Debt can be a handy tool for purchasing property or assets that you cannot finance in a lump sum. At the same time, it can become a burden if your income is reduced, you lose your job, or take on more debt than you can handle. In the event of excessive debt and absolutely no way out, your last resort is to apply for bankruptcy.

I recently saw a news report about a man in Pennsylvania who got caught in some serious lies in his bankruptcy.

Scott H. Korn was sued in the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia, along with a number of other entities. He lost, and in April 2014 a judgment for about $2,400,000 was entered against him. The bankruptcy case is 14-1313, the criminal case is 19-CR-248, and I believe the state court case is 091202418.

Minnesota is in the Eighth Circuit, which includes the Dakotas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas. Nevertheless, cases from other circuits may be helpful in understanding the law.

Back when Congress was about to pass the "Cares Act" -- the response to the Covid 19 pandemic -- I emailed a couple of US senators asking them to exclude the proposed $1200 per person payments from being swept up in bankruptcy cases. Unfortunately, the Congress seems to have ignored my suggestion. Humpph.

These are incredibly unusual times, of course.

If you are a homeowner, there may be some help available to you. If your mortgage is owned by one of the two very large "government sponsored enterprises" you may be able to get some relief. One of these two is Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly