Law Office of Bruce A. Mayrand, Jr. PLC

01/19/2022

06/02/2021

Very good to hear.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/01/michigan-online-court-hearings/5288327001/?fbclid=IwAR2p0qyeAN6CGOrw9gyMi7fO89JJ3zM-ab2Njzl75jmyqROHmbtUUJl6lm0

Michigan court YouTube channels now have about 125,000 subscribers and that number is growing, according to the State Court Administrative Office.

05/11/2021

More to come on the student loan issue!

The Biden administration wants the Supreme Court to pass on an appeal seeking to ease the way for more borrowers to erase their student-loan debt in bankruptcy, saying the Department of Education is already examining the issue.

03/29/2021

Important information regarding stimulus checks.

On March 17, 2021 the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) submitted a letter to Director Clifford White at […]

03/17/2021

Student loans are a big problem in Bankruptcy world! Here is why:

The Second Circuit affirmed on March 11 in an opinion by Circuit Judge José A. Cabranes.

Judge Cabranes characterized the debtor as arguing that “the Brunner test has, over time, become too high a burden for debtors to satisfy.” [Note: If that be a fair characterization of the argument, the relief the debtor sought could only be obtained if the Second Circuit were sitting en banc.]

Judge Cabranes disagreed. He said that the “Brunner test reflects the Section 523(a)(8) statutory scheme exhibiting ‘clear congressional intent . . . to make the discharge of student loans more difficult than that of other nonexcepted debt . . . .’” Id. at 396.

Judge Cabranes laid out the three fact findings that a debtor must establish by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) The debtor cannot maintain a “minimal” standard of living; (2) additional circumstances exist to show that the debtor’s financial condition is “likely to persist for a significant portion of the repayment period,” and (3) the debtor made a good faith attempt to repay the loan.

The debtor failed all three tests, Judge Cabranes said.

On the first test, Judge Cabranes said that the debtor’s income was above the federal poverty level. Her expenses, he said, “allow her to make loan repayments while maintaining a minimal standard of living. Further, [the debtor] failed to undertake steps to improve her overall financial condition and reduce her discretionary expenses.”

According to Judge Cabranes, the debtor was “fairly young” at age 52, in good health, with no dependents and two graduate degrees. Therefore, she failed the second test because she “is able to maintain her current level of income.”

The debtor failed the third test because she had not attempted to consolidate her loans or qualify for income-based repayment programs. Moreover, Judge Cabranes said, the debtor had received $4,000 tax refunds for four years but used none of the money to repay student loans.

Judge Cabranes affirmed the judgment of the bankruptcy court because the debtor had failed to prove her satisfaction of the Brunner tests.

01/21/2021

https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-extends-student-loan-payments-pause-moratorium-on-evictions-11611185340

Executive orders are signed by the new president to maintain protections from economic hardships caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

01/13/2021

Good information for commercial tenants. Now is a good time to negotiate.

U.S. commercial landlords have granted billions of dollars of rent relief to struggling storefronts as property owners strive to keep falling occupancy rates from triggering more severe financial consequences.

01/06/2021

If you are or know of someone struggling financially through this pandemic looking into a fresh start may be worth investigating. If you have received your stimulus check already this may be a good use of those funds. Contact me for a free consultation. Meanwhile, many are still seeing delays.

Many payments have been sent to inactive or temporary accounts that taxpayers don’t have access to.

12/28/2020

Trump gives in and signs bill!

Trump's change of plans came after he had the whole country on edge for nearly a week.

12/10/2020

Could we possibly see changes to our Bankruptcy Laws when Biden gets in the Whitehouse? It is possible that we could see some small changes. However, I do not foresee a broad overhaul as proposed by Senator Warren.

Elizabeth spent most of her career studying why families go broke. Her new plan overhauls our bankruptcy system so it helps working families, not giant companies.

11/11/2020

Can our legislators get something done to provide additional relief?

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have returned to the negotiating table to try to pass another stimulus package before the end of 2020. But major roadblocks remain.