Blogs

We keep hearing that we’re all in this together, but one group seems not to have gotten the memo: scammers. It’s no surprise, when you consider the huge number of scams targeting people facing foreclosure and in other types of crisis. As of the end of April, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reporting tens of thousands of Covid-19-related complaints. So far, the bulk of these complaints have been from the hardest-hit, most populous states.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that U.S. consumers ended 2019 with record-high debt. In the 4th quarter of last year, household debt climbed $193 billion, to a total of $14.15 trillion. Mortgage debt accounted for about $120 billion of the increase and 68% of the total. The remainder was attributable to:

Chapter 13 bankruptcy nationally a less commonly filed form of bankruptcy, and it isn’t what most people think about when they hear the word “bankruptcy.” Most folks think about Chapter 7 or straight bankruptcy when they hear the word bankruptcy. In Alabama, Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a more popular choice.

The COVID-19 crisis has turned everyone’s lives upside down. Businesses are shuttering, employees are finding themselves furloughed, and LATE RENT notices are starting to pile up. With all this stress and uncertainty, our representatives have been working on solutions to try and curb the economic impact of this pandemic.

The answer to this question, like most things in life, is maybe.  This is how I usually see this particular situation arise in my law practice:  Someone has held a public trust or secret clearance for a number of years.

Before the current crisis began, we wrote about the surprising number of Americans whose low wages kept them struggling financially despite low unemployment rates.

As you have probably heard, our representatives on Capitol Hill recently came together and passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. There are some interesting repercussions directly related to bankruptcy law that we want our readers and clients to be aware of.

Many people would find it nearly impossible to carry on regular daily activities without a car. They rely on their vehicles to get to work, do the grocery shopping, go to doctor appointments, take the kids to school or daycare, and generally attend to necessities. And some large cities like Birmingham have relatively limited public transit systems. Some neighborhoods are better covered than others, and many public transit lines don't run at night. In some areas, there is little or no public transportation available. 

There comes a point in your mandatory two-week quarantine from covid-19 when you realize that working from home isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. To spare myself the indignity of befriending a volleyball and naming it Wilson, I’ve taken up keeping the Bond & Botes Blog updated with issues related to the COVID–19 pandemic as they relate to our clients, and others facing financial challenges. If you’re a Mississippi client, then you probably already know who I am. If not, let me introduce myself. My name is Nathan Rester and I’m the newest associate at Bond & Botes.

Bond & Botes and our team of lawyers have helped people across Alabama and Mississippi take care of their financial concerns for over 30 years. Over recent days, as federal and local governments began responding to the recent coronavirus outbreak, we knew right away that there would be tough financial times ahead for people across the nation. Some are already facing unexpected layoffs, and others are trying to figure out how they will manage childcare if their current care closes down in response to the virus.