Washington Mutual shareholders made closing arguments against the company’s $7 billion reorganization plan, accusing of insider trading and the negative effect it had on the company’s bankruptcy relief efforts. Shareholders are upset because they will likely recover very little money through the reorganization plan the company proposed to the bankruptcy court. “They accused four hedge funds of gleaning […]
It’s so ironic that the once-upon-a-time 4th largest investment bank in the country, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 15, 2008 with $639 billion in assets. They’ve proposed to pay an average of $0.20 on the dollar to service their debts by proposing to pay about $65 billion to the creditors who’ve claim […]
Purchase used vehicles. Vehicles decline in value the second you drive them off the lot. Most new vehicles are financed, which means you are upside down in your note the day it rolls into your driveway. It is not unusual for bankruptcy clients to owe $20,000 or more on household vehicles. Used cars may not […]
Don’t buy the biggest house on the block. Most of my clients paid too much for a house they couldn’t afford a year later. I advocate that you don’t pay more than twice your combined household’s annual salary for your home. Most people pay 3 times their salary. If you purchase a modest home in […]
Did you know that the state of Missouri has a wildcard exemption that you can apply to an piece of property you want? When you file for bankruptcy, you basically dump all of your property into a bucket – your clothes, your jewelry, your vehicles, your home, etc. You walk into Court and say, “Here […]
Purchase long term disability insurance. You are twice as likely to become disabled from age 30-65 as you are to die. Long term disability insurance is almost unheard of for bankruptcy clients. Some of my clients might have purchased a modest short term disability policy but hardly any of them think it is necessary to […]
Purchase life insurance. Contrary to bankruptcy myths, most people who file bankruptcy are not bad people. They would love nothing more than to pay their debts, but sometimes life throws them a curve ball that they did not properly prepare for. If your spouse dies unexpectedly, could you afford to pay your mortgage? How would […]
