Consumer Debt, Credit Card Debt

How to Pay Down Credit Card Balances with High Interest Rates

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Credit card debt has traditionally been one of the more difficult consumer debts to conquer. This is in large part because most credit card balances come with significantly high interest rates. The larger a consumer’s balance gets, the more difficult it can be to tackle the debt. While paying down credit card debt can be a challenge, however, it is not impossible. It takes proper planning and discipline but paying down a credit card balance on a card with high interest rates is possible.

According to LendingTree, the average annual percentage rate on a new credit card is over 20 percent, and rates only seem to be increasing over time, especially as the cost of living continues to rise.  This trend presents a major problem for American consumers with high credit card balances. In fact, according to reports from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, credit card balances reached a high of $841 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

Foreclosures, Housing Market Trends

Florida’s Mortgage Delinquency Rates Increase, Slightly Higher than National Average

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Mortgage delinquencies slightly increased from April to May 2022, but Florida’ mortgage delinquency rates have increased more than the national average. Nationwide, one in every 4,549 housing units had a foreclosure filing in May 2022, according to a recent report issued by Knight Data & Analytics. Florida led all 50 states with a high rate of one in every 2,788 housing units.

The national delinquency rate decreased in May 2022 to a low of 2.75 percent. However, Florida’s delinquency rate stayed at a consistent 2.0 percent. Lenders initiated foreclosure proceedings on 22,099 properties in May 2022. While this number may be down one percent from the previous month, it is up 274 percent from one year ago.

Consumer News, Credit, Credit Card Debt

The Best Ways to Handle Your Credit During Inflation

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The cost of living has continued to rise throughout the first half of 2022, leaving many consumers struggling to make ends meet. It seems the cost of everything has skyrocketed, from groceries to gas. As a result, three in five American consumers say they are living paycheck to paycheck. Many of these individuals are relying on credit cards to pay for necessary expenses, but unfortunately, adding to their credit card debt only complicates financial problems.

student loan debt, Student Loans

Do You Qualify for Student Loan Relief?

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The subject of student loan debt has become a major topic of political discourse. While lawmakers have called for widespread student loan relief, a number of loan forgiveness programs have existed for several years.

One public method of student loan forgiveness is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), although this program has come under fire in recent years. PSLF was created in 2007 with the purpose of helping borrowers working in nonprofit and governmental roles following graduation. If the borrower was able to pay consistently on his or her debt while working in a qualifying nonprofit or government job for ten years, making a total of 120 payments), the remaining debt would be forgiven.

student loan debt, Student Loans

Dispelling Myths about Private Student Loans and Bankruptcy

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Federal student loans often are not enough to cover the costs of attending a university. Many times, student borrowers need to seek additional sources of funding, including private student loans, to pay for the costs not covered by their federal student loans. Borrowers often operate under the misconception that, like federal student loans, these private loans are also not dischargeable in bankruptcy. In fact, many misconceptions exist surrounding private student loans and how they are handled in a consumer bankruptcy case.

One of the biggest of these misconceptions is that private student loans can be discharged in a bankruptcy case. While student loans are harder to discharge in bankruptcy, it is not impossible. With federal student loans, the bankruptcy filer must start a separate adversary proceeding where he or she needs to prove that paying these debts would present an undue hardship. However, private student loans are not always subject to this extra step in a bankruptcy case.

Legal Awards

Miami Bankruptcy Attorney Timothy S. Kingcade Named a Florida Super Lawyer 9 Consecutive Years

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MIAMI (June 24, 2022)– Managing Shareholder, Timothy S. Kingcade of the Miami-based bankruptcy and foreclosure defense law firm of Kingcade Garcia McMaken has been selected to the 2022 Florida Super Lawyers list. This is the ninth consecutive year Kingcade has been selected to the Florida Super Lawyers list (2014-2022) in the practice area of consumer bankruptcy. The recognition is awarded to only the top 5% of attorneys in the state.

Attorney Kingcade practices exclusively in the field of bankruptcy law, handling Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filings for the Southern District of Florida.  As an experienced CPA and proven bankruptcy attorney, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of their rights under the bankruptcy laws to restart, rebuild and recover.

Consumer Bankruptcy, Tax Debt

Does Bankruptcy Eliminate Tax Debt?

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By the time an individual reaches the point of filing for bankruptcy, he or she is likely inundated with all types of consumer debt, ranging from medical debt to credit card debt and possibly, tax debt. While a consumer bankruptcy case will eliminate a large portion of this debt, tax debt is not normally included in this list.

Taxes fall into the category of “non-dischargeable priority debt,” which means that the bankruptcy case will not eliminate them. Additionally, repayment of these claims is given priority over other creditors’ claims. However, circumstances do exist where tax debt can be discharged with a bankruptcy filing, but certain requirements must exist before that can happen.

Consumer News, Predatory Lending Practices

Consumers Being Lured Into Predatory Car Repair Loans

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Predatory lending practices are becoming more common when it comes to companies attempting to “help” consumer fund car repairs. Many of the major car repair shops, including AAMCO, Jiffy Lube, Midas, Precision Tune Auto Care, Grease Monkey, and Meineke, are offering financial assistance to consumers who are not able to pay for their car repair expenses. The problem is, these car repair loans can end up charging up to 189 percent interest, according to a recent study by Consumer Reports.

Many states have laws issuing caps on interest rates to avoid predatory lending practices. However, companies have become wise to these laws and evade them by teaming up with a bank in a state that does not have an interest rate cap. This practice is also known as “rent-a-bank,” and it falls into a legal gray area.

Consumer Bankruptcy, Consumer News

DeSantis Vetoes Florida Bankruptcy Relief Bill

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Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a measure last week that would have provided some much-needed relief for those struggling financially in Florida.  The specific measure, HB 265, was passed unanimously by both the state senate and legislature during the most recent legislative session, where it was quickly vetoed by DeSantis. This bill represents the third bill vetoed by the governor.

This bill would have given Floridians facing bankruptcy relief by providing them credit for any equity they may have had in their vehicle. The law would increase the bankruptcy exemption provided to debtors in their cars from $1,000 to $5,000.

Debt Collection

The Best Way to Dispute a Debt and Win

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Consumers facing debt collection often mistakenly assume that they have no choice but to pay the debt they are facing. This is in large part due to the communications they may be receiving from the debt collector. Debt collectors only receive payment from the original creditor when the consumer pays on the debt owed, which is why they will say and do anything possible to get the consumer to make payment. However, consumers do not always realize that they have the right to dispute a debt.

Successfully disputing a debt can be an intimidating concept, but it is possible to dispute the debt and win so long as the consumer knows what to say and what to ask when communicating with them.