ProPublica just posted a fascinating piece on bankruptcy fraud in the Central District of California (which includes Los Angeles).  It's the latest article in their important series "Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Bankruptcy Fails Those Who Need It Most."

“Bankruptcy”. Bankruptcy is not a word that inspires confidence, hope, or assurance. Unfortunately it has become somewhat of a dirty word in our culture and society. Terms like “morally bankrupt” are tossed around as pejoratives, implying that anything involving bankruptcy demonstrates a personal failing. Nothing could be further from the truth. As experienced bankruptcy lawyers serving clients throughout Ohio, we know this as well as anyone. Bankruptcy exists in our legal system to provide individuals, families, small business, farmers, and corporations an opportunity to restructure their finances, create a plan for turning things around, and move on to a better future. Some of the most successful individuals and businesses in our society have filed for bankruptcy in the past. Bankruptcy will not preclude you from achieving your goals and contributing to society in the future; continuing to struggle in debt with no end in sight will. All it Takes is One One misfortune is all it takes. One unexpected home or vehicle repair expense. One serious illness or injury. One job loss. After finding a way to absorb the one misfortune, a person, family or business owner is left vulnerable to things that would normally be routine. Suddenly a routine expense like a vet appointment or mortgage payment results in a financial emergency. One missed credit card payment can snowball into an unmanageable amount of debt. At this point a person has numerous options, with the following two being the most common: Continue to scratch and claw just to make the minimum payments Explore filing for bankruptcy in order to achieve a fresh start Bad things can and do happen to good people. If you find yourself in dire financial straits you owe it to yourself to explore all of your options for making things better. Contact us today to find out how bankruptcy can help your finances back on solid ground. The post Bankruptcy is NOT for the Defeated, but the Fighters appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.

OVI on Private Property Recently, we received a very interesting question about DUI/OVI in Ohio. The person has a very large piece of land and was inquiring whether or not they can receive a drunk driving charge if they were on private property. You may think this is a weird question, but there are many people, especially in Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia who invest in recreational real estate. These large pieces of undeveloped land are utilized as recreational retreats for the purpose of hunting, fishing, and hiking. But, they are also used for other activities like ATV riding, dirt biking, and off-roading. So, the potential for driving drunk on private property is a far more common occurrence than you may think. Not Just Ohio Before speaking about Ohio specifically, it is important to understand drink driving laws more broadly. Each state has their own drunk driving laws. However, for the most part, police everywhere have the ability to question and test your driving ability, and they can arrest you for a DUI/OVI violation. Many people seem to think that they are “safe” in places like a golf course, parking lot, dirt road, or driveway. However, generally speaking, the police do have the ability to stop and arrest you almost anywhere, if they have a reasonable suspicion that you are driving under the influence or while intoxicated. Ohio’s Broad Law Regarding drunk driving or OVI in Ohio, the answer is yes, you can be arrested on private property. Ohio law is written broadly to state, “the person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them” O.R.C. 4511.19. The way it is written, there is no distinction made between public and private lands. So, the police can arrest you if you are found to be operating a vehicle drunk on private property. Regardless, if you have been charged with a DUI/OVI violation, it is vital that you contact a qualified attorney in order to get the best advice. Do you have questions? What haven’t we covered yet that is important to you? If you would like to talk about drunk driving on private property in Ohio, or a related topic, please contact us. The post OVI on Private Property in Ohio appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.

Five Potential Defenses Against Foreclosure in Ohio As a homeowner, it is important to understand exactly what you’re facing if your bank is threatening to take back your come. While it’s not uncommon to feel helpless in the face of an impending lawsuit, what many homeowners don’t realize is that there are some ways to fight this in Ohio. The key is to understand what grounds you might have for contesting the the lawsuit. Here are five potential defenses that could save your home. No Default Notification While the state of Ohio doesn’t legally require that the bank notify you if they are seeking foreclosure, your mortgage loan terms might. And if the mortgage mandates that the bank has to notify you of your default before they can foreclose, failure to do that may qualify as grounds for dismissal. No Remedy Time Provided Like the default notification, there’s no law in Ohio that defines a specific time period to remedy a default before the creditor initiates the lawsuit. However, if your loan requires the bank to notify you of a default, that default notice must give you a timeframe to resolve the problem by. If you don’t catch up the loan by that deadline, they can proceed with the foreclosure. A 30-day notice is usually pretty standard in these cases. If you’re not given time to bring the account current, that may stop the foreclosure to allow you that time. The Bank Refused Your Payment If you tried to resolve the default balance and your bank refused the payment because they were already seeking foreclosure proceedings, that might qualify as grounds to dismiss the foreclosure. Legally refusing a payment to settle the default could fall under breach of contract laws in court. There’s A Calculation Error If you’re notified of a default and it seems as though something is off about the calculations, look closely at your records. Make sure that the past due amount being reported is actually what you owe. Ask for a transaction history on the loan so that you can verify that the bank credited your payments correctly. If there’s an error in the accounting or the past due balance is incorrect, that may lead to a dismissed foreclosure. The Bank Isn’t The One Filing The Suit If the bank where you got your mortgage isn’t the one filing the foreclosure, that may call the foreclosure into question. The person or company filing the disclosure must have legal ownership of the mortgage debt, otherwise, they cannot legally seek foreclosure. Ask for proof of debt ownership if you’re unclear about who has filed the case. The better prepared you are when it comes to legally protecting yourself, the lower your risk of foreclosure. For more information, contact us today. The post Foreclosure Defenses in Ohio appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.

Foreclosure after home Purchase After the home-buying process, there can be unforeseeable circumstances which force a new homeowner to miss mortgage payments and fall behind. In the state of Ohio, after two or more missed mortgage payments, the foreclosure process will begin. To prevent losing your home, bankruptcy may be an option. While bankruptcy is in most cases a last resort, it may be necessary in order for you to keep your home. At Chris Wesner Law Office, we can guide you through the bankruptcy process and which choice is right for you. What Type of Bankruptcy can I file: Save your home from foreclosure There are two types of bankruptcy, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, from which a homeowner could benefit. Under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a trustee would turn the homeowner’s non-secured property into currency and distribute that money to creditors. The only downside to this is if your home is not exempted, you will lose it, as well as any other property not exempt, such as an automobile. Chapter 7 is a good option for those with few assets but an extraordinary amount of debt. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is perhaps a better option for homeowners. Under Chapter 13, a court-sanctioned 3 to 5 year payment plan is set up based on your income, and all debt is compacted into one large sum. This is a good option if you want to keep your assets. Will I lose my Home – Not if you don’t want to Falling behind on mortgage payments does not mean you will lose your home. Bankruptcy is an option, and can allow you to save your home and other assets from being seized. At Chris Wesner Law, we are dedicated to offering the best assistance in our power, from legal consulting to representation when it comes to battling a foreclosure. Contact us online to schedule a free consultation. The post Legalities of Foreclosure appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.

Dealing with a foreclosure in Ohio can be hectic. The average person is not really prepared for the paper work and interactions with the court system that lawyers are trained to handle. Here are three common issues with Ohio foreclosures that people often face. Failing to Prove the Right to Cure the Default Should your mortgage loan agreement call for a lender to provide you with a full written notice of default, you also have time to bring the loan current by paying off past due cha rges and payments.  This is known as curing and it typically lasts 30 days before the bank can officially file foreclosure. Should you be able to fully cure your default or be able to tender payment in a sufficient amount but the lender refuses acceptance) and the bank forecloses on you anyway, you can raise this as a defense. Also, you might be able to request the case be dismissed. Failing to Provide Notice of Default Should the lending bank fail to provide you with a written notice of a default that is required by the stipulations of your loan agreement, you can raise that failure as a defense during the foreclosure. Should the court agree with you then the case might be dismissed. However, this is only a temporary fix and should you not bring the loan current the bank will be able to send the written notice and file a foreclosure again. Payment Mistakes or disputes Foreclosing creditors have to allege as well as prove that your loan is in default and that the balance due amount in reference to your mortgage loan is accurate. It is not that rare for mortgage lenders to miscalculate your balance due, add attorneys’ fees and other tangential charges to the due amount that the loan does not support, overcharge a lender’s interest and other fees, misapply interest and principal payments, or in properly account for all payments the borrower has made. Such mistakes can prevent the lender from legally foreclosing. To find out more contact the experts at the Chris Wesner Law Office today. The post Three Ohio Foreclosure Issues and How They Affect Your Case appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.

As you may know if you’ve been keeping up with our work, we’ve been focusing on the trials and tribulations of NYC taxi medallion owners.  Now HotAir reports (based on a CBS San Francisco story) that San Francisco taxi medallion owners are facing the same issues of “underwater” medallions due to competition with Uber and Lyft, with its own unique local angle.  It’s far from a San Francisco treat for medallion owners.

Bankruptcy is NOT the End of the World! Filing for bankruptcy is absolutely not the end of the world. Financial upset does not mean you are a bad person or an outlaw. In most cases, bankruptcy is the beginning of a better life for you and your family.  Seeing bankruptcy as an opportunity instead of a last resort is the first step to regaining your financial security. You can file for bankruptcy while you are employed and your employer will likely never find out. One’s neighbors and loved ones don’t need to know either. Your spouse does not even need to file with you.  Financial choices are yours and can be as personal as you’d like them to be. Take a look at the resources we provide on bankruptcy. We have forms, tools, articles, and agencies that can help. Don’t buy into the “you don’t even have to file bankruptcy” hype that you see all over the advertising world.  There are debt consolidation companies that take huge amounts of your hard earned money that don’t eliminate your debt, but they get a BIG payday. There is life after bankruptcy!  The negative impact of bankruptcy is incredibly exaggerated in our society today.  Your future is not bleak and your credit is not ruined. Dozens of well-off people have filed for bankruptcy: Larry King, Walt Disney, Willie Nelson, and even Donald Trump! Money is the top cause of stress in America today. Too much stress can lead to irritability, heartburn, infertility, high blood pressure, sore muscles and can even contribute to diabetes.  At the Chris Wesner Law Office, LLC, we take a strategic approach to your case based on the unique details of your situation. We are dedicated to finding the right lawyer for you, who can provide knowledgeable and ethical support in your uniquely challenging time. The post Bankruptcy: Not The End Of The World appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.

MEDALLION AUCTION UPDATE:Crain’s New York Business reports that Aspire Federal Credit Union will be holding an auction of 14 New York City taxi medallions on Jan. 16, 2018.  To attract bidders, at least one of the medallions will have an opening price of $150,000.  The article notes that the last major auction that involved competitive bidding was a package of 46 medallions sold in September for about $186,000 apiece.  For updates on this auction and further developments in the taxi medallion industry, please keep reading our blog.

If you are facing foreclosure, you may feel like your life is falling apart. However, it is not the end of the world. Some lenders try to work with people in order to keep them in their home. The truth is that it costs the lender a lot of money when a house gets foreclosed on so they will sometimes discuss different options. Here are some options that you might be able to discuss with your lender if you are facing foreclosure. Save your home from foreclosure Fix an adjustable interest rate, making the monthly mortgage payment more affordable. Adjustable interest rates can really make your payments fluctuate month to month. By keeping it the same, you will know exactly how much you owe every month. Stop a few payments now and adding them to the end of your loan. Though you might have to pay for another year or two, this might really help you get caught up on all of your bills so that you can pay a monthly mortgage payment. If you are late on several payments, nothing is more stressful than watching the amount due continue to rise. You may be able to see if your lender can take that money that you owe and add it into your loan. This helps to split the payments up, making it more affordable. If the payments are too high (but you can pay part of it), you might want to see if you can change the length of your loan or even the interest rate. Small changes in either the length or the interest rate can make big differences. Some mortgage companies will allow you to transfer your home to someone else who takes over your mortgage payment. Though not every mortgage company is able to work with you, it never hurts to ask. They really don’t want the expense of a foreclosed home so it might be your lucky day! Contact us for all of your legal needs. The post Foreclosure and dealings with Lenders appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.