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Q. What Are Common Reasons People File Bankruptcy?

A. There are many reasons why someone would file bankruptcy. The most obvious is to eliminate debt.

Additional reasons include:

• To stop harassing, threatening, or annoying phone calls
• To stop wages from being garnished
• To end lawsuits or tax levies
• To force tax authorities to accept installment payment plans
• To terminate leases
• To lower interest rates
• To reduce amounts owed on loans
• To
Continue Reading Frequently Asked Questions: What Are Common Reasons People File Bankruptcy?

Q. Are My Financial Problems Serious Enough That I Should Consider Filing Bankruptcy?

A. Possibly. Take this Yes or No quiz to find out.

• Do you make just the minimum payments on your credit cards?
• Are creditors or collection agencies calling you because you owe them money?
• Are you paying for necessities like groceries and gas using credit cards?
• Are you considering consolidating your debt?
• Does your financial situation ever keep you up at
Continue Reading Frequently Asked Questions: Are My Financial Problems Serious Enough That I Should Consider Filing Bankruptcy?

Attorney Christine Wolk joined our firm recently, bringing over twenty-five years of experience in bankruptcy law. Chris has been acknowledged as a leader by her peers. A past chair of the Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Creditor Rights (BICR) Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin, she is also acknowledged as a groundbreaker in the area of foreclosure defense. Chris has given numerous seminars and presentations, and is the author of Raising a Defense to Foreclosure. Her most recent presentation was
Continue Reading Did You Know… We Have Offices Throughout the State. Meet Christine Wolk, Who Works Out of Our Oshkosh Office.

Congress does not get very much right, but its enactment of the Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) is one success it can take credit for.
We have written before about how and why we perceive Subchapter V of Chapter 11 to be a boon for business. See our January 2020 newsletter and this article of mine also from January, 2020, published by the Wisconsin State Bar:

https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/InsideTrack/Pages/Article.aspx?Volume=12&Issue=1&ArticleID=27422

Sub V was enacted because Congress finally realized, after more than 40
Continue Reading Sub V Works!

If you want to keep the property, you will ultimately have to pay the real estate taxes. Unpaid real estate taxes in Wisconsin become a first and paramount lien upon the property of which those taxes are assessed. If not paid, the County will ultimately take the property.
We have filed many cases simply to stop the county from exercising these foreclosure rights.
A Chapter 7 filing is not very helpful in achieving this goal. That case will last
Continue Reading What Will Happen to My Real Estate Taxes if I File Bankruptcy?

Chapter 13 is not usually the first choice for those who need to file bankruptcy.  Chapter 7 is, and as a result the most popular form of bankruptcy. Chapter 7 is the fastest, easiest, and least expensive form of bankruptcy.
Chapter 13 if often used by people who for one reason or another are not eligible to file for Chapter 7 or to receive a Chapter 7 discharge of debt. This could be because of a prior Chapter 7
Continue Reading Chapter 13 is Not Usually the First Choice

The American Bankruptcy Institute has encouraged Congress to reform the way student loans are dealt with in bankruptcy. Since the Bankruptcy Code was enacted in 1978, several amendments have made it more and more difficult to discharge student loans. Now our country has a student loan crisis… a needless crisis.
Proposals like free college or debt forgiveness are unfair to many, and would provide unnecessary windfalls to many others. Simply reforming the Bankruptcy Code and restoring the ability to
Continue Reading Big Changes May be Coming for Those with Student Loan Debt

Many of my clients ask me if they will be able to have credit cards following a bankruptcy. My answer is always “yes.” This week several of our clients who had filed bankruptcy received pre-qualification offers for a Capital One credit card account. The account would require no annual fee, making this offer more attractive than some of the credit card accounts these clients had before filing bankruptcy.
Capital One has been among the most aggressive of the credit card issuers
Continue Reading Credit Cards After Bankruptcy

Generally, no. You have gotten your own financial house in order, and should not risk that stability by placing it in the hands of another.
When you co-sign or guarantee the debt of someone else, you are subjecting yourself to the risk that they cannot or will not pay that debt. The creditor will then have recourse against you.
Just this week I dealt with a situation in which a mother had co-signed approximately $180,000 for loans for her son.
Continue Reading Should I Co-Sign a Loan for My Child?

This is a question we often get from clients. We explain to them that bankruptcy is an intensive information gathering exercise and that it is really all about disclosure on their parts. Bankruptcy provides a fresh start, but to get that fresh start the debtor must provide a full and complete disclosure. The debtor must also surrender any non-exempt assets for liquidation, with the proceeds to be distributed to creditors.
Naturally, debtors do not want to lose assets that
Continue Reading Do I Want the Value of My Home to Be Low?

The COVID-19 Bankruptcy Relief Extension Act of 2021 was signed this week.  This law extends the $7,500,000 debt cap for businesses under the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA).  The extension will last for one additional year, to March 27, 2022.

The Act is less than one page long, but is of great importance to small businesses.  Among the benefits it offers are the following:

  • Eliminates what is known as the absolute priority rule in Sub. V Chapter


Continue Reading Great news for struggling businesses

Recently I was asked to give advice about how single women can protect themselves from financial downturns and unexpected problems. These problems might arise from an illness or injury, from a loss of a job or income, from being sued and having a judgment placed, or even from having an auto accident without sufficient insurance. The measures to be taken will vary with the circumstances, of course, but there are some underlying principles.

First, if you have debt already,
Continue Reading Single Women and Financial Protection

March 14, coined “Pi Day” since physicist Larry Shaw started the day back in 1988 to celebrate the famous number (and recognized officially since 2009 when the US House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the day), is often celebrated in the U.S. not by giving a moment of respect to the wonders of mathematics, but by eating pie. That’s how we roll.

    What most people think of on Pi DayThis Sunday is Pi Day, so let’s
Continue Reading Pi(e) Day and Bankruptcy

The pandemic and its related shutdown orders have cost businesses trillions of dollars. They have also sent business owners scurrying to review their insurance policies. Many are not making business interruption insurance claims.

Business interruption coverage occurs when there is an insured peril. Your regular casualty coverage rebuilds and replaces physical items damaged or lost. Business interruption coverage pays for economic loss, or lost profits.

For business interruption coverage to apply, though, there must be an actual insured loss.
Continue Reading COVID Spurs Business Interruption Insurance Claims

Construction liens can have a dramatic impact on property owners, causing them to potentially default on their mortgage or other lending terms. These liens can also destroy opportunities to sell a property or secure additional financing.

The rules governing Wisconsin construction lien filings are codified at Wis. Stat. §§ 779.01 to 779.17. A contractor is required to take multiple steps to ensure a construction lien is filed properly. Those steps include, mailing the property owner a notice of intent
Continue Reading Responding to Wisconsin Construction Liens