According to Robing Miller of CBAR, under Illinois law, a quitclaim deed given to the mortgage lender by the debtor prepetition in connection with a forbearance agreement was treated as an equitable mortgage rather than as a conveyance of the property. As a result, the debtor remained the owner of the property and could include the mortgage debt in her Chapter 13 plan. In re Primes, 518 B.R. 466 (Bankr. N.D. Ill., Sept. 26, 2014) (case no. 3:13-bk-83310) (Bankruptcy Judge Thomas M. Lynch)

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was passed in 1977 to protect consumers from improper tactics and other abuses used by debt collectors. The FDCPA does not apply to the original creditor. The FDCPA applies to third-party debt collection agencies. It is very important to document everything. You want detailed records indicating when the calls were placed, who placed the call and what was said. The best way to stop the calls is to tell the creditor in writing to stop contacting you. The cease and desist demand must be made in writing. Here is a list of 15 things debt collectors cannot do under the FDCPA: 1. Ask you to pay more than you owe. The collector cannot misrepresent the amount you owe….

As reported by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, NACBA filed amicus briefs on Monday in two pending Supreme Court cases: Harris v. Veigelahn and Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank. The issue in Harris is whether funds paid into a confirmed chapter 13 plan that are still in the trustee’s possession when the bankruptcy is converted to chapter 7 should be refunded to the debtor or paid to creditors. At the time of conversion, the trustee was holding funds originally designated for the debtor’s mortgagee, but more than $4,300 in funds were not disbursed because the mortgagee obtain relief from stay and foreclosed on the debtor’s home.  Neither the trustee nor the debtor sought to modify the plan.  Instead, the debtor converted the case to Chapter 7.   Several days after debtor…

WARNING: ADULT CONTENT & ACTION REQUIRED If you owe the 2012 real estate taxes on your house, you must take immediate action as follows: 1. Call Attorney Mike Shovan at (989) 233-9389 immediately. 2. Open any notice from the Saginaw County Treasurer’s office and read it. Follow the directions set forth in any notice: make the calls and show up at the scheduled hearings. 2. Write down the parcel number of your house(s) and call the Saginaw County Treasurer’s office at (989) 790-5225 and ask the Treasurer how much you owe in back taxes for each year. Write down the amount due for each parcel for each year owing from 2012 to present. 3. WARNING: If you do not act before March 1, 2015, your…

Yes. Michigan has adopted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act which can be found at MCL 691.1171. Under this statute, an out of state creditor can make their judgment enforceable in a Michigan court. The process is real simple. All they have to do is the following: File a certified copy of the judgment from their state with the district or circuit court in your county; File an affidavit that the judgment from the out of state court has not been satisfied; Send the clerk of the Michigan court a check for $250; and then, The clerk of the Michigan court sends a copy of the judgment and an affidavit to the judgment debtor. Once all this happens, the Michigan debtor than has 21…

As reported By Philip Tirone of www.720CreditScore.com, after learning the difference between traditional, secured, subprime, retail and major credit cards, you may want to close one or more of your credit cards, especially if you have more than five. If that’s your only solution to increasing your credit score, learn more about the credit process before closing an account. Most credit scoring systems award a higher credit score to those who have no more than five credit cards. Before rushing to close an account, know the impact it will have on your credit score. Here are a few basics about owning credit cards. Fifteen percent of your credit score comes from the age of your credit accounts. The older your credit accounts are, the better it is…

According to Robin Miller of CBAR,  it depends on the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case.  After the Chapter 13 debtor husband received $250,000 in life insurance benefits due to the death of his debtor wife, the bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in granting the husband’s motion for modification of his confirmed plan, and denying the Chapter 13 trustee’s competing plan modification proposal. The husband’s proposed modification called for an increase in monthly plan payments to accelerate the completion of payments under the plan and for a distribution of $15,000 to holders of unsecured claims, while the trustee’s proposal provided that $104,023 of the life insurance proceeds would be used to pay all allowed unsecured claims in full as well…