Pomp & Circumstance
“Pomp and Circumstance” has been around over one hundred years, and popular at graduations since its commencement debut at Yale in 1905. It is what brings seniors a tassel closer to adult responsibility, and sometimes that means financial problems. Unemployment, debt, loss of income, and medical hardship—those are circumstances that can lead to bad credit. Sometimes those things combine to make compound problems, and all the more difficult to deal with as you try to move forward. Everybody counts on credit—whether you want a car loan, a student loan, or a home loan. If you have circumstances holding down your credit score, you are not going to get much pomp out of life. Legal resolutions depend on personal circumstances. There is no one single resolution that will work for all debtors. Seek competent legal counsel to review your circumstances and to help you set a path towards a financial goal that fits you. Congratulations to the Class of 2013. For those of you graduated from high school, many of you can now be tried as an adult, and for those graduated from college, your student loans are due. Read More
Ten Symptoms of Oncoming Foreclosure
There are lots of different reasons people wind up in home foreclosure, and often more than one reason combines to make a compound problem on top of a troubling situation. Here are the ten symptoms that you (or someone you love) may be heading for home foreclosure: 1. Unable to pay bills on time 2. Having trouble paying for routine maintenance and upkeep 3. Having to choose which bills to pay 4. Unable to pay homeowner association fees or property taxes 5. Using payday loans or pawning valuables 6. Borrowing money from family and friends 7. Facing loss of employment or a reduction of hours 8. Going through a divorce or separation 9. Dealing with a major illness / injury or death of a spouse 10. Served a Foreclosure Complaint lawsuit If number 10 happens, you only have 20 calendar days to make a proper response. Seek competent legal counsel right away if you have been served to discuss your legal options. Read More
Exemptions & Collections in Debt Judgments
You may consider yourself unique, one-of-a-kind, invaluable—your credit card company may consider you an asset waiting to happen. So your credit card company sued you in small claims court. A debt judgment is just a piece of paper; they may as well print it on two-ply for all it is good for if you have no money. If there is nothing for them to collect from you, then there is nothing for them to collect. Either you are collectible or you are not, EXCEPT the creditor is going to watch your accounts for the next 20 YEARS. You may not always be broke. So you filled out your Fact Information Sheet—how much money you do NOT make, how many cars you do NOT own, and the Renoir you do NOT have in your basement. The creditor will go after cash first. They do not have to liquidate cash—it is liquid. If you have no cash, then they will look at other assets. If you have no other assets, then they will wait, and they will wait and wait, and watch your bank account to see if anything changes. The difference between exemptions and collections is about twenty years. You only have a [...] Read More
Estate Planning as a Matter of Life & Death
So you are being sued for credit card debt in small claims court, do you move everything into your wife’s name? This is where I like to encourage estate planning, not just to have your affairs in order at death, but also to be financially ready to deal with debt collection prior to assuming room temperature. Use the power of AND in your married relationship to spread risk to as many people as you can—like an insurance policy. You are joined by AND (not OR), and that is important. The Unity of Marriage subscribes to the legal fiction that husband and wife are one entity. If you get divorced later, you can divide the assets then, but while you are married, use the power of AND as Tenants by Entirety to secure your financial life. Read More
Unfair Debt Collection Practices
There are good collectors and bad collectors. A good debt collector knows how to inspire you to pay within the law. A bad collector strays into unfair debt collection practices. Debt buyers purchase debt in bulk, often paying pennies on the dollar, then they attempt to collect the full amount. It is a numbers game. They will not collect on every account, but they try to make enough to be profitable. There was a debt collection company in Pennsylvania that dressed up actors as sheriff’s deputies who served fake hearing notices and had a courtroom set, complete with judge’s platform, lawyers’ desks, and legal books. It did not go over well with the Pennsylvania Attorney General. Everyone should pay their bills, and everyone should put food on their table, gas in their car so they can go to work, and keep up their rent to have a roof over their heads. Despite pressure from collectors, keep your priorities straight and work to resolve your debt within your legal rights. For more information on consumer rights, go to the Federal Trade Commission site at http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0149-debt-collection. Seek competent legal advice regarding debtors’ rights. Read More
Co-Signer a.k.a. ‘The Borrower’
What do you call someone who co-signs a loan: borrower. If you are a co-signer, then you are a borrower, you have a debt and it is your responsibility to make sure that the payments are made in full and on time. Whether you sign or co-sign, that debt affects your credit score. If you sign your name on a loan, that loan is yours. If the signer defaults, then your credit can be dinged, the debt sold, and your accounts or wages garnished before you are notified. A signer and a co-signer are jointly and individually liable. Be careful who you co-sign for, you may get more than you bargained for. Read More
Confessions in Small Claims Court
Small claims court handles matters of $5,000 or less, often dealing with credit card debt. Debtors sit in the judge’s chambers and the creditors’ attorneys appear by phone to hear debt confessions and negotiate repayment plans. Debtors are required to confess their assets on a Fact Information Sheet. In the US, we do not have debtors’ prison, but you could go to jail if you do not fill out your Fact Information Sheet. You have to confess your cars, properties, bank accounts, employment, and that Renoir you have in your basement. If you are being sued in Small Claims Court and you have nothing, get that Fact Information Sheet in to let them know that they have nothing to come after you for. And seek legal advice to find out about exemptions. If you are head of household at a certain income level, living off Social Security benefits, or a pension or disability, you may have an exemption to collection judgments; however, just because you are eligible for an exemption does not mean you automatically get one. The key to an exemption is that you have to claim it. Seek competent legal guidance before you commit an exempt income to [...] Read More
What You Have to Lose in Debt Judment
Just because you have no money in the bank right now does not necessarily mean you are going to be broke for the next 20 years. What if you win the lottery or inherit money or get a good-paying job? Your gain can quickly become a loss if there is a debt judgment against you. A debt judgment is a lien against you good for 20 years. Debt buyers file in small claims court to get judgments, judgments they do not expect to receive right away. The debt buyer is going to watch your credit and wait. You may not be able to pay him now, but he will hold onto that judgment…. If your credit score goes up, that debt collector reappears. With a judgment, he can get your car, real estate property (except your homestead), garnish your wages and/or seize your bank account unless you claim exemptions. So you cannot pay the debt now, how can you avoid a debt judgment? There are no guarantees; however, there are certain incomes which are exempt from debt judgment. The key to an exemption is that you have to claim it. Just because you are eligible does not mean you automatically [...] Read More
Bad Calls & Unfair Debt Collection Practices
Debt collectors purchase delinquent debts in bulk for pennies on the dollar, and then attempt to collect on the entire amount. They make their money dealing in volume. Not every account will pay off, but they hope to collect enough to make a profit. It is a numbers game, often a phone numbers game, but sometimes that game includes bad calls. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was enacted to protect consumers from unscrupulous means of debt collection, for example, a debt collector may only call between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. your local time, and that debt collector may not cause a telephone to ring continuously or repeatedly to harass the consumer. Owing money may be embarrassing or degrading on its own without the violation of fair debt collection practices. Just because you owe money does not mean you are devoid of rights. For more facts about consumers’ rights, visit the Federal Trade Commission website at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm. Read More
Free Class Today: ‘Rights of a Debtor’
People should pay their debts and they should play by the rules…so should the debt collectors. Regrettably, unethical and illegal debt collection practices can scare ignorant consumers into giving up their rights…and their pensions along with them. Learn what is Not protected from debt collection, and what is eligible for exemption in today’s free class ‘Rights of a Debtor.’ ‘Rights of a Debtor’ is part of the People’s Law School series, presented by St. Johns County Legal Aid. This FREE one-hour class starts at 4:00 p.m. at the Southeast Branch Library (6670 US 1 South, St. Augustine, Florida). The People’s Law School schedule for the rest of the spring is as follows: March 19 – Landlord/Tenant Laws March 26 – Foreclosure Defense of Homesteads April 2 – How Can You Avoid the Need for Guardianship? April 9 – Is Probate a Dirty Word? April 16 – Spouse in a Nursing Home—Do You Have to Go Broke? April 23 – Should You Ever Put Someone Else’s name on Your Deed? All classes are free and start at 4:00 p.m. at the Southeast Branch Library. For more information on St. Johns County Legal Aid and their services, go to www.jaxlegalaid.org. Read More