Author Archives: Admin
What’s Your “PREFERENCE”?
You should be careful when considering your options in bankruptcy before selling any property or giving property away that could ultimately be considered a “preference”. A preference is when you transfer an interest in property before filing bankruptcy and typically within 90 days of filing. However, if you provide an “insider” such as a business […]
Near East, Biblical and Athenian Precedent For the U.S. Constitution’s Bankruptcy Provisions
Debt is an eternal problem. Bankruptcy law grappled with economic problems, like drought and war, frequently beyond the control of its victim. Debt cancellation, or Bankruptcy, finds clear precedent in Near Eastern kingdoms, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and Solon’s Greece. Leviticus 25:8-55 and Deuteronomy 15:2-3 establish the sabbatical year, “Every seventh year you shall practice […]
SAVING YOUR HOME
Homeowners who get in trouble financially risk the loss of their house, and not only from the mortgage company. True, if you don’t pay your mortgage, you will end up in a foreclosure. But even if you are current on your mortgage, other creditors can sue you, and when they win they can end up […]
Reflections of a Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney
I have assisted thousands of Nebraska and Iowa citizens file bankruptcy since 1983 when 348,880 bankruptcy cases were filed, 81.78% were consumers. Bankruptcies broke a million in 1996 and two million in 2005. In 2013, 1.1 million were filed, 96.61% were consumer cases. The Chapter 7 filing fee rose from $60 to $335. American households […]
Estate Planning is for EVERYONE
A recent article in the Omaha World Herald which was picked up from the Dallas Morning News is right on point on the three aspects of estate planning: preserving, managing and distributing. (Yip, Pamela “Estate Planning not just for the Wealthy”, Omaha World Herald 7 July 2014 1D & 3D. Print. ) As the article […]
INDEPENDENCE FROM DEBT
Being American Independence Day, it seems an appropriate time to talk about independence from debt. America’s founding fathers recognized the importance of including laws pertaining to debtor-creditor relations if there was to be a just, fair and efficient legal system. That’s why they included a provision pertaining to bankruptcy in our American constitution. […]
SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW BANKRUPTCY?
Care to Take a 10 question True or False Test 1) Once I receive a notice from my mortgage lender setting a foreclosure sale date, it’s too late to use bankruptcy to save my house! T or F 2) Once the tow truck has repossessed my car, it’s too late to use bankruptcy […]
CURE IN SIGHT FOR SEVERE CASES OF MEDICAL DEBT?
United States Senators White house from Rhode Island and Warren from Massachusetts have introduced a bill in the Senate called “The Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2014” (S.2471). It is designed to help families with a financial burden caused by the costs of illnesses or injuries. The study that led them to introduce this proposed […]
Non-Profits and Bankruptcy
Though it may sound funny at first, Non-Profit corporations can legally file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy can be of benefit to them in various ways. Just because they do not have shareholders (equity class) and do not distribute dividends, does not necessarily mean that they do not have debt problems. Recently, the attorneys at Pollak, Hicks & […]
WHAT IN THE HELOC CAN I DO ABOUT THIS
H.E.L.O.C. or Heloc is an acronym for Home Equity Line Of Credit. Many, many people took out these types of loans several years ago when real estate was booming and the inflated values created significant equity against which to borrow. Many of those Heloc borrowers did not then, or perhaps do not still, realize that […]
