Criminal charges can also lead to civil claims against you. Bankruptcy can help with certain crucial aspects of civil litigation. Criminal and Civil Law As we discussed last week, bankruptcy does not write off criminal fines or restitution. And the “automatic stay,” which stops ... Read More »
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Can . . . Remove a Judgment Lien
Besides legally writing off all or most of your debts, "straight bankruptcy" can often remove judgment liens from the title of your home. Chapter 7 bankruptcy usually has two main goals, and usually accomplishes them. #1: Filing the bankruptcy case immediately stops your creditors from ... Read More »
The Judgment Liens that Can Be “Avoided” from Your Home’s Title
Bankruptcy can’t get rid of most creditor liens on what you own. But judgment liens on your home are an exception. Our last blog post was about judgment liens, why they are so dangerous, and how both Chapter 7 and 13 types of bankruptcy can deal with them. Today’s blog post ... Read More »
A Fresh Start by “Avoiding” a Judgment Lien on Your Home
Bankruptcy doesn’t just give you a fresh start by writing off debts. It frees up your home by often getting rid of its judgment liens. Writing off debts is good. But if a creditor got a judgment against you, and you own a home, most likely that debt has also turned into a ... Read More »
Chapter 7 and Chapter 13–Avoiding Judgment Liens on Your Home
An underappreciated benefit of filing bankruptcy is that you can usually remove judgment liens from your home’s title. In so many ways Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” and Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” are very different, particularly in the tools they each use ... Read More »
Mistakes to Avoid–Selling Your Home out of Desperation
If you’re hurting financially and getting pressured to sell your home, first get bankruptcy advice to potentially save you lots of money. Do you have serious financial pressures inducing you to sell your home? Those pressures may be from your mortgage lender itself or other ... Read More »
Mistakes to Avoid–Prevent Judgment Liens against Your Home
Don't let a creditor get a judgment against you. File a bankruptcy case before that can happen. It’s All Too Easy for a Creditor to Get a Judgment against You If you are seriously behind on payments to a creditor, you can end up with a court judgment against you and a judgment lien ... Read More »
Making Sense of Bankruptcy: Erasing a Judgment Lien from the Title to Your Home in a Chapter 7 “Straight Bankruptcy”
A judgment lien puts a cloud on the title to your home. Bankruptcy can often get rid of the underlying debt and the judgment lien as well. This is the sentence that we’re explaining today, phrase by phrase: A judgment lien that attaches to your home can be permanently removed ... Read More »