Why you should not borrow from your retirement fund...

This is just a quick entry about using retirement money to pay back debt. If you read some of my other blog entries, you may find where I talk about keeping your retirement money for retirement. Under bankruptcy protection in Pennsylvania, you can usually protect 100% of your retirement accounts.

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici
at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This LSS Financial Counseling Blog article;  4 Big Reasons Not to Borrow From Your Retirement Fund, gives you a couple additional reasons not to use your retirement fund. The article lays out four reasons:

- You’re stealing from your future self

- You’ll have less options

- It’s not free money

- There are risks

The article explains each reason. It talks about other options instead of bankruptcy. But that is ok because financial problems do not have a one-size fits all solutions. Check out the article if this topic interests you.

You can also check out some of my other blog entries:

- Bankruptcy - I cannot say it any better than this: "Bankruptcy is an excellent retirement strategy"

- Bankruptcy - How can I file bankruptcy with $50,000 in my retirement account?

- Bankruptcy - When is it a "good" time to file?

-  New Reviews - Have you checked my review page recently?

 If you want assistance, legal representation, or just want to know more about Mark Medvesky or our firm of Wells, Hoffman, Holloway & Medvesky LLP, check out our website at www.whhmlaw.com or call us a 215-660-3170 and schedule an appointment.

#bankruptcy Chapter7 #Chapter13 #MontgomeryCounty #lawfirm #BucksCounty #Pennsylvania

Debt Collection - News to Watch - "Debt collectors could face new limits on calls"

On USA Today's website you will find an article on new rules being consider for debt collectors: Debt collectors could face new limits on calls.
 


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These new rules will place dramatic limitations on debt collecting practices. The article states;


"... Third-party debt collectors would be limited to up to six tries each week before a consumer is actually reached, according to proposals under consideration by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Once the consumer is reached, the collector could make only three attempts total per week, including phone calls, emails and texts. 

The CFPB wants to limit excessive or disruptive calls and make sure that collectors are going after debt that someone actually owes..."

This could also help people who may be responsible for the debt but will never be able to pay it. The people I am thinking of are grandparents or senior parent stuck with a debt they co-signed for a grandchild or child. This is definitely a change to watch.

If you want assistance, legal representation, or just want to know more about Mark Medvesky or our firm of Wells, Hoffman, Holloway & Medvesky LLP, check out our website at www.whhmlaw.com or call us a 215-660-3170 and schedule an appointment.

#bankruptcy Chapter7 #Chapter13 #MontgomeryCounty #lawfirm #BucksCounty #Pennsylvania

Bankruptcy and equity in your home Part 3 (final): I have too much equity in my home ... now what?

Image courtesy of Mister GC at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So now you are a debtor that owns more of your home than can be exempted (protected) under chapter 7 bankruptcy; what do you do? Usually when this happens, the first thing people tell me is "I tried to get a home equity loan to pay my debt ... but my credit is so bad now, I cannot get a loan." The client wanted to use their equity to pay down their unsecured credit.

This is the time to consider filing for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 13. This is the way a debtors can protect their equity in their homes. So, of course, this is my recommendation. I'll usually say, "we could probably protect your home under chapter 13 with a payment plan."

Debtors continuously surprise me with the immediate response of "I'm not sure I want to do that." Think about it. They were usually willing to take a loan against their home, pay interest on the new debt and pay off the credit cards. Chapter 13 offers the opportunity to not take out new debt, pay mortgage arrears without additional penalties, discharge credit card  debt not paid during the chapter 13 payment plan, and not have to make payment for longer than 5 years. Obviously, that is an over simplification of the process but  worth the conversation. In many instances, chapter 13 can be better than a home equity loan.

My point is people, debtor with homes in trouble, should be open to chapter 13 as an option to chapter 7 bankruptcy. I always explore chapter 7 as the first option but it isn't always available. Chapter 13 is a viable option. Think of it as a second mortgage managed by the court instead of a financial institution.

On a side note, if you read some of my earlier blogs, you know I have written entries against using equity in your home to pay off unsecured debt. But there are times it may be wise to use proceeds from the sale of your home as you are down sizing. I have a client now who down-sized and thought she would pay off her smaller new home instead of her debt. She thought it would guarantee her a place to live as she aged. But the debt just grew and she never got it under control. Now she is in a chapter 13 case because she had too much equity. In hind sight, she may have been better off paying down the unsecured debt and getting a small mortgage. Again, just something to consider.

If you want assistance, legal representation, or just want to know more about Mark Medvesky or our firm of Wells, Hoffman, Holloway & Medvesky LLP, check out our website at www.whhmlaw.com or call us a 215-660-3170 and schedule an appointment.

#bankruptcy Chapter7 #Chapter13 #MontgomeryCounty #lawfirm #BucksCounty #Pennsylvania

USCIS Announcement - USCIS launched a refreshed of InfoPass

Direct from USCIS Bulletin:

Today, USCIS launched a refresh of InfoPass, our online system that lets you schedule an appointment at one of our offices. New features include a mapping function that makes it easier to find a local office here in the United States and an improved visual style that matches the rest of uscis.gov as well as a new web address: my.uscis.gov/appointment.       If you want to know more about Mark Medvesky or Medvesky Law Office, LLC, check out my website at www.medveskylaw.com.   #BucksCounty #Immigration #lawyer #lawyers, #MontgomeryCounty #Souderton #Law_Firm