Boca Raton Real estate Lawyer

Archive for the ‘Bankruptcy’ Category

This is a guest post by Kevin Craig who is a financial writer with various finance related Communities. He has been providing advice on debt relief since 2007. With his advice many are now living a debt free life. You might like to visit the page debt settlement California. You can get in touch with him at kevin.craig672@gmail.com

In the recent economic downturn, when people are drowned under the sea of outstanding debt, it is usually recommended to enroll into a debt settlement program to achieve debt relief. However, while enrolling into a program or hiring the services of a debt settlement company, be careful. There are many fraudulent companies who charge high upfront fees promising to negotiate the debt settlement with creditors, but ultimately do nothing. So to protect the consumers’ rights, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officially opened for business in July.

In association with the Federal Reserve, The CFPB will have greater power than the Federal Trade Commission. The CFPB will write binding rules rather than simply recommending to Congress. But on the other hand, if any new changes to be made by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), they will have to be made by Congress.

Now days, the most popular subject of speculation is what CFPB will going to do, what changes they will going to make, and how will they regulate the new laws. Lets us now take a close look at some of the most likely changes to federal laws over the past two years.

• Requires strict documentation to file a collection lawsuit.
• Requires strict documentation to sale and purchase consumer debt.
• Requires more specific information for initial consumer communications, especially about the origin of debt.
• Written explanation of the usage of email. Email will not be regarded as a collection letter for the first communication.
• Clarification on user-fee communications, like mobile phones and text messaging.

In April of this year, the FTC held a workshop on the complex changes in consumer communication technology, like the progression of using mobile phones, social media, email, and the increasing amount of consumer information available on the internet. The FTC had created two separate reports of 100 pages to address forthcoming changes in the FDCPA and collection rules. But no action has still been taken to update or improve debt collection laws and regulations.

On the other hand, CFPB will rely more on the work of previous regulators, so it is to be assumed that much of the FTC’s research will be captivated. Since FTC’s research was primarily focused on improving debt collection proceedings and making rooms for new communication technology, so supposedly CFPB will make a first move on it.

Aside from the FTC, ACA International also introduced its own set of guiding principles for collection law reform. The ACA published new articles that contain some specific areas for improvement in collection laws.

• The FDCPA is to be modified to permit collectors to correspond with consumers through any means of communication.
• The TCPA limitations on the use of prerecorded messages to communicate with consumers should also be amended in order to restrict telemarketing call.
• The FDCPA should also be revised to allow the collectors to contact consumers over voice-mail message without infringing the laws.

While the ACA proposals are more specific than that of the FTC, rule creators at the CFPB will perhaps be more restrained to accept the recommendations of an industry group without significant modification. Rather, they might look at the move of other states and courts to modify collection laws and rules.

The ARM industry has also been anticipating FDCPA and other collection law reforms, but due to some reasons, FTC and other federal agents have been slow in their act. But CFPB, with its new energy, did not delay further in the process. So if you feel that you may become a victim of a fraudulent debt settlement company, keep the new CFPB law reforms in mind to protect yourself from the scammers.

Tough times are a part of life. Most of us face financial crisis at some point of life. It is very disheartening to find yourself in a position when you are unable to repay your debts. In such situations the last option you have is to file for bankruptcy. It can help you to get rid of financial woos. But you should not go for it if there are other ways of handling your debt. Go for it when you have no other option.

Many people are afraid of bankruptcy as a few misconceptions are associated with it. Let’s have a look at the misconception people have.

The first mistake that people made is that they think, they will loose all their property if they file for bankruptcy. This is not true. You can always protect a certain percentage of your property. You can keep your house and car if you keep on paying the debt on time. Each US state has its own bankruptcy law. Mesa Bankruptcy will be different from Arizona bankruptcy law. How much property you can save depends on the state law. Talk to your Mesa Bankruptcy Lawyer to know about the law in detail.

Many people also want to avoid filing for bankruptcy as they think that a social stigma is attached to it. If your case is not disclosed to any one, there is nothing to be ashamed of.

Another misconception related to bankruptcy is that, further credit will not be available. Well, getting credit in future may be difficult but not impossible.

Declaring bankruptcy is a major blow to your finances. Of course, when you get to the point that you are considering bankruptcy, you know that your finances are already under pressure. However, bankruptcy has serious consequences. It can affect your credit, your ability to get a new job, your ability to open accounts for cable or electricity, and your ability to obtain new insurance for up to seven years.

A much better option for you is to avoid bankruptcy altogether. Sure, you may be wondering how this can be possible, given the way you are behind with your bills. Is bankruptcy the only way to free you?

In fact, a settlement company debt can offer a better option as an alternative to bankruptcy. With debt settlement, you can reduce your monthly payments and clear the debts of your life. Your recurring monthly bills will decrease as your payments drop, allowing you greater financial flexibility to get out of there.

When you pay your debts, you avoid bankruptcy. Instead, you work on a payment plan with your credit counselor. He or she can help you develop a plan that allows you to pay your debts in 12 to 36 months. This is a much better option than seven years stand out a large black mark on your credit history and your life!

The process of debt settlement can begin immediately. You do not have to wait for the lawyers and you do not have to work with the courts. Instead, you just have to work on a plan with a warm, real human being who understands you and your situation. You do not need bankruptcy you just need a partner.

However in any case if you require bankruptcy, you must take suggestion from a lawyer. Visit www.dcgroupnw.com to hire Bankruptcy Attorneys Seattle.

There recent economic recession has resulted in several bankruptcy filings in US courts. Bankruptcy Reform Act (1978) is an important law regulating bankruptcy related lawsuits in USA. The code has evolved with changing times since 1978.

There are provisions under several chapters under which an US citizen can file for a bankruptcy-

• Chapter 7
• Chapter 9, and
• Chapter 11, 12 and 13.

Chapter 15 deals with cross border bankruptcy cases. A new law has been formulated to combat the incidence of foreign companies with US debts filing for bankruptcy. The law is known as the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.

The situation will determine whether the bankruptcy filing is voluntary or involuntary. A bankruptcy lawsuit creates an interesting entity- an ‘estate’. This entity is taxable as per federal income tax rulings. This type of case is contested in a bankruptcy court. The courts are guided by the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.

There is an interesting aspect to the decision of bankruptcy courts. There decisions aren’t published by government. Rather you will find it being privately published by West’s Bankruptcy Reporter.

It is always a better idea to manage your money well. However, in case you have no other option it is better to contact an Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer. This holds true for a resident from Arizona of course.

A bankrupt is a person whose liabilities have exceeded his income. A bankruptcy suit can be filed under chapter-13 or chapter-7 whichever is suitable. A Bankruptcy code can be filed by both husband and wife provided both are liable or not. A company can also file bankruptcy.

Chapter-7:- It is simply called liquidation. A trustee appointed by the court sells the property of the debtor and pays off the creditors.

Chapter 13:- Instead of complete liquidation, the debtor submits a plan before the court for repayment of loans. A trustee (court appointed) receives the payment of the debtor in question and distributes the amount among his creditors.

Bankruptcy code prevents a debtor from being discriminated at his workplace for simply filing bankruptcy. A person may also have trouble getting long-term loan because his credit rating is very poor. However, bankruptcy doesn’t relieve you from the responsibility of:-

• Alimony;
• Child support;
• Student loans, etc.

The government has passed Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention Act,2005. The new law proposes additional bans on people filing for bankruptcy under chapter-7. The amount of repayment for filing bankruptcy under chapter-13 has been increased. In many cases, forms and relevant documents have to be electronically submitted. Hence, it is prudent on your part to let your hired Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyer to fight on your behalf. In many cases we have seen how big cities like- Chicago has taken the brunt of the recession.