Is it a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for a creditor to file a Proof of Claim in a bankruptcy case on an old debt that is no longer collectible by virtue of a Statute of Limitation? Ever since the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Crawford vs. LVNV Funding that
| ASSET | EXEMPTION DESCRIPTION | LAW | IMPORTANT CASES & NOTES |
| Homestead | $120,000 of home equity per debtor. No more than 2 lots in City or Village, 160 acres farmland. Sales proceeds protected for 6 months. | §40-101, 40-111, 40-113 | Must reside in the home on the date the bankruptcy is filed to claim exemption. |
| Life Insurance & Annuity |
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Additional Child Tax Credit is a protected asset in bankruptcy cases filed in Missouri. In re Hardy, case number 14-1181 (2015). Are such tax credits exempt in Nebraska bankruptcy cases?
Missouri law protects a person’s right to receive a “Social Security benefit, unemployment
What if a bar could not serve a customer a second drink until one hour after the first drink was consumed? What if a donut shop could not sell a second serving unless they determined if the consumer would burn off all the calories by the end of the day? What if a tobacco store
On February 25, 2015, the Nebraska bankruptcy court issued a new student loan opinion that should lift the hopes of debtors overburdened by student loans. See In re DeLaet, Case #13-04032.
What is striking about this opinion is that the court granted a discharge of student loans to a relatively young debtor in good
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that retirement funds rolled over from an Individual Retirement Account to purchase an annuity are exempt from the bankruptcy estate. In re Miller (No. 13-3682). Prior to filing bankruptcy, Joseph Miller, rolled over $267,319 from his IRA account to purchase an annuity contract from Minnesota Life
A key to getting good results in a bankruptcy case is to make sure that each and every creditor receives notice of the bankruptcy filing. Failure to notify a creditor may lead to disastrous results, including the debt not being discharged or the bankruptcy case itself being dismissed for intentional withholding of information.
About the
New York attorney Austin C. Smith writes an important article in the American Bankruptcy Institute under the heading The Misinterpretation of 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(8) suggesting that federal courts have been misapplying the student loan exception to discharge since 1990.
Section 523(8) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that bankruptcy does not discharge an individual debtor from
Obtaining a discharge of student loans is a rare occurrence these days, and when the loans in question are exclusively Federal loans, the chances of discharging the debt are slim. The Nebraska bankruptcy court reinforced that reality in an opinion issued on January 8th. See In Re Harris, Adversary Case #14-4001.
“Wealth is the transfer of money from the impatient to the patient.” Warren Buffett
Deborah Sutton writes an excellent article in The Desert News about budgeting for the fun things in life. The word “budget” has a negative vibe to it. To budget is to deny yourself—to live within your means and that implies not