Things to consider before the Fed raises rates ...

Just a quick article. Everyone is predicting that the Fed will raise interest rates next month. I came across this article that I thought was interesting:



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at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

5 moves to make before the Fed raises rates - Obviously, it talks about 5 things people should consider doing within the next month. Three of the suggestions relate to the work I do ... bankruptcy.

"Pay down credit card debt. If you can, pay down as much as possible, given that credit cards will start to hike their interest rates soon after the Fed makes its move, Schulz noted. "Even a small increase means money out of your pocket," he said.

Take advantage of zero-percent balance transfers. It's still easy to find these offers, so consider taking advantage of one now, especially if you can't quickly pay down your current credit card debt. If you're struggling to pay off your cards and have a high APR card, Schulz said, it could be time to think about one of these cards. Some of the best zero-percent balance transfer options include Slate from Chase and Capital One QuicksilverOne Rewards, according to a new CreditCards.com survey.

Refinance your mortgage. While mortgage rates are still near record lows -- and the Fed's boosting of short-term rates has only an indirect impact on long-term rates -- the Mortgage Bankers Association sees 30-year fixed mortgage rates rising to 4.5 percent next year and 5.2 percent in 2017. For homeowners with an adjustable-rate mortgage, it's an especially good time to consider refinancing into a fixed-rate loan."

These are the types of events that can drive people into my office. If you are paying the minimums of on your credit cards now, the slightest boost can put the payments beyond a person's reach. People who have been living on credit should evaluate their financial circumstance and plan for this change.

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.

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

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

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When is it a good time ... the right time... to file for bankruptcy? I think this is probably one of the most important questions when preparing someone's case for  bankruptcy. Clients and attorneys need to look forward as well as in the past. This should be done as soon as someone realizes they are having financial trouble. This early review could give debtors options that can be missed by jumping too soon or waiting too long.

If a debtor files too early, I think an attorney may be setting their client up for problems down the road. Wait too long and a person can spend down savings and retirement money only prolonging a bankruptcy filing but not avoiding it ... or maybe wait long enough to miss qualifying for Chapter 7 and be forced into a Chapter 13 payment plan.

When clients come to me to discuss bankruptcy, I talk to them about their employment. If they are unemployed or hold a temporary position, I look for ways to delay filing without spending down assets. This is difficult since they are realizing they may not be able to pay new debts. I explore their prospects of new jobs and future financial plans with them. I want to help my clients prevent creating new debt after bankruptcy due to the lack of sufficient income.

Also, a review of the debtor's spending for the preceding 90 days is important. Some purchases can be presumed as fraudulent if a person files bankruptcy within 90 days of the purchase. While a creditor can still claim the same purchase was fraudulent after 90 days, waiting until 90 days have passed will remove the presumption. This is a better position for the debtor if the creditor challenges the discharge of that debt.

Problems with filing too late are more obvious. I cannot say how many of my clients have come to me after spending month and years trying to pay off debt before filing bankruptcy. Many times they have spent all their savings including their retirement funds. I recently met with a woman who spent her IRA  on debt, entered into a debt management plan, and made three years of payments. She managed to pay off three of her six credit cards before her bills overwhelmed her again. She is now three months behind on her mortgage. Now, she must chose between a Chapter 13 payment plan to keep her home or filing for Chapter 7 and giving up the house.

There is also a way to use Chapter 7 and then Chapter 13 but that is a topic for another blog article. The point is, after years of paying, it seems she is at the same point now as she was when she started the debt management plan three years ago. She may even be worse off. She is not the first person I worked with that has a similar story. There is no real way to know what would have happened if she filed three years ago but my thought is filing three years ago would have been better.

Besides spending money without any real benefit, a person who gets a new job with an increased salary can end up forced into filing under Chapter 13. Because he or she started earning an income above the median income, he or she can lose the option of filing under Chapter 7. If the person still needs bankruptcy protection, he or she will be forced to pay his or her remaining disposable income to unsecured creditors for five years.

I had another client who came to me and was fully employed after several years of illness and unemployment. He had built up significant debt. When he came to me, he was within a month of losing his eligibility to file for protection using Chapter 7. We filed his bankruptcy the last week of the month allowing him to use Chapter 7 and completing his case within months instead of years.

I had a third client who wasn't eligible to file for Chapter 7 protection because he was just over the median income but he was under-paying his child support. Once he was ordered to pay the appropriate child support, he dropped below the median income and made it through the "means" test. However, he was coming up on the time of the year he was eligible to receive his annual bonus, which was not a guaranteed figure.

But it didn't really matter because any amount would probably have placed my client over the median income again. By paying attention to past and future events, we were able to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case between the different pay events.

Not all cases require such specific timing. But people cannot know about timing issues if they are not looking for them. The parties need to look forward as well as what has happened in the past. Don't wait until the last moment if you are having financial problems. Talk to someone early about all your options.

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.

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

Small Business - still trying to figure out the Affordable Care Act?

As the presidential race heats up, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to be a key topic. But what ever happens the next election, small business owners will need to prepare for a reporting requirement starting in January 2016.

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 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I found this article on the Lexology Blog during my daily reading and thought it might be helpful to other business owners:

"The Affordable Care Act (ACA): what employers need to know"

It offer an overview of the act and some of the key provisions for small business. It explains that a small employer is 2 - 50 "Full-Time Equivalent" (FTE) employees. To be an FTE employee a person either works 30hrs/week or 130hrs/month. The article links to a calculator to help employers calculate how many FTE employees they employ.

It also talks about reporting requirements, the insurance exchange set up for small business, and required disclosure to employees. If you are a small business owner and your accountant has been talking to you about ACA, this article may help you understand what he or she is talking about.

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.

#MontgomeryCounty #lawfirm #BucksCounty #Pennsylvania

Bankruptcy - who is the debtor? what is protected?

As we all hear and know, small businesses are the engine of our economy. As a result, there are many different business entity. One of the most common is a Limited Liability Company. This form of business protects the owner like a corporation but allows the owner to operate like a sole proprietor or a partnership. This can create an issue in a bankruptcy.

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The biggest question is who owns the asset and who owes the debt. As an LLC, the company can purchase real estate and equipment. If the LLC owns the assets and the owner owes the debt, the assets may be safe. The reverse, the LLC owes the debt and the owner owns the asset, will probably have the same result. What happens if the company owes the debt and owns the asset? That seems relatively simple; the assets are at risk.

But what can happen is the owner and LLC are so close to being a single entity that the owner fails to recognize he or she is not the direct owner of the company's assets. On the eve of a sheriff's sale, the owner files for bankruptcy protection to prevent the sale of the property.  Unfortunately, bankruptcy will probably not stop the sale. The owner cannot protect the LLC's property by filing for personal bankruptcy.

While this may seem obvious to some, this was an actual case discussed at a session in a recent bankruptcy conference I attended. One of the panelist was a creditor's attorney executing on a judgment. The owner filed for bankruptcy to protect the LLC's real property from a sheriff's sale the day before the sale. The property was sold the next day at the sale.

If a business owner is dealing with debt and bankruptcy seems to be an option, he or she must fully understand the ownership of the property at risk. And ownership may be more complex than anyone realizes. Failure to fully  understand ownership could result in an unsuccessful bankruptcy.

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.

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

USCIS - USCIS Updates Welcome Guide for New Immigrants

Direct from the USCIS Bulletin:

USCIS has published an updated Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants. The guide contains practical information to help new immigrants settle into everyday life in the United States, including how to find a place to live, how to get a Social Security number and how the U.S. system of government works.   Available in 14 languages, this publication has recently been updated to include: Revised and updated general information on policies, programs and resources; A refreshed layout and design; A new chapter called “Taking Care of Your Money” on personal finance, taxes and financial scams; and A new chapter called “Understanding Education and Health Care” on the education system, adult education programs and the health insurance marketplace. Available languages: Arabic Chinese (traditional) Chinese (simplified) English French Haitian Creole Korean Portuguese Russian Somali  Spanish Tagalog Urdu Vietnamese   You can download free copies in 14 languages on our website and purchase printed copies in English, Spanish and Chinese through the U.S. Government Bookstore.

If you want to know more about Mark Medvesky or Wells, Hoffman, Holloway & Medvesky LLP, check out our website at www.whhmlaw.com

#BucksCounty #Immigration #lawyer #lawyers, #MontgomeryCounty #Souderton #LawFirm