The "Means Test" became law as part of the Bankruptcy Consumer Protection Act Of 2005.  The test is mandated by the bankruptcy code including a long, vague and confusing explanation of exactly how to set up the test, which was left to the Office of the United States Trustee.  The backbone of the test is derived from the Internal Revenue Code.  The test has gone through more than a few changes as people in charge attempted to make the test fit the statute and has been subject to a number of court rulings both by the Bankruptcy Courts and the Courts of Appeal.  Two (2) changes that have recen

Required by law, the first request that a trustee for a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy makes of a debtor is to see his driver's license and social security card in order to establish the identity of the debtor.  The trustee is fulfilling his obligation to identify the debtor by seeing an original driver's license, because it has a picture of the debtor and then matches the social security number against the name on the card and then compares the same against the bankruptcy paperwork.  There are, of course, other forms of identification that will work just as well such as a military id

Oh my God, today I spoke with a woman who was considering bankruptcy as a way to get out from under her credit card debt.  She like most people would rather pay off her debts than file for bankruptcy especially when you can wrap your arms around your debt total.  I applaud your ethics and values.  Sometimes, based on how much you owe in credit card debt it could take years and years and years to pay off especially due to mounting interest rates.  Some of these debt relief storefronts are no better in helping you than the exorbitant interest rates charged by the credit card companies.  Getti

In an average bankruptcy case, regardless of the chapter (7,13) filed, student loans are not dischargeable.  In the Western District of Texas, payments on student loans may not be included in a Chapter 13 Plan unless such plan proposes to pay the unsecured creditors 100% of their claims.  Instead, student loans are deferred until after the Chapter 13 plan has been completed. All the while interest is accruing on these loans. 
There are possibilities that present opportunities to discharge student loans, as set forth below: 

Lots of people seeking help from a bankruptcy lawyer to file a Chapte 7 (eliminate unsecured creditors) or a chapter 13, have one or more payday loans.  Payday loans are difficult to deal with for both the client and the bankruptcy lawyer.  The companies that offer these loans seem to know every trick in the book to continue  receiving payments, as well as avoiding having their addresses known so they cannot be notified of a bankruptcy filing.  The only way to prevent such a lender from collecting on their loan is to close the bank account upon which the lender collects its

 
Have you ever wondered why doctors and lawyers ‘practice' their profession?  I have.  Today you have to be lucky to find a doctor that focuses on ‘healing' and an attorney that focuses on ‘selfless problem solving'.  It has been my experience that the word ‘practice' gives professionals the freedom to make choices that may not best serve our needs.  It's important to sift through the rhetoric and do your homework.

There are always people ready to take advantage of other people in desperate situations and the current home foreclosure situation is no different.  A whole cottage industry has sprung up made up of predators prepared to charge large fees for helping someone avoid foreclosure through a loan modification. 
The vast majority of these people simply take a person's money and perform no service whatsoever.  I am sure that there must be a few people who actually attempt to do what they have been hired to accomplish and I am sure that on occasion a loan actually gets modified. 

There has been a great deal of publicity about money being infused into banks and financial institutions by the government. A significant portion of that infusion is supposed to be used to modify existing mortgages that are in default or are on the verge of foreclosure. In addition, there has been a great deal made by various government or semi-government agencies about their assistance in loan modifications and/or accelerating the process.