The North Carolina Bankruptcy Information Blog

It’s been a very rough year for media companies, particularly newspaper publishers. An ongoing decline in advertising revenue, huge debt and a continuing inability to obtain additional credit have threatened the industry at large. It should come as no surprise, then, that a number of newspaper publishers have sought protection from creditors through Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings and have been sorting out their financial affairs under the oversight of U.S. bankruptcy courts.

Tribune Co., home to the Chicago Tribune, has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since December 2008. A variety of creditors are fighting for control of Tribune Co., chief among them senior creditors led by JPMorgan Chase, which is challenging a bankruptcy court decision to extend the deadline for Tribune Co.…

Foreclosure is a common precursor to bankruptcy. More often than necessary, it happens before a family really knows where to turn for help.

Worse yet, those who lose their home in foreclosure continue to spiral into debt and end up filing bankruptcy long after it could have been used to help save their home in addition to relieving them from the agony of overwhelming monthly credit card bills and other debts. Fortunately for many citizens of North Carolina, a foreclosure prevention program has become a model for the nation and to date has assisted more than 2,500 of us from having to give back the property we worked so hard to obtain.…

Student loans are the source of many an American’s debt woes, especially in today’s down economy. If you have ever looked into discharging your student loan debt through a bankruptcy filing, you have discovered that, while not impossible, discharging student loans in bankruptcy is extraordinarily difficult.

Student loans are not dischargeable in bankruptcy unless continued payment of those loans poses an “undue hardship” under Bankruptcy Code Section 523(a)(8). While the term “undue hardship” is not defined in the statute, in practical terms, the “undue hardship” standard has been applied extremely strictly. Speaking in broad terms, student loans cannot generally be discharged unless the debtor in question is physically unable to work and is unlikely to be able to obtain gainful employment anytime in the future.…

A common practice for many businesses and individuals is to make charitable contributions that can then be used as a tax deduction. Whether the motivation be a tax benefit or true philanthropy, many organizations depend on these contributions.

The contributions that Joe Kimmel has made to two local universities in western North Carolina are likely to come to an end soon as the philanthropic business man has filed for personal bankruptcy protection as well as protection for his company, Kimmel and Associates. Kimmel is the sole owner of Kimmel and Associates, a company that specializes in executive searches for the construction industry.…

Back in 2005, credit card companies were convinced – or at least tried hard to convince everyone else – that there was a bankruptcy crisis in the United States. Bankruptcy rates had doubled since 1980, they pointed out. ‘Shopaholics’ were charging everything under the sun and then declaring bankruptcy, forcing the credit card companies to eat their debt. They then had no choice but to pass these expenses on to consumers in the form of higher fees and interest rates.

In 2005, the major banks spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying Congress to make it harder for consumers to declare bankruptcy.…

For Americans laboring in long department stores lines, hot off the hunt for holiday deals, the cashier question “would you like to save 10% on your purchase today?” can be as common as a seasonal cold. And for well-known retailers seeking to make a profit this Christmas shopping season—from Target to World Market—pitching a retail credit card with the promise of an initial discount is an innovative way to make them fast money and you financially miserable.

With department stores facing tough financial times, they’re depending on customers just like you to buy more and more during the traditionally consumer-driven holiday season.…

The American Bankruptcy Institute, relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center, reports that more than 135,000 consumers filed for bankruptcy in October 2009. The industry group estimates that this represents a nearly 9% increase in filings from the previous month. ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano commented that the increase in consumer bankruptcy filings in October, together with a reported 7 percent increase in business cases, “demonstrates the sustained stress on the U.S. Economy.”

The American Bankruptcy Institute further predicts that by year’s end, total bankruptcy filings will be up 30% over 2008. In fact, as of October, bankruptcy filings were up 22% over the same period in the previous year, with roughly 950,000 filings, as compared to roughly 700,000 in the same period in 2008.…

Making the decision to file is a difficult one. Choosing the right attorney is a pretty daunting task as well. Now that all that is done it is time to make and go to your first appointment.

Expect to be a little anxious. You are about to commit to a big lifestyle change. Just remember that this is a necessary step to being able to move on with your life and getting rid of all your financial troubles.

Besides your nerves, what else should you expect to see/ get in your first appointment with your bankruptcy lawyer?

You are going to go over your case.…

While credit card debt may not always be the reason a person files bankruptcy, it is a significant factor in many cases. There are myriad reasons why those balances become so unruly. Impulse purchases, for example. However, a lot of that debt can also be attributed to deliberately confusing contract agreements.

Any graphic designer or communications professional would agree that if you don’t want your audience to get the message, present it in multiple pages of minuscule, light-grey type on a white background and scramble it with a liberal dose of intimidating legal context. Talk about a page turner! Or more realistically, a page shredder.…

For many Americans, the news of a credit card company declaring bankruptcy would be welcome news. However, before any corks are popped, those celebrating should look a little deeper into what Advanta Corp.’s Chapter 11 filing means for the economy.

Advanta Corp. provides credit cards to small businesses, which they can use to buy general business items and support operations. Because the recession has had such a tremendous impact on our nation’s small business owners, few Advanta customers could repay their debt, leaving the company in dire straits. The bankruptcy is not a complete surprise to banking analysts or Wall Street, as the company ceased all activity on current accounts a number of months ago.…

Apart from the more typical fraudulent charges and billing errors, a common situation leading to credit disputes concerns purchase protection. This comes into play when you make a big ticket purchase from a merchant, charge it to your credit card, and then receive the good…only to discover that it is defective. Under federal law, you will be able to dispute the charge if the purchase was for more than $50 and was made within 100 miles of your home. Even if you don’t meet one or both of these requirements, it’s worth a try to dispute because not everyone will insist on enforcing the bar, especially if you made the purchase online.…

The four-year anniversary of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) is right around the corner. You might recall all the hype in the months leading up to the enactment of BAPCPA. This was the banking and credit industry’s seventh attempt to get the legislation on the books. They pitched BAPCPA as necessary to curb “rampant abuse” and to restore “personal responsibility and integrity” in the bankruptcy process. With the Bush Administration at the helm of a Congress chock full of conservative lawmakers, the banks and credit card companies finally clinched a large enough sympathetic audience to bring its agenda to life.…

So let’s say you run into some financial troubles. You meet with a bankruptcy attorney to discuss your options. You’re thinking that, if you’re going to file, you should try to refinance your mortgage first to lower the payments and ease some of the pressure. You’re also thinking you might want to go ahead and replace that old clunker with a reliable car to make sure you won’t have a problem getting to work during your bankruptcy case. And let’s say the attorney agrees with you. Can he tell you that? It seems like the answer should be obvious. He’s a bankruptcy attorney.…

Let’s say you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition in a given year. You state in your petition that you owe state income taxes for the previous year and give an estimate of that amount. The bankruptcy court confirms your plan. You then file your state income tax return, showing you owe even more than you stated in the plan, and you don’t pay the taxes. You successfully complete the plan over the next few years. The bankruptcy court issues a discharge order, declaring you free of all debts under the plan. Everything seems fine: you’re ready to put your troubled financial past behind you and move on with your new life.…

The economy is so grim right now it’s hard to see the silver lining, but the good news about markets is that they rarely stand still forever. Even now, economists are slowly and cautiously becoming more optimistic about the situation, and consumers are gradually gaining back confidence. The housing market, for example, posted a quarterly rise in prices for the first time in three years, which may indicate a stirring of recovery. Still, there are a lot of homes out there not worth half what they were recently, and new construction has ground to a halt for the time being. Is there a silver lining in this one for you?…

A successful bankruptcy is as much about post-bankruptcy decision making as it is about making the initial decision to file. A lot needs to go into each spending choice, every credit consideration and your personal financial management goals.

Multiple bankruptcies are common. However, if you feel you may be getting close to having to file again and the reason is not the direct result of an uncontrollable emergency, there may be some broader, underlying personal issues that were not addressed the first time around. At the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt, we take pride in preparing our clients for a life outside of bankruptcy as well.…

Think that only credit card companies and gym memberships get passed off to collection agents? Think again.

In recent years, and now more than ever given the economy, local governments are selling overdue property tax accounts to private companies to gain immediate access to the money needed to supply public services. The downside is that these firms, called tax lien investors, can charge very high penalties and double the normal interest rates.

Housing and consumer advocates across the country are beginning to get wind of the tactics and have started calling for regulation. Although, municipalities have a strong argument for the raising of money this way because, like property taxes, it gets used to build roads, schools and supply public services.…

The last installment of the hugely successful Terminator franchise was widely regarded as anemic―except at the box office , where it grossed a healthy $370 million. That’s a pretty good return on the film, and it hasn’t even been released to DVD yet. So with that kind of success, you’d think the franchise owners would be laughing all the way to the bank, right? Well, not quite. This is another case that perfectly illustrates how complicated finances can be―and how bankruptcy protection is an important strategic tool for individuals and business owners, even apparently successful ones . The L.A. Times reported that franchise rights owners Victor Kubicek and Derek Anderson have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for three of their companies.…

Fear of foreclosure is certainly pushing many families into bankruptcy. Although there are now many programs, both at the state and federal level, to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, if your lender is unwilling to work with you, bankruptcy may be the only way you can stay in your home.

Unfortunately, if you don’t choose to seek help through a bankruptcy attorney or your lender, there are plenty of criminal actors out there that would be more than happy to assist in escaping your financial woes.

With the rise in bankruptcies and foreclosures across America, thieves are growing more bold in their effort to take whatever belongings, and dignity, from those facing the most challenging of economic circumstances.…

Forget getting cash for your clunker. If you want a real deal on a car after bankruptcy, hop online and get bidding. General Motors has just announced a partnership with its online auction counterpart eBay to start posting vehicles from more than 200 California dealerships as part of an ongoing effort to spur sales after the car maker’s recent bankruptcy.

While being billed as only a temporary effort, eBay and General Motors will create individually branded Web sites under eBay’s car buying arm, eBay Motors. The sites, aptly named gm.ebay.com, chevy.ebay.com, gmc.ebay.com, pontiac.ebay.com and so on are considered beta tests to see how such a program could continue to fuel car sales across the country.…