Texas Debtor And Creditor Legal Questions

In order to assure you have title to the ATV, you need the following: A certificate of title or manufacturer's statement of origin signed over to you. A signed application for title. An ATV bill of sale. Proof of vehicle identification number (VIN). A notarized lien release, if applicable. Proof of liability insurance. An application fee. Use these documents to register the ATV in your name with the Texas DMV.... Read More

Good morning Once the car is repossessed, your car lender will usually set the car for a private or public auction. Once the car is auctioned off, whatever remaining balance (deficiency balance) will be a debt you will still owe.  However, the problem that arises is that the amount the car is sold for at aunction are pretty low and the lender will charge all the related costs and fees (to auction the car, etc..) as part of the balance owed on the car. If you owe on this deficiency and you have other debts, you may want to consider a bankrutpcy to address and discharge all your unsecured debts (barring few exception) to clean up your credit My office provides a free consultaiton so feel free to contact me if you reside in Houston or the surrouding area Peter Kim, Attorney (713) 259-3929... Read More

Generally the laws of contract is black and white, meaning do you owe the money or not. Although the debt may have been under your spouses name only, the creditor could proceed with a lawsuit under the legal theory that the debt was incurred for the benefit of the community estate (husband and wife or family) As such, without knowing the outcome of the last hearing that you had, if the debt is still owed, you may want to consider filing a bankruptcy to discharge/eliminate all your debts all at once rather then paying back or fighting the legitmacy of the debt one by one. Consult a local bankruptcy attorney to assist you If you reside in Houston, my firm provides a free consultation to discuss your options Peter Kim, attorney 713 259 3929... Read More

I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds like your referrng to aan abstract of judgment. This is a post judgment action where a super lien is filed in the county you reside. If the lien is on your homestead, keep in mind this judgement cannot foreclose against barring very few exceptions.  At this time, if they have processed in post judgement collections you may want to keep an eye out on your bank account because creditors can place a lien on your accounts without notice (called a writ of attachment) and freeze your money in your account  As such you may want to consider a bankruptcy which will take the lien away from your home and also discharge all your debts, meaning you won' have to pay them back depending on your financial circumstances    Contact a local bankruptcy attorney to further assist you. The 1st consultation at my firm is free    Min Kim (Peter), Attorney   ... Read More

Good afternoon  If you are disputing the amount owed to the creditor, you can either file a geneal denial and a specific denial regarding specific allegation made.  If you are currently are on social secuirty/limited income and if you have other debts, you may want to consider bankruptcy. The reason why is that bad on the facts given it sounds like you are having a difficult time paying back your debts. Bankruptcy will address all your debts to the extent that depending on your income and financial situation, eliminate your debts for you. You may want to seek out an attorney in your area to give you more specific information based on your facts. If you reside in Houston tx, please feel free to contact me about your options including a bankruptcy to free you from your debts Min Kim (Peter), Attorney  Phone 713 259 3929... Read More

Good afternoon Im sorry to hear that. A creditor could file a criminal case with the DA's office under the "hot check" statue. However, if the debt you are referencing is over 5 years, the likelihood seems unlikely. Also, keep in mind, here in the state of Texas, there is the 4 year statue of limitation where if a debt is over 4 years old (from the date you opened the account, used the account, made a payment on the account or acknowledge the debt as yours) then upon a civil lawsuit being filed, you can raise the affirmative defense of 4 yrs statute of limitation to have the judge deny the creditors request.  Alot of the times, debt collection companies will buy old debt and try to collect something on the debt. Anything they collect most likely will be a profit for them since they buy the debt for pennies on the dollar. At the same time, if you do have other debts that have been lingering, you may want to seek a legal recourse like a bankruptcy to elimiante all your unsecured debts (ie credit card, peresonal loan, medical bills, etc..) and get a fresh start to rebuild your credit and also have a peace of mind going forward Hope this helps and if you have any question please feel free to contact me if you live in Houston, TX or surrounding counties. Min Gyu Kim (Peter) Attorney at Law Law Firm of Min Gyu Kim PLLC Galleria Office 2100 West Loop South, Suite 805 Houston, TX 77027 Tel: (713) 259-3929 email: minkim@kimlylaw.com... Read More

The HOA probably cannot sue for assessments more than four years late. However, in their application of your present payments, the law requires them to apply your first payments to delinquent payments. This is a fairly new law, and I am not sure whether that you can "waive" that requirement in an attempt to cause first payments to be applied to the assessments that are less than not four years late. That would require further research. Even then, I am not sure there would be any reported cases on the subject yet.... Read More

Your story is echoed by millions of other homeowners. It is very unfortunate that it occurred. However, there really is not much more you can do about it. Most of the lawsuits are over, and certain homeowners received checks from some of the banks. Usually they did not amount to more than a few hundred dollars. Further, when you executed your modification documents, the new loan balance probably would have been stated therein. Hopefully there is some solace in the fact that you saved your home and were able to sell it, which means you were not too far underwater, if at all. Best of luck to you!... Read More

One of the first things you should do is check your credit report. Identity thieves will often use bits and pieces of your information along with their own. If you see names, addresses, or accounts you have never heard of, that's a red flag. You can go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action to see your credit report for free.  For a brief overview of how to proceed can be found here: http://www.dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense/idtheft/idtheft2.htm Clearing your good name after identity theft is a daunting task. Please consider contacting a local attorney to assist you in this matter. ... Read More

It's probably a good idea to have your boyfriend sign a promissory note agreeing to repay the amount he borrowed on a certain schedule (ex: $300 per month for 12 months). This way if he defaults and the two of you don't work as a couple, you can sue him for the amount owed and will have proof that the debt was a loan and not a gift. ... Read More

If you are being harrassed by a creditor (whether it's a pay day lender or any other type of business), you are protected by a law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). There are steps you can take to prevent them from contacting you at home or at work. This will not prevent them from making attempts to collect the debt, but they will no longer be able to call you. Other collection attempts could include being sued in civil court for the amount owed, but they cannot actually have you put in jail for failure to pay a debt. ... Read More

Your rights with respect to your husband's  business debts depend on whether or not your husband's business is incorporated. If it is, the business is a seperate entity and thus is not your husband's personal property, so whatever financial difficulties it may have has no relfection on you. I assume the business is incorporated because you indicated it has shareholders.  If your husband were to die, a number of things could happen. If your husband has a will, his wishes for the business may be contained in it (as far as whether you become his replacement, a shareholder, etc.). If he does not have a will, any assets he may have left from the business or otherwise, would belong to you 50% and to his children 50%.  You may want to consider having a post-marital agreement put in place. This is a contract that allows you to indicate that any business debts or assets solely belong to your husband for the duration of your marriage. This would make the business affairs your husband's sole and separate property.   ... Read More

Texas has a Truth-In-Lending Act that may protect you in this case. What types of loans were you offered? What kinds of papers are they asking you to sign? More information would be helpful here. Please refer to this helpful article in the Houston Chronicle for more information: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/truthinlending-law-require-creditors-debtors-14304.html... Read More

A notice of submission for default judgment means that you were sued, did not respond to the lawsuit or make an appearance with the court to respond to the allegations against you, and as a result the other party has won a judgment against you. This judgement can appear on your credit and would entitled the winning party to recover that money from you. It is essentially a debt backed by a court order. What you would want to do is file an appeal to have the case re-opened so that you can respond to the lawsuit as soon as possible. Otherwise, there may be collection attempts to have this money repaid, including but not limited to having a lien placed on your property. ... Read More

I can't say about your particular case, but we have had many clients receive harassing, clearly illegal collection calls from collectors trying to collect very old debts, usually old payday loans. The collectors threaten them with criminal prosecution and different crazy things, like the sheriff is on the way to your house to serve you with papers right this minute. I'm not saying what could be happening in your case, but in the cases that we have had like this, it has turned out to be scam. Nothing ever happens, no one is arrested and no one ever gets served. You may want to try "Googling" the phone number. When I have done that I have often found many other people who were harassed from the same phone numbers. I suspect that these "renegade collectors" are behaving illegally like this to make some quick cash and because they are either judgment-proof and it is impossible to collect a judgment against them, or perhaps they are outside of the U.S. But you can always file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and/or your state's Attorney General.... Read More