Bankruptcy Chapters

With recent statistical reports indicating foreclosures rising to a record 1.05 million last year and bankruptcies rising to over 1.5 million, no one would argue there is not a direct connection between the two. Foreclosures often force people who wouldnt necessarily file for bankruptcy protection to file, but what some homeowners are finding out is certain expenses associated with home ownership dont necessarily go away in bankruptcy.

One of those type expenses are Home Owner Association (HOA) fees and the interest associated with them. You are responsible for paying all HOA debt prior to filing unless they are discharged by the bankruptcy court. All HOA debt incurred after filing, you are responsible for paying until the lender forecloses on the property and takes legal possession of the unit by transfer of any deed or title, or you sell the property and transfer deed or title.

Bankruptcy code 523 (a) (16) implies that until you no longer have legal, equitable, or possessor ownership in the property, you may owe HOA fees and late charges associated with such.

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Banks are big businesses that we rely on to keep our money safe and our accounts secure. Many banks, despite help from the government, lose their way and need bailed out by other banks that have the finances to overtake them.

We have seen this quite often in the last few years. But transitions don’t always go smoothly and many times mistakes are at the expense of the customer. Consolidations often cause errors in customer records, which have a lasting negative effect on bank clients. Bank customers who don’t check their accounts routinely can find themselves in the midst of a credit debacle when applying for car loans, mortgages, or home equity loans.

Erroneous accounts lead to lenders denying loan applications for customers who wouldn’t normally be denied. Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyers know that the behavior of banks has had much to do with the economic problems facing consumers. Banks have swung from free credit to no credit. Understanding your rights as a debtor is critical to protecting the financial well-being of you and your family.

The Chicago Tribune recently reported about a woman in jeopardy of personal bankruptcy after a bank take-over which ultimately ruined her credit score.

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Tags: Bank, Bank Consolidation

Audrey and Richard Haisfield, founders of Stonewall Farm, are the target of an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy request from its single largest creditor, Stone Wall Acquisition . SWA has asked a Florida bankruptcy court to put the Haisfields into the involuntary bankruptcy due to over $7 million in alleged unpaid debts.

According to an article on www.drf.com by Glenye Cain Oakford, SWA, which has a $16 million judgment against the couple in a Pennsylvania debt-defraud case, had previously sued the husband and wife in Florida, alleging that they have “’played a systematic shell game’ to shield their assets. In the November 2010 filing in U.S. District Court in Ocala, SWA accused the Haisfields of ‘opening and closing multiple partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, and trusts to hide their assets from creditors.’”

In the same article, SWA claims that the couple has “opened, closed, or transferred assets to more than 125 separate entities in the last four years and have engaged in transactions with their [grown] children ‘which involve transfers of assets in exchange for, or in purported payment of, non-existent, undocumented, or otherwise suspect loans.’”

SWA and a group of smaller creditors have most recently filed the involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in May 2011 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in

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Tags: Bankruptcy, Involuntary Chapter, Stonewall Farm

Small businesses are often what forms the core of the community, whether that community is a small town or Beverly Hills, and bankruptcy has hit such businesses hard in the last few years.

Across the country, small businesses have strained to stay afloat under a struggling economy. And when a business must file for bankruptcy protection, often a piece of the community goes with them. Such is the case with a survey of businesses that have recently filed for bankruptcy.

In Perry, Iowa, for example, a town of under 8,000 people, a local institution that touched the lives of countless members of the community has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

The Perry Tea Room saw many a Mother’s Day celebration and gatherings of generations of women enjoy the fine service and the sense of tradition. The article in the Des Moines Register reporting the bankruptcy called the Perry Tea Room, a “cultural touchstone.”

“A lot of daughters and a lot of grandparents went through that place,” said Brian Witherwax, the bankruptcy attorney for local owners Vicky and Dwight Taylor. “It was extremely tough for them to make the decision. But unfortu

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Tags: Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Country

A Legal Helpers client in the Southern District of Florida, a single mother struggling to make ends meet, filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy, in part to discharge a debt obligation owed to her family court attorney fees.  The creditor, a local law firm, filed an adversary complaint in the bankruptcy court challenging the discharge of the debt.  Legal Helpers successfully defended the client forcing the dismissal of the creditor’s complaint and recovered attorney fees and costs awarded by the federal bankruptcy judge.

Tags: Court, Legal Helpers