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Nebraska Debt & Bankruptcy Blog

No Money Down Chapter 7: Attorney Fee Issue Burning in Nebraska

By Sam Turco

January 28, 2021

It costs a lot of money to go broke. The cost of filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Nebraska is $1,300 to $1,800 on average, and once a complete bankruptcy petition is filed attorneys are bared from collecting unpaid fees. The bankruptcy petition wipes out all debt, including unpaid legal fees associated with preparing a bankruptcy petition. Many debtors need to file bankruptcy immediately to stop garnishments, but how can they pay legal fees when their…

Nebraska Debt & Bankruptcy Blog

Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020: An Economic Manifesto

By Sam Turco

January 4, 2021

Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced a law to radically change the consumer bankruptcy practice entitled the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020. This revolutionary document would make dramatic changes to bankruptcy practice. Chapter 7 and 13 is eliminated and replaced with a single system called Chapter 10. Student Loan debts become dischargeable just like any other debt. Discharges are issued immediately upon confirmation of payment plans instead of waiting until all payments are made.…

Nebraska Debt & Bankruptcy Blog

How the 2020 Election Impacts Bankruptcy Practice

By Sam Turco

November 13, 2020

Rambling thoughts on the impact of the 2020 elections on the practice of bankruptcy law. Unless both Georgia senate runoff races are won by the Democratic Party candidates, it appears that the United States Senate will still be ruled by the Republicans and Mitch McConnell. Why does this matter? Because if the Democrats take control of the Senate you can expect Senator Elizabeth Warren to lead up a crusade to overturn the Bankruptcy Reform Act…

Nebraska Debt & Bankruptcy Blog

Nebraska Landlord Evictions during COVID-19

By Sam Turco

August 3, 2020

A new report entitled Understanding Evictions in Omaha written by Creighton University professors Pierce Greenberg and and Gary Fischer outline the devastating impact evictions have on the Omaha community. Evictions cause a loss of “social and community capital.” High eviction rates are related to increasing crime rates and cause poor educational performance in schools. They cause a severance of supporting relationships that exist in all neighborhoods and can set off a cycle of social destruction…

Nebraska Debt & Bankruptcy Blog

Business Reorganization Choice: File Chapter 11 for Existing Company or Incorporate a New Entity?

By Sam Turco

July 27, 2020

COVID-19 is a wrecking ball destroying small Nebraska businesses, but at some point the medical crisis will end and the debt crisis will take off. So far the damage has been mitigated by programs such as the Paycheck Protection Plan, but business revenues have dropped dramatically and consumer spending is not likely to return any time soon. Emergency funds have been depleted, worker layoffs have been instituted, but fixed expenses for rent and loan…

Nebraska Debt & Bankruptcy Blog

Garnishment of Nebraska Unemployment Benefits

By Sam Turco

July 24, 2020

The COVID-19 virus has caused millions of Americans to file unemployment claims, and the federal government has increased state unemployment benefits by $600 per week though July 2020. May a creditor garnish unemployment benefits in Nebraska? Nebraska Statute 48-647 states that “benefits received by any individual, so long as they are not mingled with other funds of the recipient, shall be exempt from any remedy for the collection of all debts, except debts incurred for…

Nebraska Debt & Bankruptcy Blog

Unpacking Elizabeth Warren’s Bankruptcy Reform

By Sam Turco

May 30, 2020

Presidential candidate Joe Biden recently came out in support of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s bankruptcy reform plan, which is somewhat embarrassing because she is basically proposing to nullify the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 championed by Biden. Our nation is at the beginning of a COVID-19 Recession that, once again, is dragging the bottom 60% of Americans back into the mud of economic turmoil. If Biden should win the election it is highly likely that…

Nebraska Debt & Bankruptcy Blog

CARES Act: 12 Month Mortgage Forbearance

By Sam Turco

April 3, 2020

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Included in the 2 trillion dollar Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is a provision that allows homeowners with government guaranteed loans (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) to request up to 12 months of mortgage payment forbearance. Under the CARES Act a homeowner may ask for 6 months of loan payment forbearance that is renewable for another 6 months. In other words, a qualified homeowner can go an entire year…

Nebraska Debt & Bankruptcy Blog

COVID-19 Diary

By Sam Turco

April 1, 2020

The unfolding of the COVID-19 virus episode has been the weirdest experience in my lifetime. I remember the courthouse bombing by Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City and commercial jets hitting the Twin Towers on 9/11, but those were one day events. The corona virus is different because it continues from day to day and all of us are potential victims. You see young people dying on breathing machines and you realize your family is…

Nebraska Debt & Bankruptcy Blog

Nebraska’s Digital Signature Rule & Covid-19 Virus

By Sam Turco

March 14, 2020

Below is a letter written by a 64-year old bankruptcy attorney to the United States Trustee, the agency that oversees bankruptcy cases. Clifford J. White III, Director Executive Office for U.S. Trustees Re: Covid-19 and consumer bankruptcy practice Dear Director White: On behalf of our NACBA membership and our entire NACBA Board of Directors, I am writing to you to suggest immediate (and hopefully temporary) remedial actions regarding the administration of Ch. 7 and Ch.…