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Chapter 13 is widely used to stop a home mortgage foreclosure and propose a Chapter 13 plan to reinstate one's home mortgage. This involves catching one's mortgage up-to-date over a period of up to five years while maintaining further monthly payments. Chapter 13 is also widely used to avoid an "unsecured" second or other junior mortgage if there is no equity to support the second or junior mortgage.

What can be done for the many homeowners in South Florida whose home values have fallen vastly below the amounts due on their first mortgage? For example, if the value of the home has fallen to $200,000.00 and $300,000.00 is owed on the mortgage. Generally, one is not allowed to force a mortgage company to modify one's mortgage on his principal residence. This means, one cannot force the mortgage company to reduce the amount owed, lower the interest rate, or stretch out the term of the mortgage on one's principal residence.

Due to the continuing deterioration of the mortgage foreclosure situation in South Florida, it appears that section 1325 (a)(5) of the Bankruptcy Code may be a provision whose time has come. Section 1325 (a)(5) provides that a Chapter 13 plan should be approved by the Bankruptcy Court if the holder of a secured claim, such as a home mortgage, has accepted the Chapter 13 plan. That is, Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code contemplates approval of a Chapter 13 plan if the mortgage company accepts the Chapter 13 plan even if the Chapter 13 plan proposes to modify a home mortgage.

In normal times, it would be beyond contemplation that a mortgage company would voluntarily accept the modification of a home mortgage. But these are not normal times in South Florida and in many parts of the United States. In fact, public policy and indeed economic self-interest seems to be growing that a mortgage company should accept and even seek the modification of a home mortgage. The serious campaign begun a few weeks ago by the FDIC as the receiver of Indymac is one example of this policy being put into effect in earnest.

It would seem that in today's economy, the use of Chapter 13 should be considered to seek a mortgage companies acceptance of the modification of a home mortgage as proposed under a Chapter 13 plan. While the Bankruptcy Court may not be able to force a mortgage company to modify a secured mortgage on one's principal residence, section 1325 (a)(5) would appear to indicate that one is at least able to request the mortgage company to voluntarily modify one's mortgage.

In fact, one of the largest complaints of homeowners is that they are is unable to reach anyone at the mortgage company and that they only get the runaround when they attempt to reach a mortgage company to attempt to workout or modify their home mortgage. It is widely reported that many mortgage companies appear to be overwhelmed, understaffed, and unable to handle the volume of telephone calls. The benefit of Chapter 13 is that once the bankruptcy case is filed, the mortgage company retains a bankruptcy attorney who the Chapter 13 debtor is at least able to communicate with and request a voluntary mortgage modification.Jordan E. Bublick - Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer - Kendall & Aventura Offices - (305) 891-4055 - www.bublicklaw.com

Once your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan is approved by the Oregon Bankruptcy Court, a Confirmation Order is entered.  Among other things, the Confirmation Order bars you from taking on any credit obligations during the pendency of your case without the Oregon Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee’s written approval. There are only two exceptions to obtaining prior written approval for taking out credit. In the event of emergency no written approval is required. Similarly, no written approval is requried for run of the mill expenses for a business approved in your plan
Normally any request for credit must be approved by the Trustee in writing before you obligate yourself in any way. The most common credit obligation you may wish to incur is a car loan. Contact your lawyer if you want to take on a car loan. Car dealers will attempt to talk you into anything before your attorney has had a chance to get involved. The Trustee will almost alway approve requests to finance vehicles, provided that the proper procedures are followed and the car loan itself meets certain guidelines.

The original post is titled Oregon Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and Taking Out Credit , and it came from Portland Bankruptcy Attorney | Northwest Debt Relief .

Big Banks Plead Guilty to Criminal Charges
The banks — Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, UBS, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland Group — were hit with $5.6 billion in fines and penalties.
Article in the Washington Post: Last week, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced that five major banks were pleading guilty to criminal charges for what she described as a “brazen display of collusion” to manipulate the currency markets. 
Sensibly, the banks were forced to plead guilty, not simply pay fines in settlements where they neither admitted nor denied the changes. But the charges still were brought against banks, not bankers. No banker was held accountable. The personal fortunes of the bankers who profited were not touched. Shareholders, not bankers, will pay the fines. The Justice Department would have us believe that criminal banks ran profitable criminal conspiracies without involving any bankers.

Read Washington Post article....
The post Big Banks Plead Guilty to Criminal Charges appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Attorney.

In Oregon every Chapter 13 bankruptcy must have a plan. In essence, the plan is really a summary distributed to your creditors that lets them know how you intend to take care of your debt issues. Once your plan is approved, the Oregon Bankruptcy Court will regard your Chapter 13 plan as a contract between you and your creditors. Of course like any contract, your Plan is subject to modification in the event your financial circumstances change. In the absence of a modification, the Oregon Bankruptcy Court will take your approved very seriously and will insist that you adhere to the contract’s terms. If you have filed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Oregon and you don’t have a copy of your plan, get it and read it thoroughly.
The Oregon Chapter 13 Trustee must pay your creditors exactly as required by your plan. The Trustee does not have the power to change its terms. If you do need to change your plan, confer with your Oregon bankruptcy attorney so that an amended plan can be filed for the Bankruptcy Court’s approval.
Creditors get a chance to review your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan prior to the first meeting of creditors and they may file objections to their treatment if they don’t like how their claims are treated. Once the plan has been sent to your creditors, you will meet with the Trustee’s attorney for what is called a 341 hearing to go over the plan, make any changes required and, if any creditors appear, to give them a chance to ask any questions they might have.
Roughly six weeks after the 341 hearing, you will have what is called a confirmation hearing. If you have an attorney, he or she will appear on your behalf. At that hearing, the judge will hear from the Trustee and any creditors that want to object to their treatment in the plan. Once the judge is satisfied with the Plan’s terms, the judge “confirms” your plan and signs an Order of the court that approves your plan that binds both you and your creditors to the contract, or in this case, the plan. The terms of this Plan will be operable for the remainder of your Plan until you file a Modified Plan. In the event that a Modified Plan is filed, the steps for getting it approved are largely the same as the process for getting your initial Plan approved with one major exception: You will not have to attend another 341 hearing.

The original post is titled Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Oregon and the Plan , and it came from Portland Bankruptcy Attorney | Northwest Debt Relief .