Steven J. Richardson | July 1, 2010
Occasionally, when interviewing a client for bankruptcy, I am told, “Well, I do work for this guy, but it is under the table/off the books.” The fraud consequences of not declaring this income on your tax return aside, this strategy is always a bad idea. What most people do not realize is that the downside [...]
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 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 1, 2010
When someone files bankruptcy, they must list all of their assets, including money in their bank accounts. Exemptions are also available to protect those assets from the trustee, who might otherwise use the value of said asset to pay debts. The trustee, however, has a right to object to those exemptions by a certain deadline. [...]
Steven J. Richardson | May 18, 2010
In this bad economy, more and more creditors are selling off their old debt to entities called “factors,” who then sue to collect. The creditor wins because they get paid money they might not have ever received, while the factor wins because they buy the debt at a discount, then go after the debtor for [...]