Filing for bankruptcy is an intimidating prospect. One of the most common fears is that bankruptcy will result in a lifetime of negative consequences that you’ll never be able to recover from. While it’s an understandable fear, it’s also an unfounded one. Bankruptcy will have a negative impact on your life – but only at […]
Do I Need a Bankruptcy Attorney?
Bankruptcy laws generally don’t require debtors to have attorney representation when filing for bankruptcy. As with most legal situations, you are permitted to represent yourself. In bankruptcy, it’s known as being a “pro se debtor.” However, just because you can doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. For those seeking desperately needed debt relief through bankruptcy, […]
Loan Modification v. Short Sale: Choose Wisely
Money problems can come out of nowhere. Whether you or a family member have lost a job, accrued costly medical bills or are experiencing other financial setbacks, the fear of losing your home because you can’t make your mortgage payment can be terrifying and overwhelming at a time when things are already looking down. Fortunately, […]
Are You Considering Filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?
Life is hard and sometimes your financial situation makes life even harder. In some cases, the answer to your financial problems could be filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Declaring bankruptcy often has bad connotations, but it can be more beneficial than you imagine. If you are looking into filing for bankruptcy, you should carefully weigh […]
How to Reduce Your Mortgage Payments and Keep Your Home
There are many circumstances that leave us unable to take care of our financial obligations. All too often people buy homes and then tragedy strikes. Sometimes these hardships come in the form of an unexpected illness and medical bills, losing a job, taking a pay cut, or other financial hardships. These hardships cause hard working […]
Home Affordable Modification Program
The Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, is ending on December 31, 2016. The program has helped an incredible 5 million homeowners avoid foreclosure through mortgage assistance programs. And the current timeframe still allows homeowners to take advantage of the program. If you are in need of mortgage modifications, now is the time because the HAMP program ends on December 31, 2016.
Tuition Recovery Lawsuits when you file Bankruptcy?
What are Tuition Recovery Lawsuits? Tuition Recovery law suits are a new trend in Bankruptcy cases where the court-appointed trustees have been trying to sue universities, and sometimes college students themselves, to take back tuition payments that parents made years before on behalf of their children. Why? Under the U.S. Bankruptcy code, trustees can sue […]
Do I Have to Report my Forgiven Debt as Income on my Federal Tax Return?
Tax season is here! That means it is time to go over income from last year and determine whether or not earnings are subject to tax. This amount usually includes loans forgiven by a lender which is taxable as if the borrower earned that amount as income. However, did you know that you may qualify for […]
Is the Home Affordable Refinance Program “HARP” for Me?
Are you one of the 9 out of 10 Homeowners who have not taken advantage of the Home Affordable Refinance Program “HARP”? HARP is a federal program that can help you avoid foreclosure, even if you owe more than the home’s current value! You do not need to have equity to be eligible for this program. […]
Financial Lessons from “The Big Short”
The Big Short tells the story of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression- the 2008 financial crash. A time when banks were more than willing to lend to people who could never afford to pay them back. This led to un-regulated and out-of-control gigantic banks and their bankers making huge, high risk bets in […]