New Lactation Bill in Illinois passes both Houses

Senate Bill 0344, also known as the "Lactation Accommodation in Airports Act" is in the works in Illinois.  The bill recently passed both houses.  This is very exciting news for mothers who travel and need a safe and private place to express milk or feed their babies.  To be clear, in Illinois, women can already nurse their babies without covering anywhere they are legally authorized to be.   But as any nursing mom knows, nursing in public and pumping in public are two very different things.  Many women are comfortable nursing their babies in the open with or without a cover.  However, in order to express breast milk you have to be hooked up to a loud and obnoxious breast pump.  Some pumps require an electrical connection and many working mothers must express breast milk around the clock every 2 or 3 hours when they are without their babies.  This new proposed bill would require Illinois airports to provide a clean and private place to express milk.  I know many working mothers who travel for work who would benefit greatly from this law.   If passed, the law would go into effect January 1, 2017.

For more information about the bill visit: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=0344&GAID=13&GA=99&DocTypeID=SB&LegID=84305&SessionID=88

To learn about all the breastfeeding laws on the books in Illinois, click here.

BAPCPA- 10 YEARS LATER

Believe it or not, it has been 10 years since the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act was passed in 2005.  The law made it more difficult for people to file bankruptcy and added hurdles to the filing of a regular bankruptcy case.  It added a component called the "means test" to a bankruptcy filing that uses a Debtor's past six months of income to determine whether they qualify for bankruptcy.  A credit counseling requirement was added and other requirements and restrictions were imposed that made it more difficult for debtors and attorneys to prepare a bankruptcy petition.  Some of the changes included:

• ​A mandatory credit counseling requirement
• ​Stricter eligibility for Chapter 7 filings
• ​Tax returns and proof of income required
• ​More people filing Chapter 13 instead of Chapter 7
• ​Fewer automatic stay protection for filers
• New priority for unpaid child support and alimony
• Mandatory financial management education

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Despite a significant reduction in filings after BAPCPA, bankruptcy remains a viable option for many people who find themselves overwhelmed by debt.  An experienced bankruptcy attorney can help you navigate the intricacies of the bankruptcy laws and help you decide if bankruptcy is a good option for you.

IS BANKRUPTCY RIGHT FOR YOU?

Deciding if you should file for bankruptcy is a tough decision.  Most people who find themselves in debt qualify for at least one type of consumer bankruptcy.  If you have over $10,000 of debt and are unable to pay your bills or are dealing with a foreclosure, wage garnishment or lawsuit you may want to consider filing for bankruptcy.  

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

When you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy you eliminate your unsecured debt such as credit cards and medical bills.  Most of the time you can keep your home and car.  In order to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy you cannot have substantial assets or earn over the median income in your county.  

Chapter 7 bankruptcy will stop a wage garnishment and lawsuits against you. 

Some debt is not eliminated in Chapter 7 such as student loans, secured mortgage debt, child support and alimony, parking tickets and tax debt.  

Many people qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and can eliminate most of their debt.   Chapter 7 attorney fees range from $1,000-2,000 depending on your case.  The court filing fee is $335.00.   

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

When you file Chapter 13 bankruptcy you file a  bankruptcy plan that pays back some of your debt over a 3 to 5 year period.  Many times, people who might not qualify for Chapter 7 due to income or assets, can file a Chapter 13 case and have a manageable payment for the life of the plan. 

Chapter 13 bankruptcy can include parking tickets and lift a license suspension, can void a second mortgage lien, and can include tax debts owed to the IRS or state. 

To qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy you must have some form of regular income, such as a regular job, child support, or a pension or social security. 

Chapter 13 fees are set by the court in this jurisdiction and are $4,000.00 plus the court filing fee of $310.00.  However many times you can have your case filed with little or no money down, depending on your situation. 

Call us today for a free consultation and we will help you determine which type of bankruptcy is right for you. 

BANK OF AMERICA, N. A. v. CAULKETT

Let's talk about today's Supreme Court decision in Bank of America, N.A. v. Caulkett.  First of all, it's pretty rare that the US Supreme Court actually talks about a real consumer bankruptcy case that affects consumer bankruptcy attorneys and their clients.  But this one actually discusses important issues that everyone who practices bankruptcy law should know. 

The facts of the case involved two Debtors who filed Chapter 7 and tried to void their second mortgage liens through bankruptcy.  Basically their homes were underwater and they had wholly unsecured second mortgages that they were looking to cancel in a Chapter 7.  In this jurisdiction everyone knows that you can't do that and I would never try.  But in other places like the Eleventh Circuit apparently, it had been allowed.  

This means that you would be allowed to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and completely eliminate your second mortgage if the house was underwater!  I imagine I would be filing 10 bankruptcy cases a day if I had the power to do this in this jurisdiction!  

In this case, the Supreme Court held once and for all that:

"A debtor in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding may not void a junior mortgage lien under §506(d) when the debt owed on a senior mortgage lien exceeds the current value of the collateral if the creditor’s claim is both secured by a lien and allowed under §502 of the Bankruptcy Code." 

Most bankruptcy attorneys already knew this and it doesn't really cause much reaction in this jurisdiction. 

However, did you know that you can completely void a second mortgage in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy? If your home is underwater and you owe more than the house is worth, you can file Chapter 13 and repay some of your unsecured debt for a period of 3-5 years.  If your second mortgage is wholly unsecured you can throw it in with the rest of your unsecured creditors and pay as little as 10% to your second mortgage.  At the end of your Chapter 13 plan the mortgage company is required to remove the lien!

This means that if you owe $50,000 on a second mortgage and your income and assets are low enough, you can potentially repay only $5,000 of that mortgage through your bankruptcy and eliminate the rest!

To qualify generally for a Chapter 13 to lien strip your second mortgage there are some rules: 

• You have to have income of some kind. 
• Your home must be underwater and the second mortgage has to be completely unsecured. 
• You have to have some sort of Comparative Market Analysis or proof of the property's value. 
• You have to qualify under the "means test" as a Debtor with no disposable income or very little disposable income. 
• You cannot have assets that exceed your exemptions. 

Call me today for a free consultation if you want to discuss a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.  

You can read the entire Supreme Court Case here.