Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC

I recently stumbled across a South Carolina case, as described by a fellow blogger. In short, the chapter 13 bankruptcy plan was rejected by the trustee, because it included two pretty good sized mortgage payments as required expenses. The problem? One was a primary mortgage on a second seperate home, in which a family member [...]

What Is A Bankruptcy Automatic Stay? How Do I Get One? Do I Want An Automatic Stay? If you are considering filing for consumer bankruptcy protection – you have probably discovered the little language that we bankruptcy attorneys like to throw around. Let’s call it banklish, or perhaps boringlish is more fitting. Regardless, it can [...]

Let me just tell you, it is a bad idea to try and play games with your bankruptcy case. I don’t know if we should blame it out the movies, but for some reason many potential debtors come into my office with the intention of withholding information from their bankruptcy trustee. What’s worse is that [...]

Are you wondering if you qualify for chapter 7 bankruptcy? Do you want to know how to find out? Go meet with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer. No, seriously. That is the best advice I can give you. Qualifying for chapter bankruptcy is so much more than simply the elusive “Means Test” that everyone (okay, maybe not [...]

I get a fair numbered of panicked phone calls from debtors – both clients and non-clients – regarding the time and location of their 341 hearing. Thankfully, the District of Arizona Bankruptcy Court provides a pretty nifty resource that allows anyone with Internet access to view the 341 hearing schedules. For those of you wondering, [...]

I have recently noticed that the concept of a bankruptcy trustee is forgien to many of my clients. This makes sense, given that most have zero prior experience with the bankruptcy court system. In a nutshell, a trustee is the court appointed official who administers the debtor’s bankruptcy estate.   A Chapter 7 trusteeliquidates non exempt property [...]

Hands down the most common questions I receive from potential bankruptcy clients is regarding their family home. When you think about it, this should come as no surprise as this is often the family’s largest personal asset. In addition, there is often a tremendous emotional attachment to one’s home. Somewhere between the years of saving [...]

As promised, I would like to finish up my discussion of reaffirmation agreements, and how they relate to filing bankruptcy, with a little bit of case law. For those new to the legal system, while there is a bankruptcy code outlining the basics of filing for bankruptcy, at lot of the details regarding specific factual [...]

Well folks, I hope that you have had a chance to watch Judge Hollowell’s introduction to Reaffirmation Agreements. If not, here is my spiel on them. One of the benefits that debtors obtain from filing bankruptcy is the removal of personal liability from most debts. This means a creditor is no longer able to pursue [...]

The question of reaffirmation agreements and whether you should reaffirm a secured debt is a tough one. Fortunately, for all you out there that need a little bit of clarification, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona has put out an informational video on this very subject. In this video, the Honorable Eileen [...]