North Carolina Bankruptcy Legal Questions

The cost for filing a bankruptcy case does not have anything to do with your employment status. The court filing fee for Chapter 7 is $306 ($335 after June 1) and attorney's fees vary depending on your location, the complexity of your case, the quality of your attorney and other factors. Most bankruptcy attorneys offer free initial consultations.  You should avail yourself of this benefit with an attorney in your area to find out your options and the costs. Mark Markus has been practicing exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991.  He is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization,  AV-Rated by martindale.com, and A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.  Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorney.... Read Answer

Just so I am clear, you AND your ex-boyfriend are both on the car loan as well as the title? (1) Although this does not help here, never buy anything with someone you are not married to. If a marriage ends in divorce, the divorce laws help. For the unmarried, there is no divorce law and unless they have an agreement (which people seldom do) then divorce laws do not apply and whoever's name is on the item gets it. (2) If your name is NOT on the title, the answer is no, you cannot take the car back. To protect your credit, you would have to buy out the equity share of your ex-boyfriend in the car and get the car back and keep paying for it or sell it if you wanted to protect your credit. (3) If your name IS on the title, then you are a 1/2 owner of the car. If you know where the car is at, you can go and get it. Its not stealing - you cannot "steal" from yourself. However, your ex-boyfriend will still own half the car. As between you and the lender you would still have to pay off the car. You would then have to buy out the share of your ex-boyfriend. (4) Letting the car get repossessed is not a good idea as that will be on your credit. Further, you will still be liable for any deficiency balance owed on the car after it is sold. However, once repossessed, the cars are usually sold at an auto auction and they do not bring anywhere near what they are worth at an auction. If that happens, you will be in the position of having to still pay for a car you no longer owed. And collection/sale costs will be added to the balance. The car lender or junk debt buyer can also still sue you for the balance. You are in a difficult situation. If you can afford to do so, you should see if your boyfriend can refinance the car solely in his name and you can offer to convey your share of the car to him IF he can refinance. My guess is he cannot unless he is just being a jerk by deliberately paying late so that he can screw up your credit. If he cannot refinance, you can buy out his share of the equity in the car in exchange for him signing over his share in the car to you. You can then sell the car or pay it off, but at least you will not have the ex-boyfriend damaging your credit. If neither of you can afford to buy out the share of the other, then either of you can seek to bring a partition action. Although partition is more common for land, partition can also be used for things like cars. In partition, the court will value the car and if neither of you can buy out the other it will be sold and the proceeds split. This will only work if the car is worth more than the money still owed. However, you would have to talk to a lawyer who is familiar with these kinds of actions. Doing nothing and letting your credit be even more damaged is not an option. A repossession is going to be far worse than the late payments and as I indicated, you will not only owe the deficiency balance but you can be sued on it.... Read Answer

Can you be sued? Yes. And obviously you were. The statute of limitations does not mean that you don't owe the debt. It means that you have a defense to the debt. You should not do this on your own. The statute of limitations defense must be raised in an answer that is timely filed with the court. You have 30 days from the date that you received it. If you were sued in magistrate's court there is an answer form. However, it would be money well spent if you hired a lawyer. If you do not raise the defense properly in an answer that is filed with the court, you risk having a judgment entered against you. The statute of limitations is 6 years in GA for a credit card debt. But it runs from the date of your last payment on the debt are you sure that the date of last payment was in January of 2008? Do you have proof? Old bank statements, credit card statements, cancelled checks anything like that? If not you will need to see what you can dig up. There is no discovery in small claims court if the suit was filed there. The parties are supposed to work out discovery among'st themselves. This will be easier if you have a lawyer as the lawyer will know what to ask for from the creditor. Is the lawsuit by a junk debt buyer or original creditor? If a junk debt buyer then you also need proof of assignment/sale of the debt to the junk debt buyer. Often debts are sold multiple times and there may be no proof that you even owe a debt let alone owe one to the junk debt buyer.... Read Answer

You can file for bankruptcy by drafting bankruptcy documents and filing them with the bankruptcy court in the jurisdiction that you live in. Although it is very important that you get the help and retain a bankruptcy lawyer to handle your bankruptcy for you. The simple fact your accepting which chapter of bankruptcy is better chapter 7 or chapter 13, is proof positive that you need a bankruptcy attorney. There are so many variables that go into which chapter of the bankruptcy code you file, you will certainly be over your head to attempt to do this yourself. Also when you represent yourself in any court, the court does not give you any leeway because your pro se, you are expected to know and behave like a lawyer. And if you make any mistakes saying you're not a lawyer has no benefit, you chose to go pro se and you move forward and if you messed up the retreat you just like a lawyer who messes up. It is not worth attempting to do a bankruptcy on your own. You could end up losing way more than you gain. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob... Read Answer

I have not heard of plans that cannot be cancelled but health insurance is a specialized area of law and perhaps there is something in the Affordable Care Act which governs this or if the plan is through your employer it may be part of the contract. Start off by reading the contract. What does it say about cancellation? What if you simply do not pay the premiums? Why do the premiums have to be deducted from your pay pre-tax? Won't you be cancelled if you do not pay? Do you have other insurance? I would talk to the Human Resources/Employee Benefits person at your employer and get the answers to these questions. I would also seek to rescind the pre-tax withholding.... Read Answer

All debt is included in your chapter 7 bankruptcy filing by your bankruptcy lawyer. Even if you acquired in inheritance a year after you received your chapter 7 bankruptcy, the result would still be the same, it will be applied to your debts. Even though UN not writing off your student loans, if you are behind on payments and delinquent on those loans, the US bankruptcy trustee may apply money received from the inheritance to those debts. Don't forget chapter 7 bankruptcy is not a get out of jail free card, if you do have money or assets which are nonexempt which will cover your debts, US bankruptcy trustee will use those. In 99% of my clients, they are money and assets fall under an exemption, and never had to give anything up. But if you cannot have your assets fall under exemption, they will be used by the US bankruptcy trustee to cover your debts I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147 #bankruptcy  #lawyer  #FallRiver  #Chapter7  #chapter13  #debt  #debtsettlement  #foreclosure  #attorney   #cantpaybills  #lawsuit  #court  #bankruptcycourt  #eviction  #lostmyjob... Read Answer

You're certainly eligible for Chapter 7.  Whether it's your best option depends on a number of factors, such as what debts you have and other considerations. You should have a consultation with a bankruptcy attorney in your area for a more comprehensive analysis of your situation.  ... Read Answer

Yes, you may file for bankruptcy to save your home. You must file for chapter 13 bankruptcy, as chapter 7 bankruptcy will not allow you to save your home if your behind on payments. Since you're in foreclosure, obviously you must be behind on payments and chapter 13 bankruptcy would be the choice for you. In chapter 13 bankruptcy the automatic stay will stop the foreclosure and the bankruptcy will allow you 3 to 5 years to pay back the arrears of the mortgage that you owe while making your normal mortgage payment. This would be the best way for you to save your home with bankruptcy. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law http://fallriverbankruptcyattorney.com/ 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147... Read Answer

First, there is no wage garnishment in NC for most debts, so if you are in NC, exactly what are you being garnished for? If this is garnishment for something like a judgment on a credit card debt, then garnishment works like this - your employer gets a garnishment order. Funds are withheld by your employer and turned over to the sheriff. The sheriff sits on the money and at the end of the month turns it over to the creditor who got the judgment. As a result, the creditor's records are behind and not accurate; it can take several months for them to get everything accounted for. Does your employer indicate on your paystub the exact amounts garnished? Have all garnished sums been paid to the creditor and accounted for? There should not be a discrepancy of thousands of dollars. If you have proof (such as your paystubs) that x was taken out from your pay over each pay period from the time of the garnishment till now then I would provide that evidence to the creditor and see if they cannot update their books or find out where the missing money is located.... Read Answer

You do not post enough information. I assume you are asking about what to do with 2 mortgages and you can only afford one. But you do not indicate how much is owed or what the properties are worth or where they are at or any other details. It is not clear from your post whether you actually have a mortgage at the new place. If you do not already have one, I suggest that your husband go to his new job site and rent a relatively inexpensive apartment short term and get familiar with the area to find out what are good or bad neighborhoods. He should be there at least 6 months before you buy anything new. In the meantime, get the house you are in ready to sell. If it sells quick, you join your husband and continue renting while you look for a new home. You and your husband may need to rent a bigger place so he should only be in a place for 3-6 months or month to month. He does not want locked in a long term lease for a year. If you already have an existing mortgage on the new place, then you need to get the old home ready to sell. You really need to talk to your mortgage lender - maybe if the home is up for sale they will let you slide a couple of months. If you have good credit, you do not want to do a deed in lieu of foreclosure. If more is owed on the current home than it is worth, then you should try to do what is called a short sale. You again have to talk to the lender about this and you need a realtor who is experienced with short sales. If you have 2 mortgages on the property then both lenders must consent to a short sale. If there is no way that the home can be sold and the property is worth what is owed or a little more, then you can talk to the lender about a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure where you convey the property back to the bank. This will only work if there is only one mortgage on the property. Failing that, then just let the lender foreclose, but then you may be exposing yourself to a possible deficiency.... Read Answer

Yes, I do have some ideas. If you have been served with a notice of rights you have 20 days to fill them out and answer. Those papers are very important. Please see me or another attorney to help you. You can protect your house and car (depending on value) by filling out the exemptions. If you own these things free and clear and you do not fill out the exemptions, then they can be seized. So don't delay. You claim you did not receive a summons. All legal actions are commenced by filing a summons and complaint which is served on you by the sheriff. If the sheriff cannot serve you then alternate means of service are authorized including service by publication in the newspaper. If you were did not receive notice, one of a few things may have happened: (1) you were served at an old address and the new occupant accepted the papers; or (2) you were served by publication. If this truly is not your debt, then in addition to filling out the exemptions, I would go the courthouse in the county where the judgment was entered, and ask to see the court file. Make a copy of the complete file and take it to a lawyer to have reviewed. My guess is that there was service or else a judgment could not have been entered. The time to challenge judgments is one year. But maybe review of the papers would indicate that there is some basis to file a Rule 60 motion to vacate the judgment. Before you do this - ask yourself - is this judgment proper or not? By that I mean, is it for a debt that you owed or is it a case of identity fraud/theft? If the latter, then by all means get the court file reviewed by an attorney. If the former, then the alleged lack of service is a technicality and the courts probably are not going to open the judgment at this date and even if they did, the money in legal fees would be better spent in resolving the judgment because re-opening the judgment would just result in it being entered against you again if there was proper service.... Read Answer

That is not the question. There are a whole lot of details missing here. What is this for? Why is the money owed? Why was cash refused? Was the amount of cash tendered the exact amount of the claim? Since you post no details, you either need to re-post your question with the relevant information or you need to talk to an attorney. There could be a possible defense if you would be sued but more information is needed to establish this. If tender was not proper then you would still owe the debt.... Read Answer

Yes and no. There is no exemption in PA for stocks (I am assuming this is a regular investment account and not an IRA or 401(k); IRAs and 401(k)s are exempt from seizure by ordinary creditors). Therefore, it would be theoretically possible for a creditor to levy your stocks. That said, how would the creditor know that you have a investment account? Unless the creditor knows about the account then it cannot direct the sheriff to levy the account. Depending on the creditor, they may send you what is called post-judgment discovery and ask you questions. I strongly suggest that if you receive any post-judgment interrogatories that you consult with myself or local counsel to discuss this before you go providing the information to a creditor. In fact, I would urge you to have a consult with myself or local counsel to review your situation and assets to know how to best protect them. Rather than your stock account, I would be more concerned with your bank account. PA only allows a debtor to exempt $300 from any one bank account. If you keep more than that in the bank and have non-exempt funds (things like Social Security, retirement distributions or unemployment compensation are exempt and the $300 limit does not apply), then the bank account would be at risk. Since you have two judgments against you, you need to think about how you are going to resolve the judgments. How much is each for? Who is the creditor? The law firm representing the creditor? Most unsecured debts (credit cards, medical bills or personal loans) can be settled for less than what is owed. Do you have the funds to settle? Or, with diligent setting aside of money, could you accrue sufficient funds? Are your debts so large that bankruptcy would be an option? How much is in your investment account? If you filed bankruptcy, would your investments be exempt (PA allows debtors to elect between the state and federal bankruptcy exemptions; the federal exemptions may cover this. Otherwise, if not exempt it would be an asset that would be available to your creditors).... Read Answer

You owe the money and the insurer does have the right to sue to get it back. I am surprised though that they are not willing to make arrangements. I am not sure what suing you will do for them because it will not get them paid faster. If your husband personally incurred the debt and is personally sued for the debt in PA, then the personal exemptions would apply. Anything owned jointly as marital property could not be seized if only your husband is liable. This includes personal property as well as land. Your husband should get his name off of any joint bank account though and should not have a personal bank account. The LLC can have a bank account in the name of the LLC for business purposes. If you are not liable for the debts at all then you can a bank account just in your name. The purpose of an LLC is to provide personal protection for any debts incurred by the LLC. So your husband would not be personally liable for the LLC's debts. I don't see how the LLC can be sued here - the LLC did not incur the $16,000 debt. What assets does the LLC own, if any? Are these titled solely in the name of the LLC? I would start setting aside money which can be used to pay this down the road. I would tell the debt collection company they have 2 options: (1) you don't have $16,000 and they can set up a written payment agreement; or (2) they can waste more of their client's money and sue but its not going to get them paid faster. If they are still refuse, that is their problem. Let them turn this over to a lawyer and try your luck with them. If this does go to a lawyer, the lawyer may have a much different attitude and may be perfectly willing to take payments. Regardless, if you do work out an arrangement you need to get it in writing before you pay out a dime. If you get sued and the lawyer refuses to work out an agreement, you need to sit down specifically with a lawyer to know what assets are at risk. I know what you say in your post but people don't always include everything and an internet post is not a substitute for a consultation with a lawyer who can review the paperwork. Depending on what the lawyer says, you may have defenses to the litigation and if so, it may make sense to file an answer. If you have no defenses and still do not have the money it may make sense to file bankruptcy. The question is not whether your husband can be sued but whether the insurer is going to be able to collect on any judgment at the end of the day. If the answer is they can't, then keep saving funds until you have enough saved up to offer a reasonable settlement (about 50%). If the insurer refuses and still not let you make payments, you keep saving until you have 100% of whatever they are asking for and give them that. Understand though any judgments will interest at a rate of 6% per year (if your husband is sued in PA) and interest on judgments accrues daily so each day the judgment gets bigger by a few dollars. Some other questions - you are in PA - but this insurer is in NY. Does your husband do business in NY and can he be sued in NY? NY has wage garnishment whereas PA does not. I don't know how exactly this would work but if your husband is paid through the LLC and he is sued in NY then his employer (the LLC) might have to honor any wage garnishment. I have a PA client that works in NY and was sued in NY and would be at risk of wage garnishment so it does happen. Also, does your husband have any property at all in NY that would be at risk if he got sued in NY? Would owing money affect any other licenses your husband holds? Or his ability to get future work? If the answers to these questions are yes, it may make sense to get a loan if possible, pay the insurer and then re-pay the loan on your schedule.... Read Answer

Why do you feel that you were "overcharged?" The same make or model can go for different prices depending on the area where the car is sold. Also, used cars are more difficult because no 2 used cars are identical even if they are the same make and model - one car could have been in an accident or the other could have high miles or different features. It makes it hard to compare and determine that you were overcharged absent other information. Further, what steps did you take to protect yourself before you bought the car? Did you have the car inspected by an independent mechanic? Did you order a Car Fax report? Did you do your homework and look around for a suitable make/model/year and see what the going car sale prices were before you went to the lot and made a deal? Did you explore your financing options rather than rely on whatever the dealer was offering? I am willing to bet that the answers to many of these questions is NO. I am not meaning to sound like I am beating up on you but if you are going to complain about the conduct of the dealer, its really up to you to buy the car in the right way. If you do not take steps to protect yourself, then the dealer is going to sense that and take advantage of you. This is not illegal. Some people walk into a car dealer and see the manufacturer's sticker price and pay it. But a savvy consumer who has done his/her homework will research the price beforehand and will negotiate the price down. Has the dealer done anything wrong? No and the person who paid the full sticker price cannot complain of being overcharged. Information is out there. The only one looking out for you is you and you have to avail yourself of the information. Car dealers also are not insurers of vehicles. Cars are mechanical things and all sorts of problems can develop that the dealer may not be aware of. Dealers buy cars at auto auctions and look for good deals. They pay a low price and mark it up when they sell to consumers like you. They make sure the car is running and meets the required safety provisions (at least ethical dealers would do that) and not much else. Dealers who buy at auction don't know if the car was a repo or if the prior owner regularly changed the oil etc. So if a car was poorly maintained then it could develop problems later. But that does not necessarily mean that the dealer should be liable if something does happen. There would only be a violation if the dealer committed an unfair or deceptive business practice. Georgia, like most states, has a law that governs this and defines what is or is not a deceptive practice. Other than that, you would have to show that the dealer engaged in some type of common law fraud or breach of the sales contract in order to recover. The problem here is that you allowed the car to be repossessed because you stopped paying for it. That was between you and the lender - who was not involved in whatever sales practices the dealer may have engaged in. So what exactly was the loss caused by the dealer even if they engaged in some questionable conduct? I do not engage in this kind of consumer law and your post offers no really relevant information to determine whether a dealer might have done something wrong. My instinct is that unless there is some clear cut evidence of wrongdoing, I would consider this a lesson learned and forget about it and be a smarter consumer next time you go car shopping. However, this is just my opinion and if you can gather your car sale documents and other relevant information, go and get a consult with a local attorney who does consumer law of this type to see whether the dealer crossed the line.... Read Answer

I don't know what the lawsuit is for or where it was filed. If a lawsuit was filed in PA magistrate's court (small claims) then a judgement will be entered on the day set forth for a hearing. If suit was filed in the court of common pleas then you will receive what I call a 10-day letter. The letter just advises that no answer was filed and that if you do nothing in 10 days then the plaintiff (the person suing you) will get what is called a default judgment. In either case, the creditor can then seek to enforce the judgment. With a small claim's judgment, you do have 10 days to appeal the judgment and if you do that the case is heard anew from the get-go. Whether you should do that depends on your situation. To enforce a judgment, the creditor can seek to have the sheriff seize any assets owned free and clear that are solely in the name of the person or person's sued. That means cars, land or other valuables. Your bank account is at risk unless you get exempt funds (like Social Security or unemployment or something like that). Otherwise, you can keep no more than $300 in any one bank account. PA has no other exemptions. There is generally no wage garnishment in PA for things like credit card debts. There is wage garnishment for back rent owed to a landlord or other kinds of debt like child support or taxes. You ask how the 20 days can be delayed. Why do you want to delay and what value would there be to doing so? It depends on the type of case but if you truly needed extra time you would request that the court or judge grant an extension of time. You can also gain extra time by filing preliminary objections if there is grounds for doing so. Objections can be to venue, service of process, pendency of a prior action, jurisdiction or failure to state a claim. I would suggest that you obtain an attorney if you are seeking a continuance or filing preliminary objections.... Read Answer

Sorry, this is not in my area of expertise. I have never heard of something like this. Why is the school giving you an "advance" of $6000? And how could you be in graduate school there without a transcript? Something does not seem right here. You graduate and get your diploma and transcript which you would need in applying to graduate school. If accepted you then make financial arrangements separately for that so any advance would be after acceptance. So I don't understand how the scenario you write about is possible. Is this school one of the for profit entities out there? I think you need to carefully read all of the documents promulgated by this school especially the provisions pertaining to finances and loans. Once you have done that you need to personally meet with someone higher up in the administration if this is a local institution. It could be a Dean of Student Affairs or Financial Aid. Regardless of the title, it has to be someone who is in a position and who has the authority to solve your problem. As a last resort, school officials are cowards, at least at the typical educational institutions (not the for profit places). They do not want sued. If necessary, a letter to the school from an attorney may help to get the point across that the school needs to release the transcript.... Read Answer

Pennsylvania has no wage garnishment. However, you work in Maryland so I presume your employer is in Maryland and there is a Maryland judgment. Maryland does have wage garnishment. I am not licensed to practice in Maryland. I suggest that you direct your question to a Maryland attorney. If you cannot find one, I have a colleague in Maryland and can ask her. I am licensed in Georgia and Georgia also has wage garnishment which follows the federal law. Federal law provides that if you earn below a certain amount then there can be no garnishment, if you make more than a certain amount then garnishment can be at the maximum allowed (its 25% I believe in Maryland) and if you make in between then a lesser sum can be garnished. Telling me that you are at the poverty level is not helpful. Garnishment is based on your disposable pay, which is pay after deductions for things like federal/state taxes. FICA/Medicare/Social Security or other required deductions. Also, I don't know if you are paid weekly, monthly, twice a month or every 2 weeks. The level set by the federal government varies with your pay period. Here is a link to a very handy chart that I use in figuring whether my GA clients can be garnished: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs30.pdf Public assistance benefits usually are not subject to any garnishment; it would just be your wages which would be at risk but if you are at the poverty level, it may be that your disposable earnings are so low that you cannot be garnished at all.... Read Answer