TICs and Bankruptcy During the real estate boom, many investors sunk money into TICs or what's commonly known as tenant-in-common real estate investment structures.  These investment entities allowed investors to own shares in properties which they could not individually afford. But when the real estate industry collapsed in 2008, many of these TICs went down [...]

It's the season of giving again which often means racking up tons of debt on top of the debt already owed.  But if one of your New Year's resolutions is to consider your bankruptcy options, you will want to avoid the biggest mistakes bankruptcy filers make during the holidays. Below are a few tips: Consider [...]

When a business owner files bankruptcy, they have certain rights, obligations and responsibilities. Let's take a closer look at a few of the facts: Right To Operate If a debtor places their business in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, they generally  have the right to continue to operate while they restructure their debts. However, if at any [...]

Bankruptcy and Unreasonable Attorney Fees Besides the fear of affordability, many debtors fear that the fees charged for their bankruptcy case may be unreasonable.  Fortunately, the bankruptcy code has anticipated the need to protect debtors from unreasonable attorney fees. Below we examine what is considered unreasonable and how debtors are protected: Freedom From Excessive Fees Section [...]

When you think of bankruptcy, do you think of people who've suffered from medical emergencies?  Do you envision a bankruptcy court that's filled with individuals who've been irresponsible with their money? If that sounds familiar to you, then it's time to open up your mind to another cause of bankruptcy: credit card fraud.  Recent statistics [...]

Logic says that most lenders would be more than willing to negotiate debt settlements with debtors in this time of economic turmoil; but the reality shows something different.  Instead of becoming more reasonable, many lenders are becoming less reasonable and more desperate as more debtors fall into the trap of unemployment.  Many of these debts [...]

Abandoned Property In Bankruptcy When a debtor files bankruptcy, all of their property becomes part of the bankruptcy estate.  The bankruptcy estate is basically a structure which takes ownership of all property (not physical ownership in most cases) and then liquidates any property it has a right to liquidate.  When filing bankruptcy, the debtor works [...]

How to Spot a Bad Bankruptcy Attorney Many financial experts agree that filing  bankruptcy is a way to wipe the financial slate clean and start over again - and if you want to file the right way, you'll need to hire a high-quality bankruptcy lawyer with a superior track record. But this presumes the fact [...]

Post-Filing Communication From Creditors After Bankruptcy Generally speaking, creditors do not have the right to contact a debtor after they have filed bankruptcy.  Once the creditor has received notice of a debtor's bankruptcy filing they are barred from contacting the debtor or attempting to collect on any debt owed.  However, there is a gray area [...]