Will I Lose My Car?
I wrote an earlier post about the concern clients have that if they file bankruptcy they will put their home ownership at risk. And the answer is that due to the generous ($450,000) exemption for homestead real estate in Minnesota state law, I’ve never had a client who risked losing their home to a bankruptcy […]
How Can I Save My House?
I wrote an earlier post discussing how the equity in homestead real estate is almost always exempt (protected from seizure by bankruptcy trustees) in Minnesota bankruptcy cases. But protecting your house from the trustee is one thing; the person with money problems who has fallen behind on house payments has another concern. When there is […]
Fighting Human Nature
The stress that goes along with financial trouble can lead people to make perfectly-understandable payment decisions that can backfire if the person who pays ends up filing a bankruptcy case. Here’s a common scenario: someone with debt problems needs to make significant payments to keep his creditors pacified. Unfortunately, the credit score isn’t good (and […]
Bankruptcy and the New Child Tax Credit – What You Need to Know
What is the New Child Tax Credit: We are days away from a new Child Tax Credit that is being rolled out to help ease families still struggling coming off the pandemic. These payments are part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and they serve as an advance on the Child Tax Credit […]
How Can We Meet?
The days of only having one way to meet with an attorney were over before the pandemic changed our lives – but Covid-19 certainly accelerated the transition that is our new normal: it’s not required to have a face-to-face conference with a lawyer in order to start the bankruptcy process. At Kain + Henehan, there […]
The 2 Bankruptcy Concepts
TWO FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS Most bankruptcy law can be distilled down to two fundamental concepts. The purpose of bankruptcy law is to treat creditors fairly and to allow debtors to live with dignity. Fair Treatment of Creditors. Several provisions in the bankruptcy code are designed to advance the policy of treating creditors fairly. One way this is […]
What Does Chapter 7 Do?
Once the decision is made to file a bankruptcy case, a consumer debtor has to make a choice: is it better to file a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy? There are advantages to each chapter. To make the best decision regarding what chapter to file, it’s good to know the benefits of chapter 7. […]
What Does Chapter 13 Do?
Chapter 13 can be a very useful tool for people with money worries to stabilize their finances. To make the best decision regarding what chapter to file, it’s good to know what chapter 13 does. Chapter 13 can address systemic budget problems. Some financial problems are temporary. But others aren’t. For the person who is under-employed, […]
Bankruptcy Chapter Choices
You have a choice in what chapter bankruptcy to file When a person decides that they need to file a bankruptcy case to solve their financial difficulties, that person faces another choice: what bankruptcy chapter should be used? Most people with consumer debt elect to file either a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy case. […]