Book News

In the next few hours there will be a deep discount applied to the book on Amazon so if you have been thinking about buying it for 14.95 now is you chance to get it for much much less.   Time to jump the sale wont last forever.  

Detroit bankruptcy news

http://www.freep.com/article/20140327/NEWS01/303270095/Detroit-swaps-bankruptcy-Chapter-9-UBS-Bank-of-America-Merrill-Lynch

Same Sex Marriage and Bankruptcy

In my private practice days I filed a few same sex couples bankruptcies and they were always plagued with issues since their relationships were not recognized by the federal courts.  This resulted in us having to file two separate petitions at considerable expense to the couple.

I recently saw this post about some changes to this process which I thought our readers might find interesting

Are all debts included in your Bankruptcy?

I found this useful question and answer on Bankrate.com that I thought our readers might find insightful.

About the author

Jeffrey Holst is the author of the self-published book "Should I File:A Definitive Guide to Bankruptcy."  He holds an M.B.A from Grand Valley State University and earned his J.D. Cum Laude from Michigan State University.  He is licensed to practice law in Michigan and Tennessee.   He currently resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee where he is general counsel for a closely held company in the transportation industry. 

For your viewing pleasure, here is commercial I used to use back in the day when I used practice law.  Let me know what you think.

****this is not a solicitation for Legal Services,  I am no longer taking new clients and work exclusively as in house counsel for a small closely held company.****

Commercial Bankruptcy Filings for 2013

Good news on the economic front according to the Wall Street Journal commercial bankruptcies fell 24% to a pre-financial crisis level of 43,934.  2007 the first year of the fiscal meltdown saw 46,132 commercial bankruptcies, in 2012 the number was 57,702.

Additionally my conversations with consumer bankruptcy attorneys also show a marked decline in filings.  I havent yet seen the final numbers but I expect them to also be down significantly.  

Lets all hope that 2014 is a banner economic year.

Merry Christmas

I have been quite busy the last few weeks and consequently have been neglecting my responsibilities to our readers.  For that I apologize.  Christmas is quickly approaching, and this time of year people tend to put off the consideration of Bankruptcy.  I can understand why people dont choose to file in December particularly the end of December but I do caution those readers who are going to be filing in the next few months.

It is immoral and also a violation of the bankruptcy code itself to charge Christmas presents with the intent to file in the future.  Many attorneys will say some thing like "you just have to wait 90 days," but this isnt entirely accurate.  It is true that the look-back period is 90 days for non-insider transactions like credit card charges however there are exceptions.  More importantly if you dont intend to pay the money back at the time you charge it you are committing fraud and that is non-dischargeable and quite frankly morally bankrupt.  

So celebrate the holidays, shop all you want but keep in mind the best course of action is to only buy stuff you can afford.  (This is true whether you plan to file or not).  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  

And if you are shopping or just feel like supporting this site you might consider buying one of these fine books from Amazon.com.