Record breaking amount of companies filed for bankruptcy

A new record of 46 billion-dollar companies have filed for bankruptcy this year, passing the record of 38 billion-dollar companies from 2009 during the Great Recession. According to Market Insider who cited the Financial Times, 46 companies with at least $1billion in assets each have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy since August this year. That…

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Congresswoman Attempting To Include Student Loans In Chapter 11

Philly Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (D., PA) will be introducing a bill that allows for Covid-19 to be an argument for undue hardship on student loan borrowers. In bankruptcy court, there are many restrictions on student loan debt relief. Although it is very possible to receive a partial or even full discharge of student loan…

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Heroes Act Passing Student Loan Debt

The HEROES Act, a $3 trillion stimulus package passed in a divided Congress this month, but holding many promises to ease the burden of student loan debt. Granted that this bill passed with a slim margin and facing opposition for the majority of Republicans including some Democrats. The moderate Democrats opposed the bill for overreaching…

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Criminal Records in Bankruptcy Process

Bankruptcy is an option available to virtually everyone including non-citizens in the U.S. and people with an arrest record or criminal history.  With so many people getting arrested for protesting and incurring bail bonds debt, it would be beneficial to know that bail bonds are dischargeable in federal bankruptcy court near me. However, fines and…

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Devos Sued For Garnishing Wages Against Presidents Orders

During her time as the Secretary of Education, Betsey Devos has plummeted the department into the ground with another lawsuit for garnishing wages from student borrowers during the coronavirus. Devos announced in March that she would take administrative action to prevent this practice, and the Trump CARES act protects borrowers from such measures.  Politico reported…

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What does the Coronavirus mean for your student loans?

President Trump signed a bill providing financial relief for Americans struggling in the wake of the coronavirus shutting down all non-essential businesses. Part of that bill granted a six-month suspension period on federal student loan payments until September 30th. However, not all federal loans are included in the bill and loan providers are not adapting…

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Secret Service…Broke?

Has the Secret Service Gone broke trying to protect Trump? Over 1000 agents have already exceeded the mandated cap for overtime. This was supposed to last them a year. A total of 42 people are being protected and 18 of them are members of his family. However, during Obama’s administration, there was only 31. This…

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Big Update – State Of NY Denies The Right To Foreclose

On April 28, 2016 Judge Lizabeth Gonzalez of the State of New York, denied Wells Fargo the right to foreclose against home owner Wakelyn Phillips. The denial basically means that the bank cannot demand payments from the homeowners for the mortgage. The judge made this decision based on a simple and basic premise that to…

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Could Selen Financial and Bayview Services become your new Landlord?

Senator Warren spoke the Senate on Wednesday September 30, 2015 to detail how HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in collusion with Hedge funds. She argued that it should be no real surprise that with government support; single family homes are packaged and sold to wall street. (Source: http://sierramadre.patch.com/articles/realtors-sale-of-foreclosed-homes-to-spell-doom- for-housing-market-9eec5fa0, http://www.baycitizen.org/housing/story/report-investors-buy- nearly-half- homes/,http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/29/real_estate/Fannie_foreclosure_homes/index.htm, http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/another-hidden-bailouthelping-wall-street-…

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Michelle Featured In A CNBC Article About Newark

Michelle Labayen has been featured in an article on CNBC discussing Newark. From the article: “Bankruptcy claims have decreased,” said Michelle Labayen, a bankruptcy lawyer operating in Newark, “because a lot of the businesses are not even doing a filing and they are just closing the doors…they are not necessarily aware of their rights.” Labayen…

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A Note From Michelle

Met with Senator Booker’s Staff Chief Deputy George Helmy to discuss fairness of Struggling Student act and Student loan discharge in bankruptcy. Seems like Booker’s office may not support because looking for “front end” solutions but express concern for the issue of student loan debt. Met with Congressman Bill Pascrell chief deputy of staff with same bills. Seems interested…

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Big News: When Is A Tuition Debt A Student Loan Or A Contract?

The difference is very important to many of us who have private loans.  Most recently, Judge Elisabeth Stong of the Eastern District of New York questioned if the Debtor had a “debt” to repay a college tuition  Harris EDNY BK 13-47320 ( which is dischargeable in bankruptcy court) or an educational loan ( which is…

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Debtor Awarded $25,000 From Mortgagor Creditor Due To The Bank’s Filing Of A Bad Claim

When filing a bankruptcy in Chapter 13, make sure both you and your attorney review the proof of claims by creditors.  A proof of claim is used in bankruptcy court to confirm the amount that is owed to a creditor by the debtor.  In November 2013,, Greenpoint Credit filed a proof of claim for an…

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What You Should Know About Taxes As A Senior Citizen

As a Senior Citizen you have enough to worry about.  You are inundated by offers and tips on saving money from the concerned family member to the scam artists online.  You have one more worry that you may want to put on your “watch list”.  As a Senior you may own your home without a…

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