rent, you need to immediately speak to...
Have you ever been at home and on the TV a good-looking spokesman comes on and asks “are you overwhelmed by debt?” The pitch sounds great. Nobody wants to talk to their creditors on their own, and filing for Bankruptcy can be intimidating, so the idea of hiring someone who will reduce your bala...
Hi Folks. So as we are getting out of the Covid-19 shut downs, there are certain economic realities that many local city councils are having to deal with. Because of the supply chain disruptions from Covid and the recent increase in inflation in building materials, the number of rental units in...
As the Covid-19 moratoriums on collections, evictions, foreclosures, and lawsuits are all going away, people are starting to evaluate their financial situations. For some folks who have been out of work for more than a year, accumulating tens of thousands of dollars of unsecured debt is not unusu...
I think that we can all agree that the pandemic has been an awful experience. Besides the serious life & death issues, we have all had to deal with serious complications to our daily lives, such as kids not being able to go to school, business closures, masks, and product shortages. Notwithstan...
Unless you are old enough to remember the economics of the 1970's, inflation might seem like a nerdy term that really has no relevance to your life. This is why you need to understand how inflation affects your life and what adjustments you may need to make as a result. Imagine that one day, yo...
So when people come to my office to inquire about a Ch. 13, I always tell them, that there needs to be a good reason to do a Ch. 13 over a Ch. 7, because the process is much more complex and costly. Some of the good reasons to file a Ch. 13 are saving a home from foreclosure, the inability to fi...
As we are coming out of our Covid downtime many people have serious decisions to make. Life returning to normal means that many of the moratoriums will be coming to an end, student loans will soon become due, forbearances will end, evictions and foreclosures will start again, and choices will hav...
If you were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and you were in a Ch. 13 plan that was confirmed prior to March 27, 2020, then you could be eligible to extend your Ch. 13 Bankruptcy to 7 years instead of the normal 5 years. This is a decision that requires some deliberate consideration between y...
Let's face it…this has been an unprecedented 12 months. From March 2020 to March 2021, the world as we knew it changed because of the Corona virus. Amongst the mask mandates, business shut-downs, and school closures, there were a host of Federal and State moratoriums on collection activity, inc...
So when you file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, your options related to a car are generally limited, as opposed to a Ch. 13 where we can in many cases, cure delinquencies, lower your interest rate, or even reduce the balance on the vehicle loan. Unfortunately, all of those options in a Ch. 13 come wit...
Hi Folks, Brian here. I hope you are having a Happy New Year. Changes are certainly coming to 2021, and not all of them are good. As we start to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, which may still be many months away, we will have to reckon with the economic damage that has been done. Many peop...
Recently, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) proposed a major overhaul to the Bankruptcy system that they called the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020. While it does not have much chance of passing this year, it is quite possible that it would pass next...
Hi Folks, In my last post I talked about the changes that we have seen to the Bankruptcy process because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Clerk's offices and Judge's Chambers are harder to get information from, and trying to navigate complex court processes just over the phone can be challenging. I...
Brian here. So, as of the time of this writing, we are in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. As an odd by-product of these intense circumstances, Bankruptcy filings nationwide are way down. That might seem counter-intuitive, but keep in mind that even though ordinary people are un...
Once upon a time, Abraham Lincoln, who was a talented attorney, is credited as saying “he who represents himself has a fool for a client.” When you represent yourself, we call it being “pro se”, which is Latin for “in one's own behalf”, and in fact, our American legal system has a very long trad...
Hi Folks, So with all of the economic uncertainty, for people who have been in long standing Chapter 13 cases, it might be a good time to re-examine your circumstances. There are a number of reasons why someone might file for a Ch. 13, such as: I was ineligible for a Ch. 7 at the time. My house w...
Despite the frustrating economic times, a lot of people are confused about the fact that Bankruptcy filings seemed to have declined. There are a myriad of factors on why this is happening, but the phenomenon is important for a whole host of industries which depend on the strength of the economy. ...
Hi Folks, So there has been a lot of activity over the past few days in Washington DC attempting to bring relief for the American people. On the issue of student loans, according to Forbes, the President signed an executive order suspending student loan payments through the end of the year (Dece...
So we've been having some people reach out to us about the confusion related to the temporary Covid-19 moratorium on collections. While it is true that many creditors are offering a welcomed short-term forbearance on regular payments, each program is a little different. Some offer 0% interest, wh...
Lately, we have had a lot of clients who have receiving wage garnishments for very old debts. Many of them thought that their debts had passed the statute of limitations and were shocked to see their pay check be hit by a garnishment. Statute of Limitations can be a bit confusing. First there ...
Are creditors calling you? Is there an unexpected job loss? Increasing medical bills? Are you using your credit cards to buy groceries and cannot afford to pay the minimum? We understand the stress that financial hardships can cause to you, and the confusion about choosing the right solution. As experienced Bankruptcy attorneys, Brian and Diem Hallaq can help you regain control over your finances. We help clients who want to file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy petitions.
