Bankruptcy Information

Bankruptcy trustees will target debtor’s income tax refunds. Tax refunds provide immediate cash available for distribution to creditors as opposed to other assets, such as cars, which have to be stored, noticed for sale, and liquidated at auction with commissions due.

One of my bankruptcy clients is expecting a significant tax refund. He stated that all his income in the past year was in the form of distributions from a qualified pension plan and social security. Proceed from pensions and social security distributions are exempt under Florida law after they money has been distributed to the recipient debtor. My client wants to know if his tax refund representing taxes withheld from pension and social security distributions is exempt in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

I have never seen a case on this issue, and the issue has not come up before in any of my previous bankruptcy cases. In my opinion, the tax refund would not be exempt. Money from pensions and social security in a debtor’s financial account is exempt only if the debtor can trace the funds in his financial account to pension or social security distributions. It

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Tags: Income, Tax Refund

If you’re struggling under what feels like a debt mountain, you’re probably ready to consider a variety of options to ease or eliminate your financial burden. And, if you don’t think bankruptcy is right for you (or if you’re ineligible for bankruptcy because of a recent filing), you may be wondering whether debt settlement could help.

While debt settlement does work for some people, it can be risky to sign on with a debt settlement firm – less-than-scrupulous companies abound and can cheat consumers out of money when they can least afford to lose it.

When Can You Trust a Debt Settlement Firm?

A recent article from WalletPop.com offers some tips for spotting a trustworthy debt settlement company. Here’s a summary.

• Do some background sleuthing: Before you even leave your house to visit a debt settlement firm, use the tools available to you to nose out a trustworthy company in your area. You may want to start with a simple internet search, but be sure to check any company you consider with the Better Business Bureau for its grade (although newer companies may not yet have any useful comments – good or bad – on that site yet). You should also

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Tags: Debt, Debt Settlement

Repaying loans can be stressful, but to deal with it you will have to come to terms with how and why you’re in this situation to begin with. Managing your debt effectively is one way to overcome loan repayments. However you will probably never overcome your loan repayments until you payoff all your existing loans, so the goal really is to expedite the payoff time and if that is not doable, then follow these 5 simple steps to help you overcome your loan repayments.

Step 1: Determine the amount of loans you owe

The first step to overcome loan repayment is to determine what you owe. Gather all your loans together and calculate the amount you owe and what you pay monthly on each loan. Then come up with a plan to pay off your loans.

Ste 2: Choose a flexible repayment option

Many lenders usually have flexible repayment options available. For example, college graduates with low income can opt for repayment plan where the monthly installments are determined based on income and so on. T

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Tags: Loan, Overcome Loan

For those of you waiting until after the Holidays to file your bankruptcy case, heed my advice.  Here are my tips and pitfalls to avoid now, if you’re planning a New Year fresh start.

1.  Don’t spend more than $500.00 on any one occasion, unless it’s necessary for the maintenance and support of your household.  Car repairs and groceries, etc. ar

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Tags: Bankruptcy, New Year

If you’ve filed for bankruptcy, you’ve probably already heard a thing or two about how important it is to rebuild your credit. A recent post at CreditBloggers.com provides an excellent guide for how, precisely, a person can begin this daunting process.

Here’s a look at some of the key tips discussed on the post.

Know Where Your Credit Stands

If you haven’t already, now is the time to visit AnnualCreditReport.com and get a free credit report from each of the big three credit reporting bureaus (every American is entitled to one free credit report per year from each bureau). When you get the report:

• Review all the information carefully: Accounts that were discharged in your bankruptcy filing should have a balance of zero dollars and indicate that the debt was forgiven in bankruptcy.
• Look for mistakes: Check for any incorrectly reported information – this could include a report that you still owe money on an account that was discharged.
• Contest the mistakes so they can be removed: If you notice any incorrectly reported information, contact the credit reporting bureau and identify the problem. You’ll pr

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