Avoid foreclosure with the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) or the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). In 2009, the federal government unveiled the Making Home Affordable program to help homeowners stay in their houses and avoid foreclosure. If your loan is owned or controlled by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, and you’re current on your…
Learn More »Taking the following steps will help your family if you die or become incapacitated. 1. Make a financial power of attorney. With a durable power of attorney for finances,you can give a trusted person broad authority to handle your finances if you become incapacitated and unable to handle your own affairs. This person is called…
Learn More »Perhaps you have heard a story about an employee that has embezzled from a company. Some may shake their heads in disgust and then shrug it off thinking that it will not happen to their company. Others may hope that it never happens to their company, but take no steps to prevent it from happening. …
Learn More »Mediation is cheaper, faster, and more amicable than taking a dispute to court. Small businesses may benefit tremendously from using mediation — rather than litigation — to resolve conflicts. Small business owners are just as likely as major corporations to run into conflict with neighboring businesses, employees, customers, vendors, or with their own business partners,…
Learn More »When and how to ask a court to change the amount of child support you must pay, or the amount you receive. Many people these days are having trouble either making child support payments or caring for their children on their existing child support because of a change in their work or living situation. If…
Learn More »How foreclosure procedures work, in both judicial and nonjudicial foreclosure states. Foreclosure happens when you fall behind on your house payments and your lender uses state procedures to sell your house. Foreclosure works differently in different states. In some states, the lender has to file a lawsuit to foreclose (judicial foreclosure), while in others, it…
Learn More »Learn what it can mean to be separated instead of divorced. Many people are confused about what is meant by “separated” — and it’s no wonder, given that there are four different kinds of separations. However, how a couple is separated can have important affects on property ownership: Trial separation. When a couple lives apart…
Learn More »Challenge a foreclosure by bringing a defense such as unconscionability or lender mistake. // // ]]>Until recently, successful defenses against foreclosure were relatively rare. But that is changing rapidly — more homeowners are successfully challenging foreclosure actions. This sea change is due, in large part, to the unearthing of more and more evidence that the…
Learn More »Regularly, we notice that there is no continuity in how landlords and property managers draft or serve a Three-Day Notice to Quit for failure to pay rent on a tenant. Some post the Notice on the tenant’s door. Others post the Notice on the door and mail a copy to the tenant. Then there are…
Learn More »Legal and financial matters to consider when caring for an elder. // // ]]> As Americans live increasingly longer lives, many require ongoing, long-term care. This care often falls to grown children — men and women who are in their forties, fifties, and sixties and busy with careers or perhaps children of their own. Getting…
Learn More »What to do if you suspect a senior is being abused in a nursing home. Nursing homes are a place where seniors and the elderly should be safe. Unfortunately, a significant number of nursing homes abuse their residents in some way — from physical abuse to stealing money to illegally restricting activity (false imprisonment). If…
Learn More »Establishing paternity is a critical step towards collecting child support. Determining the answer to the seemingly simple question “Who is the father?” is not as straightforward as you might think. Different circumstances give rise to different legal rules. When Paternity Is Agreed On or Presumed Acknowledged father. An acknowledged father is a biological father of…
Learn More »After you file for bankruptcy, the automatic stay offers potent legal protection against bill collectors. When you file for bankruptcy, something called the automatic stay immediately stops any lawsuit filed against you and most actions against your property by a creditor, collection agency, or government entity. Especially if you are at risk of being evicted,…
Learn More »It’s rare, but courts can toss out a will if it doesn’t meet certain requirements. // // ]]> Will challenges are very unusual — by one estimate, about 99% of wills sail through probate without a hitch — but they do happen. If a will doesn’t fulfill certain legal requirements, or the maker of the…
Learn More »Not sure whether to incorporate your nonprofit? Here’s some information to help you decide. If you’re involved in a fledgling nonprofit organization, you and the other folks active in the group have probably wondered whether or not you should incorporate. Becoming a nonprofit corporation requires some paperwork, but for many groups, the benefits of nonprofit…
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1. Learn about the types of bankruptcy.
For individuals, there are two main kinds of bankruptcy:
2. Consider alternatives to bankruptcy.
Things may not be as bad as you think. You may be “judgment proof” or you may have options you aren’t aware of. See Alternatives to Bankruptcy.
3. Make sure you are you eligible for bankruptcy.
You may be prevented from filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy if you have enough income to repay your debts in a Chapter 13 plan. (See Chapter 7 Bankruptcy — Who Can File?.) Or you may not qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy if your debts are too high or your income too low. (See Are You Eligible for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy? )
4. Learn which debts won’t be cancelled.
Some debts, like child support obligations, cannot be wiped out in bankruptcy. Learn more in What Bankruptcy Can and Cannot Do.
5. Consider what will happen to your home.
Bankruptcy won’t relieve you of your obligation to pay your mortgage, but it might make your mortgage easier to pay by getting rid of other debts. If you have substantial equity in your home, you might lose it if you file for Chapter 7, depending on how generous the exemptions laws are that are available to you. If you file for Chapter 13, you can keep your home and pay off any mortgage arrears through your repayment plan.
6. Will you lose your car or other property?
How much property you get to keep depends whether you’ve pledged the property as collateral for a debt, and on the “exemption” laws that are available in your state. If you file for Chapter 7, you might lose your car if you have substantial equity that isn’t protected by your state’s exemption laws.
7. Will your credit cards be paid off?
Bankruptcy is good at wiping out most credit card debt and unsecured loans, unless you spent extravagantly or lied on your credit application. See What Bankruptcy Can and Cannot Do for more information.
8. Is your pension, IRA, or 401(k) safe?
In most states, you will not lose pensions, retirement accounts, or life insurance in bankruptcy. If you have a pension, a 401(k), an IRA, or life insurance, find out what’s protected in your state.
9. Will cosigners be stuck with your debt?
If a friend or relative helped you get financing by cosigning a loan agreement, Chapter 13 bankruptcy will protect your cosigner, but Chapter 7 will stick them with any debt you don’t pay.
10. Consider how bankruptcy may affect your personal life.
Bankruptcy can be intrusive — you have to disclose every last detail of your finances to the court, and other people may find out about your bankruptcy. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can have property taken away, or, under a Chapter 13 plan, you might spend three to five years having to ask permission to spend your own money.
For clear-cut answers, information, and strategies to help you figure out whether bankruptcy is the right solution for your debt problems, see The New Bankruptcy: Will It Work for You? by Stephen R. Elias (Nolo).
by: Albin Renauer, J.D.
Copyright Nolo – http://www.nolo.com — Reprinted with Permission
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Avoid foreclosure with the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) or the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). In 2009, the federal government unveiled the Making Home Affordable program to help homeowners stay in their houses and avoid foreclosure. If your loan is owned or controlled by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, and you’re current on your…
Continue Reading »Taking the following steps will help your family if you die or become incapacitated. 1. Make a financial power of attorney. With a durable power of attorney for finances,you can give a trusted person broad authority to handle your finances if you become incapacitated and unable to handle your own affairs. This person is called…
Continue Reading »Perhaps you have heard a story about an employee that has embezzled from a company. Some may shake their heads in disgust and then shrug it off thinking that it will not happen to their company. Others may hope that it never happens to their company, but take no steps to prevent it from happening. …
Continue Reading »Mediation is cheaper, faster, and more amicable than taking a dispute to court. Small businesses may benefit tremendously from using mediation — rather than litigation — to resolve conflicts. Small business owners are just as likely as major corporations to run into conflict with neighboring businesses, employees, customers, vendors, or with their own business partners,…
Continue Reading »When and how to ask a court to change the amount of child support you must pay, or the amount you receive. Many people these days are having trouble either making child support payments or caring for their children on their existing child support because of a change in their work or living situation. If…
Continue Reading »A client was fired from her job after she complained about sexual harassment by a supervisor. We negotiated a settlement with her employer. Learn more.
Continue Reading »Bringing practical advice and passionate advocacy to your community, home or office. View the Mobile Unit’s schedule to see when it may be near your community! We strongly believe that everyone deserves the same access to professional legal counsel, no matter where you may live or work. Thompson Law Office’s Mobile Unit serves clients throughout…
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