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| Introduction | |
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| About This Book | |
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| Conventions Used in This Book | |
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| What You're Not to Read | |
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| Foolish Assumptions | |
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| How This Book Is Organized | |
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| Icons Used in This Book | |
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| Where to Go from Here | |
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| Bankruptcy: The Big Picture | |
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| Considering Bankruptcy | |
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| Viewing Bankruptcy in a Historical Context | |
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| Debunking Bankruptcy Myths | |
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| Understanding What You Can Gain Through Bankruptcy | |
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| Knowing What You Can Lose in Bankruptcy | |
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| Considering Alternatives to Bankruptcy | |
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| Introducing the Different Types of Personal Bankruptcy | |
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| Weighing the Consequences of Not Filing Bankruptcy | |
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| Using the Statute of Limitations | |
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| Stopping the Bleeding | |
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| Realizing You're Not Alone | |
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| Preventing Further Damage Now | |
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| Comparing Your Income with Your Spending | |
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| Assessing Your Spending Habits | |
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| Getting a Handle on What You Own | |
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| Figuring Out How Much You Owe | |
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| Meeting the Players | |
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| Finding Professional Help | |
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| Getting to Know the Players | |
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| Deciding Which Type of Bankruptcy Is Best for You | |
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| Deciding Whether to Fly Solo or As a Married Couple | |
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| Looking at Your Probable Bankruptcy Choices | |
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| Deciding Between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 | |
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| Considering Other Types of Bankruptcy | |
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| Changing Your Mind | |
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| Confronting the Means Test | |
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| Putting the Means Test in Perspective | |
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| Taking the Median Test | |
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| Deducting Your Expenses and Taking the Means Test | |
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| Figuring Out How Much of Your Debts You Can Pay | |
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| Passing the Means Test by Showing "Special Circumstances" | |
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| Considering Ways around the Means Test | |
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| Getting Kicked Out of Chapter 7 for Abuse | |
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| Getting from Here to There: The Bankruptcy Process | |
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| Navigating the BARF Maze | |
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| Getting Organized Before Talking to a Lawyer | |
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| Meeting Your Lawyer for the First Time | |
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| Arranging for Credit Counseling | |
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| Completing the Paperwork | |
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| Filing Your Bankruptcy Case | |
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| Using the Automatic Stay | |
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| Receiving Notice of the Creditors' Meeting | |
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| Supplying Copies of Tax Returns | |
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| Attending the 341 Meeting | |
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| Signing Up for Your Financial Management Course | |
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| Working Your Way through Chapter 7 | |
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| Working Your Way through Chapter 13 | |
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| Comparing the Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Process | |
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| Avoiding Bankruptcy | |
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| Considering Alternatives to Bankruptcy | |
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| Appreciating the Negative Consequences of Bankruptcy | |
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| Looking at Remedies Other Than Bankruptcy | |
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| Choosing Which Bills to Pay First (If at All) | |
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| Negotiating with Your Creditors | |
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| Considering Credit Counseling Services | |
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| Simply Ignoring Creditors | |
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| Handling Bill Collectors | |
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| Taming the Toothless Tiger: The Bill Collector | |
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| Invoking Federal Law | |
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| Tapping State Laws | |
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| Keeping Your Dukes Up | |
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| Negotiating with the IRS | |
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| Looking at the Tax Collection Process | |
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| Making Nice with the Touchy-Feely IRS | |
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| Submitting an Offer in Compromise | |
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| Getting Help from a Taxpayer Advocate | |
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| Keeping Your Stuff | |
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| Understanding Which Assets Are Off Limits to Creditors | |
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| Grasping the Legal Concepts | |
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| Determining the Value of Your Stuff | |
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| Understanding How the Courts View Certain Assets | |
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| Creating Exemptions | |
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| Dealing with Secured Debts | |
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| Getting the Lowdown on Liens | |
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| Identifying Different Kinds of Liens | |
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| Dealing with Liens in Bankruptcy | |
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| Using the Special Powers Afforded Chapter 13 Filers | |
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| Dealing with Rent-to-Own Contracts | |
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| Banging the Gavel on Judgment Liens | |
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| Saving Your Home | |
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| Your Home, Your Castle - and Sometimes Your Hassle | |
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| Dealing with Jointly Owned Property | |
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| Understanding How Foreclosures Work | |
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| Heading off the Homewreckers | |
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| Using Truth-in-Lending Laws | |
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| Coping When Your Dream Home Becomes a Nightmare | |
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| Getting Rid of (Most of) Your Debt | |
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| Lingering Obligations | |
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| Recognizing (Possibly) Indelible Debts | |
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| Nondischargeable Debts in Chapter 7 versus Chapter 13 | |
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| Sweating Out the 60-Day Bar Date | |
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| Avoiding the Urge to Borrow to Pay Nondischargeable Debts | |
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| Understanding Reaffirmation Agreements | |
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| Having Your Discharge Denied or Revoked | |
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| A House of Cards: Wiping Out Credit-Card Debts | |
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| Playing the Credit-Card Game | |
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| Seeing What Judges See | |
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| Examining Your Mind Set When You Incurred the Debt | |
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| Forcing the Credit-Card Company to Prove Its Case | |
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| Explaining Presumptively Fraudulent Charges | |
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| Defending Against False Financial Statement Allegations | |
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| Using Credit-Card Advances for Gambling | |
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| Bullying the Credit-Card Bullies | |
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| Transferring Credit-Card Balances | |
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| Give unto Caesar: Using Bankruptcy to Deal with Tax Debts | |
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| Getting a Handle on What Happens to Taxes in Bankruptcy | |
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| Wiping Out Dischargeable Income Taxes | |
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| Paying Nondischargeable Priority Income Taxes | |
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| Coping with Nondischargeable Nonpriority Income Taxes | |
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| Confronting Unfiled Tax Returns | |
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| Coping with Interest and Penalties | |
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| Managing Federal Tax Liens | |
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| Making the Trustee Pay Your Taxes | |
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| Keeping on Top of Postpetition Taxes in Chapter 13 | |
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| Paying Taxes Before Bankruptcy | |
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| Using the Statute of Limitations to Escape Taxes | |
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| Facing the Consequences if You're a "Tax Protestor" | |
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| Dealing with the State Tax Man | |
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| Addressing Taxes Other Than Income Taxes | |
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| Obtaining Loans to Pay Your Taxes | |
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| The Devil Made Me Do It: Fines, Fraud, and Other Foibles | |
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| Dealing with Debts Resulting from Fraud | |
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| Willful and Malicious Behavior | |
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| Covering Fines, Penalties, and Restitution Orders | |
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| Accepting Responsibility for Drunken-Driving Injuries | |
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| Till Debt Due Us Part: Bankruptcy and Divorce | |
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| Introducing Key Points | |
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| Planning Your Strategy | |
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| Understanding How Support Obligations Are Treated in Bankruptcy | |
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| Understanding How Property Divisions Are Treated in Bankruptcy | |
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| Other Grounds for Bankruptcy-Proof Marital Debts | |
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| Student Loans and Other Mind Games | |
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| Understanding the Student-Loan Industry | |
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| Tracing Your Loans | |
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| Knowing What They Can Do If You Don't Pay | |
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| Managing Student Loans with Bankruptcy | |
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| Managing Student Loans without Bankruptcy | |
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| Strategies for a Successful Bankruptcy | |
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| Avoiding Troubles with Your Trustee | |
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| Playing by the Rules and Telling the Truth | |
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| Accurately Listing Your Assets | |
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| Appreciating the Trustee's Ability to Recover Assets | |
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| Protecting Your Discharge | |
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| Living on the Edge in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy | |
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| Creating a Realistic Plan | |
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| Keeping Your Lawyer in the Loop | |
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| Blowing It... Again? Not! | |
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| Tackling Car and Mortgage Payments Outside the Plan | |
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| Addressing Debts Incurred After You File | |
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| Sinking Your Ship before It Arrives | |
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| Tying Things Together | |
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| Enjoying Your Fresh Start | |
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| Repairing Your Credit | |
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| Realizing that You've Already Taken the First Step by Filing Bankruptcy | |
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| Using the Fair Credit Reporting Act to Your Advantage | |
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| Getting Your Credit Reports after Bankruptcy | |
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| Obtaining New Credit | |
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| Watching Our for Credit-Repair Scams | |
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| Establishing Good Credit When You're Married | |
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| Staying Out of Financial Trouble | |
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| Addressing Compulsive Spending | |
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| Building a Consensus with Loved Ones | |
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| Using a Budget | |
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| Avoiding Temptation | |
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| Making a Few Lifestyle Changes | |
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| Recognizing Danger Signs | |
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| The Part of Tens | |
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| Ten Common Bankruptcy Mistakes | |
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| Borrowing Money from Relatives | |
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| Repaying Money Owed to Relatives | |
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| Chipping Away at Debts with a Home-Equity Loan | |
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| Draining Retirement Accounts to Pay Debts | |
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| Neglecting to Accurately List All Creditors | |
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| Concealing Your Assets | |
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| Transferring Assets to Keep Them Away from Creditors | |
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| Making Payments that You Can't Afford to Make | |
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| Thinking that Bankruptcy Is Your Last Resort | |
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| Filing Bankruptcy Too Soon | |
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| Ten Things You Can Do Right Now to Ease Your Financial Woes | |
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| Stop Feeling Guilty | |
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| Cut Up Your Credit Cards | |
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| Order Your Credit Reports | |
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| Keep Track of Everything You Buy | |
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| Get Your Name off Any Joint Accounts | |
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| Stop Making Partial Payments on Credit-Card Bills | |
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| Call a Lawyer Now If You're Being Sued or Foreclosure Is Underway | |
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| Find Out How Much Your Home and Car Are Worth | |
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| Empty Accounts in Banks Where You Own Money | |
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| Sharpen Your Pencil and Start Filling Out the Worksheets in Chapter 2 | |
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| Ten Common Questions about Bankruptcy | |
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| Will Bankruptcy Damage My Credit Rating? | |
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| Will Bankruptcy Affect My Job? | |
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| Will I Lose My Home? | |
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| Will I Lose My Personal Belongings? | |
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| Will I Ever Be Able to Buy a House? | |
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| Does My Spouse Have to File Bankruptcy, Too? | |
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| Can I Keep Some Debts Off My Bankruptcy and Deal with Them Separately? | |
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| Can I Cancel My Bankruptcy If I Change My Mind? | |
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| Is Filing Bankruptcy a Long, Protracted Process? | |
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| Does It Cost a Bundle to File? | |
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| Will BARF Make it More Painful to File Bankruptcy? | |
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| Homestead Exemption Laws | |
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| Choosing between Federal and State Exemptions | |
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| Identifying the Federal Homestead Exemption | |
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| Surveying State Homestead Exemptions | |
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| Index | |