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Halsey Minor sold his company in 2008 for $1.8 billion in 2008 – five years later his is asking for a complete discharge of his debts through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Filed last month, Minor’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy case reported assets totaling less than $50 million with debts of up to $100 million. Under a Chapter 7, a trustee will take whatever assets are not exempt, liquidate those assets and pay as much as he can to Minor’s creditors. The remaining debts will be discharged so that … [Read more...]

Across the county, homeowner’s insurance rates rose by 36% from 2003 to 2010. The largest increases were seen by states that are along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Homeowners in these areas experienced insurance rate increases of more than 40% with residents in Florida seeing the highest rate increase (91 percent). Insurance companies claim that the higher insurance rates are a direct result of the risk involved in insuring coastal property. For the complete story read, … [Read more...]

Sound Shore Health System, Inc. located in New York City filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy last week. Sound Shore blames cuts in government spending under Medicare as the reason why it is struggling financially. Even though the company had over $241 million in revenue during 2012, the bankruptcy filing reports that it owes about $200 million in debts with only about $160 million in assets. This is not the first medical facility to file for bankruptcy citing cuts in Medicaid … [Read more...]

Casey Anthony was not present for the latest hearing in her bankruptcy case – she is still in hiding after being acquitted of the murder of her daughter. The meter reader and the nanny who were implicated during the murder trial have sued Anthony for defamation. Anthony’s bankruptcy halted the defamation cases; however, attorneys for the two plaintiffs are seeking relief from the bankruptcy court to continue the actions in state court. Anthony’s attorneys are arguing the matter should remain … [Read more...]

The Internal Revenue Service has petitioned the bankruptcy court requesting that it be allowed to pursue collection of taxes owed by Dionne Warwick. When Warwick filed for bankruptcy protection in March, she listed tax debts of almost $7 million to the IRS alone. The taxes were owed for tax years 1999 through 2007. The IRS wants to use funds from two companies affiliated with Warwick to pay down her tax debt. For more read, “IRS Targets Dionne Warwick’s Tax Debt.” … [Read more...]

First, you must have a health insurance policy that is HSA eligible. You can only transfer money from your IRA to your HSA once during your lifetime and it is limited to the yearly maximum HSA contribution less any contributions you had already made for that year. Remember, even though you have until April of the following year to contribute to your HSA account for the current tax year, an IRA rollover counts for the calendar year when the rollover is made. For more information read, “Be … [Read more...]

If you are leasing your home, beware of making any major interior design changes or improvements. Because you are not the owner of the property, you may not be allowed to make major renovations to the leased property. First, check your lease agreement to see if it prohibits tenants from making any changes to the homes interior (i.e. paint, wallpaper, flooring, etc.). If the lease allows for renovations, it is likely to require that the tenant obtain the property owner’s approval before … [Read more...]

The Chicago suburb of Dolton is facing a financial crisis. The village’s Board went over budget by almost $4 million each year for the past ten years. This deficit has left the village broke and facing bankruptcy. The current Board is borrowing money from other accounts to pay its current bills and employee salaries. Layoffs are expected in various city departments as the Board tries to decide the best course of action for the village. For the complete story read, “Officials say Chicago … [Read more...]

Diana J. Stout, a Bethesda woman, was sentenced to two years in prison, three years supervised release and $150,000 in restitution payments for bankruptcy fraud. Stout filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief in April 2010. She failed to disclose assets including an 18-karat white gold bracelet with 75 diamonds, 797 shares of stock and 2 vehicles. She sold these assets, pocketed the money and never disclosed the transfers to her Bankruptcy Trustee. For more details about how Stout attempted to … [Read more...]

The Unites States Trustee’s Office is charged with overseeing the country’s bankruptcy trustees and reviewing bankruptcies filed in the United States. As part of its duties, the Trustee’s Office files objections in bankruptcy cases when it feels that something is not in accordance with the Bankruptcy Code. After reviewing its performance during the past year, the UST has given itself most “A’s” in everything except cracking down on executive bonuses in Chapter 11 cases. For more details … [Read more...]