by Devin Sawdayi | Aug 16, 2016
Personal bankruptcy under Chapters 7 and 13 offer ways for people to obtain financial relief when their income is not high enough to continue making required payments on their debts. The federal Bankruptcy Code deals with different types of debt in different ways. The...
by Devin Sawdayi | May 27, 2016
Child support, spousal support, and any other “domestic support obligation” (DSO), as defined by the Bankruptcy Code, are treated differently in a bankruptcy case from most other types of debt. DSOs have the highest priority for payment of any unsecured claim. 11...
by Devin Sawdayi | Apr 4, 2016
Student loans present one of the greatest challenges for debtors in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy cases. Federal law prohibits the discharge of almost all student loan debt, except when a debtor proves that denying a discharge would cause “undue...
by Devin Sawdayi | Aug 14, 2015
A California federal district court ruled that fines assessed under a California law that allows employees to enforce state labor law as “private attorneys general” are not dischargeable in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding. Medina v. Poel, No. 1:14-cv-01302, order...
by Devin Sawdayi | Aug 7, 2015
A bankruptcy court reopened a Chapter 7 case after granting a discharge on the debtor’s motion, although not for the reason stated by the debtor. In re Sullivan, No. 11-38246-A-7, memorandum (Bankr. E.D. Cal., Feb. 23, 2015). The debtor asked the court to reopen the...
by Devin Sawdayi | Jul 24, 2015
Federal bankruptcy law allows debtors to discharge tax penalties if they meet certain criteria. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may penalize individual taxpayers for failing to file a tax return by the April 15 due date, 26 U.S.C. § 6651(a)(1). These penalties are...
