Category Archives: Chapter 13

Can You Borrow Money While In Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?
If chapter 7 bankruptcy feels like getting a clean slate, chapter 13 bankruptcy feels more like running the gauntlet. You don’t get your debts discharged until after you complete your payment plan, which can range from three to five years. It is a lot like being obligated to make payments on your debts as… Read More »

Bankruptcy Tips For The Holiday Season
After living through years of financial stress, which was especially painful during the holidays, making the decision to file for bankruptcy can be a relief. Nothing puts a damper on your holiday festivities like having the court get involved in your business. This is one of the reasons that Divorce Monday, the first business… Read More »

Florida Celebrity Bankruptcy Files: Trick Daddy
Filing for bankruptcy protection is your legal right. No one can take that right away from you, not your ex-spouse, not the beneficiaries of your will, and not even the family court, the criminal court, or the bankruptcy court. In some cases there is a waiting period after one bankruptcy filing before you can… Read More »

Which Debts Should You Pay Down With Your Tax Refund?
The idea of universal basic income has been around since before the COVID-19 pandemic, but several rounds of stimulus checks have offered insights into what people actually do when they get a temporary and modestly sized windfall while living paycheck to paycheck. Most people did not splurge their stimulus checks, whether or not they… Read More »

Florida Celebrity Bankruptcy Files: Lakeisha Williams, Stepmother Of Venus And Serena
People who have seen the movie King Richard will be familiar with the story of how Richard Williams and his wife Oracene Price bought a house in South Florida and outfitted it with tennis courts where their daughters Venus and Serena would practice playing tennis until they became world champions. Today, the house bears… Read More »

How Does Filing For Bankruptcy Affect Your Career?
Everyone has the right to file for bankruptcy protection; neither the spouse nor the IRS nor anyone else has the right to stop you. Despite this, just because you file for bankruptcy protection, it does not automatically mean that the court will accept your filing. To get your bankruptcy petition accepted, you must persuade… Read More »

Can Bankruptcy Help with Past-Due Child Support?
As we have explained many times, not all debts can be wiped out in bankruptcy. The bankruptcy code identifies certain debts that are “non-dischargeable,” and child support payments are one type. But does this mean bankruptcy is useless if you owe past-due child support, called “arrearages”? No, actually. Bankruptcy does provide some tangible benefits… Read More »

How Long Will My Chapter 13 Payment Plan Last?
Chapter 13 is an attractive alternative to Chapter 7 for many people. With a Chapter 13, you don’t give up any property. Instead, you contribute disposable income to your creditors for a period of years. At the end of this payment plan, any unpaid qualifying debt should be wiped out. Chapter 13 is ideal… Read More »

New Income Limits for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Consumers who can’t repay their debts have their choice of 2 consumer bankruptcies—Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. They are named after specific chapters in the Bankruptcy Code and are very different. With a Chapter 7, you can wipe out unsecured debts, but you will probably lose non-exempt property. With a Chapter 13, you don’t… Read More »

Lil Kim Asks Judge to Drop Her Bankruptcy Case
Almost a year ago we wrote about rapper Lil Kim filing for bankruptcy protection. Now comes news that she is trying to get her bankruptcy case dismissed because she is apparently in better financial shape. However, as Lil Kim might find, it is far easier to file for bankruptcy than to get a judge… Read More »