Romance scams, a heartless manipulation of trust and affection, can inflict profound emotional and financial damage upon their victims. As the web of deceit unravels, victims often find themselves grappling with dire financial consequences, pushing them towards the disheartening prospect of filing for bankruptcy. Many bankruptcy attorneys around the country are reporting more and more instances of victims of these scams needing to file bankruptcy. In the throes of a romance scam, victims are often ensnared by a skilled conRead more

Co-signing a loan for someone can be a well-intentioned gesture, often done to help a friend or family member obtain credit when they might not qualify on their own. But this seemingly generous act carries substantial risks that can potentially lead to financial consequences, including the necessity of filing bankruptcy. The primary risk of co-signing a loan is that you become equally responsible for the debt alongside the borrower. This means that if the borrower fails to make timely paymentsRead more

A frequent problem for debtors in bankruptcy are the transfers of property and loan payments to family members before filing. In bankruptcy, fraudulent transfer refers to the transfer of assets by debtors with the intention of defrauding creditors. These transfers before someone files bankruptcy can create serious problems and may include transferring assets for less than fair market value to a friend or family member. By trying to get rid of assets, debtors may think they are shielding them fromRead more

Compound interest is the process of earning interest not only on the amount of money you deposit but also on the accumulated interest. In other words, you earn interest on both the original amount deposited and the interest generated on that deposit. But compound interest can also be applied to debt. When it comes to savings or investments, compound interest works in our favor, allowing our money to grow faster over time. But with debt, compound interest works against us,Read more

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit with full force in the spring of 2020 I made the decision to stop having in-person meetings for consultations and bankruptcy schedule reviews and signings. To protect my health and the health of my staff and my clients I, like millions of other people around the world, started using technology more widely in my bankruptcy practice. I signed up for Zoom, purchased better webcams, expanded our electronic document procedures, created an electronic payment system andRead more

Unlike many states that have a dollar cap on their homestead exemptions, Iowa has an unlimited homestead exemption, meaning that you could protect a homestead of unlimited value from the debt collection of creditors, including a bankruptcy trustee (but not the lender to which you’ve given a mortgage). These homestead exemptions, just like exemptions for other property like vehicles, household goods and retirement accounts, are critical to preventing creditors from taking a debtor’s property in satisfaction of debts not repaid.Read more

Some people mistakenly believe that overpayments of government benefits like unemployment and Social Security cannot be discharged in bankruptcy or are entitled to priority status, like recent taxes. In truth, these benefit overpayments aren’t entitled to any special treatment unless the government proves in a separate adversary proceeding that the overpayments were caused by fraud committed by the debtor. A recent Kentucky bankruptcy court decision ruled an overpayment of unemployment benefits was not a priority claim in Chapter 13 bankruptcy.Read more

In two separate rulings by the Iowa Supreme Court and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Iowa, debtors who have deferred compensation plans through their employer should have less concern about losing the benefit of those plans either inside or outside bankruptcy.  Iowa law provides an exemption from attachment by a creditor for any payments made under a “pension, annuity, or similar plan or contract on account of illness, disability, death, age, or length of service.” InRead more