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My Bankruptcy Law Network colleague Andy Miofsky, who practices in southern Illinois, referenced a very cogent “open letter to debtors and their counsel” that was issued in 1997 by a Bankruptcy Judge who sits in a California bankruptcy court.Judge Jaroslovsky’s open letter points out that every schedule you file is issued under penalty of perjury.  Amending schedules to update information does not change the fact that the original filings were somehow false.  “I have no idea where anyone got the idea that amendments can cure false schedules,” writes the judge.  The debtor has an obligation to correct schedules he or she knows are false, but amendment in no way cures a false filing. Any court may properly disregard subsequent sworn statement at odds with previous sworn statements.Specifically the judge references emergency, “two page” filings where the debtor lists one or two creditors (such as a mortgage or a vehicle lender) and swears under penalty of perjury that his schedules are accurate.  In truth, the debtor (and his counsel) know that other creditors exist.  The emergency filing, therefore constitutes perjury.I think that Judge Jaroslovsky makes a valid point that most debtors and their attorneys readily use the amendment process to “fix” schedules that were knowingly inaccurate when filed.  I think it is incumbent upon debtors and their counsel to work with updated and accurate information. Perhaps it would be wise for debtors to indicate “more to come” on their emergency or initial filings.  However, I respectfully disagree with the judge that these amendments ought to be disallowed.Filing bankruptcy in 2013 is much different than filing bankruptcy in 1997.  The breadth of information required by the means test alone, and the documentation necessary to verify this information can take weeks to gather.  Emergency or semi-emergency petitions, whether the result of dithering or truly unexpected developments are sometimes necessary.Given that the bankruptcy court is an “honest but unfortunate” debtor’s last refuge from catastrophic and sometimes irreversible occurrences such as foreclosure or asset seizure, I think that bankruptcy judges ought to be prepared to show some patience with frazzled and confused debtors who are entering a confusing legal system.Unless bankruptcy judges wish to spend the time to evaluate the back story behind every amendment to uncover the debtor’s and debtor’s counsel’s state of mind, I think that the harm to the system caused by extensive amendments is far outweighed by the benefit to debtors who may need an extra few days to make the process work as intended.Congress has added a number of Code provisions intended to deter and punish serial or non-serious filers, and the means test and expanded document production requirements have made bankruptcy more difficult in general.  While I understand the judge’s concerns about sloppy lawyering and subjective truth, I conclude that additional procedural hurdles to filing and amending would be counterproductive.The post Are Amendments to Bankruptcy Schedules Proof of Perjury? appeared first on theBKBlog.

A recent report completed by the Center for American Progress looks at how the economy could benefit from student loan discharge.  While getting student loan debt eliminated in bankruptcy can be done only under strict circumstances, many hope lawmakers reconsider making changes to a bankruptcy law that dates back to the mid-1970s that made getting [...]

I am pleased to report that our Bankruptcy Law Firm will soon be opening up an office in Bend, Oregon in order to serve the needs of a growing segment of our practice. While it looks like it will take at least a month or so before we are able to open our Bend, Oregon Bankruptcy Law Office, I am extremely happy to report that we will soon be able to offer Bend area consumers afew things that local attorneys are not currently offering. First, we will be offering real payment plans where most attorney fees and all filing fees can be paid in installments after their cases are filed. Second, we will be offering credit repair education for free to all of our Bend area clients. Finally, we will be offering non-bankruptcy services such as debt defense and pursuing collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.    
The original post is titled , and it came from Oregon Bankruptcy Lawyer | Portland, Salem, and Vancouver, Wa .

Last week, Nancy H. came to my office looking to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.  She had $20,000.00 or so on credit cards and no other unsecured debt.  She had a condominium that had a value of $89,000.00 and a mortgage debt of approximately $80,000.00.  Thus, there was some equity in her condominium, but+ Read MoreThe post The Bankruptcy Case Of Nancy H. From Chicago appeared first on David M. Siegel.