Bankruptcy filing: how to overcome your own mental resistance
The need for meaningful relief from credit card debt is an issue we continue to follow closely in this blog. As we discussed in our May 10 post, consumers have been cutting down recently on the amount of debt they are taking on. But problems with credit card still plague many people in San Antonio […]
For many grads, overwhelming problems with student loan debt
For decades, the middle class has bought into a promise that is a basic premise of American life. Studying hard and staying in school is supposed to pay off. Even if individuals and families have to borrow tens of thousands to do it, there is supposed to be a good job on the other end […]
Are inherited retirement accounts protected in bankruptcy?
One of the key questions in a bankruptcy proceeding is exempt vs. non-exempt assets. And one of issues that can come up there is whether individual retirement accounts that someone has inherited should be considered exempt assets — and therefore beyond the reach of someone’s bankruptcy creditors. Federal courts have not agreed on how this […]
Bounced checks add insult to injury of wrongful foreclosure
It’s a classic case of adding insult to injury. Big banks that engaged in wrongful foreclosure practices have finally gotten around to sending checks to compensate homeowners for at least some of the harm they suffered. But the checks bounced! In the San Antonio area and nationwide, foreclosure has affected an almost unimaginable number of […]
Foreclosure in Texas: how long does the process take?
It’s been a few months since we wrote about foreclosure. We last covered it in a discussion of the benefits of the automatic stay in bankruptcy. The points we made in our December 5 post about the benefits of bankruptcy as a form of genuine debt relief remain valid. Today, we will explain how foreclosure […]
Bankruptcy audit program suspended indefinitely
When Congress revised the nation’s bankruptcy laws in 2005, there were concerns it could become more difficult to file for bankruptcy. Fortunately, that has not been the case for most people interested in fling. The 2005 law did add a few additional hoops to jump through. Overall, though, bankruptcy remains a very useful strategy in […]
Debt Consolidation 101: Brush up on what you know (or don’t know
In our Bexar County law office, we help people who have found themselves in financial quicksand. They know they need to get out, but they cannot seem to do it on their because their strongest efforts just seem to amount to fruitless thrashing. To take the analogy further, we aspire to be the guy standing […]
Don’t let dubious debt collectors keep you from real debt relief
Informing people about the threat of unfair or fraudulent debt collection practices is one of the themes of this blog. In our February 15 post we wrote about a recent Texas case in which the Federal Trade Commission took against a debt-collection company for egregious violations. The problem is so big, however, that fake debt […]
Boomers and credit card debt: how bankruptcy can help
When does credit card debt become so big that trying to chip away at it no longer makes much sense? Many people in the San Antonio area and across the country are struggling with this question. Of course, the need for debt relief varies by person often reflects someone’s stage in life. For young people, […]
Fighting back against debt collection threats
The debt collection industry is out of control. Indeed, it has been out of control for years. But consumers and their advocates, as well as government regulators, are increasingly fighting back. If you are struggling with the need for debt relief, you may have experienced unfair collection practices. You may even have experienced one or […]