Miami bankruptcy attorney Archives - Page 87 of 99

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

12 Times You Can Sue a Debt Collector

Posted on February 4, 2016by Admin

Millions of Americans struggle with debt and in turn have to deal with collection calls. While some debt collectors abide by the legal debt collection practices, many do not. Fortunately, there are protections in place that allow consumers to fight back if debt collectors violate their rights. A strong federal law, called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) protects consumers against unfair collection practices and helps prevent creditor abuse and harassment.

Below are 12 times when you can sue a debt collector.

Calling early & calling late. Debt collectors should not be calling you before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. It is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) for a collector to call at a time that is known to be inconvenient. This is typically a time you are away from work, at home with your family or sleeping.
Calling at other Inconvenient Times. If you have told a collector not to call at a certain time, that is also a violation of the FDCPA. If you work nights and tell the debt collector not to call you during particular hours, they cannot do so.
Discussing with Third Parties. Debt collectors cannot call a family member and say that you owe them money. This is another violation of the FDCPA. They can call and ask how to reach you, but they cannot discuss your debts with anyone besides you. The only exception is that debt collectors can contact your spouse.
When a Lawyer’s Involved. If a debt collector knows you have hired an attorney and they contact you that is a violation of the FDCPA. The reason is that the consumer may be in the process of filing for bankruptcy.
Making False Threats. If collectors make threats and do not follow through, that is a violation of the FDCPA. This can include both legal threats such as a lawsuit, or any other type of threats.
Calling the Wrong Party. If a collector has the wrong number and continues to call you after you have told them who you are, that is grounds for a lawsuit. The collector may think that you are lying about your identity, so they keep calling, thinking that you will come clean.
Using Pre-recorded or automated voice calls. “Robocalls” are an illegal form of debt collecting. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibits any company to use automated or pre-recorded calls to collect debts.
Using Automatic Phone Dialing Systems. Telephone systems that automatically dial numbers one after another and can contact consumers up to five times per day are illegal under the TCPA.
Misrepresenting the Nature of the Debt. Oftentimes, debt collectors pressure family members of deceased relatives to pay their debts by saying they are responsible, even if they are not. This is illegal and has severe penalties.
Threatening Violence. Under no circumstances is a debt collector permitted to threaten violence to coerce consumers to pay their debts.
Using Profanity. The FDCPA protects debtors from verbal abuse such as the use of obscene or profane language. If it is meant to cause harm, it is grounds for a lawsuit.
False Representation. If a collector does not disclose who they are or why they are calling, that is a violation of the FDCPA. Collectors must disclose to the consumer who they are and that they are attempting to collect a debt either in writing or over the phone.

Click here to read more on this story.

If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of 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

How to Resolve Your Tax Debt

Posted on February 2, 2016by Admin

Nobody wants to get behind on their taxes, but if you are unable to fulfill your tax obligation at the end of the year it’s important to know that you have options. When the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines you owe money, it assesses you a tax. This happens either when you file a tax return or when you do not pay your full balance.

Sometimes the IRS assesses your taxes after an audit in which it does not agree with portions of the tax return, most often because you miscalculated the amount owed. The IRS has 10 years from the date of assessment to collect the taxes owed, although you may be able to extend the statute of limitations.

If the IRS determines that you owe the government money, you will receive a notice of assessment that asks you to pay your tax bill. If you fail to pay it within 30 days, you will receive another notice. If you still do not pay, you will continue receiving these notices until you finally receive a Final Intent to Levy notice. This notice tells you that the IRS is issuing a levy against your state tax refund because you have a balance due.

If you do not immediately pay this amount or appeal the amount of taxes that you owe, the IRS will begin searching for other assets on which to place a levy. The IRS will likely place a lien against you. This means it can legally seize your property to satisfy your debt by garnishing your wages, levying your bank accounts or taking other measures.

Below are three options to resolve your tax debt and avoid a lien or levy from the IRS.

Establish an installment arrangement

The most common way to address your tax debt is to ask for an installment arrangement. This is a repayment plan for up to 72 months or until your tax debt is paid off. You can file a Form 9465 with the IRS to request an installment arrangement.

Be aware that penalties and interest accrue while you pay off the debt. It is better to take larger payments over a shorter span than 72 months to eliminate your balance.

One term of the installment arrangement is that you promise to file your tax returns and pay any associated debts on time. Failure to do so will nullify your agreement. An installment arrangement also extends the statute of limitations for the IRS to collect on your debt by two years.

Receiving ‘Currently Non-Collectible’ Status

If you are granted currently non-collectible (CNC) status, all IRS collection actions will stop. For example, the agency will not be allowed to file a lien against you.

You may qualify for CNC status if paying your tax debt would leave you with not enough money to cover your basic needs. Most often, debtors must be out of work or underemployed to be considered CNC. While you are on CNC, the statute continues to run.

CNC status is temporary and the IRS reviews your case every year. If you become ineligible, you will have to make other arrangements to satisfy your tax debt.

Providing an offer in compromise

Depending on your financial circumstances, the IRS might settle your tax debt for less than you owe. This is known as an Offer in Compromise (OIC).

To file for an Offer in Compromise, you file Form 656, which includes Form 433-A (OIC). These forms require you to list all of your assets, including: bank, retirement or brokerage accounts, your home and automobiles and any other assets. It also requires you to list all of your liabilities, income and expenses.

It takes between six months and one year for the IRS to accept OICs. If you request an OIC, your statute of limitations is extended by the amount of time the IRS considers your offer. The IRS offers an online pre-qualifier tool that can give you a better idea of whether or not your offer will be accepted.

If your OIC is accepted, you will pay the amount you proposed in a lump sum or installments. If your offer is denied, the IRS will move to forcibly collect the debt.

Click here to read more on this story.

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

U.S. Supreme Court will Hear Puerto Rico’s Appeal to Restructure $72 Billion Debt

Posted on February 1, 2016by Admin

In December, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Puerto Rico’s bid to reinstate a law that would allow restructuring of the debt burdened U.S. territory’s public agencies.

The U.S. commonwealth has nearly $72 billion in debt. Puerto Rico will get to argue before the top U.S. court that the proposed restructuring law is the best way to pull the island out of a nearly decade-long recession. The court will decide whether or not the previous ruling that the 2014 Recovery Act conflicts with U.S. federal bankruptcy law will stand.

Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla is calling for a compromise from creditors due to the island’s “unpayable” debts. However, Puerto Rico’s creditors argue that the bankruptcy mechanism is unfair and would impose deep repayment cuts.

U.S. statutes that allow states to put cities, towns and agencies into bankruptcy, do not apply to Puerto Rico because it is a U.S. territory, not a state. The goal of the Recovery Act of 2014 was to seek similar authority to put Puerto Rico into bankruptcy agencies.

Mutual funds giants such as Franklin Advisors and OppenheimerFunds were first to challenge the law, saying that the Act contradicted the U.S. bankruptcy code even though the code excludes Puerto Rico.

A U.S. federal court in Puerto Rico nixed the law in February and an appeals court affirmed the decision in July.

The court will hear arguments in the spring and rule by the end of June. If the decision is reversed, the territory could place companies into bankruptcy agencies such as, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), and the Puerto Rico Highways & Transportation Authority (PRHTA). Together the two companies hold more than $12 billion in debt.

Click here to read more on this story.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

First-of-its-kind Study Shows How Parental Debt Affects Children

Posted on January 29, 2016by Admin

A new study conducted by Lawrence M. Berger, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, revealed a direct correlation between certain types of parental debt and children’s social and emotional well-being. The study used data from 9,011 families from 1986 to 2008. To track behavior problems, researchers used scores from the Behavior Problems Index responses filled out by the children’s parents either every year or every two years.

The study has shed new light on the link between debt and family well-being, as previous research on debt has focused on how debt affects the mental health and well-being of adults. The findings revealed that families with large amounts of debt often have children who struggle with behavioral problems.

However, not all types of debt were linked to children with behavioral problems. For example, the data showed that parents whose debt was from a mortgage or a student loan were less likely to have children with behavioral problems than those with unsecured debt. Unsecured debt is debt such as credit card debt, medical debt or a payday loan that is not secured by assets.

Researchers said debt that can help improve your social status in life is less likely to cause parents stress and anxiety. Unsecured debt that is not tied to an investment has a greater likelihood of causing stress to parents, which in turn, can have a negative impact on their parenting.

Related Resources:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/305439.phphttp://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/01/22/parents-debt-may-influence-childrens-emotional-wellbeing.htmlhttp://time.com/money/4190285/parental-debt-effects-children/

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Lower your Credit Card Debt with One Simple Strategy

Posted on January 28, 2016by Admin

U.S. households on average carry a total of $15,355 in credit card debt. Although there is not a universal approach for lowering your debt, there’s one simple strategy that is often overlooked: Renegotiating your interest rate.

You can renegotiate your interest rate by following these three simple steps:

Find out your interest rate and current interest rates with other companies. You can locate your interest rate in the fine print on your credit card statement. If you cannot find it, call the company. When researching the rates of competitors, make sure you tell them you are planning to move your debt to the company that offers the lowest interest rate.

Call your current company and explain that it is too high and request a lower rate. If they refuse, tell them you will be closing your account and transferring your balance to a company that offers better rates. Tell them the name of a competitor to prove you are serious. Your credit card company’s goal is to retain you as a customer and many debtors have their interest rates cut in half by simply asking. If the customer service representative does not seem willing to lower your rate, ask for a supervisor.

Consolidate your debt onto one card. Once you find the company willing to offer the lowest interest rate possible, move all of your debt to that card.

Click here to read more on this story.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

IRS Warns of Top 3 Tax Scams for 2016

Posted on January 25, 2016by Admin

The IRS anticipates tax scams to be worse than ever this year, despite enacting new anti-fraud measures. Below are the top three tax scams to watch out for in 2016.

Fraudulent Filing

A common tax scam is where scammers use taxpayers’ social security numbers to file and claim their refunds. One Ohio resident who fell victim to the scam last year said it took her four months to prove to the IRS that she had fallen victim to a tax scam and receive her refund. To avoid becoming a victim of this scam, make sure and file early before scammers can access your information.

IRS Phishing Email

Scammers are sending out phony emails claiming to have information regarding tax refunds. The email says, “Click here for the latest on your refund,” or something similar. But it’s a phishing scam designed to get you to enter your social security number. Just clicking on the link can invite malware onto your computer. The IRS will never contact you via email requesting you download files or click on links.

IRS Phone Scam

The most common tax scam in recent years is the scam where taxpayers receive a call from someone claiming to be with the IRS or the Treasury Department who tells you that you are behind on your tax bill. The scammers threaten to arrest or deport you unless you pay immediately. Hang up if you receive a call like this. The IRS would never make these type threats.

Click here to read more on this story.

Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Florida’s First-Time Buyers Program is finding its way to Previous Owners

Posted on January 22, 2016by Admin

When Florida received its portion of the Hardest Hit Fund, the goal was to help first time home buyers fund their down payments. However, it is now being used to assist those who have previously owned a home.

Unfortunately, thousands who are behind on their current mortgages in Florida are still waiting for assistance from the program. After five years, only 24,000 of the 116,000 who applied for assistance from the Hardest Hit Fund have received aid. There is reportedly $1 billion in unspent funds that has to be used by December 2017 or it must be returned to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Florida’s Housing Finance Corp. is in charge of the state’s program and says the purpose of the down payment assistance portion is to bolster the real estate market in areas hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis.

One Spring Hill resident said he has been waiting for assistance from the program since August so that his home of 30 years does not go into foreclosure. “You give the guy down the block money to buy a house and then this one has to go into foreclosure. It makes no sense,” he said.

Troubled Asset Relief Program’s (TARP) Christy Romero said, “Florida has not done a good job of getting this money out to homeowners and rather than do a better job on existing programs, they create other programs to spend on someone else.”

Click here to read more on this story.

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

Bankruptcy Code & Debt Collection Laws Clash in Court, Again

Posted on January 18, 2016by Admin

Another court has found that when a creditor files a claim in bankruptcy that the creditor knows is barred by the statute limitations, it is not a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FDCPA typically protects consumers from fraudulent attempts to collect a debt. However, the Bankruptcy Code explicitly allows creditors to file time-barred claims, creating a possible conflict in federal laws. Under Section 502 of the Bankruptcy Code, any filed claim is deemed allowed if no one objects.

As a result, the courts in Florida and other parts of the country are split on whether or not filing a stale claim violates the FDCPA in bankruptcy. For example, in 2014 there was a controversial case involving a creditor filing a proof of claim in bankruptcy after the statute of limitations to collect had expired. In this case, courts were split on whether or not it violated the FDCPA to file a stale claim in bankruptcy, especially within the Eleventh Circuit. This issue has given rise to a circuit split and could potentially reach the Supreme Court.

In the most recent ruling, Ana Castellanos filed a complaint alleging violations of the FDCPA, including “(1) making a false representation of the legal status of a debt; (2) using a false representation and deceptive means to collect a debt; and (3) using unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt.” The district court in this case noted that, “the Bankruptcy Code provides the debtor a means to object to impermissible proofs of claim, such as those that are time-barred.”

The court ultimately ruled that even though the FDCPA and the Bankruptcy Code guidelines are conflicting, the FDCPA must yield to the Bankruptcy Code. In Florida, FDCPA claims can proceed while in other parts of the country they cannot. This strong federal law protects consumers against certain unfair collection practices, including:

Calling you repeatedly to annoy or harass you.
Trying to collect more than you owe.
Failing to send a written notice of the debt.
Threatening violence.
Threatening dire consequences (i.e. – lawsuits, criminal prosecution, wage garnishment, jail time, permanently ruining your credit, etc.)
Using profanity and abusive language.
Calling before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
Revealing debt to third parties (i.e. – family, neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc.).
Contacting you at your work, after you have requested them to stop.
Failing to verify disputed debts.
Ignoring cease communication requests.

Click here to read more on this story.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

New Bill Introduced to Stop Abusive Government Debt Collectors

Posted on January 13, 2016by Admin

New York Congressman Gregory Meeks has introduced a new bill called the Debt Collection Harmonization Act that would expand current consumer protection laws to include government debts such as speeding tickets and court fees.

Meeks’ bill is similar to the Stop Debt Collection Abuse Act introduced by Senators Cory Booker and Mike Lee. Both are in reaction to the investigation conducted by CNNMoney that found government debt collectors are not held to the same consumer protections as firms that collect debts such as credit card bills or auto loans.

Following the release of CNNMoney’s findings, Meeks was one of the first lawmakers to speak out saying, “private debt collectors often have a financial incentive to draw blood from stones, pressuring individuals to make financial commitments they cannot truly afford.”

Meeks went on to say that the investigation revealed stories from people all over the country who had been “abused by debt collectors operating under the assumed authority of state and local governments.” Debt collectors are reportedly making abusive threats of foreclosure, driver’s license suspension, wage garnishments, even arrest.

Meeks’ hopes that his new bill will put a stop to government debt collectors targeting hard-working Americans and harassing them into paying fees they cannot afford.

Click here to read more on this story.

Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Updates to the Reverse Mortgage Program Provide Positive Benefits for Seniors

Posted on January 11, 2016by Admin

Recent updates to reverse mortgage laws provide a more secure retirement for Americans looking to borrow against their home after leaving the workforce.

Many retirees have turned to reverse mortgages in recent years to alleviate financial stress. Reverse mortgages allow retirees, 62 and older, to borrow against the existing equity in their home and not have to repay the principal balance or accrued interest until after they pass away. At which point, their home is sold and used to pay off the remaining balance, interest and any additional fees owed to the lender.

The Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2013 helped retirees who were approved for a reverse mortgage avoid predatory lending. However, many applicants were approved for a reverse mortgage without the lender ensuring the retirees could afford to stay in their homes. Ultimately, many were unable to pay their property taxes, home insurance and other annual maintenance fees, which forced them into foreclosure.

The program’s recent updates will ensure that anyone who is approved for a reverse mortgage is able to pay the bills associated with the property. Although credit scores and income are still non-factors in the approval process, steps will be taken to ensure the insurance, taxes and other fees are paid. Another update to the law allows the non-borrowing spouse to stay in the home if the spouse who borrowed the loan passes away, first.

Experts say the new rules to the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2013 will not only allow retirees to stay in their homes longer, but will allow for a more secure retirement.

Click here to read more on this story.