ABI Blog Exchange

3 ways to cash in on 529 plans

College savings plans can work for and against you. Get the most out of yours.

Mortgages hit record; signal refinance

With mortgage rates at historical lows, why aren't more people refinancing their home loans?

Are federal benefits safe from garnishment?

A veteran asks if his bank account is safe from garnishment.

Reporting royalty income for textbook

Your husband may be a full-time professor, but as an author he is considered self-employed.

Judgments and Liens — Different, Depending on Where you Live

Why bother to do a bankruptcy?!? A client told me yesterday he had been researching on the internet over the weekend and had learned that “judgments cannot be discharged”, and so “why is it worth doing a bankruptcy?” He was concerned because a big

Bedford Park Bankruptcy Lawyer Illustrates The Power Of The Automatic Stay

Link When a debtor files his first chapter 7 or chapter 13 case, by operation of law something called the automatic stay is imposed that protects the debtor from creditors’ attempts to collect their debts. The stay is a court order that not only

Jobs Picture Looks a Little Brighter

Tallying the Economic Toll of 9/11

What Can You Do When You Can’t Open a Bank Account Because You Have a Poor ChexSystems History?

For those who have never before heard of ChexSystems before a short explanation is in order. ChexSystems is a credit reporting agency much like Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. While Experian, Equifax and TransUnion report information to

Who Earns $100 Million and is in Bankruptcy?

The Patriots don't play the Philadelphia Eagles until Thanksgiving Sunday ---November 27. The question is not who will win. We here in Massachusetts know the New England Patriots will be ready for them come Week 12. The question, for those of us who

It's the End of the Bank Branch as We Know It

Banks must make significant changes to their branch networks, further automating transaction processing, changing the skills sets of branch employees, and altering the physical designs of branch offices

Bank Held a Valid Security Interest in Debtor's Collateral and Thereby Qualified for a Contemporaneous Exchange of New Value Exception Under 547(c)(1) and Repayment on Loan was not a Fraudulent Conveyance Under 548

In re: J. Silver Clothing, Inc., Chapter 7, Case No. 05-10522 (PJW); Burtch v. Connecticut Community Bank, N.A. d/b/a The Greenwich Bank, Adv. Pro. No. 07-50814 (KG) (April 29, 2011) (J. Gross) Summary: The Chapter 7 Trustee (the “Trustee”) filed a

Robo-Signing Settlement Needs to Go All the Way

To do any good the robo-signing settlement should include mandatory, widely applicable principal reductions targeted to homeowners who were the hardest hit.

Bankruptcy Court Holds That Debtor's Claims Relating To Environmental Clean-Up of Debtor's Property Are Non-Core

In re: NEC Holdings Corp., et al., Chapter 11, Case No. 10-11890 (PJW); NEC Holdings Corp., et al. v. Linde LLC, et al., Adv. Proc. No. 11-51129 (PJW) (J. Walsh) (May 4, 2011, amended May 18, 2011) The Court was asked to determine whether

"Make-Whole Premium" Claims Are Akin To Claims For Liquidated Damages, Not Claims For Unmatured Interest And Are Therefore, Not Subject to Disallowance, But Rather Allowable Unsecured Claims

In re: Trico Marine Services, Inc., Case No. 10-12653 (BLS) (April 15, 2011) (J. Shannon) The Court was asked to decide the Debtors’ motion (the “ Motion”) to determine the validity and priority of a certain make-whole premium (the “ Make-Whole

No Five-Year Plan Limitation in Chapter 11

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is usually a good fix for someone behind on their mortgage if a loan modification outside of bankruptcy is not possible and foreclosure is looming. However, there are times when a Chapter 13 will not work. I will mention three

Chapter 13 Mortgage Cram-Down On Multi-Family Building When Debtor Lives In One Of Units

Chapter 13 debtors can cram-down the value of mortgages on properties other than their principal residence. The debtor initiates the process by filing a motion to value the underlying property. If the property is under water the court will modify...

Consistently High Unemployment Adds To Nations Woes

The Labor Department reports that there are officially 13 million Americans out of work; but if you were to count those who have given up on finding a job unemployment numbers would rise even higher. One of the ironic effects of high unemployment has

Why Michael Vick’s Bankruptcy Plan Is Still A Good Deal

There’s been lots of handwringing and gaping mouths since it was “discovered” that a large portion of Michael Vick’s new contract of $40 million will go to his bankruptcy estate to pay creditors. While it may seem that the bankruptcy payout is an

Oprah-Endorsed Restaurant Files for Bankruptcy

Getty Images Oprah Winfrey can do a lot of things: give you a car, get you to read, inspire a hilarious “Saturday Night Live” skit. But we’ve found one crack in the legendary media maven’s track record of wins. Surprisingly, it seems she can’t save a