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Hurricane Katrina: Legal Issues - Columbus School of Law

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17.2.1 Chapter 7<br />

17.2.2 Chapter 13<br />

17.2.3 Others<br />

17.3 If I file bankruptcy, will I have to repay my debts?<br />

17.4 What debts cannot be discharged?<br />

17.5 Will I lose my property?<br />

17.6 What property is exempt?<br />

17.7 Where do I file?<br />

17.8 How do I file?<br />

17.9 What does it cost to file?<br />

17.10 Do I need a lawyer?<br />

17.11 How can I find a bankruptcy lawyer?<br />

17.12 When should I file for bankruptcy?<br />

17.13 What effects will the new bankruptcy law have?<br />

18 Tax <strong>Law</strong><br />

18.1 Did <strong>Katrina</strong> affect the time I have to file my tax returns or pay taxes I owe?<br />

18.2 Must I include assistance payments in my reported income?<br />

18.3 Can I deduct my losses from <strong>Katrina</strong> on my tax return?<br />

18.4 Did <strong>Katrina</strong> affect my Earned Income Credit or Child Credit?<br />

19 Appendix<br />

Introduction<br />

This resource provides an overview <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> the legal issues that may arise as a result <strong>of</strong> <strong>Hurricane</strong> <strong>Katrina</strong>. The<br />

resource is a work in progress, and will be updated as additional research is conducted and as new issues come to<br />

light. Each section includes a note indicating the date on which the section was last edited. It is possible that the<br />

rights <strong>of</strong> hurricane victims have been addressed by new legislation or rules enacted since a particular section was<br />

updated. Please check this site on a weekly basis for updates. Additions and changes will be highlighted in the<br />

Introduction each week.<br />

The information contained in this resource was provided through a joint effort <strong>of</strong> the University <strong>of</strong> Mississippi Civil<br />

<strong>Legal</strong> Clinic and volunteer students and pr<strong>of</strong>essors, the Clinical <strong>Legal</strong> Education Association and the Association <strong>of</strong><br />

American <strong>Law</strong> <strong>School</strong>s Section on Clinical <strong>Legal</strong> Education. Clinical faculty and students from the law schools at<br />

Arizona State, Arkansas (Little Rock), Ave Maria, California (Boalt Hall), Columbia, Connecticut, CUNY, Detroit,<br />

Drake, Georgia, Harvard, Howard, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, St. John's, St. Thomas, Syracuse, Thomas<br />

Cooley, Tulsa, Western New England and Yale contributed to this effort. The University <strong>of</strong> Mississippi thanks our<br />

fellow clinicians and students for their substantial time commitment and their concern for the losses suffered by<br />

Mississippians. We also gratefully acknowledge assistance from Equal Justice Works, the Mississippi Center for<br />

Justice, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, and Morrison & Foerster. Portions <strong>of</strong> the information contained in this resource,<br />

particularly the sections about FEMA, were taken (with permission) from the <strong>Hurricane</strong> <strong>Katrina</strong> Helping Handbook,<br />

produced by Morrison & Foerster. The handbook is available at: http://www.m<strong>of</strong>o.com/about/<strong>Katrina</strong>.html. The<br />

information contained on this site is also available as a PDF file which can be downloaded at:<br />

http://katrinalegalrelief.org/katrina_manual.pdf<br />

We make available the information on this website for general information purposes only. Although we hope and<br />

believe the information will be helpful as background material, we cannot warrant that it is accurate or complete,<br />

particularly as circumstances may change after this information is posted on the web. Also, the website is general in<br />

nature, and may not apply to particular factual or legal circumstances. In any event, the website does not constitute<br />

legal advice and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Many <strong>of</strong> the individuals and entities that contributed to<br />

this resource are not licensed to practice law in Mississippi or other affected states, and by contributing to this<br />

resource are not purporting to practice law. Readers seeking to act upon any <strong>of</strong> the information contained on this

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