What Should You Expect? Clients in Chapter 13 bankruptcy can make their Chapter 13 plan payments several ways. In Iowa the Chapter 13 trustee doesn’t accept personal checks and can’t do withdrawals from bank accounts but money orders or cashier’s checks can be mailed to the trustee each month. The debtors’ name and case number should be put on the money order or cashier’s check. The best way to make plan payments is a wage deduction order. These wage deductionsRead more
Right to Cure Credit Card Debts
What Are Your Rights in Iowa? Iowa law requires a creditor to provide a debtor with a written notice of their right to cure a delinquent amount. This must happen before a lawsuit can be filed to collect a consumer debt. The notice must provide the debtor at least 20 days to pay the defaulted amount. The notice to cure also has to include a statement of the total amount to be paid, plus an itemization of the charges. FailureRead more
Before You Agree to A Debt Management Settlement Scams… Read This
Each year, one of our clients discloses that before contacting us about bankruptcy they had tried to settle their debts with the help of a debt settlement company. In every case the company led our clients to believe their debts could be settled without the need for bankruptcy. Our clients had frequently paid thousands of dollars to the companies with little relief to their overall financial situation. What Happens In These Scams? Even if one or two of the debtsRead more
How Does A “Chapter 20” Bankruptcy Work?
Most people are familiar with Chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13 of bankruptcy. Chapter 12 is for family farmers. Chapter 11 is often used by large corporations. Chapters 7 and 13 are used for consumers But what’s a “Chapter 20?” You won’t actually find mention of Chapter 20 anywhere in the bankruptcy code but it’s the commonly used name for a Chapter 13 following a Chapter 7. But why would anyone file two bankruptcies, one right after the other? HereRead more
Credit Repair Scams
Late night television and the Internet is full of advertisements for companies promising to remove: bankruptcies judgments negative information from credit reports. Sometimes they even offer to help you create an entirely new credit identity. These promotions need to be approached cautiously though. In truth, no one can remove negative information from your credit report if it’s accurate. And some of the tactics suggested by credit repair companies are illegal or ineffective. Like applying for an Employer Identification Number underRead more
Judge Sanctions Credit Union
One of my Chapter 13 clients came to me with complaints that a credit union listed in his bankruptcy as a creditor was sending him letters demanding payment of a debt already being paid through his Chapter 13 plan. The credit union certainly knew of the bankruptcy because it had filed a proof of claim and had received monthly payments from the trustee for over three years. We advised the client to wait until the credit union had sent multipleRead more
Do You Know What Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Is?
What Is Chapter 13 Bankruptcy? Chapter 13 bankruptcy helps a person reorganize debts. Over a 3-5 year period debtors make payments to a trustee, who disburses the funds to creditors. Unpaid debts remaining at the end of the plan period are discharged, just as they would be in a Chapter 7. Secured creditors may be paid by the trustee or directly by the debtor. Unsecured creditors may receive payments if there is income left over each month beyond what isRead more
