I’m not an accountant and I never would pretend to be one. Their work is long, tedious and things get very difficult for them as the weather starts to get pleasant. As a bankruptcy lawyer, I do have some basic (very basic) knowledge of accounting principles. One such principle is the “Innocent Spouse Rule.” Stripped
Bankruptcy Attorneys: Cost or Investment
Another 341 Meeting of Creditors and another pro se debtor who I had to watch crash and burn. This time, a very competent pro se debtor was not aware that by taking an exemption on his home, he was not entitled to an exemption on his cash. He will be losing ¾ of his 2012
The Human Element: Your Bankruptcy Trustee
Baseball is my sport and I am a die-hard New York Mets fan. My team is nothing to be proud of these days, but the sunlight may be peeking through the rain clouds for the Mets. Whatever team you root for, there is a “human element” to baseball that makes it special. It seems that
The Squeaky Hinge
Everyone has dealt with that annoying sound when you open and close a door. It eats at your nerves and annoys you to no end. If you’re like me, you procrastinate, do nothing and let it grate at you for much longer than it should. Not too long ago, we had a bedroom door that
You had me at 750!
Back in June I wrote an article about our society’s irrational obsession with credit scores. I truly believe that this arbitrary number has nothing to do with your credit worthiness or your ability to repay debt. The number is propagandized by banks and lenders to the point where we have become obsessed. The scariest part
The Yin and Yang of the Bankruptcy Means Test
In eastern philosophies, the “Yin” and “Yang” is a concept used to describe how opposing forces are connected and dependent on each other in the natural world. Light and dark, male and female and hot and cold are some examples of “yin yang” duality. While opposites, the yin yang concept shows us the balance of
When Earning too Little is too Much
As the demographic of the bankruptcy filer continues to shift, I am seeing more and more means testing issues. For those new to bankruptcy terminology, the “means test” is this kooky, confusing and often arbitrary “income test” that determines whether you qualify for chapter 7 bankruptcy and if not, what your monthly payment would be
Taking Advantage of Your Unemployment
As it stands today, the unempmloyment rate in the United States is at approximately 7.6%. As the charts indicate, it seems that the financial climate is improving and this number seems to be on the steady decline. On the decline, but I am still meeting with many people who are either unemployed or underemployed. Most
Don’t Break the Bank!
“Breaking the bank” is an idiom that is typically used to describe the purchase of something that is too expensive for one’s budget. I did not know this, but “break the bank” is actually a gambling term used to describe the (rare) situation when the casino bank does not have the cash to cover the
Join me on WLIE 540 AM
For those interested, I will be appearing as a guest on Long Island Money and Business July 14, 2013 at 8:00 A.M. The show is hosted by Jeff Silverman and John Panaro from the Center for Wealth Preservation. Of course, if you can’t make it Sunday morning, the show will be posted online to stream