Dec 2015
29th Dec 2015

BANKRUPTCY FILERS TARGETED IN A SCAM

Recently, con-artists have been posing as bankruptcy attorneys to prey on clients. Across the country, people who have filed for bankruptcy or plan to have been targeted and taken advantage of. The imposters have used software to mimic the caller ID system, making it appear as if the client’s bankruptcy attorney is calling them.
Mar 2015
16th Mar 2015

CAN I KEEP MY HOME IF I FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY?

When filing for bankruptcy, you may be able to keep your home; however, this will depend on your particular situation and which chapter of bankruptcy you decide to file. Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to keep your property (including your car and home) as long as you keep up with your payment plan, which usually lasts three to five years.
Feb 2015
2nd Feb 2015

FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY IN DALLAS: WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT

Though the Dallas community is very affluent, many people still find themselves facing financial challenges and obstacles, often leading them to file for bankruptcy. While countless consumers choose to pursue this financial option each and every year, it is important that you understand how bankruptcy will personally affect
Dec 2014
22nd Dec 2014

CHAPTER 7 VS. CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY

Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 each offer different options in your bankruptcy case. Depending on your particular situation and your plans for the future, one may be more suitable than the other. Both options require a basic fee and will likely have additional expenses stemming from attorney fees.
Oct 2014
28th Oct 2014

WHAT DOES IT COST TO FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY IN TEXAS?

There are fees for filing for bankruptcy, and additional costs may arise in the bankruptcy process. Chapter 7 bankruptcy costs $2,300 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy costs $3,300.
Sep 2014
26th Sep 2014

DETAILS OF THE CHAPTER 7 MEANS TEST

If your income is higher than the Texas median household income, you must pass the Texas means test before becoming eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The means test involves your average household income.
Aug 2014
26th Aug 2014

WILL BANKRUPTCY WIPE OUT ALL MY DEBTS?

The type of bankruptcy you are eligible for and the category of a particular debt determines whether or not a debt can be wiped out by bankruptcy. Debts that are eligible for removal are known as dischargeable debts.
Oct 2013
17th Oct 2013

SAVING ASSETS WITH A TEXAS CHAPTER 13 CASE

As we've written in the last two blogs, Texas has a generous set of exemptions. As a result, all of the assets belonging to most people filing a straight Chapter 7 bankruptcy are exempt, protected from the reach of the bankruptcy trustee and, thus, from their creditors.
Sep 2013
3rd Sep 2013

TEXAS EXEMPTIONS AT WORK FOR YOU IN YOUR CHAPTER 7 CASE

In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, federal law lets you use Texas exemptions, which usually protect all your assets from your creditors and from the bankruptcy trustee.
Aug 2013
19th Aug 2013

TEXAS USUALLY PROTECTS ALL YOUR PROPERTY & POSSESSIONS IN BANKRUPTCY

More than most other states, Texas protects its residents from their creditors with relatively generous exemptions both for their homestead and for their personal property.
5th Aug 2013

THE IMPORTANT EXCEPTIONS TO THE AUTOMATIC STAY

The automatic stay is one of your most powerful tools when you file a bankruptcy. It's the law that automatically goes into effect immediately when your bankruptcy case is filed, stopping all collection activity against you and all your property.
Jul 2013
22nd Jul 2013

BANKRUPTCY STOPS WAGE GARNISHMENT IN TEXAS

We are fortunate that Texas is one of the few states in the nation that generally doesn't permit the garnishment of wages in consumer debt collection. But there still ARE major exceptions in which wage garnishment CAN happen
8th Jul 2013

BANKRUPTCY STOPS VEHICLE REPOSSESSIONS

The filing of your bankruptcy case immediately stops your vehicle from being repossessed. That's because a bankruptcy filing triggers one of the most powerful tools of bankruptcy - the automatic stay. That's the law that goes into effect the instant your bankruptcy case is filed at court, and stays - which means stops - all collection activity against you and all of your property. So your Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 filing will force a creditor to immediately stop a repossession, even if that creditor has already sent out the repo tow truck.
Jun 2013
4th Jun 2013

WHAT CAN COMPLICATE AN OTHERWISE STRAIGHTFORWARD CHAPTER 7 CASE

In the most straightforward Chapter 7 cases, you qualify to file because your income is not too high, everything you own is "exempt" and protected, none of your debts have any collateral or else are current on them, and all your debts will be written off ("discharged"). Many cases fit this description. But what if your situation is not so straightforward?
May 2013
23rd May 2013

CHAPTER 7 AND CHAPTER 13: THE MAIN DIFFERENCES

These two options are very different. They each have their advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes it's quite clear which one is better for you, but other times it's more up in the air. Some of those advantages and disadvantages are often obvious. But there may be other important ones that you don't know about. That's why you should discuss both alternatives with your attorney with an open mind even if you think that one is the right one for you.
2nd May 2013

USING BANKRUPTCY TO STOP A HOME FORECLOSURE

You can usually stop a foreclosure with either a Chapter 7 "straight bankruptcy" or a Chapter 13 "adjustment of debts." Both are armed with the "automatic stay" - the immediate injunction against just about all creditors' actions that goes into effect the moment your bankruptcy is filed. But what happens after that depends on whether you file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case, and on what you want to accomplish.
Apr 2013
18th Apr 2013

UNDERSTANDING CHAPTER 7, 13, 9, 11, & 12

The major bankruptcy options are organized in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code into different "chapters" of the Code. Chapters 7 and 13 are the ones mostly used by people with consumer and small business debt. So if that is your situation, most likely one of those is your best option. But if you are a farmer, rancher or fisherman, Chapter 12 may instead be the most appropriate for you. Chapter 11 can be used by people with an unusually large amount of consumer and/or business debt, but is mostly used by corporations and other business entities. Chapter 9 is for city, county and other governmental bankruptcies.
Mar 2013
28th Mar 2013

NON-BANKRUPTCY ALTERNATIVES

You should be aware of all your options. Bankruptcy is not the best solution for everyone. If your financial problems look like they can be solved some other way, that alternative should be explored, looking closely at its advantages and disadvantages. Here are three bankruptcy alternatives, along with some of their risks
15th Mar 2013

IS FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY A MORAL OPTION?

Don't we have a moral obligation to pay our debts? If so, isn't it immoral to discharge our debts in bankruptcy and not pay them?

Yes, we have a moral obligation to fulfill promises that we have made. But that obligation is not absolute. It has to be weighed against other moral obligations we may have. We may well have a higher moral obligation to release ourselves from those debts. It is a choice that we have to weigh carefully and conscientiously.
1st Mar 2013

WHO ARE THE PLAYERS IN BANKRUPTCY?

Bankruptcy is much easier to understand and be comfortable with if you know who the players are and what they do.

The Debtor: an individual or business who files the bankruptcy case. A debtor and spouse can file a joint petition in bankruptcy. The debtor's most important job is to be honest and cooperative throughout the process, working closely with his or her attorney to present the appropriate paperwork and documents.
Feb 2013
12th Feb 2013

BASIC BANKRUPTCY

What is bankruptcy? It's a choice that may or may not be right for you. It gives you legally approved options for addressing your debt in an honest and sensible way.

The U.S. Constitution directly authorized bankruptcy. It gives Congress the "Power . . . to establish . . . uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." ( See Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4.) Bankruptcies are governed by federal law, contained in the Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code). State laws also have a direct effect on bankruptcies, especially in providing for the property exemptions that its residents may use to protect their assets from creditors.
Jan 2013
29th Jan 2013

RESOLVING YOUR PROPERTY TAX DEBT WITH CHAPTER 7 OR 13 BANKRUPTCY

Bankruptcy can help with your property taxes, either by allowing you to write off your other debts or by buying you more time to catch up with paying your debts.

Since Texas has no state income tax, homeowners pay relatively high property taxes. Property tax is the biggest single source of funding for all local governmental services.
29th Jan 2013

DART CRASHES, SERIOUS INJURIES AND YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS

In public perception, public transit is supposed to almost entirely safe. Why else would buses be the only vehicles left on the road that don't come equipped with safety belts?


In reality, public transportation entities such as DART continue to present as many dangers as other forms of transportation.
Dec 2012
31st Dec 2012

DIVORCE LAW, SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOUR RIGHTS

Nothing prompts a long and intimate conversation with a friend as well as an emotional entanglement of some kind. We all have lots to say, share and dissect when we're excited, frustrated or annoyed about a person in our lives.

The natural and even healthy tendency to discuss our emotional lives can cause problems, though, when that discussion is carried out on FaceBook, Twitter or another form of social media. Why? Social media:

  • Provides a record in the event of litigation

  • Reaches many more people than on a face-to-face conversation

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