Author Archives: David Lloyd

If you own a home, you know that you have to pay real estate taxes. If you don’t pay an installment of taxes, then after a year the county can sell the property at a tax sale. The tax sale is an auction, but unlike other auctions, bidders don’t bid up the price, they bid…

Of course the main reason most people file bankruptcy is to get relief from creditors: either discharging debts entirely, or at least getting more time to pay debts like mortgages and car loans. It’s important to list each and every debt that you owe, in order to make sure that those creditors can never pursue…

The goal of filing bankruptcy is to eliminate your debts, and most debts are discharged in bankruptcy. The most well-known debts that are NOT discharged are debts related to divorce, most student loans, and some tax debts. But an ordinary debt based on a credit card or other loan, even if a creditor has gone…

Family members like to help each other. That's a good thing; families should stick together. But helping a family member by providing financial assistance can backfire if the family member faces bankruptcy. Parents often proudly present their young-adult children with a new car to help them on their way. But, if the new car owner…

Families have a number of ways to share property with, or gift property to, family members. These arrangements are often useful and helpful; they are common and legitimate, but they can lead to problems in bankruptcy. Parents will often place one or more of their adult children on a bank account as a joint tenant.…