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Filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy will cancel any scheduled foreclosure auction. Once you file bankruptcy, the automatic stay takes effect and your mortgage company must immediately halt all foreclosure activity. But if you’re planning to file bankruptcy to stop a foreclosure, don’t “tip your hand” to your mortgage company. Do it, don’t just say it…

Debt collector phone calls and collection letters in the mail are never welcome yet must be dealt with all the same. For some, ignoring their debt is a direct result of not having the money to pay the debt. But know this: ignoring debt collectors will never remedy the situation. In fact, it could make it…

The term moral disengagement encompasses the cognitive maneuvers we undertake to justify any self-interested choices that don’t align with what we want others to think we believe about ourselves. Moral disengagement in litigation runs the gamut from the misleading to the unethical. A series of experiments by Professors Sean Martin and Jim Detert shows the…

Living in a state of debt has become the accepted way of life for many. Although bankruptcy has become far more common than it was decades ago, it still intimidates many Americans who are in a situation where filing may be best. You should consider filing bankruptcy when what you owe exceeds what you can…

Because you’re not making enough money to live on. Or because your expenses just are out of control. Because life should be more than nonstop work and worry. You may be ready for bankruptcy. Because you have no assets to speak of. Or because you’re at risk of missing out on basic life necessities. Because…

Older Americans are increasingly filing for bankruptcy due to soaring healthcare costs and reductions in social services. According to a recent report, since 1991, the rate of senior citizens filing for bankruptcy protection have increased twofold for Americans 65-74 years old and threefold for those 75 and over. These increases are astonishing and represent a…

According to the Urban Institute, 63 percent of millennials who bought homes have regrets resulting from underestimating the hidden costs. Zillow found that American homeowners spend nearly $9,400 in hidden costs to own and care for a median-priced home. Let’s first differentiate hidden costs from not-so-hidden costs. Not-so-hidden costs: Mortgage, taxes, and insurance Your mortgage…

Austerity measures in Greece have set off violent riots and nationwide strikes over the last decade. In 2010, Greece suffered a sovereign debt crisis, sometimes called the Greek Depression. A member of the European Union, Greece requested a bailout, which the EU granted, but only with a caveat: Greece would have to implement a number…

Civil litigation can be divided into six distinct stages. Some of these litigation steps sometimes get skipped. At other times, they overlap. But no stage is more important than any other. Here are the six steps of civil litigation. I. Investigation You must thoroughly investigate your claims and defenses and counterclaims because you must be…

Several recent posts have received nationwide attention, and we welcome the positive response. My office has fielded calls from hundreds of people all over the country interested in issues I’ve written about here. Unfortunately, if you live outside the metropolitan Washington, D.C. region, our office is unable to provide any information or advice beyond what’s…