Hello!

This is the new site for The Law Office of Rollie R. Hanson. 

08/12/2011:  Some thoughts on bankruptcy and your life:  So many of the clients I meet never saw themselves having to file a bankruptcy.  They have been able to pay their bills their entire lives.  Only now, in these uncertain and depressed financial times are they realizing that bankruptcy is their only solution.   If you think this way, allow me to suggest to you not to think of filing a bankruptcy to relieve your financial distress as a failure.  Think of it as a fresh start.  Everyone deserves a second chance.  I would even go so far as to tell you that many of my clients are in a distressed financial position not because of anything that they have done, but because of the current economic climate in this country.  The causes of that are too great and in-depth to delve into today.  But just keep this in mind...we are here to help you. -J.M.N.

08/01/2011:  We received a ruling on appeal from the Eastern District of Wisconsin Federal Court and on remand from the Bankruptcy Court that a Debtor who files a chapter 13 bankruptcy within four years of receiving a chapter 7 discharge may avoid a wholly unsecured junior mortgage. In Fair v. GMAC Mortgage, LLC, the Debtor received a Chapter 7 discharge in the four years preceding her chapter 13 filing.  At the Bankruptcy Court level, the Honorable Pamela Pepper ruled that because this Debtor could not receive a discharge in a Chapter 13, she could not avoid the second mortgage on her house, even though the first mortgage had a balance that was more than what her house was worth.  I, on behalf of the Debtor, appealed to the District Court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.  The Honorable Rudolph Randa agreed with me and reversed Judge Pepper's decision holding that a Debtor in this situation could strip a wholly unsecured junior lien providing that the case was filed in good faith.  Judge Randa remanded the case to Judge Pepper for a determination of Good Faith.  After requesting a brief on the issue, Judge Pepper ultimately ruled that the case was filed in good faith.  Therefore, so long as the Debtor completes her Chapter 13 plan, her second mortgage will be avoided at the end of her bankruptcy. ---J.M.N.