18 Aug
Posted by Thomas Kafen as Repair Credit Score
Even though I’m an Indiana lawyer for bankruptcy, it often happens that clients come to talk with me who are far from certain that filing bankruptcy in Indiana is the best thing for them. Sometimes, people just want my advice as a debt consolidation lawyer. Or perhaps they want my help to stop foreclosure on their home.
Needless to say, the subject of just how bankruptcy in Indiana works comes up in the discussion, and invariably that comes around to the Indiana means test. The means test is a standard by which the court determines if someone is eligible to file bankruptcy in Indiana, and which type of bankruptcy they qualify for.
As part of providing Indiana bankruptcy information, I explain that, if your income is less than the median income earned by Indiana residents during the last six months, you could probably qualify to file either Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or you could file under the new Chapter 13 bankruptcy laws of Indiana. If your income is less than the median, on the other hand, Chapter 13 could be your only option.
Once I’ve explained the means test to my clients, my next step as a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana is to explain that federal law actually sets standards for each kind of expense. There are allowable amounts that people who file bankruptcy in Indiana are allowed to keep for their own use, to support themselves and their families, before they’re expected to make debt repayments. For example, one reader asked about his family of six, and was told that the allowance would be around $1900 a month for food, housekeeping supplies, apparel and services, personal care products and services, and miscellaneous.
Well, there’s an allowance for car expenses as well, which include lease payments or car payments, gasoline, and maintenance. In the Midwest region, for example, the monthly vehicle allowance is $210 for one car, $420 for two.
One of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers from the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices there brought an interesting case to my attention. In this court case, debtors had filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy and had claimed a vehicle allowance as part of their allowable expenses. The thing was, though, they both owned their cars free and clear. The question before the court, then, was – could they still claim the car expense allowance and use the money for other expenses?
The court’s answer was, very simply “yes”. These two debtors had no monthly car loan to pay or lease obligation, either prior to filing bankruptcy or now, but they were allowed to claim an allowance for avehicle expense anyway!
Goes back to what I was saying yesterday – all’s fair in bankruptcy!
15 Aug
Posted by Thomas Kafen as Repair Credit Score
Many senior citizens are spending their golden years struggling with consumer credit debt and this number is increasing more and more these days. Senior citizens living on set incomes need debt management solutions these days.
However most debt management solutions offered today are gear toward younger folks; those who have more time and options to handle these debt management problems. Seniors should know that they can do something to get control of their financial situation. And many of these options are not available to young consumers.
15 Aug
Posted by Thomas Kafen as Repair Credit Score
Offering payday loan debt help is a big part of my work as a debt consolidation lawyer providing bankruptcy services in Indiana, and I was very glad to read about a Federal Trade Commission crackdown on one payday loan operation (Consumer Bankruptcy News, May 6, 2010).
When people are undergoing financial troubles, one of their biggest concerns, I’ve found, is the possibility their wages will be garnished. Under the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana, as is true under federal law, employers must obey court orders to garnish an employee’s wages. The only time a creditor can garnish wages without having a court order is if the creditor is a federal agency.
All of the Anderson, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, like myself, are used to helping clients prevent, or at least put a halt to, wage garnishment through bankruptcy’s automatic stay. The automatic stay is a court order that goes into effect as soon as someone files personal bankruptcy in Indiana.
The reason the FTC has charged at least a couple of online payday loan operations with illegally attempting to garnish debtors’ wages is that they did not obtain court orders. The lenders were essentially passing themselves off as having the same collection rights as the government.
After almost twenty five years as an Indiana lawyer for bankruptcy, I’ve seen my share of abusive payday loan practices. As a special alert to all my Indiana bankruptcy clients and readers, the payday loan companies named in the FTC suit are Eastbrook, LLC (also doing business as Ecash and GeteCash) and LoanPoint, LLC.
In writing about bankruptcy matters over the past three years, I’ve made no secret of the fact that I do not like payday lending. Whil
09 Aug
Posted by Thomas Kafen as Repair Credit Score
As you might imagine, a debt consolidation lawyer like me who offers bankruptcy information in Indiana needs to read a lot, and I certainly do. In addition to newspapers, magazines, and professional journals on financial planning and tax law, I need to know what decisions are being handed down in bankruptcy courts in Indiana and other states. That helps me stay up-to-date, so I can help my clients file individual bankruptcy in Indiana.
Whenever a personal bankruptcy in Indiana happens at or near the same time as a divorce, things can quickly become even more complicated. Now we’re dealing with two sets of laws: the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana, and Indiana divorce law. A recent court case from Pennsylvania serves as a good example of what can happen when divorce and bankruptcy laws mix:
09 Aug
Posted by Thomas Kafen as Repair Credit Score
Countless scams are out there in the financial world, just waiting for someone to take the bait. Bad credit auto loan scams are some of the most common, not to mention the worst, scams out there.
Amongst the countless bad credit auto loan scams sits the upfront payment scam. This is one of the most common and it’s usually the one that gets reported to the authorities the most, as well. This scam is easily executed by any lender because it involves asking for an upfront fee in order to process your bad credit auto loan. The customer gives them the money, and you never see the lender again. This is nothing more than theft.
Another popular scam that can affect just about anyone in the auto loan market is the credit score scam. T
When the different companies are going to give you money, there are a couple of things that they want to check before they give the money to you. After all, they want to be sure that they are going to get the money they invested in you back and it is not going to be something that they might end up regretting and writing off as loses. For such purposes, a credit score comes in handy. This number, or numbers, is all that is required to ensure that you are capable of paying the loan back and that you will not default on the payments in the future.
Who gives the credit score?
A credit score is something that is provided by a number of companies and not just one single entity out there.
06 Aug
Posted by Debora Watt as Repair Credit Score
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