Christopher S. Mulvaney,

Attorney and Counselor-at-Law

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THIS WEBSITE INCLUDES GENERAL INFORMATION & THE OPINIONS OF CHRISTOPHER S. MULVANEY. IT IS INTENDED TO STIMULATE A BASIS FOR QUESTIONS RELATED TO YOUR PARTICULAR FACTUAL CIRCUMSTANCES — BEFORE YOU ACT.  THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE. IF YOU WANT LEGAL ADVICE, PLEASE MAKE A ZOOM APPOINTMENT TO SPEAK WITH ME.

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The use of email or this form for communication with MULVANEY LAW OFFICE, PLLC does not establish an Attorney-Client Relationship. If you don’t think I have responded, please check your spam folder. Time-sensitive information should not be sent through this Form or through email. Sensitive information can be uploaded to an encrypted Dropbox folder in your client file. Google Review Link Yelp Review Link

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Gonzaga University School of Law – Spokane, Washington – Class of 2002 – Cum Laude The Latin phrase “Deo patriae, scientiis, artibus” translates to “For God and country through sciences and arts”.  The initials A.M.D.G. on the seal of Gonzaga Law School stand for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, which is Latin for “For the Greater Glory of God” the Motto of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits): a Catholic religious order founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola.

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“There’s always room for a good lawyer.”
– Milas Hale 

Bankruptcy only Discharges personal liability. Liens such mortgages and cars pledged as collateral are affected at all by Chapter 7, and may only be modified under limited circumstances in Chapter 13.

Bankruptcy includes all assets and all debts. It is a misunderstanding to think that anything is not
included in bankruptcy. Everything is included. The discharge releases you from personal liability
for all dischargeable debts, including mortgages. The liens on the property remain.


WARNING:

DEBTORS CAN BE SURPRISED BY COMMONLY EXERCISED CREDITOR RIGHTS IN BANKRUPTCY

Cross-Collateralization.

Cross-Collateralization occurs when you have more than one loan at the same Credit Union, and you stop paying one loan but not another. For example, if you don’t pay your credit card bill but still make your car payment, the Credit Union can repossess your car because a default on one loan is considered a default on all loans.

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Mortgage Statements and Automatic Payments Will Be Terminated. Access to all credit is frozen even if you did not have a balance at the time you filed. Changing banks prior to filing is advised if any of the above may be an issue. If you want to autopay a mortgage set it up with your bank after Discharge.

Mortgage Creditors Will Not Report Payments to Credit Bureaus After Discharge. *

Mortgage creditors may ask you to reaffirm your 1st or 2nd mortgage and exclude it from the discharge leaving you with personal liability for the debt and defeating the purpose of filing bankruptcy. If you cannot pay your mortgage after it is discharged, then the lender forecloses on the property, but cannot sue you. Due to the risk of you having to pay tens of thousands of dollars, I cannot represent clients who wish to reaffirm a mortgage debt. The court is not likely to approve such a risk to you anyway. Reaffirmation puts a huge burden on the debtor for the negligible benefit of reporting payments post discharge. You will never receive mortgage statements again because sending them to you is prohibited by the Discharge Injunction. Please contact me if you have a HELOC or 2nd mortgage because the analysis of whether to pay or not pay is much more complicated and has much more potentially serious consequences.

*The only way I know to attempt to address this issue is to ask for a mortgage history from your lender every year, as is your right, then send it to all three credit bureaus on their websites disputing the fact that you made 12 payments, but they were not reported. The lender can’t dispute that you paid. Many lenders don’t respond. WITHOUT USING THIS METHOD, DEBTORS WHO RECEIVE A BANKRUPTCY DISCHARGE ARE EFFECTIVELY BARRED FROM REFINANCING THEIR HOME LOANS.

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Washington State residents can meet with me in Zoom/DocuSign from anywhere in the world, and I can notarize their electronic signatures because I am a remote online notary.  Just email me an image of your photo ID.