{Consumer Bankruptcy Tips}

When the creditor who harassed you claims in Bankruptcy Court he didn’t mean to violate the automatic stay, the Bankruptcy Judge will side with you and award damges.

Soon after you file bankruptcy, you should expect new bills and phone calls from creditors to stop.  Sometimes they don’t.  Why?  They hope you’ll pay them anyway…without consulting your attorney, and sometimes people in bankruptcy do this. Remember, once you file your petition, the  court imposes an “automatic stay” against creditors.  It stops all collection [...]

Fighting foreclosures in Connecticut

You may have recently heard news about the Credit CARD Reform Act of 2009.  It just went into effect on February 22, 2010 and is intended to provide various protections to consumers to combat the wily tricks of the credit card companies. Here’s a great cartoon video (which I saw posted on the Center for [...]

The New York Times had a great February 11 article in its Real Estate section (“Mediating in Slow Motion”) that highlights the challenges of fighting foreclosure in Connecticut.  The article features my clients and does a great job of examining the effectiveness (and lack of effectiveness) of Connecticut’s foreclosure mediation program. (Appropriate commentary from BAPCPA [...]

As discussed in a previous post on this blog, most Connecticut residents who file for bankruptcy do not actually need to to go Bankruptcy Court and go before a Bankruptcy Judge.  Rather instead, your only in-person interaction with bankruptcy officials comes at your 341 Meeting of Creditors when you meet with the trustee for your [...]

Most Connecticut residents who file for bankruptcy do not have to go to the Bankruptcy Court in Connecticut.  That’s because most bankruptcy cases are filed electronically in Connecticut and in the rest of the United States. But don’t you have to go somewhere official if you file for bankruptcy? YES. You have to go to [...]

One of the first things that happens in a bankruptcy case in Connecticut after the debtor has filed a petition, is a “Meeting of Creditors,” also know as a “341 Meeting” which refers to Section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code. What happens at a 341 Meeting and what’s the experience like? A 341 Meeting is a [...]

I thought it might be of interest to readers to take a look at relevant bankruptcy news in Connecticut for the past week or so. 1.  Personal bankruptcies easing after dramatic increase in ’09 (theDay.com) Connecticut saw 8,618 bankruptcies last year–90% of which were Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings.  That’s the highest number of bankruptcies in [...]

If you file for bankruptcy in Connecticut or anywhere else, then one piece of information you need to know is your “household size.” Why is household size so important?  Because of the Means Test. Under the Means Test, you can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy only if your monthly income is below the monthly median [...]