Posts by Michelle Labayen

Thanksgiving Day is coming up soon, and that means black Friday is just around the corner. The holiday will kick off a storm of spending. The average American spends $920 on holiday gifts every year. This time of year can be rough for people who are experiencing financial problems. There’s a web of expectations and…

It’s natural to get stressed out during a debt collection call. Debt collectors are in fact trained to ramp up that stress. It’s important to realize you have the power in this situation. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act protects you.  Take these steps to ensure you get the full extent of that protection. #1)…

Timing matters to the successful execution of a bankruptcy. The things you do directly prior to your bankruptcy can make a big difference to your outcome. A good bankruptcy attorney will ask if you’ve engaged in any of these activities prior to filing. If you have, you might need to wait a few months to…

If you’re a veteran or Reservist living in New York you’ll want to know about some financial protections that have been put into place for you this year. These may impact whether you file for bankruptcy, and how you do so. There are three items of interest. Relief for Student Loans For decades, disabled veterans…

Bankruptcy is all about strategy. And sometimes the biggest strategic decisions are the ones that people don’t think much about. For example, there are three ways for you and your spouse to handle a bankruptcy. You could file together. You could file separate bankruptcy cases. One spouse files while the other spouse doesn’t. In New…

Many of our clients worry their Chapter 13 budgets will be so tight that they won’t be able to do anything for the two to five years that they’re involved in their Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans. It’s good to have realistic expectations: Chapter 13 plans can be quite strict. But at the same time, knowing…

Every now and then a new collection agency will take over one of your accounts. And if the account is very old, they might offer to let you “settle” the debt for less than the full amount. It may even seem like a great deal. You pay 60% or 70% of the debt, and they…

Choosing between a Chapter 13 plan and a Chapter 7 plan can be a big decision, one that can impact you immediately. It could mean changing where you live, or agreeing to spend 3-5 years spending your money exactly as the court directs. And while a Chapter 7 is usually over too quickly to make…

If you used a co-signer to secure a mortgage, lease, car loan, or student loan, then you’re right to have some concerns over how bankruptcy will impact them. While it is possible to get through the entire bankruptcy process without hurting your cosigner at all, there are moves you can make to their detriment. Understand:…

Mortgages may disappear after your bankruptcy discharge, but liens stick unless your lawyer can make a case for removing them. Fortunately, there are established mechanisms in place which allow us to do just that.  Your loans just have to meet some specific conditions to allow it. And you have to file the right type of…

Bankruptcy is a complicated legal matter. There are many pitfalls. Running afoul of one of these pitfalls can cost you. In some cases, these mistakes may mean losing assets you could have kept. Others may mean you receive a case dismissal, instead of a discharge. I n the most severe cases, bankruptcy mistakes like the…

If you’re afraid to file bankruptcy, you’re not alone. Most of the people we talk to say they’re scared they’ll never be able to get credit again. And they say it because they’re aware that it’s very difficult to function without credit in our society. Fortunately, we don’t have to hesitate when we say that…

One of the biggest fears clients in NYC have about filing for bankruptcy is the cost of the bankruptcy lawyer. It’s easy to see why a lot of people are tempted by Internet sites that try to make it seem like filing is as easy as printing out a form. But hiring a bankruptcy lawyer…