This personal bankruptcy story was posted on the internet in February of 2010 as a blog in a discussion on bankruptcy: “I have lived in my house for 22 yrs. I have refinanced 3 times so now my mortgage payment is 1780.00 [that] I owe for 28 yrs. My other debt is about $45,000. My husband lost his job abut 1 yr ago and I make $22,000 per year. I feel like there is no way out BUT to file chapter 7 and walking away from everything including my house. I think the stress will kill me and the bad credit will only irritate us. We can just stay with our daughter and help her, she welcomes the idea.”

From this personal bankruptcy illustration, I hope you can see there is a time to just “throw in the towel” so to speak. A good

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The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint last week with a federal judge to halt what was reportedly an organization devoted to tricking people out of money by promising to help with tax debts.

Tax Debt, Debt Relief Scams and You

Like so many other debt relief scams, this one is particularly difficult to stomach because it preyed on consumers who could least afford to lose the money they allegedly paid to the fraudsters. According to the FTC, here’s how the scam worked:

• False promises of debt help: In TV, radio and Internet ads, the company (called American Tax Relief LLC) reportedly claimed that it could settle consumers’ back tax debt for only a portion of the total amount.

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The Case Ransom v. MNBA appeared before the Supreme Court last week and raised interesting questions about the role of the means test bankruptcy filers must pass in order to qualify for protection under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Here’s a look at what’s involved in the case and what it might mean for future bankruptcy filers.

Car Payments and Income in the Means Test

The court case involves the bankruptcy petition of man named Jason Ransom.

• No car loan: Sources note that Ransom has a car that he owns fully – that is, he is no longer making payments on the vehicle.
• Ownership deduction: In his bankruptcy petition, Ransom reportedly claimed an ownership deduction of $471 per month for his vehicle.
• Court rejection: Because he had no car payment, though, the bankruptcy court rejected this deduction in his initial case filing. A

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Foreclosure scandal, Part 3: ‘Big mess’ spreads to other industries

[Editor's note: Part 1 is here; Part 2 is here.]

The foreclosure scandal has gone nationwide, following President’s Obama’s pocket veto of a related bill and Bank of America’s Oct. 8 announcement that it will halt–indefinitely–foreclosures in all states, not only those in the so-called judicial states.

The announcement from BOA, often referred to as the nation’s largest bank, says it “will stop foreclosure sales,” but The Los Angeles Times reports that the bank “hasn’t halted all foreclosure proceedings, however. If a borrower is delinq

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