Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Student Loans, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Student Loan Debt is Not Just a Millennial Problem- Baby Boomers Reportedly Struggling, too

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Student loan debt has increased eight-fold among Americans aged 60-64 over the last decade.  Moms, dads and even grandparents are shouldering more of these debts. From 2005 to 2015, the amount of student loan debt held by those ages 60-64 has increased from $4.85 billion to $38.35 billion.

For those aged 55-59, the increase is about five-fold, from $13.9 billion to $65.47 billion.  Many seniors are having trouble paying these loans off or making payments at all: 12.6% of debt held by 60- to 64-year-olds was in default at the end of 2015, a higher default rate than anyone under 40.

To make matters worse, the Trump administration is not shaping up to be particularly friendly towards people struggling to pay off these debts.  Most recently, education secretary, Betsy DeVos,  scrapped an Obama-era plan to streamline the government’s system for servicing student loans. And just this week, an education budget obtained by the Washington Post revealed a proposal to end a student loan-forgiveness program for public servants, creating uncertainty for some 400,000 borrowers.

Click here to read more on this story.

For borrowers who are struggling with student loan debt, relief options are available. Many student loan borrowers are unaware that they have rights and repayment options available to them, such as postponement of loan payments, reduction of payments or even a complete discharge of the debt. It is important you contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

A New Credit Card that Helps Consumers Repair their FICO Score and Avoid Pay Payday Loans

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If you have a credit score below 600, chances are you will have difficulty qualifying for a credit card.  However, Americans with poor credit scores are oftentimes the ones who need credit the most.  Many are forced to turn to alternatives like payday loans that come with exorbitant interest rates and penalties.  In rare circumstances, these loans can help but most times it ends up in a cycle of debt and borrowers are never able to recover.

FS Card  is a start-up whose sole product right now is a credit card targeting those with “less than perfect” credit histories. The card, which is called “Build” and has MasterCard branding, allows consumers to avoid the local payday lender’s sky-high rates and gradually improve their FICO sore.

FS Card’s strategy is to target “deep subprime customers” in the 550 to 600 credit score range, offering transparent rates and fees and low spending limits to start, said the company’s CEO.

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If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Divorce Court Cannot Decide on Bankruptcy Obligations

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A Superior Court judge in Georgia could not order that a divorce settlement be wiped out in bankruptcy, a federal bankruptcy judge has ruled.  Even though the divorce decree provided that “the property division payments to the Plaintiff shall not be dischargeable in bankruptcy,” Judge W. Homer Drake of the Northern District of Georgia makes it clear that the Georgia court lacked jurisdiction to decide the effect of bankruptcy on the divorce.

There are certain kinds of debts that are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy.  However, these bankruptcy exceptions include support obligations arising from divorce, but do not include property settlements distinct from support.

The divorce decree included provisions that the defendant would pay his ex-wife $1,300 a month for child support and $53,000 “as part of the property division,” the court said. But the decree also said that “the property division payments to the plaintiff shall not be dischargeable in bankruptcy,” it said.

The bankruptcy court rejected the Georgia court’s decree that the obligation would not be dischargeable because it violated public policy. In addition, it found that the state court lacked jurisdiction to make that call.

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If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Student Loans

Government Pays $1B a Year on Student Loan Debt Collectors

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According to a recent report, the federal government has spent $1 billion a year to pay debt collectors to help struggling borrowers make regular monthly payments on their student loan debt.  But based on the data, their efforts have been a waste of money.

Nearly half of the student loan borrowers who had defaulted on their student loan payments and worked with the debt collectors defaulted again in three years, according to a report in Bloomberg News.

The data came from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which also found that debt collectors get up to $1,710 in payments from the Department of Education in the U.S. each time a borrower makes good on a debt after working with a debt collector through a process known as “rehabilitation.”  The debt collector keeps the money, even if the borrower defaults again.

The CFPB told Bloomberg that the government should reexamine whether the program and the contractors awarded to private debt collection are working to truly help the millions of Americans suffering with crippling student loan debt that now stands at $1.4 trillion.

Click here to read more on this story.

For borrowers who are struggling with student loan debt, relief options are available. Many student loan borrowers are unaware that they have rights and repayment options available to them, such as postponement of loan payments, reduction of payments or even a complete discharge of the debt. It is important you contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Student Loans

Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program- Here’s how you qualify

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The government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program promises to cancel any remaining student debt for those who work government jobs or for non-profit organizations and have been making continuous payments for 10 years. The first borrowers to receive forgiveness will be eligible in October of this year, which is 10 years from the launch of the program.

Many teachers, public defenders, Peace Corps workers, and law enforcement officers may qualify for forgiveness. More than 400,000 people have applied for the program so far, but signing up for the program can be a confusing, (and not surprisingly) complicated process.

Here are 5 steps you can take to help ensure your eligibility:

  • Find out if your job qualifies. There are three different types of jobs eligible.
  1. Government jobs, which include federal, state, local and tribal government entities, as well as the military, Peace Corps and AmeriCorps positions.
  2. People who work for a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
  3. People who work for a non-profit that does not have 501(c)(3) status, but provides a public service.
  • Turn in the Employment Certification form annually. Ask your loan servicing company to certify that your employer qualifies on an annual basis and keep detailed records. Otherwise, you risk finding out that your job does not qualify after making years of payments.
  • Verify you have the right kind of loan. Only Direct Loans qualify for this forgiveness program.
  • Enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, each year. You must be enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan for at least a portion of your repayments.  These plans cap your monthly bill at a certain portion of your income.
  • Make 120 qualifying monthly payments. FedLoan Servicing will tell you how much you need to pay each month for the payment to count toward the 120 needed to receive debt forgiveness. If you pay any less, it will not count. And if you pay more, it will only count as one payment. Payments must be made no later than 15 days after the due date. Any payments you make while in school, during the six-month grace period after school, or while in deferment or forbearance do not count toward the 120.

Click here to read more on this story.

For borrowers who are struggling with student loan debt, relief options are available. Many student loan borrowers are unaware that they have rights and repayment options available to them, such as postponement of loan payments, reduction of payments or even a complete discharge of the debt. It is important you contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Supreme Court Supports Bids to Collect Expired Debts in Bankruptcy

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Voting 5-3, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that debt collectors can use bankruptcy proceedings as a means to collect old debts, where the statute of limitations has expired. The court ruled that this was not a violation of the U.S. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Consumer advocates accused debt collectors of violating the law by filing tens of thousands of outdated claims with bankruptcy courts in hopes that some debtors would not object.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion in which Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan joined. “Professional debt collectors have built a business out of buying stale debt, filing claims in bankruptcy proceedings to collect it, and hoping that no one notices that the debt is too old to be enforced by the courts.  Debt collectors do not file these claims in good faith; they file them hoping and expecting that the bankruptcy system will fail,” Sotomayor wrote.  This practice is both “unfair” and “unconscionable,” she added.

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If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Miami–Dade has Second Highest Rate of Repeat Foreclosures in the Nation

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Miami-Dade County has the second-highest rate of repeat foreclosures of any major market, according to a newly released report from Attom Data Solutions.  New York City took the number one spot.

Miami-Dade’s rate was 32 percent, followed by Los Angeles County with 39 percent and Maricopa County (Phoenix), with 26 percent, according to Attom’s April 2017 report.  New York’s rate was 54 percent.

A repeat foreclosure is defined as a foreclosure start filed in 2016 on a property with an address and owner’s last name combination that also showed a previous foreclosure start with the same property address and owner combination in the last 10 years, according to Attom.

Nationwide foreclosure activity in April dropped to the lowest level since November 2015. Miami-Dade saw its foreclosure rate fall 35 percent in April, year-over-year, to 986 foreclosure filings from 1,509 filings in April 2016.

Miami-Dade’s rate of foreclosures still remains higher than Broward County, which had 730 and Palm Beach County 578 in April.

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Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Medical Debt Collectors Accused of Using Aggressive Tactics to Collect

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According to a recent report by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund that reviews reports from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, medical debt collectors have been employing aggressive tactics to collect, even from the wrong consumers, putting their credit reports at risk.

The collection attempts range from repeated calls, calls harassing family and friends, threats of legal action, and abusive language- All a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), designed to prevent creditor harassment and abuse.

Here are some important tips to remember if you are struggling with medical debt:

Confirm you owe the debt.  Almost 90 percent of medical bills have costly errors, according to the Medical Billing Advocates of America and Medical Recovery Services.  Request a detailed, itemized statement of charges and medical services you received.

Speak up.  If you find errors in your medical records or billing, contact your doctor or the hospital billing department.  Negotiate payments. They may even give you the option to defer payments for a few months or to put you on an interest-free plan where you pay a small amount toward the bill each month.

Get help. Hospitals and insurance companies often have case workers who can help with bills and resolve payment issues.

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Those who have experienced illness or injury and found themselves overwhelmed with medical debt should contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney. In bankruptcy, medical bills are considered general unsecured debts just like credit cards. This means that medical bills do not receive priority treatment and can easily be discharged in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy laws were created to help people resolve overwhelming debt and gain a fresh financial start. Bankruptcy attorney Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Student Loans, Timothy Kingcade Posts

New Legislation If Passed Would Allow Student Loan Debt to be Discharged in Bankruptcy

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Bipartisan legislation was introduced last week by Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., that would allow student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy.

The Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy Act (H.R. 2366) reforms federal bankruptcy rules to establish parity between student loan debt and other forms of debt. Rep. John Katko, R-New York, is the lead republican co-sponsor of the bill.

Currently, student loan debt is non-dischargeable in bankruptcy.  The only exception is if a filer can prove undue hardship, which is extremely difficult in most circumstances.  Last year, total student loan debt hit a record high of $1.3 trillion dollars.

Click here to read more on this story.

For borrowers who are struggling with student loan debt, relief options are available. Many student loan borrowers are unaware that they have rights and repayment options available to them, such as postponement of loan payments, reduction of payments or even a complete discharge of the debt. It is important you contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Credit, Debt Relief, Student Loans, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Good News for Home Buyers with Student Loan Debt

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Mortgage lender Fannie Mae has just made significant rule changes that should make it easier for former students with costly student loan debts to purchase their first home or do a “cash-out” refinancing to pay off debt.

These new policies could be game changers for a large number of consumers. Approximately 43 million Americans are carrying student loan debt, totaling $1.4 trillion nationwide. Costly student loan debt not only impedes on borrowers’ ability to save money for a down payment, but it is also a key reason why so many young, potential home buyers remain renters or are living with their parents.

Below are three big changes that Fannie Mae has made that could affect you:

  • If you’re one of the 5 million borrowers who participate in federal-reduced payment plans on your student loan, your actual monthly payments, as reported to the credit bureaus, will count toward your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio calculations. For example, if your payments were originally supposed to be $500 a month but you have had them reduced to $100 through an income-based repayment plan, only the $100 will be added to your monthly debts for DTI purposes. Previously, lenders were required to factor in one percent of your student loan balance as your monthly payment on the student loan, even though you were actually paying a fraction of that.
  • For an estimated 8.5 million American homeowners who are still carrying student debt, Fannie Mae has lowered the costs of a “cash out” refinancing, provided the extra cash you pull out from your equity is used to retire your student debt. Among the potential beneficiaries: parents participating in “parent plus” programs that help pay off their kids’ student loan debts, and parents who have co-signed for their children’s student loans. Fannie is eliminating the usual extra fee it charges for cash-outs, as long as the funds that borrowers withdraw pay off student loan debts.
  • If you have nonmortgage debts that are being paid for by someone else such as your parents, these will no longer be included in your DTI computation, provided the payments have been made steadily for 12 months. This should improve the DTI ratios of young buyers who are still getting a little help from their parents.

Click here to read more on this story.

For borrowers who are struggling with student loan debt, relief options are available. Many student loan borrowers are unaware that they have rights and repayment options available to them, such as postponement of loan payments, reduction of payments or even a complete discharge of the debt. It is important you contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.