DISCRIMINATION AGAINST A BANKRUPTCY FILER IS ILLEGAL

Many clients have the understandable concern that if they seek help and protection from their bills, that they will face negative consequences.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Code actually protects people who have filed for bankruptcy from discrimination.  Section 525(a) of the Code provides:

"a governmental unit may not deny, revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew a license, permit, charter, franchise, or other similar grant to, condition such a grant to, discriminate with respect to such a grant against, deny employment to, terminate the employment of, or discriminate with respect to employment against, a person that is or has been a debtor under this title or a bankrupt or a debtor under the Bankruptcy Act, or another person with whom such bankrupt or debtor has been associated, solely because such bankrupt or debtor is or has been a debtor under this title or a bankrupt or debtor under the Bankruptcy Act, has been insolvent before the commencement of the case under this title, or during the case but before the debtor is granted or denied a discharge, or has not paid a debt that is dischargeable in the case under this title or that was discharged under the Bankruptcy Act. "

This section of the Code governs discrimination by governmental units (Federal, state, local government, for example, as well as other governmental agencies, authorities, boards, etc.)

Therefore, a person who has filed for bankruptcy cannot, for example, be denied a job with the government because of a bankruptcy filing, denied a drivers license, the right to live in public housing, and many other services regulated by various levels of government.

Section 525(b) covers private employers, although, you should take note that it can be challenging to prove in court what the motive of a private employer really was.

Many people have been unaware of the protections built into Federal law to make the bankruptcy filing a true fresh start by making illegal various forms of discrimination against somebody who exercised their legal right to be free from debts.

Debt Buyers Can Cause a Multitude of Problems for People

Many people do not realize that debts can be sold just like any other product.  You may have an old credit card debt which you forgot about and have not heard from in years.  Do you realize that the original credit card company could have sold this debt to a debt buyer?

When this happens, the collection process can start quickly, involving court actions, wage garnishments and seizures of bank accounts.

The New York Times recently published a long informative article on the debt buying business, and the abuses these companies inflict on people.

The article is well worth your time to read, to give you an idea of how much trouble these companies can cause you, and why you should not ignore them if they contact you.

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/23/business/dealbook/sued-over-old-debt-and-blocked-from-suing-back.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

Disputing Mistakes on your Credit Report Recently Has Become Much Easier

Clients frequently ask me how they can correct mistakes on their credit reports.  It's a smart idea to check your credit report once per year for errors.  People can obtain one free report from all three bureaus one time per year.  You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com for details on how to obtain your free credit reports.

If you do notice errors, you now can file your dispute online, instead of having to send letters by U.S. Mail.

This recent informative article in the NY Times will show you how you can file your dispute:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/14/your-money/credit-scores/fixing-credit-report-errors-online-gets-added-heft.html?ref=business&_r=0


Particularly after having filed for bankruptcy, it is important that your debts which were discharged show a zero balance, and that no other hurtful errors are present on your credit reports.

WHAT WILL THE BANKRUPTCY HEARING BE LIKE?

Most clients are nervous about the hearing that they will need to attend about 3-4 weeks after the filing of their case.  There truly is no need whatsoever to be nervous.  Most hearing last about 4 minutes and then you can go home.

Frequently, clients ask me what to wear at the hearing.  I recommend casual every day clothing (wearing jeans is fine).  You want to avoid either extreme of clothing -- don't dress up like you are attending an opera, and don't wear sweat pants and a ripped T-shirt either.  Just your regular every day clothes.

The first and second links below are videos about how a typical bankruptcy hearing proceeds.  The second link provides additional information about the hearing which you may find informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLUNckN7SsQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ialTcnKnYyM

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bankruptcy+creditors+meeting

Money Problems Are a Major Source of Stress in Life

More and more clients who come to see me are under more stress than ever, due to heavy debt, bills, and just the high cost of everyday life.  Not to mention a job that doesn't pay enough to support a family.

From student loans, child support (not receiving it or having to pay it), car loans, mortgage payments, electric, heat, food, children's activities, and unexpected expenses that come up out of nowhere, like car repairs and doctor visits, people have it coming from every angle.

The American Psychological Association has reported that 90% of Americans feel that their stress level about money has gotten worse or stayed the same.  Almost 3 out of 4 people stated that they were stressed about money at least one time in the last month.

While many people will do everything to avoid bankruptcy protection, filing for bankruptcy can provide a person in need with a fresh start he cannot obtain anywhere else.  Being free from debt not only will reduce the stress level, it also will free up extra money for the most important family expenses, especially when there is only so much money to go around. 

Because the newspaper does not publish name of people in bankruptcy, chances are you know at least one person who has sought help from a lawyer for the same problem.  Bankruptcy always should be the last resort, but, it should be an option to consider when you need to set things back in the right direction.

CAN'T REGISTER YOUR CAR OR RENEW YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE BECAUSE OF CAR OR INCOME TAXES OWED?

Many people come into my office frustrated, because they received a letter that the State Tax Office is stopping them from renewing their car registration and drivers license.  Having your car registration and drivers license expire can cause obvious problems in most everybody's life.

When hard times cause you to fall a little (or a lot) behind on car tax or state income tax, the State routinely puts a block on you renewing your car registration and drivers license.  Chances are, the deadline to renew is coming up, and you can't give the state the money it's demanding from you.

If paying the taxes is not realistic, then there is another option to renew your license and car registration, without having to pay all of those taxes in such a short deadline.

Filing paperwork with the bankruptcy court automatically gives you the absolute right to renew that drivers license and car registration, no questions asked.

We help many good people who are in this kind of bind to resolve this problem more quickly than they every thought possible.

If you find  yourself in this situation, give us a call and we can tell you how we can give you some help. 

STUDENT LOAN RELEIF FROM FILING BANKRUPTCY

In the past year, we have helped many people whose student loan payments are higher than they can afford, have lost their tax refunds to student loan seizures, and who have their wages involuntarily deducted by student loan companies.

Filing for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy will keep the student loan companies from going after your wages and taking your tax refund money.  And, in a Chapter 13 filing, you monthly payments to student loans can be reduced significantly.

Taking this step should be a last resort, because the student loans can continue to charge you the same interest as they were before bankruptcy filing, and filing for bankruptcy will not, under almost all circumstances, discharge your student loan debt.  What a bankruptcy filing will do is stop the student loans from forcing unreasonable payment terms on you.  You will be able to set more affordable payment terms.

While this option always should be used as a last resort only, more and more often, seeking bankruptcy protection from student loans is the only solution for many people.  If your income is low, and you have normal living expenses, you may not be in a position to make the monthly payment that your student loans are demanding from you.

The bad economy has forced people to accept jobs that pay less than they need to live, and at the end of the month there is no money left to make that student loan payment.  Fortunately, there is a way to reduce those monthly payments significantly so you can have a payment  you can afford.