Tag Archives: Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyers
Changes Coming To Student Loan Payments?
President-elect Donald Trump wants to tweak existing federal programs and help borrowers repay their school loans at a comfortable pace. Under a plan he proposed in October 2016, monthly payments would be capped at 12.5 percent of the borrowers’ income for 180 months (15 years), and once the repayment period expires, any remaining student… Read More »
Eliminating Debt Through Bankruptcy
It would be nice if bankruptcy was a magic wand that instantly discharged all consumer debts. After all, bankruptcy is a fresh start, and people cannot obtain this fresh start while still saddled with debts they cannot pay. Alas, the world does not work that way, largely because moneylenders have financial rights as well,… Read More »
Your Bankruptcy And Your Security Clearance
Federal law clearly states that it is illegal to discriminate against people who file bankruptcy, yet the myth persists among some people that a voluntary petition adversely affects security clearances. One of the most important provisions in Department of Defense Directive 5220.6, which controls security clearance issuance, is in the preamble: “each [area] is… Read More »
Bankruptcy Month
Some observers believe that venerable retailer Sears may be getting a head start on the unofficial holiday that does not involve a gift exchange or warm nostalgic feelings, and so no one wants to celebrate it. Just as the busy holiday shopping season started, Sears announced that it was closing several K-Mart locations and… Read More »
Can I Keep My Sports Memorabilia In Bankruptcy?
Former basketball phenom and erstwhile actor Darius Miles, who made over $60 million in his brief professional career, may have to part with his sports memorabilia collection at an upcoming bankruptcy auction. The Los Angeles Clippers selected the 18-year-old East St. Louis High School standout in the first round of the 2000 draft; in… Read More »
Trump Adds ‘King Of Bankruptcy’ To His Cabinet
President-elect Donald Trump tapped multi-millionaire investor Wilbur Ross to be his Commerce Secretary. Some people in and around industrial Northwest Indiana call Mr. Ross the “king of bankruptcy,” because in the past, he has purchased companies in distressed industries at a discount, often while they are in bankruptcy, and either liquidated their assets or… Read More »
Sun Setting On HAMP
The end of 2016 also means the end of the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program, an initiative that has helped many distressed homeowners, and in other situations, made already-stressful situations nearly unbearable. HAMP appeared in 2009, just as the foreclosure crisis reached a crescendo. At the crisis’ height, one in every 300 households received… Read More »
Coming Changes To Illinois Foreclosure Law
Several tweaks to the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law will expire around the end of the year, barring some unforeseen legislative action. One provision, the GPN rule, expired in July 2016. Lawmakers allowed the Grace Period Notice loophole to lapse, in part, because of a lower foreclosure volume. Similarly, a 0.1 percent foreclosure sale fee… Read More »
The Financial Comeback Trail
Abraham Lincoln, one of Illinois’ favorite sons, declared bankruptcy in 1833. In his early 20s, Lincoln worked various jobs in Springfield, and that work included employment at a local general store. When the establishment closed, the young and enterprising Lincoln decided to open his own store in New Salem with a business partner. The… Read More »
Can I File Bankruptcy Again?
They say that lightning never strikes twice in the same place; unfortunately, financial misfortune comes with no such guarantee. Job loss, serious illness, divorce, and other unexpected emergencies may occur once in a lifetime or once a year, and it is almost impossible to predict when the next storm will arrive. That unpredictability and… Read More »
