Melinda Murphy Dionne

Bankruptcy Attorney

Birmingham | 205.453.1012
Tuscaloosa | 205.349.5911
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Can I get student loan relief without filing bankruptcy?

Written by Melinda Dionne, Esq., February 2, 2015, Credit and Bankruptcy, Credit Score, General Legal

Can I get student loan relief without filing bankruptcy? It’s almost impossible to have student loans discharged in chapter 7 bankruptcy. Your only option is to show that repaying your loans would cause an extreme hardship on you or your dependents.  Very few people can demonstrate this to the court’s satisfaction. If you are struggling to repay your loans, you may have other options.  These can help eliminate some or all of your student loan debt.  There may also be options available that can help keep you 

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How Do I Rebuild My Credit After Bankruptcy?

Written by Melinda Dionne, Esq., October 10, 2014, Credit and Bankruptcy, Credit Score

How do I rebuild my credit after bankruptcy? If you’ve recently filed for bankruptcy, you may be feeling a mix of relief and trepidation. You may also be asking yourself  “how do I rebuild my credit after bankruptcy?”  While having filed for bankruptcy can eliminate unsecured debts in the case of a Chapter 7 filing or allowed you to renegotiate them in a Chapter 13 filing, you may be worried about how a bankruptcy on your credit report will affect your finances going forward.  These 

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D is for Divorce – Issues to consider before filing

Written by Melinda Dionne, Esq., June 18, 2014, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, General Legal, The ABC's of Bankruptcy

D is for Divorce – Issues to Consider before filing Bankruptcy and Divorce Bankruptcy and Divorce are very closely related; experiencing one often leads to the other. Sometimes, financial problems that are bad enough to lead to the filing of a Bankruptcy case can also result in the parties seeking a Divorce. Alternatively, when parties decide that their marriage is over, a Divorce can lead to the need to file a bankruptcy case on the part of one, or the other or both. Things to 

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C is for Child Support

Written by Melinda Dionne, Esq., October 8, 2012, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Credit and Bankruptcy, The ABC's of Bankruptcy

C is for Child Support – a special status in Bankruptcy. In an effort to help in the enforcement of child support orders, the Bankruptcy Code gives priority status to unpaid child support.  Priority Debts are generally non-dischargeable in bankruptcy, so a person who owes a priority debt will not be granted a discharge as to that debt under the Court’s discharge order. Keeping Current on Child Support is Mandatory. In the bankruptcy legislation that took effect in October of 2005, Child Support was given 

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Bankruptcy Lawyers to Avoid

Written by Melinda Dionne, Esq., June 26, 2012, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Hiring the Best Attorney

Bankruptcy Lawyers to Avoid Bankruptcy Mills – Welcome to Cattle Call! Bankruptcy Mills are firms that file large numbers of bankruptcy cases by using their staff to do most of the work.  Attorneys spend very little time, if any, with the clients.  Going to a Bankruptcy Mill is like cattle call.  Don’t kid yourself—you are the cow.  You are there to make them money.  Your case is just as plain and ordinary as the next “cow” in the waiting room.  Your facts will be made to 

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Cheap Bankruptcy Lawyer

Written by Melinda Dionne, Esq., June 23, 2012, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Hiring the Best Attorney

Bankruptcy Fees and Price Shopping Let’s assume you have a brain tumor.  You need to find the best surgeon to perform a life saving operation.  What is your first step?  Do you pick up the phone and call all the brain surgeons in town and ask what they charge for an operation like yours?  Can you imagine what kind of answer you would get if you made that call?  But hey, if you feel comfortable hiring the person who is going to save your life 

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Lessons From LeBron James on Debt Management

Written by Melinda Dionne, Esq., June 22, 2012, General Legal

Lessons from LeBron James I know a story about LeBron James on a Blog about getting out of debt seems more than a little strange.  But hang in there.  Maybe you will see the connection that struck me last night.  I’m not a big basketball fan.  I doubt 3 years ago I could have told you anything about LeBron James.  Then James made the decision to go on national television, during primetime, to announce he was leaving Cleveland for Miami. Learn from Your Past Mistakes 

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B is for Bifurcate

Written by Melinda Dionne, Esq., March 11, 2012, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, How Bankruptcy Works, The ABC's of Bankruptcy

B is for Bifurcate, which is a complicated word for a simple process. When you bifurcate a claim, you split it into a secured portion and an unsecured portion.  Unsecured creditors in Chapter 13 are not paid interest.  By bifurcating a claim, you can substantially reduce the amount you have to pay for certain items. Here is an Example of Claim Bifurcation Let’s look at an example.  You are filing a chapter 13 case.  You purchased a vehicle and financed it more than 910 days 

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The ABC’s of Bankruptcy – A is for Address

Written by Melinda Dionne, Esq., March 3, 2012, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, How Bankruptcy Works, The ABC's of Bankruptcy

A is for Address – The Importance of Correct Addresses One of the most important things you should do as a debtor is provide your Tuscaloosa and Birmingham Bankruptcy lawyer a correspondence address for each of your creditors.  The address is usually found on your statement.  It is different from the payment address (the address to which you send your monthly payment).  Understanding the difference in the two addresses is critical to your receipt of a bankruptcy discharge.  Notices sent to a payment address will 

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Reaffirmation, Surrender or Redemption in Chapter 7

Written by Melinda Dionne, Esq., October 22, 2011, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Reaffirmation, Surrender or Redemption? One of the decisions that a Chapter 7 debtor must make when filing a bankruptcy case is what to do with property securing a debt.  Debtors living in the area covered by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals have one of three options.  A Debtor’s options are: Reaffirm the debt owed to the creditor; Surrender the collateral securing the debt owed to the secured creditor; or Redeem the secured collateral for its value on the day of the filing of the 

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Helpful Articles

  • Can I get student loan relief without filing bankruptcy?
  • How Do I Rebuild My Credit After Bankruptcy?
  • D is for Divorce – Issues to consider before filing
  • C is for Child Support
  • Bankruptcy Lawyers to Avoid

Melinda Murphy Dionne represents clients in Central and West Alabama including Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Centerville, Fayette, Jasper, Moundville, Tuscaloosa County, Bibb County, Blount County, Fayette County, Greene County, Hale County, Jefferson County, Lamar County, Perry County, Pickens County, Shelby County, Sumter County and Walker County.

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.

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