If you are receiving Social Security Disability benefits and receive an inheritance or other windfall, it could affect your benefits. However, it depends on the type of benefits you are receiving. The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two disability programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). How an inheritance impacts your […] The post Can You Lose Disability Benefits if You Inherit Money? appeared first on .

The FRESH START Through Bankruptcy Act of 2021Durbin/Cornyn FRESH START would:-Make Federal Student Loans Eligible for Discharge in a Bankruptcy Proceeding ten years after thefirst loan payment is due.- As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, certain colleges and universities  who receive a certain amount of federally backed student loans, would be required to repay a portion of discharged federal student loans to the taxpayer, in a new cost-sharing structure.- Retain the Existing Undue Hardship Option for private student loans and for federal student loans thathave been due for less than ten years.- Increase Institutional Accountability by creating provisions that require colleges with more than one third of their students receiving federal student loans to partially refund the government if a student’s loan is later discharged in bankruptcy. This provision would apply if a school had consistently high student loan default and low repayment rates at the time of a student’s attendance.-Provide an Option for Student Borrowers who have no realistic path to pay back their overwhelmingstudent loan debt by allowing bankruptcy to be an option to help them get back on their feet.More Information about the Bill can be found at:https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/FRESH%20Start%20Act%20of%202021%20One%20Pager.pdf

Steps To Filing Bankruptcy On Credit Card Bills Should I File For Bankruptcy For Credit Card Debt? Unsurprisingly, credit card debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the United States. When your balance gets out of control, you may be pegged with interest and late fees that make it even harder to escape from debt. After a while, your creditors will eventually begin to pursue payment for your balance in arrears. You will know one of your creditors has filed a lawsuit against you once you receive a summons. At this point, you will have limited time to either argue against why you owe the creditor the demanded sum, or deal with your debt in some other way. Once your creditor obtains a judgment against you, they can use that to obtain a writ of garnishment for your wages. This allows your creditor to take 15-25% or more of your wages, directly from your paycheck. Whether your situation has progressed to a lawsuit or wage garnishment, you can use bankruptcy to protect yourself from your creditors and clear away credit card debt, so you can start fresh. 1. Check That You Qualify For Bankruptcy The vast majority of Americans will choose between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 when filing bankruptcy. There are special requirements for each, and you also must meet your state’s residency requirement to file. There are also mandatory waiting periods between bankruptcy filings- 8 years between Chapter 7 bankruptcies, which reduces if one or more of the chapters filed is a Chapter 13. Chapter 7 has income restrictions: you can only file if you make less than the state median income, or pass the Means Test. To qualify for Chapter 13, you must have sufficient income to pay off your mandatory debts. Schedule a consultation with a Phoenix bankruptcy attorney in your area to go over your bankruptcy qualifications. 2. Make Sure You Haven’t Exceeded Pre-Bankruptcy Credit Card Spending Limits You can discharge thousands upon thousands of credit card debt in bankruptcy, so of course the courts have restrictions in place to prevent abuse. For example, there are limits to how much you can spend on your credit cards in the time frame leading up to your bankruptcy filing. This prevents debtors from maxing out all of their credit cards without any intention of ever repaying it, as they plan to soon file bankruptcy. In the 70 days before declaring bankruptcy, you may not exceed $1,000 in cash advances on your credit cards. In the 90 days before your bankruptcy, you may not spend more than $750 on luxury items on your credit cards. 3. Prepare Your Bankruptcy Petition Your bankruptcy petition is meant to provide your trustee with a full and accurate representation of your financial situation. It will require several of your personal financial records to complete. For example, you will need several years of tax returns, leases and unexpired contracts, vehicle registrations, divorce and child support documents, and more. Clearly, it could take you a while to assemble all of these documents, so it’s best to start preparing as soon as possible. However, if you find yourself in an emergency situation, e.g., your vehicle is about to be repossessed or a wage garnishment is about to start, you may want to use a bankruptcy filing. You will only need six months’ worth of income information, as well as your identification forms and basic contact information, to complete an emergency bankruptcy petition. This will activate the Automatic Stay, which protects you from your creditors, and you will have 2 weeks to submit your full petition. 4. Complete Your Credit Counseling Courses In addition to submitting a bankruptcy petition, you will also need to complete credit counseling to discharge your debts in bankruptcy. One of these courses will need to be completed before your petition is filed, and the second must be completed within 60 days of your 341 Meeting of Creditors. These courses can typically be completed online within 1-2 hours, and cost around $20-35. Your first credit counseling course certificate will be valid for 180 days, so you can take it in advance while preparing for your bankruptcy. 5. Confirm That All Of Your Creditors Are On Your Creditor Mailing Matrix It’s vital that all of your creditors are included on your creditor mailing matrix, which will be filed alongside your bankruptcy petition. You don’t get to pick and choose which debts are discharged in your bankruptcy- you must list ALL of your creditors in your creditor mailing matrix. Your creditor mailing matrix will list all of your creditors, and should include their mailing addresses so they can be notified of your bankruptcy filing. If you fail to include any of your creditors, they may accidentally proceed with a wage garnishment, repossession, etc., while your bankruptcy is active due to your failure to notify them. Most of your creditors should be on your credit report, but certain types of debts, especially recent ones, have a chance of being absent. 6. File Your Bankruptcy Petition If you retain a Chandler bankruptcy attorney, they will take care of this step for you. Otherwise, it will be your responsibility to file your bankruptcy petition, with all of its accompanying documents, with the bankruptcy court. You should receive a letter from your bankruptcy trustee in about 10-15 days. This will tell you your court date for your 341 Meeting of Creditors, and your trustee will likely request additional documents in support of your petition. 7. Debts Discharged: Be Careful With New Lines Of Credit If you filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you will need to complete your payment plan to achieve discharge. If you filed Chapter 7, you will simply wait the 60 days after your 341 Meeting of Creditors (and completing your second credit counseling course) for your case to be eligible for discharge. Once your case has been discharged, you are no longer legally obligated to pay the debts discharged in your bankruptcy. You will likely be inundated with new credit offers shortly after discharge. While opening new credit cards can be a great way to rebuild your credit after bankruptcy, you should be cautious about the terms of all credit offers, and spend minimally and wisely. Contact Our Phoenix Bankruptcy Attorneys With Additional Questions Do you have more questions about discharging your credit card debt through bankruptcy? Our dedicated legal team is here to help. For more information about bankruptcy, and to see if you qualify, call (480) 833-8000 or use our online form today to schedule your free consultation. We also offer great rates and flexible payment plan options to help you afford getting started.   Arizona Offices: Mesa Location: 1731 West Baseline Rd., Suite #100 Mesa, AZ 85202 Office: (480) 448-9800 Email: info@myazlawyers.com Website: https://myazlawyers.com/ Phoenix Location: 343 West Roosevelt, Suite #100 Phoenix, AZ 85003 Office: (602) 609-7000 Glendale Location: 20325 N 51st Avenue Suite #134, Building 5 Glendale, AZ 85308 Office: (602) 509-0955 Tucson Location: 2 East Congress St., Suite #900-6A Tucson, AZ 85701 Office: (520) 441-1450 Avondale Location: 12725 W. Indian School Rd., Ste E, #101 Avondale, AZ 85392 Office: (623) 469-6603 The post Steps To Filing Bankruptcy On Credit Card Bills appeared first on My AZ Lawyers.

Applying for Social Security disability benefits in Pennsylvania is a lengthy and challenging process. According to its own website, the Social Security Administration (SSA) indicates that it could take anywhere between three to five months to approve an initial application. The reality is that it could take much longer. The initial process takes time and […] The post How Far Back Does Disability Pay in Pennsylvania? appeared first on .

How Do Student Loan Forgiveness and Discharges Differ? Options to consider for Student Loan Debt Relief One of the biggest debts that many people carry is a student loan (or loans). Some people are paying more than $500 or even $1,000 a month for their student loans, and they expect to keep paying them for at least a decade, if not more. That’s a lot of money coming out of the monthly budget. It’s no wonder then that so many people with a lot of student debt are thinking about filing for bankruptcy. But ask any Tucson bankruptcy attorney if you can unload student debt in a bankruptcy and the disappointing answer will almost always be “no.” There are exceptions in which you can get student loans discharged, but they are rare and hard to get approved. If you are unable to get your student loans discharged in a bankruptcy filing, there are other things you can do to get debt relief. One avenue may be to apply for student loan forgiveness. Here’s a look at the differences between student loan discharge and forgiveness, as well as some alternate options you can consider: Student Loan Forgiveness The government provides a couple of options for having your student loans forgiven. There are two programs that provide this option: The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program. Under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, you have to work in the public service sector for at least 10 years. In addition, you have to have made your student loan payments for the previous 120 months, or 10 years of solid payments. Some positions in the public sector can include doctor, nurse, social worker, firefighter, or police officer. There may be other positions that you could argue are in public service. Under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program, you must be a teacher at a qualifying school, usually one that is in an underserved area. You must have been a teacher at such a school for five years, and you must meet other criteria. If you qualify, you will be able to have $17,500 of student debt forgiven. Student Loan Discharge You can have your student loans totally discharged through bankruptcy, but it is a rare occurrence. You will have to meet certain criteria to qualify. Some possibilities for getting student loan discharge include: Identity theft (performed to open student debt in your name) Fraudulent misrepresentation Total and permanent disability To prove fraudulent misrepresentation, you have to show that someone signed your name to a loan application or misled you about the school or your opportunities after graduation. You can also show that someone did not let you know about reimbursement money that you should have received. The grounds for having your student loans discharged are very narrow, and they can be difficult to prove in some cases. Bankruptcy Protection You may not be able to have your student loans discharged or forgiven, but you may be able to get debt relief that makes it easier to pay your student loans. Bankruptcy protection can relieve the burden of other debts, such as credit cards, personal loans, and medical bills, so that you can free up money every month and make it easier to include those student debt payments in your budget. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can completely discharge your unsecured debts, like credit cards and medical bills. You could free up hundreds of dollars every month, depending on how much you owe. Chapter 13 bankruptcy can reorganize your debts into an affordable payment plan, including secured debts like back payments on your mortgage or car loan. You could get a more reasonable monthly payment that actually works for your budget. Call My AZ Lawyers in Tucson to talk with a bankruptcy attorney about how bankruptcy protect might be able to help you. A bankruptcy attorney from our team will review your finances and counsel you on the best chapter of bankruptcy to meet your goals. If you feel like you qualify for student loan discharge, we can counsel you on that option and potentially help you to pursue it. Our goal is to help you get the maximum debt relief available under the law. Call us in Tucson today to schedule a consultation with a bankruptcy attorney and learn more about your options.   Arizona Offices: Mesa Location: 1731 West Baseline Rd., Suite #100 Mesa, AZ 85202 Office: (480) 448-9800 Email: info@myazlawyers.com Website: https://myazlawyers.com/ Phoenix Location: 343 West Roosevelt, Suite #100 Phoenix, AZ 85003 Office: (602) 609-7000 Glendale Location: 20325 N 51st Avenue Suite #134, Building 5 Glendale, AZ 85308 Office: (602) 509-0955 Tucson Location: 2 East Congress St., Suite #900-6A Tucson, AZ 85701 Office: (520) 441-1450 Avondale Location: 12725 W. Indian School Rd., Ste E, #101 Avondale, AZ 85392 Office: (623) 469-6603 The post How Do Student Loan Forgiveness and Discharges Differ? appeared first on My AZ Lawyers.

The Wells Fargo Home Projects Card and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy The Wells Fargo Home Projects Card is issued differently than most credit cards. As far as I can tell, they don’t market it directly to consumers. Instead, they get home improvement businesses to sign people up. That way Wells Fargo finances the home improvement and […] The post The Wells Fargo Home Projects Card and Chapter 13 by Robert Weed appeared first on Northern VA Bankruptcy Lawyer Robert Weed.

 A Mortgage on a House and a Subsequently Filed Tax Lien-which lien has priority the bank or the IRS?   This is a question that clients often ask us.   The typical scenario is that a couple buys a house, and then due to financial difficulties, they are unable to pay their taxes, and the IRS files a lien against the house. There is concern from the clients and they ask what takes priority, the tax lien or the mortgage? New York is a race state and if the mortgage was recorded and duly perfected, then it has priority over a subsequently filed tax lien. See Citizens Bank, N.A. v. Nash, No. 2:20-cv-00351 (E.D. Pa. 2021) which involved  a lien priority fight  between the IRS and the bank holding the taxpayer’s mortgage.  The bank erroneously recorded a release of its mortgage and that error caused it to lose the lien priority fight with the IRS.  An excellent article on this case can be found at Procedurally Taxing blog at https://procedurallytaxing.com/irs-wins-lien-priority-fight-with-bank/ The question we are next asked is whether the IRS will foreclose on their tax lien and seize the house to satisfy their tax debt. The IRS rarely forecloses on tax liens because they need to satisfy the mortgage first, as a result of the sale, and they do not want taxpayers to lose their homes. In addition, in Kings, Queens, New York, Bronx, Richmond, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, Westchester, or Putnam counties, there is a $179,950 homestead exemption per spouse who owns and lives in the house. Therefore, a married couple who owns and lives in the house can protect $359,900 in equity. A homestead exemption applies after a mortgage but before a tax lien. Therefore, if a house had a $700,000 fair market value and a mortgage of $500,000, and a bank foreclosed on its lien, the bank would receive $500,000, the homeowners $200,000, and the IRS nothing.   So what is the impact of an IRS tax lien on a house if the IRS does not foreclose on the tax lien? The IRS  tax lien will prevent the taxpayer from selling or refinancing their house for 10 years. A tax lien is a lien against a home for ten years.  If a homeowner wants to sell or refinance their house and is subject to a tax lien, they can contact the IRS and request a satisfaction of the lien by paying the tax at closing.  Taxes, interest, and penalties must be paid to the IRS by homeowners. Sometimes the IRS will waive certain tax penalties, so homeowners should hire a lawyer or CPA to negotiate with the IRS on their behalf.  Those with questions about foreclosures and tax liens should contact Jim Shenwick 212-541-6224 & jshenwick@gmail.com, who has an LLM in taxation from NYU Law School. 

Refinancing your mortgage will typically save a homeowner money, especially if it substantially lowers their current interest rate. The only potential problem is that the closing costs offset your savings. However, what if you are in a current bankruptcy? The first question a bankruptcy debtor needs to ask is, “is it possible to refinance your […] The post Are There Any Dangers of Refinancing Your Mortgage? appeared first on .

In the United States, nearly $34 billion in child support is supposed to be paid annually. However, in many cases, the custodial parent will not receive the child support they are supposed to according to either a court order or agreement. If you are not paying the child support you are required to, the debt […] The post Can You File For Bankruptcy to Avoid Paying Child Support? appeared first on .

Filing for bankruptcy is one option people have for handling debt or restructuring payments they are struggling to make. Unlike working directly with creditors, bankruptcy affords an individual or couple legal protections on both the state and federal levels that limit their creditors’ options. You can file for bankruptcy to pay back a delinquent mortgage, […] The post Can You File For Bankruptcy to Avoid Paying a Judgment? appeared first on .