Topic
Debt
236 published works
Texas Bankruptcy Blog
Who Files For Bankruptcy?
By Bryan Fears
Financial difficulty crosses all socio-economic lines. Its not just "poor" people that file for bankruptcy relief, sometimes "rich" people file also. Recently former NFL player Warren Sapp filed Chapter 7…
PropertyProf Blog
Will Your Student Loans Prevent You From Getting a Mortgage?
By propertyprof
The N.Y. Times investigates:Outstanding student loand debt now totals over $1 trillion, according to a report last month from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That surpasses the amount owned on…
Texas Bankruptcy Blog
Tax Refunds Fuel Bankruptcy Filings
By Bryan Fears
A recent study conducted by economists at Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and Washington University in St. Louis found that bankruptcy filings increase after tax refunds are received. According…
Texas Bankruptcy Blog
Discharge Your Debts and Keep Your 401(k)
By Bryan Fears
Have you ever heard the phrase “throwing good money after bad?” It means spending money on something that has little chance of success. When you get into financial trouble, the…
The Legal Whiteboard
Unsustainable Law Student Debt
At Balkanization, Brian Tamanaha (Washington University) continues to shine a bright light on law student loan statistics. See The Quickly Exploding Law School Debt Disaster. Viewing recently released 2011 data, Brian…
Texas Bankruptcy Blog
Top Five Causes of Bankruptcy
By Bryan Fears
According to the National Bankruptcy Research Center, more than 1.3 million bankruptcies were filed in 2011, or about one for every 175 American adults. We all know the economy is…
Louisiana Law Blog
Standard & Poor’s Proposes New Methodology for Rating Local Governments’ General Obligation Debt
Last week, Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) proposed a new methodology for rating local governments’ general obligation debt. It would not apply to special purpose districts, such as school districts, or…
Texas Bankruptcy Blog
Three Bad Ideas For Your Tax Refund
By Bryan Fears
This time of year millions of Americans receive healthy income tax refunds. This money is often welcomed relief for families struggling to make ends meet. Unfortunately, the refund is sometimes…
Texas Bankruptcy Blog
What Happens to Your Credit Card Debt After Death?
By Bryan Fears
The saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.” However, when it comes to credit card debt, in many cases you can. When a credit card belongs to one person…
Texas Bankruptcy Blog
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Timeline
By Bryan Fears
The most common type of bankruptcy case is the Chapter 7 no asset case. In this case the debtor does not lose any property and unsecured creditors (e.g. credit card…