Steven J. Richardson | July 26, 2010
Many clients come to me after having been sued by one or more of their creditors, and they are concerned that it is too late to do anything about that particular debt. I would have to say, though, that in the vast majority of cases, a debtor can still wipe out that debt. However, the [...]
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 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 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. [...]