Steven J. Richardson | June 29, 2010
One question I am often asked is whether people can get out from under an onerous tax burden by filing bankruptcy, either in a chapter 7 or a chapter 13. Trust fund penalties aside for unremitted payroll tax deductions, it is possible to discharge (wipe out) income taxes under certain circumstances. However, those circumstances are [...]
Steven J. Richardson | June 23, 2010
As I have said in many a post, and as has been my experience in my bankruptcy practice over the past 18 years, no one actually wants to file bankruptcy. In trying to avoid it, they make all sorts of mistakes, like raiding their pensions. However, another mistake is often the use of debt settlement [...]
Steven J. Richardson | June 18, 2010
In this economy, it is bad enough if you do not have a job. What is worse is if you can get one, but can’t drive to it because your license was suspended for failure to pay surcharges! However, if you find yourself in that situation in New Jersey, there is some good news: The [...]
Steven J. Richardson | June 16, 2010
People file a chapter 13 bankruptcy to restructure their debt and get their financial lives back on track. Naturally, one of the first steps towards doing that, even before they file the bankruptcy, is getting a good price on the attorneys fees. The question “Does this include everything?” is a common one in my office. [...]
Steven J. Richardson | June 14, 2010
Student loans, although not automatically nondischargeable (i.e. not wiped out in bankruptcy), have been notoriously difficult to get rid of. This is because, in order to succeed, a debtor must show “undue hardship.” But with everyone in bankruptcy suffering from financial hardship, what does this really mean? I discussed this issue in a post a [...]