By Michael O'Leary | Published May 5, 2020 | Posted in Bankruptcy | Tagged Tags: bankruptcy law, coronavirus, COVID-19 | Comments Off on How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affects Your Pending Bankruptcy Proceeding
Every part of the country has been affected by the coronavirus. Like restaurants, arenas and other locations where people assemble for business or pleasure, most courts have been closed. If you are in the midst of a bankruptcy proceeding, your case might be delayed, handled telephonically or be otherwise disrupted due to the pandemic. Furthermore, Read More
Read MoreIn the middle of an election year where healthcare is already a hotly debated issue, the COVID-19 pandemic has stirred further discussion about whether major changes are necessary. During the Democratic presidential primary, the concept of Medicare for All split the candidates. While the candidate who promoted that concept has since dropped out of the Read More
Read MoreIn Tepper v. Amos Financial, LLC, No. 17-2851 (3d Cir. August 7, 2018), the court distinguished the Supreme Court’s restrictive decision in Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., and held that the defendant, a company whose principal business is the acquisition and collection of debts is a “debt collector” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Read More
Read MoreThe automatic stay of Bankruptcy Code section 362(a)(1) prohibits: “The commencement or continuation, including the issuance or employment of process, of a judicial, administrative, or other action of proceeding against the debtor that was or could have been commenced before the commencement of the case under this title, or to recover a claim against the Read More
Read MoreIt is generally true in a New York bankruptcy case that the Chapter 7 Trustee has a “look back” period of six years prior to the bankruptcy filing to examine asset transfers and commence litigation to set aside any that are deemed to be fraudulent transfers. This is because the Bankruptcy Code allows a Chapter Read More
Read MoreThe Treasury’s Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP, will sunset on December 30, 2016. HAMP, put in place early in the Great Recession, provides two separate avenues for a homeowner with a qualified mortgage dated prior to January 1, 2009 that is in default or at imminent risk of default to seek a mortgage Read More
Read MoreDebtors sometimes are unable to open a checking account after receiving their bankruptcy Discharge. These debtors typically had a troubled history with their bank, generally involving fraud, bounced checks or excessive overdraft activity, resulting in this negative information being reported to a check reporting company known as Chex Systems. Such negative information remains in this Read More
Read MoreAny exploration of this topic requires an understanding of reaffirmation agreements. Under New York bankruptcy law (In re Boodrow) a debtor does not have to sign a Reaffirmation Agreement for a mortgage on real estate. This is a good thing (especially when dealing with second or third mortgages), since a signed Reaffirmation Agreement causes you Read More
Read MoreMany clients “surrender” their house as part of their Chapter 7 bankruptcy and assume that said act will allow them to put their homeowner’s “experience” totally in their rear view mirror. Unfortunately, in the context of dealing with secured debt (such as mortgages or car loans) in bankruptcy, the term “surrender”does not mean what many Read More
Read MoreA debtor’s funds held in a Health Savings Account (“HSA”) or Flexible Spending Account (“FSA”) do not appear to be exempt under either New York state exemption law or Section 522 of the Bankruptcy Code. This means that a debtor with a Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account might find the funds liquidated by Read More
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