Posted on April 16, 2013 in San Antonio Bankruptcy Attorney

Debt consolidation has long been hailed as an alternative to bankruptcy. Consolidating debt can make large debts manageable, enabling the debtor to wrap his head around the money that he owes and conceive of a plan to pay it off. Yet lately many debt consolidation companies have come under fire for shady practices, meaning that in the end of the day, it might be better to file bankruptcy. According to US News and World Report, “debt consolidation loans are like a politician during an election year—they make a lot of promises, but don’t always deliver.” Some of these promises include (but are not limited to): convenience, lower interest rates, and lower monthly payments. Yet most debt consolidation companies fail to mention that many plans leave debtors with “high fees, greater debt and potentially more interest payments,” according to US News and World Report. 

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 Posted on April 09, 2013 in San Antonio Bankruptcy Attorney

The Fairness for Struggling Students Act of 2013 would forgive private student loan debt when an individual files for bankruptcy protection. The bill, cosponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Jack Reed (D-Ill.), would reverse 2005 legislation that makes it almost impossible to have private student loan debt discharged in bankruptcy.

According to an article in the Huffington Post, student loans total $1 trillion, or nearly $25,000 per borrower, on average, nationally, each year, yet they are the only loans not eligible for bankruptcy protection. Federal student loans have been protected from bankruptcy claims since 1978. However, those loans typically have lower interest rates, income-based repayment plans and more deferment and forbearance options. Like credit cards, private student loans typically have double-digit, variable interest rates that are highest for the people who can least afford them and have no income-based repayment options.

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 Posted on April 05, 2013 in San Antonio Bankruptcy Attorney

February 2013 showed a 16 percent decrease in South-Central Texas bankruptcy filings over February 2012, but when measured on a month-over-month basis, filings remain up 41 percent. The San Antonio Express-News is reporting that in the San Antonio division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas last month, there were 288 bankruptcy filings, as opposed to 343 filings in February, 2012.

In terms of the types of bankruptcy actions being filed, the number of Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings has dramatically decreased. Only 105 Chapter 7 bankruptcies were filed in February, 2013, which is only two thirds of the 158 bankruptcies that were filed in the same time period last year. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, an eligible debtor can liquidate many debts altogether, thus giving him or her a fresh financial start. Although some debts are not eligible for discharge through Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, some debtors will be able to discharge all of their debts, depending on their specific financial situations.

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 Posted on March 27, 2013 in Uncategorized

Many people who find themselves in overwhelming debt often consider filing for bankruptcy. In order to qualify, a person must past what is known as the “means test”. The United States Department of Justice discusses means testing on its website.

When getting documentation ready, you should gather all sources of income:

• wages, salary, tips, bonuses, overtime, and commissions
• gross income from a business, profession, or a farm
• interest, dividends, and royalties
• rental and real property income
• regular child support or spousal support
• unemployment compensation
• pension and retirement income
• workers' compensation
• annuity payments
• state disability insurance

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 Posted on March 21, 2013 in San Antonio Bankruptcy Attorney

Since the housing collapse of 2007, foreclosures have been occurring rapidly across the nation.  Banks have been accused of lending to those who should not qualify for mortgages.  There is evidence that they have also been up to other shady practices.  Now, in 2013, there is a new horror in the housing market.

Thousands of homeowners are finding themselves trapped by a zombie title.  A zombie title is when homeowners are legally liable for “foreclosed” homes that have literally came back to life.  Banks issued notice of foreclosure only to later decide that it would be too expensive to reclaim the home, in turn transferring the title back to the homeowner.  It is an action that mirrors how homeowners abandoned their mortgages during the housing collapse.

These titles are becoming more prominent in the foreclosure process.  There is no national database to track these zombie titles but lawyers, housing court judges, code enforcement officials and others involved in foreclosures have noticed the increase.

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 Posted on March 14, 2013 in Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Texas is just about average when it comes to number of bankruptcy filings, when broken down into circuit and district. In 2011 there were 14,694 bankruptcy filings in the San Antonio district, a figure that significantly declined in 2012 to 12,999. That’s an 11.5 percent drop, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court statistics, the largest percent change in the national Fifth District, in which San Antonio (and Texas) is included.

As is the case across the country, the 65-years-old and over population in Texas has been steadily increasing in recent years, and in 2011 totaled 10.5 percent of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The national percentage was a bit higher, at 13.3 percent. Regardless, that’s a significant percentage of Texans nearing or in retirement. Many retirees have been hard hit by the recent economic downturn, due to businesses that have failed, resulting in a lost pension and subsequent bankruptcy.

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 Posted on March 02, 2013 in Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Many people often falsely believe that a bankruptcy filing means the person is a spendthrift who can’t take care of his or her finances. However, in truth, most people file for bankruptcy for completely different reasons. An article in U.S. News Money mentions several misconceptions surrounding consumer bankruptcy. Here are some of them.

1. People who file for bankruptcy are irresponsible when it comes to money. In truth, some of the most common causes for consumer bankruptcy are long-term unemployment, expensive divorces and the cost of medical care. According to a 2011 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 percent of American households had difficulties paying medical bills.

2. Bankruptcy discharges all of your past debts. Not all types of debt are discharged by bankruptcy. Domestic support obligations, for example child support, can’t be removed no matter what. The same is true for restitution for a crime, and tax debts can’t be removed if you have not filed tax returns.

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 Posted on February 26, 2013 in Chapter 7 bankruptcy

According to Casey Anthony, the infamous mother of Caylee Anthony, she owes about $80,000 to various creditors and almost $500,000 to her defense attorney. Because of this, she has now filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in federal court.

This article from KHOU, a CBS-affiliated station in Houston, Texas, shows that filing for bankruptcy also allows all lawsuits against Anthony to be frozen—including the one filed by Texas Equusearch.

Equusearch, a non-profit organization, helps police look for missing persons. In the case of Caylee Anthony, they spent about $119,000 on the search, and enlisted over 4,200 volunteers from all over the country. The lawsuit claims that no matter the truth in Caylee’s death (the defense claimed she drowned in a pool and the parents covered it up; prosecutors said Anthony murdered her with chloroform), Anthony knew her daughter was dead—the search never would have happened with this knowledge.

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