Vehicle Exemptions – Business v. Personal Use
Vehicle Exemptions – Business v. Personal Use Under the Arizona bankruptcy exemptions, a vehicle used by the debtor primarily for business purposes, must be claimed under the “Tools of the Trade” exemptions under A.R.S. § 33-1130. The Arizona bankruptcy exemptions allow a debtor to keep equity in one vehicle of up to $6,000. (See A.R.S. […]
Undue Hardship Claims & The (Non-)Dischargeability of Student Loan Debt
Undue Hardship Claims & The (Non-)Dischargeability of Student Loan Debt Student Loan Disbursements Exempt from Bankruptcy Pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1095(d), student loans, grants, and work awards cannot be taken, via garnishment, attachment, or otherwise, by creditors to satisfy any debts owed by the student. While some states have opted out of the federal […]
Truth In Lending Act – Understanding Your Consumer Rights
Truth In Lending Act – Understanding Your Consumer Rights The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) was intended as a consumer protection against lenders lying or otherwise altering agreed upon terms. TILA requires lenders to fully disclose the terms of the credit being offered including full transparency concerning: (1) interest rates (2) the amount/percentage required to satisfy the […]
Six Year Statute of Limitations for Collecting on Credit Card Debt
Six Year Statute of Limitations for Collecting on Credit Card Debt In 2011, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed HB 2412 into law, amending A.R.S. § 12-548 and increasing the statute of limitations for credit card debt from three years to six years. According to the statute, credit card debt “must be prosecuted within six years […]
Selling a Home During an “Open Bankruptcy” and Protecting the Proceeds in Arizona
Selling a Home During an “Open Bankruptcy” and Protecting the Proceeds in Arizona Arizona has a friendly homestead exemption, which allows anyone over 18 years of age and who resides in Arizona, to protect up to $150,000 in equity (See A.R.S. §33-1101(A)(1)). If the homestead is sold, the resulting proceeds are also exempt up to […]
Private Disability Benefits Must be Included in CMI Calculation for Statutory Means Test
Private Disability Benefits Must be Included in CMI Calculation for Statutory Means Test In Blausey v. U.S. Trustee (2009), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the debtor was required to include her private disability insurance benefits in the calculation of Current Monthly Income (CMI), and that a subsequent inclusion of the benefit in the CMI […]
Inherited IRAs are Explicitly Protected Under Arizona Law
Inherited IRAs are Explicitly Protected Under Arizona Law Arizona is one of only eight states that provides specific bankruptcy protection for inherited IRA’s. A.R.S. § 33-1126(B) explicitly protects any money or assets payable to any participant or beneficiary in a retirement plan which meets IRC requirements, “whether the beneficiary’s interest arises by inheritance, designation, appointment […]
Filing Bankruptcy in Arizona with Checks Still Pending
Filing Bankruptcy in Arizona with Checks Still Pending Pending transactions, such as checks and debits must be considered prior to filing the bankruptcy petition. This issue was addressed with In re Brubaker, 443 B.R. 176 (2011), when a debtor filed bankruptcy with a scheduled account balance of $513, when in fact the actual account balance was […]
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) – Understanding Your Rights
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) – Understanding Your Rights The purpose of the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is to “eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors, to insure that those debt collectors who refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged, and to promote consistent State action […]
Creditors Do Not Have PMSI in Car Loan Portion Related to Negative Equity
Creditors Do Not Have PMSI in Car Loan Portion Related to Negative Equity The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that a creditor does not have a purchase money security interest (PMSI) in the portion of the debtor’s car loan related to negative equity of a vehicle traded in at the time of a new […]