Blogs

I am asked this question quite a lot around this time of year.  It is natural for clients to use tax refund money to pay a loan to a family member. Many times that is why the family member made the loan; they were promised that they would be paid back with tax refund money.

The answer is maybe. If you are struggling with large student loan balances, you’re not alone. The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau estimates that approximately 40 million Americans owe student loans with the average debt owed totaling $29,000.00. And many student loan borrowers owe balances much more than the average.

It is a common belief that filing Bankruptcy will result in a person losing their home, vehicles, or other property.

Clifton R. Jessup Jr.

A prospective client came into our Birmingham, AL office to get more information about Bankruptcy. As we were reviewing her list of creditors, she noted that one of the creditors had a cosigner.

In 2008, Congress passed the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act and it was signed by the President into law on October 20, 2008. This new law became effective on December 19, 2008.

We are right in the middle of tax season and you have several options for filing your return.  You can hire a professional to do it for you, buy software and follow the directions, or just print out some forms and fill them out manually the old fashioned way.

Every day, I meet with people to discuss their finances. One common subject is classifying the type of debts that they have. Rent-to-own contracts have become all too common in today’s financial market. Many people are unable to acquire standard financing so they turn to alternate methods to acquire property.

In my last blog, I described what constitutes a preferential transfer under the Bankruptcy Code.  Now I’ll go into a few of the defenses a creditor might have to a preference lawsuit by the bankruptcy Trustee.  These defenses, as well as several others, are set forth in

Promised Land:  VA Deal to House Homeless Los Angeles Veterans

In a saga that spans several years, new VA Secretary Robert McDonald recently reached an agreement that will help house many homeless veterans in the Los Angeles, California area.  This saga goes back to the late 1800s and involves very expensive California property.  The story can be found here.