S is for Strip in my Bankruptcy Alphabet.? Bankruptcy lawyers delight in stripping liens from people’s homes. In any chapter of bankruptcy, a debtor can void judgment liens that have attached to assets that would otherwise be exempt. In Chapter 13, tax liens and other statutory liens can be stripped off the asset if there…
It’s not the foreclosing creditor that really threaten California homeowners.? It’s the forces that follow, the junior lender and the tax man who can deliver the truly punishing blows to a family losing a home. Cut-off Junior Lienholders Californians enjoy the protection of the one action rule governing foreclosures.? It says that a creditor who…
People are desperate to save their homes;? scammers are pleased to part them from their money. Two Bay Area men were convicted this week of foreclosure consultant fraud. The men took money from homeowners seeking loan modifications.? Sounds innocent enough, until you recall that California law prohibits anyone, even an attorney, from taking money in…
California foreclosure law now permits a sale date to be set before the reinstatement period has run, under a new provision to the Civil Code. An amendment effective January 1, 2011 allows the trustee under the deed of trust to record the notice of sale up to five days before the 90 day cure period…
Gerri Detweiler kicks off a six part series on dealing with a home worth less than you owe at Credit.com.? Check her out this week for another point of view on this oh-too-common problem. I’m fond of her piece especially since she includes my lament that I spend my days talking people out of houses….
Can you afford to cram down a mortgage when cram down is permitted? Mortgages on a debtor’s home are protected from cram down in Chapter 13 by 1322(b)(2).? Mortgages on any other kind of real estate can be reduced to the value at filing of the collateral securing the debt as of the date of…
Insolvency is one of the exceptions to the rule that you must include cancelled debt in taxable income. The huge difference between the IRS treatment and the way we address insolvency in bankruptcy is that the IRS includes retirement assets in the solvency calculation. The last time I wrote about cancellation of debt and the…
Since I was quoted on the front page of the Mercury News on Monday, I’ve been inundated with inquires about how lien stripping in bankruptcy works. So here goes: A voluntary lien, like a deed of trust securing a second loan, line of credit, or HELOC, can be voided only in Chapter 13 or Chapter…
Everyone who has made the painful decision to let an unaffordable house go to foreclosure wants to know how long before they have to get out.? While the statutory foreclosure process in California takes a little more than 4 months, if the the creditor is perfectly efficient, creditors aren’t perfectly efficient, and often seem to…
It’s bad enough when the client loses their home to foreclosure, but it’s a double whammy when the tax bill arrives for money they never saw.? Scope out the tax traps in the world of indebted clients at a 2 hour workshop for lawyers and tax professionals April 9 at Lincoln Law School. Be prepared…
