A 79-year old widow was forced into bankruptcy when she could not pay her creditors and, in her words, they “threatened to take me to court.”  What should have been a simple no-asset Chapter 7 bankruptcy case has turned into a two-year battle that is now waiting to be heard by a federal appeals court. At issue, the debtor’s rent-controlled apartment.  Her landlord, not a creditor as she has remained current on rent, offered to buy the lease.  The bankruptcy trustee agreed that this lease is an asset and accepted the offer.  The decision could have a huge effect on rent-stabilized leases in New York.

For the full story read, “Widow’s Bankruptcy Case Poses Risk to Rent-Stabilized Tenants.”