Understanding Wills and Trusts

A will is a written document that defines how your assets will be distributed after you die. Trusts are legal arrangements that involve a separate legal entity to hold and distribute assets — during your life, after your life, or both. As an alternative to...

Bankruptcy Basics

Bankruptcy is a set of legally-defined ways for individuals or businesses to settle debts without full payment, by following rules that govern their assets and financial actions for a period of time. There are two broad types, liquidation and reorganization. Under...

Bankruptcy Protection

When a person or business concludes that meeting their debts is not realistic, they may file for bankruptcy in Federal Bankruptcy court. A bankruptcy filing places an automatic stay on debt-related actions and judgements, including wage garnishment —...

What is A Bankruptcy Petition?

Filing for bankruptcy starts with disclosing all financial information. This is done on a form called a ‘bankruptcy petition’, provided by the US Bankruptcy Court. The bankruptcy case starts when the bankruptcy petition form is filed. Both individuals and...

How To File Bankruptcy

US law allows courts to declare individuals and businesses bankrupt, allowing them to settle debts without full payment. Filing bankruptcy is a legal action asking the court to make this declaration; deciding to file should account for: –Debts that are owed...

What Is A Short Sale?

When a lender releases an existing mortgage for a payoff that is less or ‘short’ of the total amount due, the transaction is called a ‘short sale.’ Lenders sometimes accept short sales as an alternative to repossession and foreclosure, which...