Starting September 12, 2008, the court location for Lake County bankruptcy cases will change.  The new address will be: Park City Branch Court Courtroom B 301 Greenleaf Avenue Park City, IL  60085 The hearing times will not change from the schedule set at Lakehurst.  As for the Lakekhurst courthouse, we hardly knew you; we will hardly miss you.

In case you didn’t feel it, the numbers will tell the story. The total number of U.S. bankruptcies filed during the first three months of 2008 increased 26.9 percent over the same period in 2007. This figure is provided by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts which released the information today. Specifically, [...]

Yes, you read that correctly.  Debit audits are officially back as of May 12, 2008.  This is despite the fact that the panel trustee already examines the debtor, and despite the fact that the U.S. Trustee already reviews every petition filed with the Clerk.  The new notice from the office of the U.S. Trustee, dated [...]

Beware of the dangers in co-signing for another person: In a hypothetical case of Joseph Debtor, a creditor was listed on the Petition and notice was properly sent.  However, in addition to Joseph Debtor, there is also a co-debtor, Courtney Co-Debtor.  The creditor can pursue the debt against the non-filing party, in this case, Courtney Co-Debtor.  [...]

The Clerk of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois has just issued an updated version of the form required to accompany all motions for relief from stay.  The form includes the following items: Debtor, Creditor, Relief Sought, Chapter 13 Confirmation Date Hearing or Date Confirmed; Chapter 7  Report of No-Assets or Date of [...]

There is nothing intuitive about filing amended schedules at the time of conversion from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7. You can spend an eternity looking for an event code on the bankruptcy clerk’s website that makes sense.  For example, if you are looking for “amended schedules at time of conversion”, you will never find it.  [...]

Bankruptcy Code Section 727(a)(8):  Debtor can receive a discharge under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code every eight years and a day. Bankruptcy Code Section 1328(f):  Debtor cannot receive a discharge under Chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code if he received a discharge in a prior Chapter 7 bankruptcy case filed within four years [...]

The Fiscal Year 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Public Law 110-161, provided no funding for debtor audits.  Thus, the United States Trustee Program has suspended its designation of cases set for audit.  The USTP is looking for other source of funding so that audits can be reinstated. Additionally, pursuant to Section 603(a) of BAPCPA and 28 U.S.C. [...]

Chapter 7 debtors are required to provide specific tax information pursuant to Section 521(7)(e)(2)(A)(i) of the Bankruptcy Code.  The requirement states that the debtor shall provide, not later than 7 days before the date first set for the first meeting of creditors, to the trustee a copy of the Federal income tax return required under [...]

Kudos to Mary Powers, a former attorney with the United States’ Trustee’s office, who testified recently before the Subcommittee on Administration & Commercial Law House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.  She testified that she was pressured to produced numbers of cases where there was presumed abuse under the current bankruptcy law.  She indicated that there was [...]

It seems that every week or so, another government official, politician, or head of a department, stands up before the media and discusses the pending foreclosure crisis in America.  They espouse different ways of assisting with the foreclosure crisis, including all working together to find a solution to help people save their homes.  In reality, [...]

David M. Siegel 9-19-07 appearance on FoxNews commenting on the current foreclosure crisis and how bankruptcy can be a solution Link to Video | MyFoxChicago.com

On Saturday, September 1st, David Siegel will be a featured guest on the Townstone Financial Radio Show which airs on 105.9 FM, WCKG.  He will be on air from 1:30 - 2:00 P.M., taking calls and talking generally about adjustable rate mortgages and their affect on Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. The segment will be both educational [...]

It has been almost two years since the bankruptcy laws were reformed.  However, it is still difficult to fully grasp the complexity of the means test.  This is especially true in cases where both spouses are not filing.  There are certain deductions that the non-filing spouse can include on the means test and several that [...]

Judge Goldgar has released a decision In re Helene A. Hopkins, 07B 1134.  For purposes of Section 1325(a)(5)(B)(i)(I)(aa), the “debt determined under non-bankruptcy law” is whatever the amount the debtor owed the creditor under the contract at the time the petition was filed.  When the secured creditor’s claim is secured b a lien on a [...]