James P. Caher & John M. Caher 
Personal Bankruptcy Laws For Dummies 

With tips on understanding — and surviving — the new bankruptcy laws

If you’re considering bankruptcy, you need straightforward answers and reliable advice. This handy guide covers it all — so you can get your finances in line and your life back on track. This updated new edition covers everything you need to know about the new bankruptcy law and includes even better resources. Don’t get desperate — get out of debt instead!

Discover how to
* Weigh the consequences of bankruptcy
* Manage your spending
* Find professional help you can trust
* Decide on the right type of bankruptcy
* Pass the means test
* Keep more of your stuff

Table of Content

Introduction 1

Part I: Bankruptcy: The Big Picture 7

Chapter 1: Considering Bankruptcy 9

Chapter 2: Stopping the Bleeding 27

Chapter 3: Meeting the Players 47

Chapter 4: Deciding Which Type of Bankruptcy Is Best for You
57

Chapter 5: Confronting the Means Test 69

Chapter 6: Getting from Here to There: The Bankruptcy Process
91

Part II: Avoiding Bankruptcy 115

Chapter 7: Considering Alternatives to Bankruptcy 117

Chapter 8: Handling Bill Collectors 135

Chapter 9: Negotiating with the IRS 145

Part III: Keeping Your Stuff 153

Chapter 10: Understanding Which Assets Are Off Limits to
Creditors 155

Chapter 11: Dealing with Secured Debts 173

Chapter 12: Saving Your Home 183

Part IV: Getting Rid of (Most of) Your Debt 199

Chapter 13: Lingering Obligations 201

Chapter 14: A House of Cards: Wiping Out Credit-Card Debts
215

Chapter 15: Give unto Caesar: Using Bankruptcy to Deal with Tax
Debts 223

Chapter 16: The Devil Made Me Do It: Fines, Fraud, and Other
Foibles 237

Chapter 17: Till Debt Due Us Part: Bankruptcy and Divorce
247

Chapter 18: Student Loans and Other Mind Games 257

Part V: Strategies for a Successful Bankruptcy 271

Chapter 19: Avoiding Troubles with Your Trustee 273

Chapter 20: Living on the Edge in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy 283

Part VI: Enjoying Your Fresh Start 305

Chapter 21: Repairing Your Credit 307

Chapter 22: Staying Out of Financial Trouble 319

Part VII: The Part of Tens 327

Chapter 23: Ten Common Bankruptcy Mistakes 329

Chapter 24: Ten Things You Can Do Right Now to Ease Your
Financial Woes 333

Chapter 25: Ten Common Questions about Bankruptcy 337

Appendix: Homestead Exemption Laws 343

Index 347

About the author

James P. Caher, a practicing attorney with 30 years of
experience, is a nationally recognized expert on consumer
bankruptcies and authority on the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and
Consumer Protection Act of 2005.

Jim coauthored, with his brother John, Debt Free! Your Guide to
Personal Bankruptcy Without Shame (Henry Holt, 1996) and two
highly regarded books for lawyers: Discharging Marital
Obligations in Bankruptcy (LRP, 1997) and Discharging Credit
Card Debts in Bankruptcy (LRP, 1998).

In addition, Jim has published scores of articles for bankruptcy
professionals and is frequently called upon to analyze and
interpret the complicated provisions of the 2005 bankruptcy law. He
was labeled the ‘online guru’ by a national legal
weekly because of his regular appearances on the Internet as an
expert analyst on bankruptcy law. Jim also serves on the editorial
board of the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Jim graduated from Niagara University and then earned his law
degree from Memphis State University Law School, where he was a
member of the Law Review and recipient of the American
Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in the field of debtor-creditor
relations. He filed his first consumer bankruptcy case shortly
after graduating in 1975. Jim lives and practices in Eugene,
Oregon.

John M. Caher is a legal journalist who has written about
law and the courts for most of his 25-year career.

Currently the Albany bureau chief for the New York Law
Journal, John previously was state editor and legal affairs
reporter for the Times Union of Albany, New York. His legal
reportage has won more than two dozen awards, including prestigious
honors from the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar
Association, the Erie County Bar Association, and the Associated
Press.

John coauthored, with his brother Jim, Debt Free! Your Guide to
Personal Bankruptcy Without Shame (Henry Holt, 1996). He is the
author of King of the Mountain: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of
Chief Judge Sol Wachtler (Prometheus Books, 1998). In addition,
John was the principal writer assisting former U.S. Treasury
Secretary William E. Simon in preparation of his memoirs. Mr.
Simon’s autobiography, A Time for Reflection, was
published in 2003 by Regnery.

John is a 1980 graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University,
where he received his bachelor’s degree in journalism, and a
1993 graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he earned
a master’s degree in technical communications/graphics. John
lives in Clifton Park, New York.