Will I lose my car if I file bankruptcy? Am I allowed to have money in the bank? I don’t even have any property. We get a lot of questions and comments just like these every day. Everyone owns property, from clothing and a cell phone to cars and a house. Whether or not there is something someone could…
If you have been sued by a creditor for money, the most important thing to do is respond to the lawsuit. Never ignore a lawsuit or complaint because if you do, you will automatically lose! The next thing to do is to contact a lawyer to get a free consultation and see what your rights are. Many times, the creditor…
In this blog post in the student loan series, we will be talking about rehabilitation and consolidation for defaulted student loans. You default on a loan when you don’t make full payments on your loan for 270 days. There are very real consequences for defaulting on your loans, such as wage garnishment, liability for lawsuit, inability to receive further federal…
To officially kick of our blog series about student loan management options, we are going to discuss income-driven repayment plans. These plans are only available to people with qualifying federal student loans that are in good standing. If your loan is in default you are going to have to rehabilitate your loan before pursuing one of these plans. There are…
Here at DRF, we regularly get calls from people that are struggling with student loan debt. Many of them have not had the chance to learn about several very powerful strategies that can be used to manage and pay off their student debt. Because of this, we have decided to start a short blog series about these management strategies, who…
Introduction Dara Sandau, Esq., Managing Attorney Sandau Legal P.C. Massachusetts Debt Relief Foundation- Board Member I recently joined the Massachusetts Debt Relief Foundation as a Board Member due to a shared passion for the mission of, “Helping People Overcome Debt with Dignity.” There is nothing more rewarding than making a difference in someone’s life through information and education. Together, these…
At MDRF we work hard to ensure that every client is receiving the best possible representation, which includes filing the correct Chapter. ProPublica and The Atlantic published an eye-opening article about the practice in Memphis, of filing Chapter 13 bankruptcies when the client would have qualified for a Chapter 7, all to get paid. There are two main Chapters for…
If you have a loan on your vehicle, generally you will get to keep it, provided you continue to pay the lender just like you did before you filed bankruptcy. If you miss payments on your car, the lender can repossess your vehicle, but they usually need to obtain permission from the Bankruptcy Judge before doing this. Loans on cars…
A lot of clients ask us if they will have to go before a Judge after they file bankruptcy, but in nearly all cases you will never see the inside of a courtroom. Instead, when you file bankruptcy you have to attend the “meeting of creditors,” also called a “341 meeting” after the section of the law that requires it. This…
Yesterday the New York Times reported that Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase have agreed to fix credit reports so debts discharged in bankruptcy are accurately reported as included in bankruptcy. The article states that “this move is a victory for borrowers whose credit reports have been marred as a result of the reported debts, imperiling their job prospects and torpedoing…