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Most people have no idea how much they spend on health care. When you file bankruptcy, one of the forms for the bankruptcy court is called Schedule J. Schedule J is your budget. As a bankruptcy lawyer, I spend a lot of time talking to people about their budgets. And most people in Northern Virginia […]The post You spend more than you think on health care by Robert Weed appeared first on Robert Weed.
If you are thinking on spending extravagantly on Christmas, just remember that you may lead yourself toward the verge of filing bankruptcy. One of the main causes of bankruptcy filings is overspending via credit cards. There is no greater use of credit cards than during the month of December. Many people don’t realize that high-volume+ Read More
The post Christmas Spending With An Eye Toward Avoiding Bankruptcy appeared first on David M. Siegel.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the government consumer protection watchdog, is taking action against two companies that allegedly scammed student loan borrowers.
According to lawsuits filed on December 11, 2014 against College Education Services LLC and Student Loan Processing.US, the companies deceived people into paying upfront fees for federal student loan repayment benefits that are available for free.
College Education Services LLC, claims the lawsuit filed by CFPB and the Florida Attorney General, violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) prohibition of unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The company allegedly charged unlawful advance fees, falsely promised lower federal student loan payments, and promised relief from student loan default or administrative wage garnishment much more quickly than was possible.
Student Loan Processing.US (a fictitious business name of Irvine Web Works, Inc.), sued by CFPB in California federal district court, allegedly falsely represented that the company was affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education. CFPB claims that the company also charged unlawful advance fees, and deceived student loan borrowers about the costs and terms of the company’s services.
This is the sort of thing that makes a lawyer who helps people with student loan problems very happy – the government taking action to bring down student loan debt relief companies that promise the moon and stars in return for a steaming pile of nothing.
There’s nothing wrong with charging a fee for student loan resolution services, but not if all you’re doing is filling out forms that the government makes available at no charge. There’s a complete analysis of your financial situation that needs to take place, along with a discussion of your options. From there, you should get reliable guidance on the best course of action given your situation.
Getting you out of default on your federal student loans is no simple feat, and can be done in a variety of ways depending on your goals and circumstances. Different federal student loan repayment options are available, but which one is best for you requires a pretty deep dive into your current financial reality. Depending on your point of view, that may be something that constitutes the practice of law and requires a license.
Most student loan lawyers like me charge a fee to analyze your situation, then set you free to take action based on the results of that analysis. If your problem is something that requires my help, the analysis fee gets credited towards your legal fees.
But making you spend hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars to prepare a simple form and send it into the U.S. Department of Education or your federal student loan servicer? Clearly, there’s no value in that and should be punished. As for the part about falsely representing that you’re somehow affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education, that’s just wrong.
The only problem with the CFPB actions? That the proposed Consent Order in the Florida case provides for a fine of $25,000 and a permanent bar against College Education Services LLC or any of its owners from working in the student loan resolution field again. Seems to me that the company made a lot more than $25,000 in connection with its practices, so it’s a slap on the wrist.
Still, it’s a start.
CFPB press release can be found here: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-to-end-student-debt-relief-scams/
The College Education Services proposed consent order can be found at:http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201412_cfpb_consent-order_the-college-education-services.pdf
The State of Florida joined the Bureau in the lawsuit against College Education Services. More information will be available at:http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases
Filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Michigan is an extremely beneficial program, but there is a process you need to go through with the court in order to take advantage of the program. Finding the right attorney to represent you is critical to your success. Questions to ask: Does the bankruptcy attorney or law firm […]
The post Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Michigan: What is the Difference Between a 341 Hearing and a Confirmation Hearing? appeared first on Acclaim Legal Services, PLLC.
1. Urban Legend - doing it inappropriately because "everybody at work did it"
2. Foreclosures - to discharge a potential mortgage deficiency on your home - the mortgage lender may never bring it
3. Exemptions - recently moved to Florida from another state, another state's exemptions apply, and alot of your property is subject to liquidation in a chapter 7 case
4. Too Much Property - substantial amount of property that is not exempt and the chapter 7 trustee is able to liquidate a lot of property
5. Too Much Income - an "abusive filing" and that will be dismissed or converted to chapter 13 or 1
6. Intangible Property - intangible property is real property. A potential personal injury claim or interest in a trust or estate may be very valuable. Non-exempt intangible property is not yours anymore when you file chapter 7 - it belongs to the chapter 7 trustee. That valuable personal claim - all the chapter 7 trustee has to do is pick up the phone and settle for whatever he deems appropriate by the Court - in most case, you get nothing.
7. Chapter 7 - when should have filed under chapter 13
8. Chapter 13 - when should have filed under chapter 7, such as little income and no non-exempt property
9. Cooperation - full cooperation with a chapter 7 trustee is required and the failure to do so may result in the lack of discharge of debt
10. Only One Large Creditor - sometimes if there is only one creditor, you are just moving the state court case over to the Bankruptcy Court - even worse, the creditor may have more power over you in a bankruptcy case
11. Valuable Real Estate in Another Country - a chapter 7 trustee can have a real estate broker in the other country sell it
12. Property Owned Together with Spouse - the exemption for property owned as "tenants by the entireties" is not always not a good bet as does not always fully work or is very difficult to prove
13. Eviction - to buy a few more days
Jordan E. Bublick - Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer - Kendall & Aventura Offices - (305) 891-4055 - www.bublicklaw.com
1. Urban Legend - doing it inappropriately because "everybody at work did it"
2. Foreclosures - to discharge a potential mortgage deficiency on your home - the mortgage lender may never bring it
3. Exemptions - recently moved to Florida from another state, another state's exemptions apply, and alot of your property is subject to liquidation in a chapter 7 case
4. Too Much Property - substantial amount of property that is not exempt and the chapter 7 trustee is able to liquidate a lot of property
5. Too Much Income - an "abusive filing" and that will be dismissed or converted to chapter 13 or 1
6. Intangible Property - intangible property is real property. A potential personal injury claim or interest in a trust or estate may be very valuable. Non-exempt intangible property is not yours anymore when you file chapter 7 - it belongs to the chapter 7 trustee. That valuable personal claim - all the chapter 7 trustee has to do is pick up the phone and settle for whatever he deems appropriate by the Court - in most case, you get nothing.
7. Chapter 7 - when should have filed under chapter 13
8. Chapter 13 - when should have filed under chapter 7, such as little income and no non-exempt property
9. Cooperation - full cooperation with a chapter 7 trustee is required and the failure to do so may result in the lack of discharge of debt
10. Only One Large Creditor - sometimes if there is only one creditor, you are just moving the state court case over to the Bankruptcy Court - even worse, the creditor may have more power over you in a bankruptcy case
11. Valuable Real Estate in Another Country - a chapter 7 trustee can have a real estate broker in the other country sell it
12. Property Owned Together with Spouse - the exemption for property owned as "tenants by the entireties" is not always not a good bet as does not always fully work or is very difficult to prove
13. Eviction - to buy a few more days
Jordan E. Bublick - Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer - Kendall & Aventura Offices - (305) 891-4055 - www.bublicklaw.com
1. Urban Legend - doing it inappropriately because "everybody at work did it"
2. Foreclosures - to discharge a potential mortgage deficiency on your home - the mortgage lender may never bring it
3. Exemptions - recently moved to Florida from another state, another state's exemptions apply, and alot of your property is subject to liquidation in a chapter 7 case
4. Too Much Property - substantial amount of property that is not exempt and the chapter 7 trustee is able to liquidate a lot of property
5. Too Much Income - an "abusive filing" and that will be dismissed or converted to chapter 13 or 1
6. Intangible Property - intangible property is real property. A potential personal injury claim or interest in a trust or estate may be very valuable. Non-exempt intangible property is not yours anymore when you file chapter 7 - it belongs to the chapter 7 trustee. That valuable personal claim - all the chapter 7 trustee has to do is pick up the phone and settle for whatever he deems appropriate by the Court - in most case, you get nothing.
7. Chapter 7 - when should have filed under chapter 13
8. Chapter 13 - when should have filed under chapter 7, such as little income and no non-exempt property
9. Cooperation - full cooperation with a chapter 7 trustee is required and the failure to do so may result in the lack of discharge of debt
10. Only One Large Creditor - sometimes if there is only one creditor, you are just moving the state court case over to the Bankruptcy Court - even worse, the creditor may have more power over you in a bankruptcy case
11. Valuable Real Estate in Another Country - a chapter 7 trustee can have a real estate broker in the other country sell it
12. Property Owned Together with Spouse - the exemption for property owned as "tenants by the entireties" is not always not a good bet as does not always fully work or is very difficult to prove
13. Eviction - to buy a few more days
Jordan E. Bublick - Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer - Kendall & Aventura Offices - (305) 891-4055 - www.bublicklaw.com
Here are common holiday "deals" that look good on the surface -- but are financial time bombs waiting to go off. Thanks to USAA financial services for bringing them to my attention. I share them with you:
1) "90-days same as cash." Don't pay it in time and you could be hit with accumulated finance charges and double-digit interest rates. Now it's no longer such a good deal.
2) "5 years interest free." Don't believe it. They cannot stay in business if they don't put interest somewhere in the charge to pay for their own loans. The charge is probably hidden in the price. Or maybe enough borrowers fail to meet the terms and get hit with suspended accumulated interest to make the business practice a money-maker.
3) "Skip a payment." There's no free lunch (if I may coin a phrase). The interest may be folded into principal increasing the cost of your financing. They are not doing you favors.
4) "20% discount for opening a store credit card." Credit scores also take into account the amount of credit lines you have, as well as the frequency and recency of credit applications. You may be dinging your credit to save a few dollars. By the way, for many companies, the real money is in the financing, NOT the goods they selling. I remember the harangue I got from a dealer once for buying a car with cash and another time from a Dell salesman when I bought a set of office computers. That was instructive. (Undoubtedly the sales persons got bonuses for financed purchases.)
I would add a fifth "no no":
5) "Interest-free balance transfers." Read the fine print and understand the transaction. Many such offers say that you can transfer interest free for a period to time but charge you a one-time transfer fee. For example, a transfer that is "interest-free" for 9 months with a one-time transfer fee of 6% is effectively 8% per annum interest. Watch out.
Here are common holiday “deals” that look good on the surface — but are financial time bombs waiting to go off. Thanks to USAA financial services for bringing them to my attention. I share them with you:
1) “90-days same as cash.” Don’t pay it in time and you could be hit with accumulated finance charges and double-digit interest rates. Now it’s no longer such a good deal.
2) “5 years interest free.” Don’t believe it. They cannot stay in business if they don’t put interest somewhere in the charge to pay for their own loans. The charge is probably hidden in the price. Or maybe enough borrowers fail to meet the terms and get hit with suspended accumulated interest to make the business practice a money-maker.
3) “Skip a payment.” There’s no free lunch (if I may coin a phrase). The interest may be folded into principal increasing the cost of your financing. They are not doing you favors.
4) “20% discount for opening a store credit card.” Credit scores also take into account the amount of credit lines you have, as well as the frequency and recency of credit applications. You may be dinging your credit to save a few dollars. By the way, for many companies, the real money is in the financing, NOT the goods they selling. I remember the harangue I got from a dealer once for buying a car with cash and another time from a Dell salesman when I bought a set of office computers. That was instructive. (Undoubtedly the sales persons got bonuses for financed purchases.)
I would add a fifth “no no”:
5) “Interest-free balance transfers.” Read the fine print and understand the transaction. Many such offers say that you can transfer interest free for a period to time but charge you a one-time transfer fee. For example, a transfer that is “interest-free” for 9 months with a one-time transfer fee of 6% is effectively 8% per annum interest. Watch out.
Here are common holiday “deals” that look good on the surface — but are financial time bombs waiting to go off. Thanks to USAA financial services for bringing them to my attention. I share them with you:
1) “90-days same as cash.” Don’t pay it in time and you could be hit with accumulated finance charges and double-digit interest rates. Now it’s no longer such a good deal.
2) “5 years interest free.” Don’t believe it. They cannot stay in business if they don’t put interest somewhere in the charge to pay for their own loans. The charge is probably hidden in the price. Or maybe enough borrowers fail to meet the terms and get hit with suspended accumulated interest to make the business practice a money-maker.
3) “Skip a payment.” There’s no free lunch (if I may coin a phrase). The interest may be folded into principal increasing the cost of your financing. They are not doing you favors.
4) “20% discount for opening a store credit card.” Credit scores also take into account the amount of credit lines you have, as well as the frequency and recency of credit applications. You may be dinging your credit to save a few dollars. By the way, for many companies, the real money is in the financing, NOT the goods they selling. I remember the harangue I got from a dealer once for buying a car with cash and another time from a Dell salesman when I bought a set of office computers. That was instructive. (Undoubtedly the sales persons got bonuses for financed purchases.)
I would add a fifth “no no”:
5) “Interest-free balance transfers.” Read the fine print and understand the transaction. Many such offers say that you can transfer interest free for a period to time but charge you a one-time transfer fee. For example, a transfer that is “interest-free” for 9 months with a one-time transfer fee of 6% is effectively 8% per annum interest. Watch out.
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