Lanigan & Lanigan, P.L.
831 W. Morse Blvd., Winter Park, Florida 32789
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Bankruptcy, Podcasts
Click to Listen. Right Click Audio as it’s playing to download to your device. Many times in the midst of a bankruptcy, people who are filing bankruptcy remember or discover a joint account of which they’re a part. However, the other party listed on the account is not filing for bankruptcy. There are many different accounts in which this can occur and it’s completely innocent on part of the person filing. This complex issue is discussed in a YouTube video on the LaniganPL channel called Resulting Trust Bankruptcy – Co-signers on Accounts or Loans. “Very often our client comes in and says that there’s an account that they’re on which they didn’t honestly recall,” said bankruptcy attorney Eric Lanigan. “For example, a couple who was on the title to their son’s car, but who didn’t make any of the payments and had no involvement in the car. All payments made were made by the son. The only reason that they were on the title is because at the time the car was purchased the boy was a minor.” Lanigan said. “Therefore, the parents had to be listed on the title. But they don’t have any money in the car and they never used the car. But the car is included in the bankruptcy that they file.” The other example is bank accounts,somebody might have a bank account and they list another family member, a father mother sister or brother jointly on the bank account so that if something happens to them there’s someone to step right in who has authority to write checks to pay bills as they...
Bankruptcy, Podcasts
Click to Listen. Right Click Audio as it’s playing to download to your device. Dischargability of federal income tax liabilities is one of the common issues that Winter Park, Florida bankruptcy attorney Eric Lanigan and Roddy Lanigan deal with in Florida bankruptcies. Eric Lanigan has a video on the Lanigan and Lanigan, P.L., YouTube channel “Dischargability of Federal Income Tax Liabilities – Florida Bankruptcy.” Most people come into the office believing that if it’s a federal income tax liability that it is not dischargeable. And that is not correct. “As a very simplified rule we say if the tax liability is old, it’s dischargeable,” Eric Lanigan said. “If it’s new it is not dischargeable. Well that then begs the question what constitutes an old tax liability? Two Criteria for Discharging Tax Liability “This is an area that can get very complicated so I’m just giving you a general overview here,” Lanigan emphasized. “But generally you can say that if it is a). more than three years from the year in which the tax liability accrued…for instance if I have a tax liability for the year 2007. Now I didn’t file that tax return until April 2008 but the year in which the tax liability accrued was 2007. Now has it been more than three years since that tax liability accrued.” Second Criteria Lanigan said that the second criteria is whether it has been more than two years since that tax return was filed or since the tax in question was assessed? Has it been more than two years since the tax was filed? Use the same example of...
Bankruptcy
Eric Lanigan explains in a new video that one of the biggest traps in bankruptcy is dealing with federal income tax refund and what to do with it during bankruptcy. This is a common problem, seen all the time in bankruptcy and the video that Lanigan has on YouTube that explains this situation called, “Preventing Forfeiture of Tax Refund in Florida Bankruptcy. This tax refund issue is something that people have to be very careful about. Very often as we reach the end of the year we tell people that what we’re going to do is get everything ready to file their bankruptcy said Lanigan, a Winter Park, Florida, bankruptcy lawyer. You Have to Know When to File “But we are not going to file it until they have filed their tax returns and spent it so that there will be nothing left for the trustee to claim as non-exempt assets.” Lanigan said that a tax refund is a debt owed to you by the federal government and while it’s like any other debt that you may have people often forget to state that it’s coming to them. A tax refund, Lanigan said, is an asset that you own and if it’s not exempt the bankruptcy trustee is entitled to take it and he said the trustee will take it every single time. If you are filing a bankruptcy petition October 1, 2013, it is the first day of the fourth quarter of the year. You will have already accrued nine months or three quarters of the refund. But you are not going to get it until the following February...
Bankruptcy
“If you’re asking me who is filing bankruptcy today, it really runs the gamut,” said Winter Park bankruptcy attorney Roddy Lanigan. Demographically, everybody from a single mother, to the head of a large family. Professionally, it’s CEOs of large companies, school teachers and even airline pilots. The one thing they all have in common–it’s the economy. Credit Card Debt is the No. 1 Cause of Bankruptcy The economic downturn has spared no industry and no demographic group. People are suffering in all walks of life. The causes of bankruptcies are as equally diverse as the people that are filing bankruptcy. Generally speaking, the number one cause of bankruptcy is credit card debt. What type of credit card debt? Credit cards are often used by people that are experiencing a crisis in their life. Whether it’s financial or personal, cards are used to supplement a loss of income somewhere else. But people feel guilty about credit cards, they really do. And they really think that they should pay those bills. They really do. I’ve gotten somewhat immune to it because I see it all the time, but I can see when they come in that there’s a little bit of a sense of guilt with it. And um so they do feel that they should pay those cards. And then I try to explain to them that they took the creditor took risk when they issued that card to you. For whatever reason the deal didn’t work out. They understand that and they’ve calculated accordingly. That’s why you were charged such a high interest rate on the card. So don’t...
Bankruptcy
Five Financial Situations Will Help Lead You to Final Decision Eric A. Lanigan, of Lanigan and Lanigan, P.L., has seen clients walk into his office unsure of whether to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy or Chapter 7 bankruptcy since 2007. Lanigan created a video showing five personal financial situations you may be in that will help decide the filing of Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. “It can be confusing for those who do not know what the basics of bankruptcy entail,” said (Winter Park, Florida) bankruptcy and foreclosure attorney Eric Lanigan. “There are five deciding factors that will help you determine which to file a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. These Five Financial Issues Help Determine Which Bankruptcy to File: You have a co-debtor on your debt You have non-exempt property You own investment or rental property You have a tax obligation or student loan You’re behind on your car payment or your mortgage Knowing when is it preferable to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy vs. Chapter 7 starts with what the basic differences are: Chapter 7 is a liquidation and elimination of debts “In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy all your debts, other than debts which you specifically reaffirm such as a car loan, or a home mortgage, or debts which are not dischargeable, such as federal taxes, or student loans, are discharged,” Lanigan said. Chapter 13 is a reorganization of debts to be paid off over a three to five year period “However, in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the unsecured debts or some portion of them, typically a small portion of them is paid off over a...
Bankruptcy, Podcasts
Click to Listen. Right Click Audio as it’s playing to download to your device. When is it Preferable to File a Chapter 13 bankruptcy vs. Chapter 7? First let’s talk about what the basic difference is. Chapter 7 is liquidation of debts. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy all your debts other than debts which you specifically reaffirm such as a car loan, or a home mortgage, or debts which are not dischargeable, such as federal taxes, or student loans, all other debts are discharged. Whereas in a bankruptcy, the unsecured debts or some portion of them, typically a small portion of them is paid off over a period of time three to five years. So taking that fundamental distinction between Chapter 7 and 13 into consideration what are some reasons why a Chapter 13 might be preferable? Well, I’ve listed five and not necessarily in any particular order. First of all, someone’s behind in their mortgage or their car loan they want to make up the payments but the bank is saying no, you’ve got to pay it all at one time. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the court can require that the lender accept the payment of the backdue payment over a three to five year period during the course of the plan. Another, number two would be if you have a tax obligation or student loan which is not dischargeable in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the creditor whether it be the IRS or the student loan lender is required to accept whatever payments the judge approves within the Chapter 13 plan. Which may be significantly less than...
