Stephen Behrends, Attorney at Law, PC Blog | Eugene, OR

COVID Tax Refund: IRS Deadline & Who Qualifies

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:30:40 GMT

H1: COVID Tax Refund: What You Need to Know About IRS Refunds

If you’ve seen headlines about a potential COVID refund, you’re not alone. A growing number of taxpayers are wondering whether the IRS might owe them money tied to the pandemic years.

The short answer? Some people may be eligible—but it’s not as simple as it sounds.

The current conversation around a Covid tax refund comes from how tax deadlines were handled during the pandemic. In certain cases, penalties and interest may have been assessed when they shouldn’t have been. That’s where the opportunity for an IRS refund comes in.

Still, this isn’t a blanket refund for everyone. Whether you qualify depends on what happened with your taxes between 2020 and 2023—and whether you were charged for it.

What Is the COVID Refund and Why Are People Talking About It?

During the height of the pandemic, the federal government declared COVID-19 a national disaster. Under existing tax laws, that kind of declaration can extend filing and payment deadlines automatically.

However, the IRS didn’t apply those extensions as broadly as some legal experts believe they should have. A recent court ruling challenged that interpretation, suggesting that certain deadlines may have been longer than originally enforced.

That matters because if deadlines were extended, then some penalties and interest charges may not have been valid in the first place.

Why That Could Lead to an IRS Refund

If you were charged for filing or paying late during that window—and those deadlines were later interpreted differently—you may have grounds to request a refund.

In other words, this isn’t a new tax credit or stimulus. It’s about correcting how certain penalties were applied.

Who Actually Qualifies for a COVID Tax Refund?

This is where things narrow down. Not everyone will qualify for a COVID refund , even if they filed taxes during the pandemic.

Situations Where You May Qualify

You may have a valid claim if you:

Paid penalties for filing your taxes late
Paid penalties for paying taxes late
Were charged interest tied to delayed payments
Filed returns during the pandemic and incurred timing-related penalties

The key detail is that your charges must be connected to deadlines that fell within the COVID disaster period.

When You Likely Don’t Qualify

On the other hand, you probably won’t qualify if:

You filed and paid everything on time
You’re expecting a standard tax refund
You’re thinking this is similar to stimulus checks

A lot of confusion comes from the name “COVID refund,” but this is really about correcting specific IRS charges—not issuing new payments.

The IRS Refund Deadline You Can’t Ignore

If there’s one thing to pay attention to, it’s timing.

The Key Date

The current deadline to file a claim for this type of IRS refund is expected to fall around July 2026.

That might sound like plenty of time, but these deadlines come up faster than most people expect—especially if you need to gather records or work with a professional.

Why the Deadline Matters

The IRS limits how long you have to claim a refund. In most cases, it’s:

Three years from when you filed your return, or

Two years from when you paid the tax

Once that window closes, your ability to recover those funds typically disappears.

How to Claim a COVID Tax Refund

If you think you might qualify, the next step is figuring out how to move forward.

Start With Your Tax Records

Look back at your IRS account or transcripts and check for:

Penalty charges
Interest payments
Dates tied to those charges

Even a quick review can give you a better idea of whether it’s worth digging deeper.

Filing a Refund Claim

To request a Covid tax refund, most taxpayers will need to file IRS Form 843, which is used to claim refunds or request abatements.

The form itself isn’t overly complicated, but how you explain your claim matters. You’ll need to clearly connect your situation to pandemic-related timing issues.

When It Makes Sense to Get Help

If your situation involves multiple tax years or larger amounts, getting guidance from a tax professional can save you time—and potentially prevent mistakes.

Common Misunderstandings About COVID Refunds

There’s been no shortage of confusion around this topic, especially online.

“Everyone Is Getting Money Back”

This is probably the biggest misconception. Most taxpayers won’t qualify because they weren’t charged penalties in the first place.

“It’s Another Stimulus Check”

It’s not. Stimulus payments were approved by Congress and sent automatically. This is a refund claim you have to initiate yourself.

“The IRS Will Handle It Automatically”

In most cases, they won’t. If you don’t take action, you could miss your chance entirely.

Oregon Taxpayers: Does Anything Change?

For Oregon residents, the process for claiming a COVID refund is still governed by federal tax law—but there are a few practical things to keep in mind.

Federal vs. State Differences

This refund applies only to federal IRS penalties. Oregon state taxes follow their own rules and timelines.

Why It May Matter Locally

Many individuals and small business owners in Oregon felt the financial strain of the pandemic years. Recovering penalties or interest—even partially—could make a meaningful difference.

When to Talk to a Bankruptcy Attorney

If you’re already dealing with tax debt , collections, or financial hardship, a bankruptcy attorney can help you understand how a potential IRS refund fits into your broader situation.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Wait Too Long to Act

The idea of a COVID refund has caught a lot of attention—and for good reason. For some taxpayers, it represents a real opportunity to recover money that may have been incorrectly assessed.

But it’s not automatic, and it’s not guaranteed.

If you think you might qualify for a Covid tax refund, the best move is to review your records now and take action sooner rather than later. With the IRS refund deadline approaching in 2026, waiting too long could mean missing out entirely.

COVID Tax Refund FAQ's

Bankruptcy Myths Debunked: Separating Fact from Fiction

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:04:27 GMT

Eight of The Most Common Bankruptcy Myths

The idea of bankruptcy is overwhelming, especially with the many misconceptions floating around. As experienced bankruptcy attorneys, we want to dispel these misconceptions and provide clear, factual information. This blog post will address some of the most common bankruptcy myths and hope to offer some clarity and peace of mind to those considering this important financial decision.

Understanding Bankruptcy Myths

Bankruptcy and its effects are frequently misunderstood. This often leads to fear and hesitation, especially for some people who might benefit most from it. Below, we'll debunk eight of the most common bankruptcy myths. Our intent is to help people make an informed decision about whether it might be worth filing for bankruptcy protection.

Myth 1: Filing for Bankruptcy Means You're a Failure

Fact: Bankruptcy is a legal tool designed to provide relief to individuals and businesses facing insurmountable debt and insolvency. It is not a reflection of personal failure but rather a legal and socially acceptable way to regain financial stability. Many people have had to file for bankruptcy due to unforeseen circumstances such as medical bills, job loss, divorce or economic downturns. This legal tool, adopted from English law, has existed since at least 1705 and its roots go back to biblical times.

Myth 2: You Will Lose Everything You Own

Fact: This is the worst chapter 7 myth. The vast majority of bankruptcy cases are “no asset” cases, meaning that all of the assets owned by the people in those cases are exempt, or protected, by the law. While technically a Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows the liquidation of assets to repay creditors, virtually all of the assets most people own, such as essential items, are exempt. These exemptions usually include your primary residence, car, personal belongings, tools of your trade, and retirement accounts. Each state has its own set of exemptions and most people in Oregon can also use the exemptions set out in the bankruptcy code. As long-time bankruptcy attorneys, we can help you understand what you can keep in Oregon. To learn more about whether all of your belongings are exempt, please call us or use the contact form to set up an appointment to discuss your situation. But it is no myth that many, many cases end with a determination that there are no non-exempt assets to liquidate. This is why they are called a “no assets” case. You get a discharge and a fresh start, but you lose nothing but the debts.

Myth 3: Bankruptcy Permanently Ruins Your Credit

Fact: While bankruptcy impacts your credit and credit score, it is not a permanent impact. In many cases, people see their credit scores improve shortly after their bankruptcy because they are no longer burdened by overwhelming debt. While it is true that bankruptcy is on your consumer credit report for ten years, with active steps to rebuild your credit and responsible financial management, most people find that they can get back to reasonably good credit in about two and a half years.

Myth 4: You Will Never Be Able to Get Credit Again

Fact: This is another common bankruptcy myth. Naturally, right after filing for bankruptcy, you may find it challenging to get credit. However, many lenders are willing to extend credit to individuals who have completed bankruptcy, but usually with provisions for the debt to be secured and possibly at higher interest rates. But secured credit cards and loans can also help rebuild your credit history. If you are not currently buying your home, rebuilding credit is very important as it is necessary to qualify for a mortgage. You can learn more on our Foreclosure Prevention Attorney page.

Myth 5: Only Financially Irresponsible People File for Bankruptcy

Fact: Most people who file for bankruptcy are financially responsible individuals who have encountered significant life challenges. Uninsured or underinsured medical expenses, divorce, medical emergencies, job loss, and business failure due to economic downturn are common reasons for filing. Often people who have had their finances under control for years can be hit with an unexpected setback. Bankruptcy provides a way to a fresh start for those who have experienced financial setbacks and find that their finances are now beyond their control.

Myth 6: All Debts Are Wiped Out in Bankruptcy

Fact: While bankruptcy can discharge most types of debt, not all debts are eliminated. Certain obligations, such as child support, alimony, and court fines are typically non-dischargeable. Obligations such as student loans and certain tax debts are dischargeable under certain conditions. As experienced bankruptcy attorneys, we can help you understand which of your debts can and which, if any, cannot be discharged.

Myth 7: You Can Only File for Bankruptcy Once

Fact: There are limits on how often you can file for bankruptcy, but it is always possible to file again if you experience a later economic hardship. The time between filings depends on the type of bankruptcy previously filed and the type of bankruptcy you wish to file now. For example, you must wait eight years after filing a bankruptcy which you received a discharge under Chapter 7 before filing for Chapter 7 again. However, you only have to wait four years before you can file for Chapter 13. If you need bankruptcy protection a second time due to new medical bills, for example, please contact us and we can explain your options.

Myth 8: Filing for Bankruptcy Is Complicated and Costly

Fact: While the bankruptcy process involves paperwork and legal proceedings, it is manageable with the help of an experienced bankruptcy attorney. The cost of filing for bankruptcy can vary, but we offer payment plans and affordable rates to ensure you get the help you need. In addition, the benefits of immediate protection from debt collection and the long-term financial benefits of being able to rebuild your credit in just a matter of years definitely outweighs the cost of the bankruptcy.

Speak With an Experienced Bankruptcy Attorney About Your Options and Get Answers to Any Questions You Might Have

Filing for bankruptcy is a major decision, but it doesn't have to be shrouded in mystery and misconceptions. We offer a free consultation so that you can learn about your options in bankruptcy and how it would work for you, without any pressure to make a decision. We usually schedule an hour so that there isn’t any time pressure and to give us plenty of time to understand your individual circumstances. We can do an exploratory, fact-finding phone conference and lay out the pros and cons without any need to make an immediate decision.

If you would like more details and want to know how bankruptcy would work in your personal situation, please contact us to set up a free initial consultation.

Bankruptcy Myths FAQ's

8 Ways to Rebuild Your Credit After Bankruptcy

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:17:28 GMT

8 Tips to Rebuild Your Credit After Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy can be a challenging and emotional experience, and it's important to remember that it's not the end of your financial journey but really just the first step in rebuilding your credit with your fresh start. With patience, dedication, hard work and smart financial choices, you can work towards a brighter financial future. In this blog post, we will explore eight effective ways to rebuild your credit after bankruptcy.

The Importance of Rebuilding Your Credit After Bankruptcy

For most of our clients, the main goal in rebuilding is to be able to purchase a home.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has waiting periods for borrowers who have filed for bankruptcy before they can qualify for an FHA-backed mortgage. The waiting periods can vary depending on the type of bankruptcy but definitely all of them require that you take active steps after your bankruptcy to rebuild your credit.

Reaching your major life goal of buying a home requires being able to get a mortgage. Rebuilding credit plays a pivotal role in qualifying for a mortgage loan, especially on favorable terms.

You typically need to wait at least two years after the discharge date of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy before they can qualify for an FHA loan.

You may be eligible for an FHA loan during a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding if you have been making consistent and on-time plan payments for at least one year, but this is fairly unusual. If the Chapter 13 bankruptcy has been discharged, the waiting period is typically two years from the discharge date.

It's important to note that these waiting periods are subject to change, and lending guidelines can evolve over time. Borrowers should consult with FHA-approved lenders or mortgage professionals to get the most up-to-date information and guidance on FHA loan eligibility after bankruptcy.

If you are a qualified veteran, then the VA has short waiting periods and will lend while you are in bankruptcy.

Furthermore, rebuilding credit can impact everyday financial matters like getting a car loan with favorable terms or obtaining credit cards, which can provide a safety net for emergencies and help build a positive credit history when used responsibly. It also influences insurance premiums, as insurers often consider credit scores when determining rates.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, rebuilding credit is equally vital when starting a business. Many entrepreneurs need startup capital to cover initial expenses such as equipment, inventory, and marketing. Accessing business loans or lines of credit is often essential, and lenders scrutinize personal credit scores when evaluating business loan applications. A strong credit history demonstrates fiscal responsibility, enhancing an entrepreneur's chances of securing financing to launch or expand their venture.

In conclusion, rebuilding credit is a vital undertaking as it directly influences an individual's ability to access loans, rent or purchase homes, buy or lease cars or get capital to start businesses. A positive credit history opens doors to financial opportunities with lower interest rates, larger loan amounts, and better terms. By actively working to rebuild their credit, individuals can not only achieve their personal and entrepreneurial goals but also pave the way for a more stable and prosperous financial future.

How Good Credit Influences Financial Health

There are many benefits to having a good credit score. A solid credit history is essential for obtaining loans. Whether it's a personal loan for unexpected expenses, an auto loan for a reliable vehicle, a home mortgage or a student loan for education, lenders heavily rely on credit scores to assess the risk associated with lending money. A higher credit score typically results in lower interest rates, saving you significant amounts of money over the life of the loan. Conversely, if you have poor or no credit history at all, you will probably face higher interest rates and may even be denied loans altogether.

But rebuilding credit isn't just about accessing loans; it's about enhancing overall financial security. Good credit gives you the flexibility to navigate life's financial challenges and seize opportunities as they arise.

A good credit score is essential to your overall financial stability and future opportunities.

Strategy 1: Create a Budget so You Can Always Pay Your Bills On Time

The first step in rebuilding your credit after bankruptcy is to establish a reasonable but well-structured budget. This means a budget that is realistic and covers all of your expenses. This will help you gain control over your finances and ensure that you're living within your means. List your monthly income and expenses, and be diligent about tracking every dollar you spend. A budget will prevent overspending and help you allocate funds to repay debts and rebuild your credit.

Having a budget will also help you always pay your bills on time. One of the most crucial factors affecting your credit score is your payment history. Make it a priority to pay all your bills on time, including credit cards, loans, and utilities. Set up reminders or automatic payments to avoid missing due dates, as even a single late payment can negatively impact your credit score.

It is important that your budget includes building a reserve for emergencies. It shouldn’t have you spending everything that you make each month. After a bankruptcy, you won’t have credit cards to cover things like unexpected repair bills.

It is also very important that your budget include health insurance if you aren’t covered through a plan at work or otherwise. Without health insurance, you are always at risk for the uninsured medical expenses that can destroy your budget and your chances to rebuild your credit.

How Late Payments Affect Your Credit Score

Late payments can significantly harm your credit score. They indicate financial irresponsibility and can result in a lower credit score, making it harder to qualify for loans or credit cards and potentially leading to higher interest rates. Consistent on-time payments are crucial for maintaining a healthy credit score.

Strategy 2: Regularly Review Your Credit Report

We recommend that you regularly request free copies of your credit reports from the major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) on www.annualcreditreport.com and review them for errors or inaccuracies. You can get one of each of your reports each year so we recommend getting one of them every four months. For example, every year you could get Equifax in January, Experian in May and Transunion in September. Dispute any discrepancies you find, as correcting errors can have a positive impact on your credit score.

Strategy 3: Get a Secured Credit Card

Secured credit cards are an excellent tool for rebuilding credit. They require a cash deposit as collateral, which acts as your credit limit. Use the card responsibly, making small purchases and paying the balance in full each month. This demonstrates your ability to handle credit responsibly and gradually improves your credit score. Keeping the balances low is as important as on time payments.

Strategy 4: Apply for a Credit-Builder Loan

Credit-builder loans are a financial tool designed to help individuals with limited or poor credit history improve their credit scores. They are very similar to secured credit cards.

To apply for one, look for a bank or credit union offering these loans, including online banks. Typically, you deposit a specific amount, which becomes your available line of credit that you can “borrow” against. Typically, there are monthly payments that are reported to credit bureaus and held in an account until the loan term ends. At the end of the loan, you still have the deposit that you made to get the “loan.”

Timely payments demonstrate responsible credit use, gradually boosting your credit score. Once the loan term concludes, you receive the deposited amount, usually with interest. Credit-builder loans are a structured way to establish or repair credit, leading to better financial opportunities.

Strategy 5: Consider Getting a Co-Signer

Using a co-signer can be a strategic move to improve your credit score, but it comes with significant risks for the individual who agrees to co-sign a loan. For this reason, this strategy should be used very, very carefully or maybe not at all. It is probably a last resort kind of approach, but only when you are completely certain that you can make the payments on the co-signed loan.

On the other side of the equation, basically no one should ever consider co-signing for any loan that they could not easily repay themselves if the primary borrower cannot.

When you have a limited credit history or a low credit score, lenders may be hesitant to approve your loan application. In such cases, having a co-signer with a strong credit history can enhance your chances of securing the loan. The co-signer essentially vouches for your ability to repay the loan, making the lender more comfortable with the arrangement.

As you make timely payments on the co-signed loan, it can positively impact your credit score. These on-time payments contribute to a more positive credit history and demonstrate your creditworthiness to future creditors. Over time, your improved credit score can make it easier for you to qualify for loans or credit cards on your own without the need for a co-signer.

Who Can Be a Co-Signer and What Does it Mean for Them

While anyone can be a co-signer, it is usually someone with a family or other personal relationship to the primary borrower. This means that co-signing can strain relationships, especially if the primary borrower encounters financial difficulties or fails to meet their obligations. It can lead to tension and conflicts between family members or friends.

Basically, no one should ever consider co-signing for any loan that they could not easily repay themselves if the primary borrower cannot as the co-signer is subject to significant risks such as:

Legal Obligation: The co-signer is legally responsible for the entire loan amount if the primary borrower fails to make payments. This means the co-signer may have to repay the loan in full, including any interest, late fees, or collection costs if the primary borrower doesn’t or isn’t able to pay the loan.

Credit Impact: If the primary borrower misses payments or defaults on the loan, it negatively affects the co-signer's credit score. This can make it difficult for them to secure credit in the future, as any late or unpaid payments on the co-signed loan appear as negative marks on their credit report.

Limited Financial Flexibility: Co-signing ties up the co-signer's credit capacity by increasing their credit utilization ratio, potentially limiting their ability to obtain loans or credit for their own needs.

In conclusion, using a co-signer can be a valuable tool for improving your credit score and accessing credit when your own credit history is insufficient. However, it should not be taken lightly, as it places significant responsibility on the co-signer and can have lasting financial and personal consequences if not managed responsibly. Both parties should carefully consider the risks and benefits before entering into a co-signing arrangement.

To reiterate, we strongly advise that no one should ever be asked to or consider co-signing for any loan that they could not easily repay themselves if the primary borrower cannot.

Strategy 6: Diversify Your Credit Mix

A diverse credit mix can enhance your credit score. While you may start with secured credit cards, try to diversify your credit portfolio over time. This could include installment loans like a car loan or a personal loan. Be cautious not to take on too much debt at once; only borrow what you can comfortably manage and keep your balances low.

Strategy 7: Keep Your Credit Utilization Low

Credit utilization is a crucial factor in determining your credit score and managing it effectively for rebuilding your credit. To calculate your credit utilization score and keep it low, follow these steps.

How to Calculate Your Credit Utilization Ratio

Credit utilization is the ratio of your outstanding credit balances to your total credit limit. It is expressed as a percentage. For example, if you have a total credit limit of $10,000.00 and owe $2,000.00, your credit utilization rate is 20%. This rate is then used by a lender to consider your debt to income ratio. This means a new creditor will look at your utilization and your income to answer a basic question - does this person have enough income to pay their current credit with income left over to pay on the new credit. The higher your utilization ratio the higher the income you need to stay current on the debt. Even with on time payments, high utilization ratios can be viewed as bad credit when compared to income.

Monitor Your Credit Card Balances

Regularly check your credit card balances and ensure they remain well below your credit limits. Aim to keep your credit utilization rate below 30%, as exceeding this threshold can negatively impact your credit score.

Use Credit Wisely

Be cautious about opening new credit accounts unless necessary. Each new credit inquiry can temporarily impact your credit score. Responsible credit management over time, with a mix of credit types (credit cards, loans, etc.), can improve your credit score. If you are denied credit that will negatively impact your score.

Increase Credit Limits:

Contact your credit card issuers or other lenders to request a credit limit increase. A higher limit can automatically reduce your credit utilization rate, as long as you don't increase your spending.

Pay More Than the Minimum:

Paying only the minimum required amount on your credit card balances will prolong your debt and increase your credit utilization rate. Strive to pay more than the minimum to reduce outstanding balances.

Strategy 8: Practice Patience and Persistence

Rebuilding credit takes time, and patience is crucial. But at the same time, be persistent in your efforts to manage your finances responsibly, make timely payments, and reduce your debt. Over time, your credit score will gradually improve, and you'll regain access to better financial opportunities.

Rebuilding Your Credit After Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is really just the first step in rebuilding your credit but you must take active steps and work hard after your discharge to repair it. It is essential to be aware of your spending and create a budget that will let you pay your bills on time. You have to monitor your credit and take advantage of any credit opportunities that you can find, like secured credit cards or credit builder loans. Be aware of your credit utilization ratio and take steps to improve it like keeping a low balance on any credit you are able to get and asking for increases in your available credit.

By being both persistent and patient, you can improve your score in two to three years.

At Behrends Carusone we can continue to represent you after your case is over to help you with problems on your credit report, such as discharged debts still showing up, and to give advice on rebuilding your credit.

We know that you don’t really get a fresh start or get back to a normal financial life until you rebuild your credit. We have seen so many of our clients buy homes within a few years after completing their bankruptcy and we want that to be part of your future as well.

FAQs

How to Prepare for a Meeting With a Debt Relief Attorney

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 14:22:37 GMT

Preparing to Meet with a Debt Relief Attorney

Debt of various types has become a reality for countless Americans. According to Business Insider, the average American has $59,580 worth of debt. Thankfully, a debt relief attorney can help you with debt challenges. Your first step will be to schedule a consultation with the attorney. Let’s look at some things you can expect during that consultation so you’ll know how to prepare.

Questions You’ll Be Asked

When you visit a debt relief attorney for the first time, there will be many questions you’ll be asked. This is because the lawyer will need to gather information about you and your financial situation. A few questions you can expect can include whether you're married, have children, owe taxes, and what assets you have. Once these questions are answered fully and honestly, an attorney will be able to effectively help your situation.

It’s important to remember that there is no reason to feel embarrassed about your financial situation because you're not alone! There are many people who seek out the help of a debt relief attorney. These professionals talk to individuals about their financial challenges every day, so there’s no need for you to feel bad or self-conscious about your particular situation.

What to Bring to the Consultation

During your first consultation, there are usually no required documents to bring. However, it can be a good idea to make some notes about your financial situation to help during your consultation. Otherwise, you’ll just have to bring yourself and maybe your spouse. Be prepared to talk about your goals for bankruptcy.

What to Expect From Your Attorney

If the debt relief attorney decides to take your case, you can expect that these professionals will bring all of their skills, talent, and resources to your case. They will be able to ensure that all of your paperwork is filed properly with the court and that your best interests are being made a top priority when negotiations are made with creditors.

Bankruptcy can be a complicated legal procedure that most people cannot do alone. You will need the assistance of a legal professional to help you navigate such a challenging time. If you are looking for a debt relief attorney , we're here to help. Contact Behrends, Carusone, PC, Bankruptcy Attorneys today to get started with a free one-hour consultation.

The Different Types of Bankruptcy

7016608589 — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 18:00:00 GMT

Understanding the Different Types of Bankruptcy

Most people know that there are different types of bankruptcy or different “Chapters” in bankruptcy. It can be interesting and useful to understand the different types of bankruptcy and the advantages and disadvantages of each. We hear about Chapter 11 the most because it is in the news when big companies or well known people have to file bankruptcy. But most people instinctively know that it is for big businesses or people with a lot of debt. The most common type of bankruptcy is Chapter 7 followed by Chapter 13. If you end up having to file bankruptcy it is most likely going to be one of these. Chapter 12 is for some fishermen and family farmers and Chapter 9 is only for governmental entities.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Most of our clients file Chapter 7 , the most common and simplest type of bankruptcy. Usually, it isn’t that expensive, especially for basic cases. With our help, their debts are all discharged but they keep all of their assets.

We believe that a good bankruptcy attorney is essential. We will help advise you if you qualify for a Chapter 7 case and whether you would lose anything you own if you file. We will help you complete the 40 or so pages of legalese that have to be filed with the Court and prepare you for your Court hearing. Then, we’re there for you after your case to help you rebuild your credit or respond if someone is trying to collect a debt that was discharged.

Our clients usually are able to rebuild their credit and even qualify for a home mortgage within just a few years. There are some kinds of debt that can’t be discharged and some assets that aren’t protected but when this happens, we are there to help deal with it as well so that you know all of your options. There are very few problems that can come up that we haven’t seen and dealt with before.

Eligibility for Chapter 7

Almost anybody or any business is eligible to file Chapter 7. A joint case can be filed by a husband and wife or registered domestic partners, but just one spouse can file too if the other one doesn’t want or need to file.

Various business entities are eligible to file Chapter 7, like an LLC, a C-Corporation, or an S-Corporation. But often there is no reason for them to file since they are not eligible to get a discharge. Also a company bankruptcy doesn’t automatically protect the owners of the business if they are personally responsible for some of the company debt. We can help you decide if it is a good idea to file a Chapter 7 for your business or if it is better just to wind up its operations and sell its assets yourself.

The most common reasons you might not be eligible to file Chapter 7 are the waiting periods and the means test.

Waiting Period

The bankruptcy code has an 8-year waiting period before you can file Chapter 7 if you already had to file before. This isn’t counted from the date of the discharge but instead begins on the filing date of the earlier case. But if you needed bankruptcy court protection right away, you could file Chapter 13 because the waiting period is only 4 years instead of 8 before you are eligible to file Chapter 13. Thus, if you had to file a bankruptcy on July 15, 2018 and received a discharge in that case, you are eligible for a Chapter 13 now but you would have to wait until July 16, 2026 before filing Chapter 7.

MEANS TEST

This is pretty complicated but the good news is that it doesn’t apply to that many people. For it we have to first consider your gross income for the last six months. The average is measured against the average income for comparable family size. The average income figures are updated regularly and are available at https://www.justice.gov/ust/means-testing but of course you can just contact us. We’ll help find out if the means test would be a problem that might keep you from filing Chapter 7.

For example, if you live with just your spouse and together have gross income of more than $150,000.00 per year before taxes, the means test might mean that you couldn’t file Ch 7.

There is a second part to the means test, so sometimes, even though you are over the average income, you may still be eligible for Chapter 7 based on the kind of debts you have and your monthly expenses. We can help you see if this might be possible in your situation.

If you aren’t eligible for Chapter 7, it usually means that you have to file Chapter 13 to get bankruptcy protection. This isn’t the end of the world but it is more difficult than filing Chapter 7.

Role of the Trustee

The Chapter 7 Trustee is appointed to handle your bankruptcy case for the court. They are required to look for any assets that are non-exempt. They also see if you have made any payments or transfers that could be pulled back to get funds to pay your creditors. In Oregon, the same Chapter 7 trustees have handled cases for years and so we have worked with them many times before.

But mostly their duties really involve running the bankruptcy hearings. One of them will be asking you questions when you have to call in for your hearing. Since we have had so many cases with each of the trustees, we know pretty much all of the questions that they are likely to ask and so we will have you thoroughly prepared to answer them.

The vast majority of Chapter 7 cases are “no asset” cases. However, if you have something with non-exempt equity or made a transfer or payment to someone you don’t want the trustee to go after, we can negotiate with them on your behalf. We will try to find a way for you to retain your assets or get the trustee to leave the recipient of the payment or transfer alone. Usually this means making a payment arrangement with them.

Debts That Can Be Discharged

There are some kinds of debts that can't be discharged in Chapter 7 like court ordered restitution, child and spousal support, payroll taxes and recent income taxes.

Sometimes there are debts that the person or company you owe can ask the Court to declare non-dischargeable, such as debt they think that you incurred when you knew or should have known that you weren’t going to be able to pay. We will negotiate for you when this happens to try to get a payment arrangement you can afford.

Student loans are the subject of some very recent changes in how the Department of Education and Department of Justice are going to handle requests to discharge them. The result is likely to be that many, many more people are going to be able to discharge their student loans in bankruptcy.

Check out our recent blog on the new guidelines for discharging student loans in bankruptcy .

Also, remember that while Chapter 7 can discharge debt, it doesn’t wipe out a creditor's claim to collateral, such as a car loan or mortgage. Instead, it just prevents the lender’s ability to do anything other than taking the collateral.

Of course, you can just keep making payments and reaffirm the car loan if you want to keep your vehicle.

When we review your circumstances to evaluate your potential for a bankruptcy case, we consider if there are some debts that won’t be discharged and what options you have for handling them. Sometimes you may want to consider filing Chapter 13. This may allow you to pay the secured debts while paying nothing on unsecured debt.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Chapter 13 is an alternative to Chapter 7 . We consider it only for our clients who would have some problems if they filed Chapter 7. It lasts much longer, usually 5 years, but, even if you have non-exempt assets, you don’t lose anything you own. In addition, you can get bankruptcy protection for 5 years instead of just 3 months or so. This is important because then you can pay debts through your plan that would be subject to collection after Chapter 7, like recent taxes or back child support or alimony.

Eligibility for Chapter 13

To be eligible for Chapter 13 bankruptcy , you have to have a regular income. So someone who has no income at all cannot file Chapter 13. However, the income can be social security, unemployment or retirement, or even child support or alimony (all of which are exempt from collections under Oregon law). However, it can not be funded, for example, by selling property or waiting for a settlement.

Also, there is a limit to how much debt you can have. This limit was raised and changed in June, 2022. Before, you could not have more than $1,395,875.00 in secured debt or more than $465,275.00 in unsecured. Now, your overall debt, secured or unsecured, is limited to $2,750,000.00 instead of being split into those categories. This means that you could still be able to file Chapter 13 even if you have much more than the old limits in either secured or unsecured debt.

Only non-contingent, liquidated, undisputed debt counts so a lawsuit or other claim that has not been determined to be valid or the amount of which hasn’t been determined isn’t included. Also, a personal guarantee of a debt that isn’t in default wouldn’t be included.

If you are over this $2,750,000.00 limit in secured and unsecured combined, then you may have to consider Chapter 11, if you need bankruptcy court protection. For some individuals, a streamlined version of Chapter 11 called Subchapter V, is available.

Fishermen and farmers who exceed this limit are eligible to file Chapter 12.

You can always keep your business if you file Chapter 13. However, only individuals can file Chapter 13 so the only businesses that can be protected by the bankruptcy court in Chapter 13 are sole proprietorships. Sometimes, to be able to protect your business in Chapter 13, you may have to consider selling the assets of their LLC or corporation to yourself. Then you can operate it as a sole proprietorship and get bankruptcy court protection for it in Chapter 13.

Chapter 13 Repayment Plan

The Chapter 13 Plan is the heart of the Chapter 13 case. We prepare the proposed plan for you. There are specific rules that have to be followed. There is a standard form and formulas for how much has to be paid. A Chapter 13 plan does not automatically pay 100% to all creditors. Many plans are approved that pay little or nothing to the general unsecured creditors while paying priority claims, like recent income taxes, or secured debt in full.

The Chapter 13 Trustee reviews the plan and often may propose changes. Other creditors have the right to do so as well. The Court will then approve or confirm the plan and it becomes the blueprint for your path to a Chapter 13 discharge.

Wage Garnishments

As with Chapter 7, Chapter 13 stops wage garnishments as soon as you file. And, for many people, it is possible to recover money that was garnished in the 90 days before the case was filed. This money can usually be paid to the person in bankruptcy but can also be used to fund the Chapter 13 plan.

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Chapter 11 has the fewest eligibility requirements of any Chapter. Almost anyone or any business can file Chapter 11. But it is the most complicated and expensive type of bankruptcy and so the cost limits it to people and businesses that are not eligible for the other types of bankruptcy. So its lack of eligibility requirements is one of its advantages.

Chapter 11 is also the most flexible because there are fewer limits on what can be proposed in the Chapter 11 plan.

Retaining Control of the Business

As with Chapter 13 for sole proprietorships, Chapter 11 allows a company to continue to operate even if it has assets that would have been liquidated if it filed Chapter 7.

But because of the expense and complexity of Chapter 11, it is useful mostly for companies that have a strong business model and are facing temporary conditions or circumstances that have affected cash flow.

However, Chapter 11 can also be used when the goal is to liquidate assets and pay priority creditors or to have another company purchase the business's assets. This is especially true where management believes that it can do a much better job of selling the assets than a Chapter 7 trustee could do.

Chapter 11 Reorganization Plans

The Chapter 11 plan is prepared by the attorney for the person in bankruptcy and doesn’t have to follow an official form. It does have to be accompanied by a disclosure statement that gives information about how the company will be operated if the plan is approved.

The Chapter 11 plan is more flexible than the Chapter 13 or Chapter 12 plans. Payment plans can last longer than 5 years or creditors can be given an interest in the reorganized business in exchange for the debts.

But the creditors get to vote on whether to accept the plan proposed by the business or person in Chapter 11 and while the Court can, under certain circumstances, approve the plan even if the creditors don’t approve it, the voting and approval process give the creditors a lot of input into the plan provisions.

Chapter 12 Bankruptcy

Eligibility for Chapter 12

A person or a business is eligible for Chapter 12 if they meet the limits on how much gross income from farming or fishing is required and are under the limits on how much debt they can have. You must have had 50% of your gross income from farming or fishing operations in the previous tax year to qualify. Farmers must have met this limit each of the preceding two years as well.

The debt limit for Chapter 12 increased in April 2022 and will not change again until April 2025. To be eligible to file Chapter 12, your combined secured and unsecured debt can not exceed $11,097,350.00

Chapter 12 Repayment Plan

The Chapter 12 payment plan is somewhere between the Chapter 11 and the Chapter 13 plans in complexity. It is easier to pay secured creditors for the value of their collateral and the creditors do not vote on a Chapter 12 plan. It is also easier to sell assets and hire the professionals like accountants, attorneys, and realtors, needed to help make the Chapter 12 plan work.

Chapter 15 Bankruptcy

Chapter 15 isn’t really a type of bankruptcy. Instead, it is a set of laws that foster cooperation between foreign courts and American courts when a bankruptcy case filed in another country affects a creditor in the United States. It helps determine issues of jurisdiction and also the choice of laws, which means the question of whether the US laws or the laws of the foreign country in which the bankruptcy was filed, will be used to determine what rights the US creditor has.

Chapter 9 Bankruptcy

Chapter 9 is available exclusively to municipal corporations. While this is defined broadly to include cities, counties, townships, school boards, special districts like road or bridge authorities, Chapter 9 hasn’t been used a lot.

In the entire United States, there were no Chapter 9 cases in 2022, four in 2021 and 2020. The year with the greatest number of Chapter 9 cases in the last 20 years was 2012 when 20 Chapter 9 cases were filed.

Get Assistance From a Bankruptcy Attorney

Bankruptcy is complicated and can lead to problems when not done carefully. An attorney can make sure that you aren’t making things worse by filing bankruptcy and can help you decide if Chapter 7 is a good choice for you or if the Chapter 7 trustee would try to sell some of your things or go after a friend or family member for money that you repaid or an asset that you transferred to them.

An experienced and professional bankruptcy attorney can help you make the right decisions about whether to file and what type of bankruptcy to file. But, just as important, they can make sure that it is done right and that you have help when it is over to rebuild your credit or stop a creditor from trying to collect a debt that was discharged in your bankruptcy.

Types of Bankruptcy FAQ's

Discharging Student Loans in Bankruptcy in 2023

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 03:24:39 GMT

Bankruptcy and Student Loans in 2023

There are finally significant changes to how student loans are discharged in bankruptcy. They come from new guidelines for the Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys representing the Department of Education (DOE) when someone asks to discharge their student loans. These new guidelines give bankruptcy attorneys like us assurance that when these rules are met, the DOJ will not oppose the discharge of student loans:

Discharging Student Debt in Bankruptcy Before the New Guidelines

For years, it has been extremely difficult to discharge student loans in bankruptcy. The rules weren’t that complicated but proving that you met them was very difficult. Essentially, the rules aren’t changing that much; It is just much clearer how we can show that you can satisfy them.

Previously, we found that this was an expensive, lengthy and uncertain process. It could also be very intrusive because the DOJ attorneys could request all kinds of information under the “discovery” process. It felt very much like an invasion of your privacy. Plus it was not clear what we could provide to the DOJ to get them to agree that you should be able to discharge your student loans. So, facing a long and expensive legal battle that could involve looking into private matters, most people simply chose not to try to discharge their student loans.

The rules then and now required three things-

You were unable to support yourself and your dependents and have money left over to make your student loan payments;
Your situation was unlikely to change; and
You had made a good faith effort to pay your student loans.

We found that these rules were fairly loose and subject to interpretation. There were no clear guidelines on how to prove that you met these tests. And basically the DOJ and the DOE were instructing the attorneys handling these cases to oppose most requests.

Biden Administration, Department of Education and the Department of Justice

The Biden Administration has been trying to make changes to the student loan system including proposing limited debt forgiveness for some student loans. The new guidelines shouldn’t be confused with the forgiveness program. It drew a lot of immediate political opposition. Lawsuits were filed that will put the program on hold while the issues are worked out in Court.

The new guidelines are internal. They are simply the Biden Administration’s Department of Education giving the Department of Justice new instructions on how to handle requests for bankruptcy discharges of student loans. Therefore, it is all inside the Biden Administration where they have a lot more discretion, so it is unlikely that these new guidelines will be subject to the same kind of litigation as the student loan forgiveness program.

Changes Made by the New Guidelines

Now there are clear instructions to the Department of Justice on when it should not oppose your request to discharge your student loans in bankruptcy. This means that we are able to give you better advice about your individual situation. If you meet them, we can be much more confident that your student loans will be discharged.

To prove that you meet the first test, that you can’t afford to pay your student loans, we now will be able to use the IRS Collection Standards for your expenses. These are developed by the IRS for tax collection cases and will now be used in this process to determine if you can maintain an adequate standard of living and have money left to make your student loan payments. These standards are regularly updated and published so we can see exactly what they are and how they apply to you.

You can see them yourself by going to these links.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/oregon-local-standards-housing-and-utilities https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/oregon-local-standards-housing-and-utilities

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/oregon-local-standards-housing-and-utilities

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/national-standards-food-clothing-and-other-items https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/national-standards-food-clothing-and-other-items

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/national-standards-food-clothing-and-other-items

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/local-standards-transportation https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/local-standards-transportation

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/local-standards-transportation

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/national-standards-out-of-pocket-health-care

Remember that the standard for medical expenses is a floor, not a ceiling, so you will be allowed your actual medical, prescription and dental expenses as well as any health, etc insurance. Also, taxes and business expenses are allowed.

These allowable expenses are compared to your household’s gross income. If they exceed it, this test is met. The guidelines say that for this gross income information we can use the same income figures as were (or would be) filed in your bankruptcy schedules.

If you have some income after the allowable expenses but it is not enough to pay the student loans, you might qualify for a partial discharge.

For the second test, whether this situation is likely to continue, there is a presumption that will apply if any of five conditions exist:

You are older than 65;
You have a disability or chronic illness or injury;
You have been unemployed for 5 of the last 10 years;
You failed to obtain the degree for which the student loans was incurred; or
The loan has been in a payment status other than “in-school” for ten years.

These are not intended to be hard and fast rules but, as the name suggests, they are guidelines, so you might still qualify even if you don’t meet the exact terms of these criteria. For example, if you have been chronically unemployed, even though you have worked on and off over the last ten years.

For the third and final test, whether you have made an effort to repay your student loans, the guidelines list seven ways to show that you have:

Making a payment or payments
Applying for forbearance or a deferment
Applying for an income driven repayment plan (IDRP)
Applying for a federal consolidation loan
Responding to contact from a servicer or collector
Engaging meaningfully with the Department of Education or a servicer about repayment options
Engaging meaningfully with someone or an agency that you believed would help you deal with your student loan

What This Means for Borrowers

For borrowers, it means that if you meet the guidelines, the Department of Justice will stipulate to the facts supporting a discharge of your student loans. You will have a much better chance of discharging them if the DOJ has stipulated to these facts.

In turn, this means the realistic possibility of relief in Bankruptcy Court from overwhelming student loan debt. It means that you too might get a fresh start by discharging your student loans.

This gives student loan borrowers a real chance for a normal financial life. It means considering things that seemed out of reach, like buying a home, saving for your retirement or starting a family. It lets us give you the benefits of bankruptcy, like relief from your biggest debt and the ability to rebuild your credit, which previously really were not available to people with significant student loans, are now within the realm of possibility.

Contact a Bankruptcy Attorney About Discharging Your Student Loans

Bankruptcy itself can be complicated and these new guidelines are even more so. But an experienced, dedicated and thorough bankruptcy attorney can make a difference.

We evaluate your situation and if you meet the three tests, we will help you complete the required attestation and ask the DOJ to stipulate to the crucial facts. We would then present the Order to the Court and advocate for the discharge of the student loans before the Bankruptcy Judge.

Contact us to set up a phone appointment to discuss your situation. We can discuss the guidelines and evaluate whether you might be eligible, all in a free consultation.

Also, if you like, you can email us at info@oregon-attorneys.com to get a free copy of the 16 page Department of Justice “GUIDANCE FOR DEPARTMENT ATTORNEYS REGARDING STUDENT LOAN BANKRUPTCY LITIGATION” with many details about the issues discussed in the Blog post.

It is also available at https://www.justice.gov/civil/page/file/1552681/download

There DOJ press release about the new guidelines is available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-and-department-education-announce-fairer-and-more-accessible-bankruptcy

We want to help you learn if you might be able to discharge your student loans. You deserve to know if this important opportunity might be right for you. But don’t wait. A new administration could issue new guidelines in the future that go back to the old system of making a student loan discharge very difficult to receive in bankruptcy.

Discharging Student Loans in Bankruptcy in 2023 FAQ's

Oregon Garnishment Laws

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 22:31:25 GMT

Understanding Wage Garnishment in Oregon

The call from your payroll department is terrifying. They tell you that they have received a garnishment and unless you take care of it, they have to take money from your paycheck until it is paid.

Or maybe you tried to use your debit card and it was declined. When you called your bank, they said that your account had been garnished and all of your money was taken out.

A wage garnishment lets a debt collector take part of your paycheck. Under Oregon Garnishment Laws, the amount they can take is usually limited to 25% of your net pay.

We handle situations like this every day. They can’t take your entire paycheck and they may have to give back some of the money they took from your account. But there can be time limits and if you sit on your rights, you might lose them.

If you have other debts, or debts so large you probably won’t ever be able to pay them, you might want to consider filing bankruptcy to stop the garnishment and get rid of the debts that caused it.

The best way to handle a garnishment is to avoid having one to begin with, so if you are served with paperwork for a lawsuit, you should call an experienced attorney right away. We can advise you about whether you will be subject to garnishment and also if you should try to settle or if you should consider bankruptcy.

What is Wage Garnishment?

Garnishment is the most common way debt collectors take money from people with judgments against them. It lets the debt collector get your money in your bank or from your employer to pay your debt. Many of our clients didn’t know that there was a judgment against them until the garnishment hit their account or their paycheck.

Wage Garnishment in Oregon

Many states do not have wage garnishment, but Oregon does. Other states have decided that taking part of your income causes too many problems and leaves people unable to pay their living expenses.

To garnish your wages in Oregon, the debt collector has to have a judgment. They can then send a writ of garnishment to your employer. Your payroll department has to fill out paperwork to tell them how often you get paid and the date of your next pay day. Then, they have to send 25% of your net pay to the debtor collector for the next 90 days.

After that, the debt collector has to send another writ of garnishment to start getting your wages again.

Limits on Wage Garnishment

The good news is that there are exemptions that limit how much they can get. They also allow you to get back money that they took from your bank account that was exempt like social security, unemployment or disability. There is an exemption for 75% of your net wages so the debt collector can’t take all of your paycheck. This 75% is exempt when it is in your bank account as well.

How much money can be garnished from your paycheck?

Oregon garnishment law limits the amount that can be taken to 25% of your net check. In addition, if your income is close to minimum wage, they have to leave you with at least the following amounts: $254 for any period of one week or less, $509 for any two-week period, $545 for any half-month period and $1,090 for any one-month period.

Only one garnishment is allowed at any given time, with the exception of garnishments for child support or alimony. If there is already a support garnishment in place, it also limits how much the debt collector can get.

How long can a wage garnishment last?

The garnishment covers the first paycheck you are supposed to receive after the writ of garnishment is delivered to your employer plus all of your paycheck in the next 90 days.

Exemptions from wage garnishment

There are certain kinds of income that are completely exempt and can’t be garnished such as social security, unemployment, support, disability and retirement income. Money from these sources is also protected when it is in your account. Oregon Garnishment Law and Oregon Exemptions cover and shield money in your bank account if you can trace the funds taken to one of those sources.

Will Bankruptcy Stop Wage Garnishment?

Bankruptcy is one of the only ways to stop a wage garnishment. While it might take a few days to get a bankruptcy case filed, as soon as it is, we can contact your employer to let them know and then they will stop taking the garnishment from your wages.

If You’re Struggling With Wage Garnishment, Consider Speaking to an Attorney

A wage garnishment can be devastating. It can leave you without enough money to pay your rent or other bills. But it is limited and it can be stopped. We recommend that you contact an experienced attorney right away if your employer tells you that your wages have been garnished or if money is taken from your bank account that can be traced to wages, social security, child or spousal support, retirement, disability income or unemployment.

We help our clients deal with or stop garnishments every day. In some circumstances, it is possible to get back money that was paid to a debt collector under a garnishment. But it is essential that you call an attorney without delay. If you sit on your rights, you might just lose them.

Please check out https://www.oregon-attorneys.com/ or contact us by calling 541-344-7472 or 541-214-7771.

Don’t let a garnishment hurt you or your family and leave you without enough money to pay your rent or other crucial bills. Let us help by giving you the information you need about how to deal with or even stop a wage garnishment before it leaves your finances devastated.

5 Common Reasons People Have to File for Bankruptcy

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 15:10:59 GMT

5 Reasons Why People File for Bankruptcy

It is good practice to save before you spend your income. This way, you will have enough money saved for an emergency fund which should last six months or more. Good monetary habits will keep you from acquiring unnecessary debts. That said, there are a few reasons even after saving that there may be a need to file for bankruptcy.

1. Job Loss

Losing your only source of income can be quite nerve-wracking, and when no new job offers are on the horizon, your emergency fund will run low real quick. To avoid falling into debt that may become unmanageable, visit bankruptcy attorneys and seek advice on the best way forward.

2. Medical Bills

Even with medical insurance, chronic long-term diseases really weigh on finances. Trips to the ER, regularly stocking up on medicines, or even acquiring home-based care from a professional can be quite draining. It may reach a point where the medical bills are being settled on credit, which then gets out of hand. This would be an appropriate time to seek the help of bankruptcy attorneys to help you stay afloat and keep up with your recurring medical needs.

3. Divorce

Marriage is a beautiful thing. However, things happen and circumstances might change so being apart may be healthier than staying together. The legal fees, alimony, child support, and division of marital assets may leave one with next to nothing to live on. Bankruptcy attorneys can help in this situation and keep you sane in an otherwise very troubling time.

4. Emergency

Loss of property because of natural calamities such as earthquakes or tornadoes is quite devastating, and to make things worse, regular insurance does not cover the natural calamities, hence a total loss of all material possession. This means any new purchase you make will be purely out-of-pocket, which can get very overwhelming. Bankruptcy attorneys come in handy in trying to help get you back on your feet without sinking into debt.

5. Credit

Credit cards are essential, especially when used to purchase a service or good that is necessary for everyday living. However, unnecessary spending leads to more debt which at one point may become too much to handle and may lead to bankruptcy. To avoid foreclosures, it is important that one seeks the help of bankruptcy attorneys before it is too late.

According to Legal Jobs, most American bankruptcies affect people on low household incomes. 60% of people filing for bankruptcy earn less than $30,000 a year, and 9.2% earn $60,000 per year. However, out-of-control debt can ruin your life regardless of your income level. You can take steps now to protect your future before it's too late. If you're looking for reliable bankruptcy attorneys, contact Behrends Carusone, Attorneys at Law PC today!

Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 20:34:33 GMT

Lets Break Down Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcy

Anyone doing a little research on filing bankruptcy quickly runs into the Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 question. What are the Pros and Cons of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13? A lot of what you read makes it sound like you have to file Chapter 13 to keep your house or your car, which isn’t true. Which one would be better for you? For most people, the answer is Chapter 7 because it is over sooner and does not require making payments on your debts. So why does anyone file Chapter 13?

There are specific situations in which Chapter 13 would be better so the answer to Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 really is whether any of those circumstances apply to you. Basically, Chapter 13 may be better if you owe back taxes or if you have non-exempt equity in your home or other assets. If you have filed Chapter 7 in the last 8 years or have substantial income, Chapter 13 may be the only way to get bankruptcy court protection. In the free initial consultation, we help our clients determine if there are reasons for them to consider Chapter 13 or if it looks like Chapter 7 is going to work for them

Chapter 7 Vs Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 both involve filing bankruptcy, so they both will stop all of the collection actions against you and will discharge your debts. The big differences involved in the Chapter 13 vs Chapter 7 question have to do with how long it takes and what you have to do before your debts are discharged.

The good news is that we help you determine right away if there is any reason why you should think of filing Chapter 13 instead of Chapter 7. It isn’t as though you have to decide on your own what would be better for you.

Here are the things that we take into consideration;

If you have filed Chapter 7 more than 4 years but less than 8 years ago, or if you have a pretty high income and you can’t pass the means test, then you might have to file Chapter 13 to get bankruptcy court protection. Otherwise, it is just a question of whether you would benefit from being in Chapter 13. Typically this would be if you would like to have the court protect you while you pay debts that can’t be discharged, like recent income taxes or payroll taxes, or back child or spousal support. Also, Chapter 13 would be better than Chapter 7 if you have a lot of equity in assets, like more equity in your home than could be protected by the homestead exemption.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is the most common kind of bankruptcy. The advantages are that it is over faster and doesn’t usually require any payments on unsecured debt. Most of our clients qualify for Chapter 7 and most of them do not have to worry that the trustee will take any of their assets. Most Chapter 7 cases are no asset cases and most people are able to discharge all of their debts. So, in other words, we end up advising most people that they have no reason to consider filing Chapter 13.

Chapter 7 is better for most people because it is much shorter and this means that you can start to rebuild your credit faster. So this means that even though it stays on your credit longer, 10 years for Chapter 7 vs 7 years for Chapter 13, most people will have better credit sooner after filing Chapter 7 than filing Chapter 13.

We help our clients evaluate these issues right away, usually in the initial free consultation.

Business owners can file Chapter 7 if the company doesn’t need bankruptcy court protection and the available exemptions cover the value of the business. A Chapter 7 can be filed by a business, but since there is no discharge and no exemptions for a business, this is usually done only to allow for an orderly liquidation and payment of priority claims where there are already collection efforts underway that might threaten payment of those claims by the owners.

A typical Chapter 7 is over in 3-4 months but a disadvantage is that collection efforts on non-dischargeable debts can resume as soon as the other debts are discharged.

Chapter 13

We advise our clients to consider filing Chapter 13 only when there are special circumstances. This is usually because there are non-dischargeable debts that could be paid while you are protected in Chapter 13 or if you have non-exempt assets that would be lost in Chapter 7. An advantage of Chapter 13 is that you get bankruptcy court protection for longer than the 3-4 months that a Chapter 7 case usually lasts. We often advise our clients to consider Chapter 13 if they have tax debt or past due child or spousal support that they couldn’t handle on their own after discharging the rest of their debts in a Chapter 7. If you have more of these debts than you could handle on your own after Chapter 7, we might suggest you consider Chapter 13. We would then help to see if you could handle the payments that would be required in a Chapter 13.

For more information on how Chapter 13 protects you from tax collections, check out our blog post .

If you have equity in your home or other assets, we’ll help you evaluate whether it is covered by the available exemptions. If not, we’ll then consider whether you might be able to make a deal for some payments to the Chapter 7 trustee. For example, for someone who owns a $22,000.00 car with no debt against it, Chapter 7 could be a problem because this value exceeds the available exemptions. However, we might be able to make a deal with the trustee to accept for example $2,500.00 in ten monthly payments of $250.00. This would let them avoid filing Chapter 13 while still keeping their car.

Chapter 13 cases usually last 5 years but if your income isn’t too high, it might be possible to finish your case sooner, any time after 3 years. It is very important to understand that you do not have to automatically pay your creditors in full in Chapter 13. Only a very few of our clients have to pay everyone in full and this is only because they have a lot more non-exempt assets than they have in bills or they have a lot of income and can afford to pay everyone over a 5 year period of time.

We understand that the larger the payment, the less likely it is that our clients can complete the plan so we work hard to make the plan payments as small as possible.

Should I Choose Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

We will guide you through this choice so you don’t have to decide on your own which one to do. However, there is no doubt that we will recommend Chapter 7 unless there is some specific reason why Chapter 13 would be more beneficial.

The situation in which this might be true is if you have taxes or other non-dischargeable debt that you can’t handle on your own or significant non-exempt equity in your assets. You might also choose to do Chapter 13 if you have a sole proprietorship business that will need bankruptcy court protection.

In all other situations, it is likely that Chapter 7 will be better for you since it is over much sooner and will allow you to start to rebuild your credit sooner.

You can also check out this table for an easy breakdown of the differences between the types of bankruptcy. However, it is a bit of a simplification so please let us know if you have any questions and remember that we help our clients with this decision and evaluate whether there is any reason for them to think about filing Chapter 13.

How Does Each Form of Bankruptcy Affect Credit?

Since both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are bankruptcy cases, there will be an immediate negative impact on your credit regardless of which one you file. And while a Chapter 7 filing will be on your credit longer, 10 years instead of 7 years, there is no doubt that your credit will be better sooner if you file Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13.

This is because you can start to rebuild your credit when your case is over. The discharge of debt comes at the end of the bankruptcy. In Chapter 7, this is just a few months but in Chapter 13 it is usually 3 to 5 years. Your credit will improve when the debt is discharged because that step will improve your debt-to-income ratio, an important part of your credit score. And, when the case is over, you can start to take active steps to rebuild your credit.

We continue to represent our clients after either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 to help them improve their credit. Because you will have extra years to work on building your credit score in Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13, it is certain that you can have better credit sooner if you file Chapter 7.

Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 in Oregon

Oregon’s homestead exemption is pitifully small compared to home values in the state; $40,000.00 for an individual and $50,000.00 for a couple. This means that more homeowners are likely to have non-exempt equity than in a state like Nevada with a $550,000.00 homestead exemption or California, with $600,000.00. And if you want to protect the non-exempt equity in your home, you have to file Chapter 13 vs Chapter 7. We help our clients determine the best strategy to protect the equity in their homes given their individual situations. You do not have to try to figure out these complicated issues on your own.

If you don’t own your home and have lived here for at least two and a half years, then you can use the more generous federal bankruptcy exemptions which allow you to protect much more. For most people, this is all of their assets, so you can file Chapter 7 without worrying about losing anything. Of course, we help you by evaluating your assets and your available exemptions, usually in the initial consultation.

Get Assistance From an Attorney

When done right, bankruptcy is simple. But there can be many traps and pitfalls as well. Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 is a complicated question and there is no doubt that it would be very helpful to have an attorney. We would help you determine if there is any reason for you to choose the longer and more expensive Chapter 13 over the quicker and less expensive Chapter 7. We are with our clients every step of the way. Just contact us , by submitting a form on our website, calling, texting, or sending us a WhatsApp message

Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 Bankruptcy FAQ's

Bankruptcy Attorney Q & A- (Part 2) How Soon After Bankruptcy Can I Get an FHA Loan and Buy a House?

Wed, 11 May 2022 14:56:41 GMT

Can I get an FHA loan after I file bankruptcy and how long would I have to wait before I could?

Bankruptcy Attorney Q & A- (Part 2) How Soon After Bankruptcy Can I Get an FHA Loan and Buy a House?

Clients frequently ask about future credit after bankruptcy and especially about if they will ever be able to buy a home.

The answer to this question is not always as simple as it should be because it varies by the type of home loan. This blog addresses special mortgages backed directly by the federal government such as Federal Housing Administration first time home buyer and rehabilitation loans. If you do not qualify for one of these loans, you should read our related blog on conventional mortgages and buying a home after bankruptcy. Just paste this link into your browser window:

https://www.oregon-attorneys.com/bankruptcy-attorney-q-a-how-soon-after-bankruptcy-can-i-buy-a-house

The short answer is that a waiting period of one to three years after filing for bankruptcy is all that is required for Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Administration and US Department of Agriculture Rural Home Loans. But this is just as to the bankruptcy filing. Of course, you still need to take active steps after bankruptcy to rebuild your credit. Check out our blog posts on rebuilding your credit after bankruptcy

https://www.oregon-attorneys.com/5-steps-to-rebuilding-your-credit

https://www.oregon-attorneys.com/filing-bankruptcy-is-just-the-first-step-in-rebuilding-your-credit

And, you have to have sufficient income, possibily a down payment and a good debt to income ratio to buy a house.

A Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy will show on your credit report for 10 years and negatively affect your credit. However, loans targeted to special populations and backed by the federal government have rules that allow you to buy a home shortly after discharge. These rules are subject to change so we recommend that you consult a mortgage broker for the most up to date standards for qualifying.

Here are the waiting periods for these loans so you can buy a house.

● If you otherwise qualify for an FHA loan, you must wait at least 2 years after a Chapter 7 discharge or 1 year after a Chapter 13 discharge.

● If you otherwise qualify for a VA loan, you must wait at least 2 years after a Chapter 7 discharge or 1 year after a Chapter 13 discharge.

● If you otherwise qualify for a USDA loan, you must wait at least 3 years after a Chapter 7 discharge or 1 year after a Chapter 13 discharge.

In addition, if you are in a Chapter 13 plan and you need to refinance, then FHA and VA can also help you. FHA loans used to refinance a home while in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy require up to 2 years of on time payments to the Chapter 13 trustee. You must also meet the other loan standards such as sufficient income and appropriate loan to value ration. But the loan proceeds must allow you to conclude your Chapter 13 plan as of the closing of the loan. We sometimes call this buying out your plan. This can work well if you have the equity.

It is also possible to use VA loans to refinance a home while in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. You need up to 2 years of on time payments to the Chapter 13 trustee. You must also meet the other loan standards such as sufficient income and appropriate loan to value ration. But you do not need to buyout your plan.

Here is a brief description of these home loans.

● FHA first time home buyer loans allow for a low down payment currently at 3.5% with a credit score at or above 580, or 10% if your credit score is between 500-580. The property needs to pass an inspection. And there is a cap on these loans that varies by county. For example, a home in Lane County can qualify up to $420,000 but in Multnomah County that amount is $598,000.

● FHA rehabilitation loans have similar standards. However, the loan can include cash out to bring the home up to the required inspection standards. The cash out is limited to $35,000 for qualifying improvements such as replacing roofing, enhancing accessibility for a disabled person or making energy conservation improvements.

● VA loans for new home purchase start with a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) to show your lender that you qualify based on your service history and duty status. This is obtained from the VA. The VA does not always require a down payment but one may be needed depending on the amount of the loan. The property needs to pass an inspection. But unlike the FHA, the VA does not set standards for the loans as to credit or income. Typical lenders do want minimum credit scores in the 600 range.

● USDA rural home loans do not require a down payment. But the home and its location are essential to obtaining this type of mortgage. For example, the house size is usually 2000 square feet or less. In fact, the home buyer must need the home to have decent, safe, and sanitary housing and be unable to obtain a loan from other resources on terms and conditions that can reasonably be expected to be met. Income qualifications are lenient as the loan can include a payment subsidy and are only available to low income borrowers. The USDA doesn't have a fixed credit score requirement, but most lenders require a score of at least 640, and 640 is the minimum credit score you'll need to qualify for automatic approval through the USDA's automated loan underwriting system.

Conventional loans require a longer waiting period between bankruptcy discharge and requesting a home loan. These types of loans are not guaranteed by the federal government and can require significantly longer waiting periods. But your state or local government may have other programs that can also help. And a bank involved in the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) will also have loans available for low to moderate income home buyers. Finally, if you were impacted by recent fires and lost your home in such a disaster, the Small Business Administration and FEMA may have loan options to rebuild.

Filing bankruptcy is usually just the first step to rebuilding your credit and putting yourself back on track to possible home ownership in the future.

Bankruptcy Attorney Q & A - How Soon After Bankruptcy Can I Buy a House?

Wed, 11 May 2022 14:47:06 GMT

How long will I have to wait before I can get a conventional home loan and buy a house?

Bankruptcy Attorney Q & A - How Soon After Bankruptcy Can I Buy a House?

Clients frequently ask about their future credit ratings after bankruptcy and especially about being able to get a mortgage to buy a house. The answer to this question is not always simple as it varies by the type of mortgage. This blog addresses conventional home loans. If you qualify for a FHA or VA loan, you should read our related blog. Just pasted this link into your browser window

https://www.oregon-attorneys.com/bankruptcy-attorney-q-a-part-2-how-soon-after-bankruptcy-can-i-get-an-fha-loan-and-buy-a-house

The majority of conventional home loans are sold with in 6 months by the original lender. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the largest purchases of these home loans, buying upwards of 65% of the annual home loans. We call this the secondary mortgage market. The rest of these loans are purchased by banks, hedge funds and asset backed trusts. Over the life of a 30 mortgage, it may be sold several times. A bankruptcy or other major negative credit event will create a waiting period before you qualified for a home loan that can be purchase by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Many original lenders want the home loans qualified for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. So they try to meet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac standards in all cases.

Here are the waiting periods for these home loans to be qualified for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

• A Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 Bankruptcy waiting period is 4 years from the discharge or dismissal date of the bankruptcy action. A 2 year waiting period is allowed if extenuating circumstances are documented.

• A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy waiting period is 2 years from the discharge date or 4 years from the dismissal date. This shorter waiting period after discharge recognizes that borrowers have already met a portion of the waiting period within the time needed for the successful completion of a Chapter 13 plan. A borrower who was unable to complete the Chapter 13 plan must wait 4 years. A 2 year waiting period is allowed if extenuating circumstances are documented as to a dismissed case.

• A borrower who filed more than one bankruptcy within the past 7 years has a 5 five-year waiting period from the most recent dismissal or discharge date. However, two or more borrowers with individual bankruptcies are not cumulative, and do not constitute multiple bankruptcies. For example, if the borrower has one bankruptcy and the co-borrower has one bankruptcy this is not considered a multiple bankruptcy situation requiring a 5 year waiting period. A 3 year waiting period is allowed if extenuating circumstances are documented and is measured from the most recent bankruptcy discharge or dismissal date. But the most recent bankruptcy filing must have been the result of the extenuating circumstances.

You still need to rebuild your credit and avoid accumulating a lot new debt to before you can buy a house. And you have to have sufficient income and a good loan to value ratio to buy a house so you can meet the standards to qualify for a home loan. Check out our blog posts on rebuilding your credit after bankruptcy. Just paste these links into your browser window:

https://www.oregon-attorneys.com/5-steps-to-rebuilding-your-credit

https://www.oregon-attorneys.com/filing-bankruptcy-is-just-the-first-step-in-rebuilding-your-credit

These bankruptcy waiting periods may or may not be better then the alternatives. Here are the waiting periods for non-bankruptcy major negative credit events.

• Foreclosure requires a 7 year waiting period measured from the completion date of the foreclosure action as reported on the credit report or other foreclosure documents provided by the borrower. A 3 year waiting period is allowed if extenuating circumstances are documented.

• Foreclosure and Bankruptcy on the Home Loan.

If a home loan was discharged through a bankruptcy, the bankruptcy waiting periods is applied if the new lender can document that the mortgage obligation was discharged in the bankruptcy. Otherwise, the greater of the applicable waiting periods applies.

• Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure, Pre-foreclosure Sale (often called a short sale), and Charge-Off of a Mortgage Account require a 4 year waiting period from the completion date of the deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, pre-foreclosure sale, or charge-off as reported on the credit report or other documents provided by the borrower. These events are alternatives to foreclosure. A 2 year waiting period is allowed if extenuating circumstances are documented.

• A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is a transaction in which the deed to the real property is transferred back to the servicer. These are typically identified on the credit report through Remark Codes such as “Forfeit deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.”

• A pre-foreclosure sale or short sale is the sale of a property in lieu of a foreclosure resulting in a payoff of less than the total amount owed, which was pre-approved by the servicer. These are typically identified on the credit report through Remark Codes such as “Settled for less than full balance.”

• A charge-off of a mortgage account occurs when a creditor has determined that there is little (or no) likelihood that the mortgage debt will be collected. A charge-off is typically reported after an account reaches a certain delinquency status and is identified on the credit report with a manner of payment (MOP) code of “9.”

Additional requirements may apply, especially when seek a shorter extenuating circumstances period. Only the purchase of a principal residence is permitted. Only limited cash-out refinances are permitted. You may need a larger down payment. For the purchase of second homes or investment properties and large cash-out refinances you must wait the full 7 years.

These rules are subject to change, so one should consult a mortgage broker for the most up to date requirements for buying a home.

Questions You Will be Asked at Your Meeting of Creditors

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 18:45:24 GMT

What Kind of Questions will the Trustee ask at Your Meeting of Creditors?

Most people are very worried about their Meeting of Creditors and about what kind of question they will have to answer.

Here is the list of required questions and suggested general questions based on a list that has been prepared by the US Trustee's Office.

SECTION 341(a) MEETING OF CREDITORS

REQUIRED STATEMENTS/QUESTIONS

The following statements and questions are required. The trustee shall ensure the debtor answers the substance of

each of the questions on the record. The trustee may exercise discretion and judgment in varying the

wording of the statements/questions, if the substance of the questions is covered.

1. State your name for the record. Is the address on the petition your current address?

2. Please provide your picture ID and Social Security number card for review.

3. Did you sign the petition, schedules, statements, and related documents and is the signature your own? Did you read the petition, schedules, statements, and related documents before you signed them?

4. Are you personally familiar with the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements and related documents? To the best of your knowledge, is the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements, and related documents true and correct? Are there any errors or omissions to bring to my attention at this time?

5. Are all of your assets identified on the schedules? Have you listed all of your creditors on the schedules?

6. Have you previously filed bankruptcy?

7. What is the address of your current employer?

8. Is the copy of the tax return you provided a true copy of the most recent tax return you filed?

9. Do you have a domestic support obligation? (If so, you must complete a domestic support obligation form that your lawyer will provide. It requires that you list to whom you owe the obligation including the claimant’s address and telephone number.) Are you current on your post-petition domestic support obligations?

10. Have you filed all required tax returns for the past four years?

SAMPLE GENERAL QUESTIONS

To be asked when deemed appropriate.

1. Do you own or have any interest whatsoever in any real estate? If owned: When did you purchase the property? How much did the property cost? How much do you owe on it? What do you estimate the present value of the property to be? Is that the whole value or your share? How did you arrive at that value?

Have you owned any real estate in the last 4 years that is not in your name now? If so, what happened to it. If it was sold, how much did you receive from the sale and what happened to those proceeds.

If renting: Have you ever owned the property in which you live and/or is its owner in any way related to you?

2. Did you purchase or refinance a vehicle in the last 6 months? If yes, you will be required to provide a copy of the purchase agreement and registration to the trustee.

3. Does anyone hold property belonging to you? If yes: Who holds the property and what is it? What is its value?

4. Do you have a claim against anyone or any business? If there are large medical debts, are the medical bills from injury? Is there anyone you could sue? Are you the plaintiff in any lawsuit? What is the status of each case and who is representing you?

5. Are you entitled to life insurance proceeds or an inheritance as a result of someone’s death? If yes: Please explain the details.

If you become a beneficiary of anyone’s estate within six months of the date your bankruptcy petition was filed, the trustee must be advised within ten days through your counsel of the nature and extent of the property you will receive.

6. Does anyone owe you money? If yes: Is the money collectible? Why haven’t you collected it? Who

owes the money and where are they?

7. Have you made any large payments, over $600, to anyone in the past year?

8. Were federal income tax returns filed on a timely basis? When was the last return filed? At the time of the filing of your petition, were you entitled to a tax refund from the federal or state government ? If yes: Inquire as to amounts. If you received your refunds before your case was filed, what did you do with them? Did you give any of them to family or friends?

9. Do you have a bank account, either checking or savings? If yes: What were the balances in each account as of the date you filed your petition?

10. When you filed your petition, did you have:

a. any cash on hand?

b. any U.S. savings bonds?

c. any other stocks or bonds?

d. any certificates of deposit?

e. a safe deposit box in your name or in anyone else's name?

f. any crypto currency?

11. Do you own an automobile? If yes: What is the year, make, and value? Do you owe any money on it? Is it insured?

12. Are you the owner of any cash value life insurance policies? If yes: State the name of the company, face amount of the policy, cash surrender value, if any, and the beneficiaries.

13. Do you have any winning lottery tickets?

14. Were you divorced in the last 4 years. If so, is there anything that it still owing to you are a result of that divorce. If you are married and your spouse is not part of this case, do they have any property in their name not listed on your asset schedules. If you were to be divorced or separated, do you anticipate that you might realize any property, cash or otherwise, as a result of a divorce or separation proceeding?

15. Have you been engaged in any business during the last six years? If yes: Where and when? What happened to the assets of the business?

16. Have you made any transfers of any property or given any property away within the last four year period ?

If yes: What did you transfer? To whom was it transferred? What did you receive in exchange? What did you do with the funds?

The Meeting of Creditors

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 18:16:38 GMT

How the Meeting of Creditors Works

Video of Mock of a typical Meeting of Creditors

The Oregon Bankruptcy Court has produced a video of a mock Chapter 7 meeting that

can be viewed by pasting this link into your web browser:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uUVkWk7alU

Introduction

The section 341 meeting provides the United States Trustee, the standing bankruptcy trustee, creditors and other parties in interest the opportunity to ask questions of the debtor. These questions can more fully detail the debtor’s assets, liabilities, financial condition and conduct. In chapter 7, it is the standing trustees opportunity to determine if any assets are available for liquidation. In a chapter 13, it provides the standing trustees the opportunity to assess the debtor’s credibility and ability to perform under a plan. The section 341 meeting may also be the only time the debtor meets the standing trustee.

The debtor’s view of the bankruptcy system may in large part be formed by this meeting, and it is important that all parties act professionally to foster the integrity of the process. It is critical that the presiding officer maintain a professional demeanor at the meeting and ensure that all parties do so. While in other situations a more familiar jocular style may put parties at ease, it is not appropriate here. Neither are comments that could be perceived as judgmental. Questioning should never become harassment. The purpose of the meeting is to determine the facts and provide an opportunity for questions, not to comment on the debtor’s lifestyle or choices.

The United States Trustee may also designate additional persons to serve as presiding officers. Standing trustees with very large caseloads are often not able to preside at all meetings and still conduct their other duties. In addition, a substitute may be necessary if the standing trustee is not available to conduct meetings on a particular day. The United States Trustee monitors the standing trustee’s performance at section 341 meetings in accordance with the U.S. Trustee Program’s statutory duty to oversee the administration of cases and trustees.

Timely Scheduling

In some jurisdictions the bankruptcy court is responsible for scheduling the section 341 meeting, but often it is the standing trustee’s responsibility. Generally, first meetings of creditors must be scheduled between 21 days and 50 days after the order for relief. If the meeting is held in a remote location, it can be scheduled as long as 60 days afterward. The standing trustee should endeavor to conclude meetings promptly and to ensure that any adjournment of the meeting to a later date and time is properly noticed in accordance with the rules. Currently, these meetings are conducted by phone due to the COVID pandemic.

Security in the Meeting Room

Some standing trustees conduct meetings in a federal building or other secure facility, but not all meeting spaces have security on site. In these circumstances the standing trustee should coordinate with the United States Trustee to determine what additional actions might be taken to further enhance security.

Recording the Meeting

All section 341 meetings must be electronically recorded. The presiding officer must ensure that the quality of the recording is adequate such that all comments can be clearly understood and the identity of all speakers can be determined. For up to two years after conclusion of the meeting, the United States Trustee is required to provide a copy or a transcript of the recording to any member of the public, at the requester’s expense.

Oath, Identity and Required Questions

Administering the Oath

Bankruptcy Rule 2003(b) requires debtors to be examined under oath. The presiding officer is authorized to administer that oath. If there is more than one debtor in a case, the presiding officer must administer the oath to each debtor.

Verifying Debtor Identity

The debtor must furnish an original government-issued photo identification as well as confirmation of his or her Social Security number. The section 341 meeting provides an opportunity for the presiding officer to verify this information. The presiding officer may not verify identity independent of the meeting, even if he or she believes that is more convenient or provides a more secure environment. The trustee should complete and send to the United States Trustee the form “Notice to United States Trustee of Debtor Identity Problem” if the Social Security number provided in the petition does not match the documentation provided by the debtor. To prevent the inadvertent release of personally identifiable information, the presiding officer should have the debtor verify his or her address and Social Security number on the record but not recite them.

Required Questions

The section 341 meeting provides the presiding officer the opportunity to examine the financial condition of the debtor. The presiding officer should not allow the debtor’s attorney to take over the questioning or answer on behalf of the debtor. To assist the presiding officer in consistently covering all necessary avenues of inquiry, the United States Trustee Program has developed a set of mandatory questions. The questions are not meant to limit areas of inquiry for the presiding officer, but instead serve as a starting point and a means to ensure critical areas are explored. The mandatory questions are set out below.

Language Interpreters

Some debtors lack sufficient proficiency in English to reasonably comprehend the inquiries of the presiding officer and creditors. The presiding officer must advise the debtor that the United States Trustee has arranged for free telephone interpreter services. The presiding officer will access the interpreter and place the interpreter under oath. Standing trustees and their employees may not serve as interpreters. The debtor who requires assistance with English must not be treated differently than other debtors. For example, presiding officers cannot reschedule meetings of creditors for those debtors requiring interpreters to the end of the day.

Non-Attendance by Debtors, Attorneys

All debtors are required to appear at the meeting of creditors. If there are extenuating circumstances such as illness, military service or incarceration that render a debtor unable to attend the meeting in person, the standing trustee and United States Trustee can coordinate to provide an alternative means to conduct the meeting, such as a telephonic appearance. If a debtor fails to appear, the standing trustee must either adjourn the meeting to another date or file a motion to dismiss or convert as appropriate. If an attorney fails to appear, the standing trustee should adjourn the meeting. If an attorney routinely fails to appear or otherwise fails to adequately represent clients, the standing trustee should notify the United States Trustee to discuss possible enforcement activity.

Conclusion

The section 341 meeting is a critical step in the successful administration of a bankruptcy case. It is an opportunity to educate the debtor on the bankruptcy process, and to allow parties in interest to question the debtor about his or her assets, liabilities and financial condition. It is also an opportunity to identify potentially fraudulent activities by those who seek to prey upon debtors. The standing trustee, as the presiding officer at the meeting of creditors, performs a critical function in protecting the integrity of the bankruptcy system.

SECTION 341(a) MEETING OF CREDITORS

REQUIRED STATEMENTS/QUESTIONS1

1. State your name for the record. Is the address on the petition your

current address?

2. Please provide your picture ID and Social Security number card for

review.

a. If the documents are in agreement with the § 341(a) meeting

notice, a suggested statement for the record is:

“I have viewed the original State of ________ drivers license (or

other type of original photo ID) and original Social Security card

(or other original document used for proof) and they match the

name and Social Security number on the § 341(a) meeting

notice.”

b. If the documents are not in agreement with the § 341(a)

meeting notice, a suggested statement for the record is:

“I have viewed the original Social Security card (or other original

document used for proof) and the number does not match the

number on the § 341(a) meeting notice. I have instructed the

debtor (or debtor’s counsel) to submit to the court an amended

verified statement by [date], with notice of the correct number

to all creditors, the United States Trustee, and the trustee; and

to file with the court a redacted copy of the notice, showing only

the last four digits of the Social Security number, and a

certificate of service.”

c. When the documents do not match the petition, the trustee shall

attempt to ascertain why and shall report the matter to the

United States Trustee.

d. If the debtor did not bring proof of identity and Social Security

number, the trustee shall determine why.

1 These statements/questions are required. The trustee shall ensure the debtor answers the substance of

each of the questions on the record. The trustee may exercise discretion and judgment in varying the

wording of the statements/questions, if the substance of the questions is covered.

3. Did you sign the petition, schedules, statements, and related

documents and is the signature your own? Did you read the petition,

schedules, statements, and related documents before you signed

them?

4. Are you personally familiar with the information contained in the

petition, schedules, statements and related documents? To the best of

your knowledge, is the information contained in the petition,

schedules, statements, and related documents true and correct? Are

there any errors or omissions to bring to my attention at this time?

5. Are all of your assets identified on the schedules? Have you listed all

of your creditors on the schedules?

6. Have you previously filed bankruptcy? (If so, the trustee must obtain

the case number and the discharge information to determine the

debtor(s) discharge eligibility.)

7. What is the address of your current employer?

8. Is the copy of the tax return you provided a true copy of the most

recent tax return you filed?

9. Do you have a domestic support obligation? To whom? Please provide

the claimant’s address and telephone number, but do not state it on

the record. Are you current on your post-petition domestic support

obligations?

10. Have you filed all required tax returns for the past four years?

SAMPLE GENERAL QUESTIONS

(To be asked when deemed appropriate.)

1. Do you own or have any interest whatsoever in any real estate?

If owned: When did you purchase the property? How much did the

property cost? What are the mortgages encumbering it? What do you

estimate the present value of the property to be? Is that the whole

value or your share? How did you arrive at that value?

If renting: Have you ever owned the property in which you live and/or

is its owner in any way related to you?

2. Have you made any transfers of any property or given any property

away within the last one year period (or such longer period as

applicable under state law)?

If yes: What did you transfer? To whom was it transferred? What did

you receive in exchange? What did you do with the funds?

3. Does anyone hold property belonging to you?

If yes: Who holds the property and what is it? What is its value?

4. Do you have a claim against anyone or any business?

If there are large medical debts, are the medical bills from injury?

Are you the plaintiff in any lawsuit?

What is the status of each case and who is representing you?

5. Are you entitled to life insurance proceeds or an inheritance as a result

of someone’s death?

If yes: Please explain the details.

If you become a beneficiary of anyone’s estate within six months of

the date your bankruptcy petition was filed, the trustee must be

advised within ten days through your counsel of the nature and extent

of the property you will receive. FRBP 1007(h)

6. Does anyone owe you money?

If yes: Is the money collectible? Why haven’t you collected it? Who

owes the money and where are they?

7. Have you made any large payments, over $600, to anyone in the past

year?

8. Were federal income tax returns filed on a timely basis? When was

the last return filed?

Do you have copies of the federal income tax returns? At the time of

the filing of your petition, were you entitled to a tax refund from the

federal or state government ?

If yes: Inquire as to amounts.

9. Do you have a bank account, either checking or savings?

If yes: In what banks and what were the balances as of the date you

filed your petition?

10. When you filed your petition, did you have:

a. any cash on hand?

b. any U.S. savings bonds?

c. any other stocks or bonds?

d. any certificates of deposit?

e. a safe deposit box in your name or in anyone else's name?

11. Do you own an automobile?

If yes: What is the year, make, and value? Do you owe any money

on it? Is it insured?

12. Are you the owner of any cash value life insurance policies?

If yes: State the name of the company, face amount of the policy,

cash surrender value, if any, and the beneficiaries.

13. Do you have any winning lottery tickets?

14. Do you anticipate that you might realize any property, cash or

otherwise, as a result of a divorce or separation proceeding?

15. Have you been engaged in any business during the last six years?

If yes: Where and when? What happened to the assets of the

business?

URGENT - Important Student Loan Update

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 15:47:21 GMT

All student loans will be considered in good standing as of September 1, 2022

The US Department of Education just announced that it would extend the payment moratorium on student loans until August 31, 2022. This also extends the interest free period on Student loans. So if you can afford pay down your student loans, even a little bit, now is a good time.

Also, the Department announced that all student loans will be considered as being in good standing on September 1, 2022. This has several important benefits, including the right to apply for an affordable repayment plan, called an income based repayment (IBR) plan. In some cases, the IBR payment is $0.00.

In the past, if a student loans was in default, the borrower had to return it to good standing by making six months of on time payments at the regular amount due, before they could be considered for an IBR plan. Then the borrower could apply to have the payment reduced to match their income. But now, student loans will all be considered in good standing as of September 1, 2022 and so will be eligible for IBR consideration without payments to bring them to that status.

So now is the time to take advantage of the programs available to help student loan borrowers in good standing. The full press release is available at:

https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-extends-student-loan-pause-through-august-31

5 Steps to Rebuilding Your Credit

Sat, 09 Apr 2022 22:06:01 GMT

How to rebuild your credit after your bankruptcy case is over

1. Always Pay All of Your Bills on Time

This tip might seem obvious, but payment history is the single biggest factor in determining your credit scores and helping rebuild credit. Payment history makes up about 35% of your FICO Score calculation, so it’s very important that you make only on-time payments when working on rebuilding your credit after bankruptcy .

Making payments on time not only adds new, positive info to your credit reports, it helps build up scores and shows future creditors that you’re a reliable borrower. Even if you only make the minimum payments, making sure they’re paid on time ensures consistent, positive reporting to credit agencies.

2. Keep Your Balances Low

This is the second biggest part of your FICO Score calculation, making up 30% of it. Careful use of credit after bankruptcy is one of the good financial habits you want to develop that is key to rebuilding credit. However, another key to your credit scores is the debt to credit ratio. This ratio is the amount of debt you have verus the amount of credit available.

Keeping the amount of debt you carry relatively low is a huge factor for lenders when they are looking at your reliability. It shows not only that your bills can be paid in a timely manner, but also that the money and credit you have available can be managed well.

3. Check Your Credit Reports Regularly

Checking your credit reports regularly is just a good credit habit to have in general. However, after a bankruptcy it’s even more important to check them regularly. You want to start checking your reports 3 to 6 months after your discharge to confirm that those accounts that were discharged are being reported as such.

Familiarizing yourself with your credit reports makes it not only easier to spot any reporting errors, but also to provide insight as to where you can make targeted improvements.

Consumers are able to access a free copy of each of their credit reports once a year through www.AnnualCreditReport.com . We recommend that you check one of them every four months. That way you will be able to check at least one of your credit reports for free three times a year.

4. Get a Secured Credit Card

Obtaining credit immediately after a bankruptcy can be difficult. You are probably out of the running for a traditional credit card for a while. However, a secured credit is usually available to most people not too long after filing bankruptcy.

A secured card requires a deposit, typically in the $300.00 range, and the fees are usually taken out of the deposit. So if the card had an annual fee of $29.00 and a deposit requirement of $300.00, your initial credit limit would be $271.00.

A secured card is usually easier to get because it protects the lender in the event you can’t make your payment. The downside for the consumer is that they can also come with high fees and interest rates.

But with regular use and a consistent payment history, your credit will start to see the benefits and eventually you will be able to qualify for a better, unsecured card. Some secured cards offer a conversion to unsecured after a set period, so it can be worth shopping around and checking out options.

Even without the conversion option though, a secured credit card is one of the very best ways of repairing and rebuilding your credit history.

5. Rebuild and Repair your Finances and Avoid Bad Credit Habits After Bankruptcy

This is the part that can be the most daunting for some depending on what past habits and circumstances were at play before they had to file for bankruptcy. But, making the very difficult and sometimes intimidating choice to file for bankruptcy can be the first step to a true fresh start financially. With this blank slate in hand, this is the perfect time to really develop and put into practice those good financial habits that will help rebuild your credit and keep it there.

Lenders want to see you able to pay your bills and have some money left over, since this is a good indication that your credit isn’t at risk of being maxed out. The key is setting a budget and sticking to it. Write out a monthly budget and then see how you do trying to stay within those limits. Then, you can make sure any payments for credit you obtain and use can fit comfortably within your budget.

With your budget set, make sure those payments are made on time. Setting up auto-pay and having reminders set elsewhere for those bills that can’t be set up on auto-pay can help guarantee timely payments. Many places will also let you pick the due date for the auto-pay as well to allow for variations in pay periods if the one they set for you isn’t convenient for your particular circumstances.

And finally, begin to build an emergency fund. Having savings for things that may come up last minute helps not only minimizes the risk of maxing out credit lines in the event of an emergency, but it also helps contribute to financial peace of mind. It is easier to plan ahead knowing that emergencies can be handled. And it’s exactly that peace of mind we hope to help you achieve.

Bankruptcy can feel like defeat, but it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes it’s exactly the right first step for a better future financially.

If you'd like more information on rebuilding your credit, check out this post from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. All you need to do is copy and paste this link into your web browser:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-and-keep-a-good-credit-score-en-318/

Filing Bankruptcy is Just the First Step in Rebuilding Your Credit!

Sun, 06 Feb 2022 23:21:42 GMT

At Behrends, Carusone & Covington, we continue to represent our clients after their case is over, especially to help them rebuild their credit!

Even though a bankruptcy discharge will stay on your credit report for ten years, with active steps to rebuild it and careful use of your credit after your case is closed, you can have a fairly decent credit score in two and a half to three and a half years.

At Behrends, Carusone & Covington , we know how important it is to continue to represent our clients after their case is closed, especially with assistance rebuilding their credit.

Filing bankruptcy is just the first step in rebuilding your credit and getting a fresh start. A partnership with an experienced bankruptcy attorney is an important first step in rebuilding your credit .

It is important to monitor your credit report to make sure that all of your old debts are being properly reported as discharged. We recommend using www.annualcreditreport.com every four months to get one of the three major credit reports. You are entitled to receive a free report from each of these agencies one a year so this way you can check a credit report once every four months.

Report any problems immediately both to us and to the credit reporting agency. And be sure to let us know right away if you get any collection notices.

Active steps that you can take to rebuild your credit also include using programs and services specifically for that purpose. You can get special credit cards that are available even though your credit score is very low. Usually these are secured cards where you make a deposit in a savings account. Then you get a credit card with a limit that is a little less than the amount of the deposit The bank account is blocked so that it is there to secure any amount that you owe.

Sometimes, you can also enroll in programs with the credit reporting agencies to have consistent, on-time payments of utility bills or rent reported on your credit report.

One step to take before filing bankruptcy is to try to open an account with a local credit union. They typically will allow you to remain a member with full privileges even after your bankruptcy is filed. If you have a a line of credit or a credit card with a credit union, you usually are able to keep it active after the case is filed and it can be a great help in rebuilding your credit.

Rebuilding your credit is essential for most of your financial goals like buying a house or replacing your vehicle. Filing bankruptcy is just the first step, but you should make sure that you hire a bankruptcy attorney who will be there to help you after your bankruptcy case is over.

If you'd like more information on rebuilding your credit, check out this post from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. All you need to do is copy and paste this link into your web browser:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-and-keep-a-good-credit-score-en-318/

Why do commercial fishermen hire us to settle their tax debts?

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 23:01:20 GMT

They get referred by their accountant or their family or friends! Why? Our track record of success with Offers in Compromise and Chapter 13 Bankruptcies.

We have helped many commercial fishermen solve their tax problems with Offers in Compromise with the IRS. Many others have discharged tens of thousands of dollars of old taxes, interest and penalties as well as other debts like medical bills or credit cards by completing a 5 year payment plan in a Ch 13 case.

Are you tired of looking over your shoulder and wondering when the IRS is going to levy your income or bank account? Is your spouse getting tired of all of the notices of tax liens and intent to levy. Call us- we can help!

We can discuss ways to get you on track to pay your current taxes and talk about all of your options for dealing with the old taxes hanging over your head.

Many commercial fishermen have been referred to us by their accountants or their friends, neighbors or family members. But you don't need to wait for a referral - call to schedule a phone consultation to get started today on putting your tax problems in the past!

What Can You Lose if You Have to File Bankruptcy?

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 18:56:39 GMT

Most people who file bankruptcy don’t lose anything except their bills. By far, the vast majority of bankruptcy cases are so-called “no asset” cases. This means that the trustee isn’t going to try to take anything because everything is exempt. Or, what isn’t exempt isn’t worth enough for the trustee to take. The exemption laws for bankruptcies in Oregon usually cover everything you have, so you can see why it is important to have an attorney who knows how they work.

Exemption Laws

There are two sets of exemption laws, one under Oregon Statues, and one in the bankruptcy statutes themselves, known as the Federal Exemption Laws. Depending on what assets you have, one is usually much better for you than the other one.

If you have lived in Oregon continuously for the last two and a half years, you can choose which set you want to use in your case.

If you were living somewhere else in the last two and a half years, then the determination of which exemption law you have to use depends on the state where you were living two years ago. You definitely need legal advice as to which exemptions you can use, if you lived outside of Oregon sometime in the last two and a half years. Sometimes the answer is to file right away when the exemptions for the state you used to live in are better for you. Sometimes it is better to wait to file, if the set of exemptions available in Oregon will be more favorable for you.

Federal Exemption Laws

The Federal Exemption Laws are much more generous in almost every category except the homestead exemption in an individual case. This is because the so-called “catch-all” or “wild card” exemption in them is over $14,000.00 if you don’t need a homestead exemption while it is only $400.00 under Oregon Exemption Laws. Also under the Federal Exemption Laws, you can add the wild card exemption to other exemptions.

The Federal Exemptions also protect almost all of the same things that are covered under the usual exemption laws like some business assets, cars, furniture and appliances, retirement accounts, clothing, personal possessions, and jewelry. And while it doesn’t have a specific exemption for firearms, they can be covered under the generous exemption (almost $14,000.00) for personal possessions and household goods.

Oregon Exemption Laws

Oregon Exemption Laws cover a homestead of $40,000.00 for an individual which is more than the approximately $25,000.00 that can be protected for an individual. Also, they allow you to claim money in the bank as exempt if it can be traced to an exempt source like social security, child support, or unemployment whereas, under the Federal Exemption Laws, you would have to use part of your catch-all exemption to cover it.

Each state has its own Exemption Laws. Just like in Oregon, those laws protect people's assets even if they don’t file bankruptcy. But the available exemptions in other states vary widely. Several states have much larger homestead exemptions. Others have bigger exemptions for business or farm assets. A good bankruptcy attorney will help you by determining if you have a chance to choose which state’s exemptions laws are best for you.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

What You Can Lose In Oregon When Filing Chapter 7

It is very unlikely that you will lose anything if you file Chapter 7. The protection available under the Federal Exemption Laws or the State Exemption Laws usually cover everything you have.

The most common non-exempt asset is equity in your home. This is because property values in Oregon have appreciated so substantially over the past few years.

If you have, for example, more than $40,000.00 in a home for an individual or more than $50,000.00 for a couple, you are at risk of losing your home if you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy . You can either file Chapter 13 and not worry about losing your home or make a deal with the trustee for monthly payments, if the equity is not too much.

This is also the case if you have too much equity in your vehicle or in your business. It is very common to make this kind of deal with the trustee but you definitely need a lawyer to negotiate on your behalf.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

In Chapter 13, you never lose anything but the trade off is that the Federal or Oregon Exemption Laws affect how much your Chapter 13 Plan payments have to be. This is because of the rule that says that your creditors have to be paid as much in your Chapter 13 as they would have been if you filed Chapter 7 instead. Only the source is payments under the Chapter 13 Plan instead of the sale of assets by the Chapter 7 Trustee. So the exemptions are very important because they reduce the amount of your plan payments.

You will always use the Exemption Laws that are the most beneficial in your individual situation. A good bankruptcy attorney will make sure that your exemptions are the best available for your assets and will recommend negotiations with the Chapter 7 Trustee if you have some non-exempt equity in something. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is usually necessary to protect something in which you would have to pay so much that the Chapter 7 trustee is unlikely to accept payments over a long enough period of time.

What You Can Lose In Oregon When Filing Chapter 13

The only time you might lose something in Chapter 13 is when the equity in something, for example, your home, is more than what you can afford to pay to your creditors over a 5 year period of time. In that situation, your Chapter 13 plan will have to have a “refinance or sell” clause that provides some of the funding for the plan.

Don’t Tackle Bankruptcy On Your Own

The decision as to which set of exemption laws to use is very complicated. We are dedicated to making sure our clients know how they work and which ones would be best for you. If you contact us , we can advise you as part of your free initial consultation if you can relax knowing that you are not going to lose anything.

We can let you know if it looks like some negotiations will be required or that you might have to file Chapter 13. We have helped thousands of people with these difficult issues before and we would be happy to help you as well.

But trying to decide what to do without legal advice can mean that you lose things that with the help of an experienced bankruptcy attorney you would have been able to keep.

FAQ'S

4 Questions to Ask Your Bankruptcy Lawyer

websites@hibu.com (Hibu Websites) — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 17:11:47 GMT

If you are in major financial trouble, you might consider filing for bankruptcy. However, you should never try to do it yourself. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, 20% of filers have a college degree, 29% have done some college, and 36% are high school graduates. Regardless of your education level, having a bankruptcy lawyer to help you navigate the system is essential if you want to avoid setbacks. If you're talking to a bankruptcy lawyer, here are four questions you should ask.

Is Bankruptcy Right for Me?

An honest bankruptcy lawyer will let you know if there is a better solution to your problem. So, before you file any paperwork, ask your lawyer for an honest answer. They might know of another solution that would fit your situation better.

What Type of Bankruptcy Should I File?

There are several different types of bankruptcy and all of them have different requirements and consequences. A good bankruptcy lawyer can look at your situation and determine which one is right for you. Make sure that you ask this question, then get a clear explanation of which type your lawyer wants to pursue and why.

What Are Your Fees?

When you're in enough debt to consider bankruptcy, you need to be cautious with your money. While a bankruptcy lawyer is a necessary expense, you should be clear on how much you'll be paying and when it is expected. Before you get started, make sure you understand whether the lawyer will expect payment in advance or after the settlement. Otherwise, you might wind up in further trouble.

How Long Will the Process Take?

While bankruptcy can be complicated, there is a beginning and an end to the process. How long it takes will depend on the type of bankruptcy being filed. Ask your lawyer this question so that you can get a basic idea of your timeline. Not only will this help you answer any questions that come up, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing that it will eventually end.

Bankruptcy is stressful, but your lawyer can help make it easier. Ask questions and, if you don't understand the answers, get clarification on them. This will make the process smoother and give you an idea of when it will end and you can move on with your life.

If you missed mortgage payments during the pandemic, you need to act now to protect your home

Fri, 07 Jan 2022 23:39:04 GMT

URGENT ALERT: As of December 31, 2021 all federal and state foreclosure moratoriums have ended

URGENT ALERT: As of December 31, 2021 all federal and state foreclosure moratoriums have ended. While there is still time to work out a solution with a mortgage lender for missed payments, borrowers must resume mortgage payments starting in January 2022.

In March of 2021, the moratorium had been extended by the Oregon State Legislature. It also included provision to defer mortgage payments after it was enacted. These deferred payments do not need to be repaid. They are automatically added to the end of the loan as a balloon payment at maturity. However, a borrower needed to provide notice of a COVID related decease or loss of income. We are seeing some non-bank lenders trying to foreclose in violation of this most recent moratorium statute.

If you are having any issues with your mortgage lender due to a missed payment on or after March of 2021 or if you missed payments due to a loss or decrease of income related to the pandemic, please call immediately for a free consultation.

Posted by Behrends, Carusone & Covington, Attorneys at Law, PC partner, Jud Carusone.

Stop Wage Garnishments and Recover Your Hard-Earned Money

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 20:08:58 GMT

Wage garnishment is a legal process that allows creditors to collect a debt by taking a portion of your paycheck. This can be a distressing situation if you are struggling to make ends meet, and it can also lead to a domino effect causing other financial difficulties. There are many situations where someone might end up getting their wages garnished, such as unpaid medical bills, defaulted loans, and credit card debt. However, the good news is that even if wages are garnished, there are ways to stop the process and recover the garnished wages.

The first step in stopping a wage garnishment is to seek legal advice from a bankruptcy law firm. An experienced attorney can help determine the best course of action, which may include negotiating a settlement with the creditor or filing for bankruptcy. Negotiating a settlement usually means having someone who can help you offer the creditor a lump sum to stop the garnishment. Creditors usually won’t stop a wage garnishment just for a promise that you will make payments in the future. Bankruptcy law provides the only sure way to stop a wage garnishment. When you file bankruptcy, there is an automatic stay that immediately stops wage garnishment and other collection activities, giving you a chance to return to a normal financial situation.

Once the garnishment has been stopped, the next step is to see if it is possible to recover some of the garnished wages. If you are eligible to claim the federal bankruptcy exemptions, the creditor is required to return the money that was taken during the 90 days prior to the filing of the bankruptcy case, but only if the creditor got more than $600.00. So sometimes it is necessary to wait and let another wage garnishment go through to get the total amount taken above $600.00.

In conclusion, wage garnishment can be a difficult and overwhelming experience, but it is not the end of the road. With the help of a bankruptcy law firm, it is possible to stop garnishment and recover garnished wages. It is important to take action to learn your options as soon as possible to avoid further financial hardship and get back on the path to financial stability.

What is Wage Garnishment?

Wage garnishment is a legal process where a creditor can obtain a court writ of garnishment to collect a debt by taking a portion of your paycheck. This means that a certain percentage of your wages will be withheld by your employer and sent directly to the creditor until the debt is paid off in full. The amount of wages that can be garnished varies depending on state laws and the type of debt involved.

In Oregon, a continuing wage garnishment lasts only 90 days. The creditor has to renew the writ of garnishment and serve it again on the employer every 90 days.

Wage garnishment can have a significant impact on your income, making it difficult to pay bills and meet basic living expenses. It can also lead to additional financial problems, such as overdraft fees, bounced checks, and collection calls from other creditors. Additionally, having wages garnished can be embarrassing.

Wage garnishment can be initiated by creditors who have sued you and gotten a judgment, usually by default. The kind of creditors who can sue include credit card companies, medical providers, personal or consolidation loans, or online lenders. Student loan lenders, the IRS, and the State of Oregon can collect a portion of your wages without suing your first. However, most creditors must obtain a court judgment before garnishing wages.

It is important to note that in Oregon, there are laws in place to protect individuals from excessive wage garnishment.

Overall, wage garnishment is a serious legal process that can have a significant impact on your finances. Seeking legal advice from a bankruptcy law firm right away can be helpful in deciding if you can stop the wage garnishment and possibly find a way to recover garnished wages.

Common Reasons for Wage Garnishments

Court-ordered judgments for unpaid debts - Creditors may initiate wage garnishment when you have been sued for outstanding debts, such as credit card debt, personal loans, or medical bills, and losses resulting in a Judgment against you.
Child support - If you fail to make court-ordered child support payments, the custodial parent or state child support agency may seek a wage garnishment order. Child support wage garnishment can be stopped by bankruptcy to the extent that it is for past due support but would continue for current child support obligations. The past due amounts can be paid in a Chapter 13 but would not be discharged in Chapter 7 so the wage garnishment for the past due amounts could begin after the discharge is entered, usually in about 90 days.
Tax debts - The Oregon Department of Revenue can initiate wage garnishment to collect unpaid state taxes. The IRS can levy your wages for unpaid federal taxes but must first send a notice of intent to levy, which gives the individual an opportunity to deal with the situation, including asking to be placed on an uncollectable status. You should consult immediately with an experienced bankruptcy or tax attorney if you get a wage garnishment from the State of Oregon or a notice of intent to levy from the IRS.
Student loans - Defaulted student loans can also result in wage garnishment.

It's important to note that certain types of income, such as Social Security benefits, child or spousal support, unemployment compensation, disability benefits, or retirement income are completely exempt from garnishment. In addition, the proceeds of those sources of income are exempt and can not be garnished from your bank account. If they are, it's essential to seek legal advice from an experienced attorney so that you can file a challenge to the garnishment and demand the return of the garnished funds.

It is also important to remember that continuing wage garnishments apply only to W-2 wages and not to 1099 independent contractor payments. If you are not an employee and do not have taxes taken from your earnings and receive a 1099 instead of a W-2 at the end of the year, then a continuing wage garnishment does not apply to you.

Commercial Fishermen fall in this category and are also covered by 46 USC Section 11109. It provides that their earnings are not subject to wage garnishment.

Also, there are limits on the amount that can be garnished from your wages based on Oregon state laws. If you are experiencing wage garnishment, it's essential to seek legal advice from a bankruptcy law firm to explore your options and possibly stop the process and recover some of your wages.

The Wage Garnishment Process

The wage garnishment process typically involves several steps, including the following:

The creditor obtains a court order: In most cases, the creditor must obtain a court order before initiating wage garnishment. The creditor must file a lawsuit against the debtor, and if the court finds in favor of the creditor, a judgment is issued that allows wage garnishment.
Notice of garnishment sent to the employer: Once the court order is obtained, the creditor sends a notice of garnishment to the debtor's employer. The employer is then required by law to withhold a portion of the debtor's wages and send it to the creditor.
The debtor is sent a notice: The debtor will also receive a notice of garnishment from the creditor, which outlines the reason for the garnishment and the total amount owed. However, the creditor is allowed to send this notice to the debtor at the same time or shortly after sending the writ of garnishment to the employer. So usually, the first time that you know that you have been garnished is when you get a call or a notice from your payroll or human resources department.
The exact amount that will be withheld from your wages is determined by your employer based on the available exemptions. These are outlined in the response to the writ of garnishment that the employer must fill out and return to the creditor.
Wage garnishment begins: The debtor's employer fills out the response to the garnishment and determines how much they will be withholding from your wages. They have to keep sending a response and a payment to the creditor for 90 days or until the debt is paid off in full.
After 90 days, the garnishing creditor has to send your employer another writ of garnishment before more money is withheld from your wages. If they do, it starts the process over again.

In summary, the wage garnishment process involves obtaining a court order, sending a notice of garnishment to the employer, who then begins to withhold a portion of the debtor's wages for 90 days or until the debt is paid off. Debtors may seek legal advice to challenge the wage garnishment or try to negotiate a settlement.

Oregon Wage Garnishment Laws

In Oregon, there are specific laws and regulations related to wage garnishment. These laws outline what creditors are allowed to garnish and the limits on the amount that can be withheld from an individual's wages.

Oregon law allows wage garnishment for certain types of debts, including unpaid taxes, child support, and court-ordered judgments. However, there are also exemptions and limitations on what can be garnished, such as a portion of an individual's disposable income.

Additionally, Oregon law provides certain protections for individuals who are subject to wage garnishment. For example, creditors must provide a notice of garnishment to the debtor and the employer, and the debtor has the right to challenge the garnishment in court. In some cases, the debtor may be able to negotiate a repayment plan or settlement with the creditor to avoid wage garnishment.

It's important to note that these laws can be complex and may vary depending on the specific circumstances of the wage garnishment case. If you are facing wage garnishment in Oregon, it's essential to seek legal advice from a bankruptcy law firm to understand your rights and explore your options.

Maximum Garnishment Limits in Oregon

Under Oregon law, the maximum amount that can be garnished from an individual's wages is 25% of their disposable income or the amount by which their disposable income exceeds 40 times the minimum wage, whichever is less. Disposable income is defined as the individual's income after deductions for taxes, Social Security, and other mandatory deductions.

It's important to note that some types of income are exempt from garnishment under Oregon law, including certain government benefits, retirement income, and disability benefits. Additionally, there are certain exemptions for low-income individuals and those who are the head of household.

Compared to federal law, which allows for up to 25% of disposable income to be garnished for most types of debts, Oregon's maximum limits are more favorable for debtors. However, it's important to keep in mind that these limits may still have a significant impact on an individual's income and financial well-being.

If you are facing wage garnishment in Oregon, it's crucial to understand the specific limits and exemptions that apply to your situation. Working with a bankruptcy law firm can help you navigate the wage garnishment process and explore your options for resolving the debt.

Exemptions and Special Rules in Oregon

One unique exemption in Oregon is for tips received by employees. Under Oregon law, tips are considered the property of the employee and cannot be garnished. This means that if an employee's wages include tips, those tips cannot be included in the calculation of the maximum amount that can be garnished.

If you work for or an amount near the minimum wage or are working part-time, the amount that can be garnished is limited to the amount by which your earnings exceed 40 times the minimum wage per week.

Oregon also has special rules for what happens when a person who already has a child support garnishment gets a wage garnishment from another creditor. When child support is already being garnished, the amount that can be withheld from an employee's paycheck for a regular creditor is strictly limited so that the combined amount does not exceed 25% of their disposable income.

If you are facing wage garnishment in Oregon, it's important to work with a bankruptcy law firm to understand your rights and explore your options for resolving the debt.

Employer's Role in Oregon Wage Garnishments

Employers in Oregon have important responsibilities and potential liabilities when it comes to wage garnishments. As the party responsible for withholding and remitting the garnished wages, employers must comply with state and federal laws related to wage garnishment.

One of the primary responsibilities of employers in the wage garnishment process is to accurately calculate and withhold the appropriate amount of wages. This includes determining the maximum amount that can be garnished under Oregon law and accounting for any exemptions or special rules that apply. Employers must also notify the employee of the garnishment and provide them with a copy of the garnishment order.

Failure to comply with wage garnishment laws can result in liability for the employer. For example, if an employer fails to withhold the appropriate amount of wages or fails to remit the garnished wages to the creditor, they may be held liable for the amount of wages that were not garnished or paid to the creditor. Additionally, employers may face legal action if they retaliate against an employee for having wages garnished.

To avoid potential liability and ensure compliance with wage garnishment laws, employers should consult with legal counsel and establish clear policies and procedures for handling wage garnishments. This includes training HR staff on the wage garnishment process and establishing systems for accurately calculating and remitting garnished wages.

Remember, however, if the garnishment is for an individual who is an independent contractor and not an employee, the wage garnishment does not apply to them. If you are not required to withhold taxes and you send them a 1099 instead of a W-2 at the end of the year, a continuing wage garnishment would not apply to their earnings.

If you operate a commercial fishing vessel and have a crew who receive a share of the catch proceeds, 46 USC 11109 specifically provides that their earnings are not subject to garnishment.

How to Stop Wage Garnishments

The ways to stop a garnishment is limited basically to reaching a settlement with the creditor serving the writ of garnishment or filing bankruptcy. There really are no other common or effective ways to stop a garnishment.

Negotiate with the Creditor

Creditors usually will not stop a wage garnishment once it has started. It is very unlikely that you will be able to get them to agree to stop the garnishment in exchange for a promise to make payments.

Payment plans usually have to be negotiated earlier in the collection process such as before a lawsuit is filed or before a judgment is taken. But once it is to the point that a writ of garnishment has been served, the only settlement that is usually available is for a lump sum payment.

Creditors will usually take a discount for cash, typically 25% to 35%. Sometimes though, they will consider stopping a garnishment for a substantial down payment followed by payments.

Contest the Garnishment

The only way to contest a wage garnishment is to ask the court to set aside the underlying judgment on the grounds that it was taken in error. This must be done within 6 months after it is entered and must be based on an allegation that the lawsuit wasn’t properly served on the defendant in the first place. It is very difficult to do and isn’t usually successful.

File a Claim of Exemption

For wage garnishments in Oregon, it is not necessary to file a claim of exemption. Your employer must take the wage exemptions into consideration when filling out the response to garnishment and determining how much of your wages must be sent to the creditor.

If the garnishment was against your bank instead of your employer and money was sent to the creditor that can be traced to your wages or to other exempt sources like social security, retirement, unemployment compensation, or worker’s compensation, you must file a challenge to garnishment to claim your exemption within 30 days. This is filed with the Court and served on the creditor. They have to either honor it and return the money (75% in the case of wages) or object to it. In that case, you must request a hearing and be prepared to prove that the money taken can be traced to an exempt source.

File for Bankruptcy

If the garnishment is just part of larger overall financial problems or is for a substantial debt, you may want to consider filing bankruptcy. It is definitely worth it at least to get information about this option so that you can include it in your decision-making process.

Filing for bankruptcy can stop wage garnishments but there are many pros and cons of filing bankruptcy and you should consider all of the implications of this option before deciding that it is best for you. Both Chapter 7 & 13 stop garnishments automatically and an experienced bankruptcy attorney can help you decide if it is a good idea to file and, if so, which Chapter would be better for you.

Recovering Garnished Wages

Is it possible to recover the money taken from your wages? Can the creditor be forced to give some of all of the money back?

Identifying Over-Garnishment

In Oregon, wage garnishment is limited to 25% of your net wages. If your employer has withheld more than 25% and paid it to the creditor, it is up to them to demand that the creditor return it or to withhold less from the next check(s) until the correct amount has been withheld over several checks.

If your employer withholds too much, they may have underpaid you and be liable for damages for failing to pay you your full wage. So the place to start if your wages have been over-garnished is to contact your payroll or human resources department.

Filing a Claim for Recovering Garnished Wages

Under some circumstances, you can recover some or all of your garnished wages if you file bankruptcy. First, you must be eligible to use the federal bankruptcy exemptions. This means that you have either lived in Oregon for two and a half years continuously or that you previously lived in a state that allowed the use of those exemptions. Second, if you own a home, you may want to use them and instead use the Oregon exemptions which have a larger homestead exemption.

If you can use the federal exemptions and you file bankruptcy, you can recover all of the wages garnished in the 90 days before your case was filed, so long as that amount is at least $600.00.

Working with an Attorney for Recovery

You should always consider contacting an experienced bankruptcy attorney to discuss whether bankruptcy is an option for you. They can help you decide whether it would be worth it to file to stop the garnishment and maybe recover some or all of your wages that were already paid to the creditor. A good bankruptcy attorney can help you decide if it is a reasonable option given your overall financial situation.

Protect Your Wages and Financial Well-Being

A wage garnishment can leave you literally unable to pay your bills. It may be the first step to serious financial hardship. Therefore, it is important to get legal advice as soon as you know that you have been sued. This way you have the best chance to protect your wages and maintain your financial well-being. At that point, it may still be possible to negotiate a payment arrangement and avoid having your wages garnished in the first place.

An experienced attorney can help you consider all of the options and identify the best way to have better credit sooner rather than later.

Wage Garnishment FAQ's

Tax Tips for Commercial Fishermen

Sat, 11 Dec 2021 22:38:16 GMT

Many commercial fishermen, especially early in their careers, do not pay attention to taxes. They don’t have an accountant. They don’t pay estimated taxes from their earnings and delay getting their tax returns filed. Often they end up always a year or more behind. Or they don’t do anything and end up owing tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS and the Oregon Department of Revenue (ODR) for multiple years. We help fishermen get their taxes under control. We do this by working with accountants to get missing tax returns filed, getting our clients started on making the correct estimated tax payments and getting tax collections for older years under control with payment arrangements or in some cases settlements with the IRS or ODR.

Choosing the Right Entity for Your Commercial Fishing Business

This question is just as important to the owners of a commercial fishing boat as it is to the individuals who work on it and get paid a percentage of the catch for their work. And we recommend that you talk to an accountant about the tax advantages of operating as an LLC. With this kind of business entity you can choose how you want it to be taxes.

These tax advantages are pretty simple. With an LLC taxed as an S-Corp you can get income from fishing without paying the 15% self-employment tax. This savings isn’t available for all of your income. Your LLC has to pay you a salary for some of your income. This part of your income is treated as wages and has to be subject to tax withholdings just like any wages are. But you can take a healthy portion of your income without paying the self-employment tax.

This money goes to make a contribution on your behalf to the social security system. Therefore, of course, the disadvantage is that since you aren’t putting that money into the social security system you will get much less in social security when you retire.

So this only really makes sense if you are able to put some or all of that money into a retirement account. Most fishermen are not able to do so and end up spending it instead. So they are leaving themselves short when they are ready to start collecting their social security.

There are also advantages to setting up an LLC if you owe a lot of back taxes and are facing collection efforts from the IRS or the ODR. Specifically, the taxing agencies will have a harder time seizing income or bank accounts in the name of an LLC to collect taxes that you owe personally.

Sole Proprietorship

Most commercial fishermen operate as a sole proprietorship. The advantage is that it is simple and straightforward. Their income goes into their personal account bank and they pay their bills, both for fishing and household expenses from that account. At the end of the year, they gather up their bank statements and their receipts and take them to the accountant to have their taxes prepared. This works fine for people who don’t owe a lot of back taxes but leaves them vulnerable to collections by the IRS or the ODR if they do.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

If you owe a lot of old taxes, the advantages of setting up an LLC is that your percentage for working on a fishing boat doesn’t come to you personally but rather to your LLC. It has a separate taxpayer id number and a separate bank account. So the LLC’s income and bank account can’t be garnished for your individual taxes and so your earnings aren’t subject to levy or garnishment until they are paid to you personally.

The disadvantages are that you now have two bank accounts and two tax returns. You have to file a lot more paperwork to set up and maintain the LLC as a separate legal entity. It is much simpler to operate as a sole proprietorship with just one tax return, your personal income tax return, where your income is all reported.

S-Corp

There really is no good reason to operate as an S-Corp since an LLC can opt to be taxed as an S-Corp. This means the business income and expenses are passed through to you as the owner of the company. An S-Corp has all of the other disadvantages of an LLC as it also requires a separate tax return and a separate bank account. But it has the added disadvantage of a corporation in that you must maintain certain corporate formalities in order to retain your corporate status.

Managing Your Gross Income

The most important thing for a commercial fisherman working on a fishing boat for a share of the catch is to pay an appropriate amount of estimated taxes from each check to the IRS and the ODR. Commercial fishermen are given special rules for estimated tax payments but in many cases, these lead to more problems.

Specifically, fishermen have extra time to make their estimated tax payments. Other self-employed people or small business owners are supposed to make 4 estimated tax payments per year for a total of at least 80% of the previous year's taxes. But fishermen can either pay 80% by January 15th and file their taxes with payment of the balance owing by April 15th or they can simply file and pay in full by March 15th and skip paying estimated taxes altogether.

But this leaves fishermen trying to save the money for taxes all year long so that they have enough on January 15th or March 15th to meet these requirements. And for many people, there are just too many other things to spend the money on, like vehicle payments or living expenses, and so when the time comes to pay the taxes, the money isn’t there. And this leads to fishermen not filing their taxes when due because they don’t have the money to pay them.

-Refer to this page for context about the above point.

Tax Highlights for Commercial Fishermen

Commercial fishermen should be aware of certain tax advantages that have been created just for them as well as the usual deductions and tax considerations that are available to any small business person.

For additional context and information you can reference this page for all information in this section.

Capital Construction Fund

Many fishermen working on someone else’s boat for a share of the catch dream of owning their own boat. The law creating the Capital Construction Fund program was set up just for them. Under it, you can start to save to buy your own boat with tax-deductible contributions to a Capital Construction Fund at an approved bank. There are regulations on how much you can deduct and how soon you have to use it but it is a real opportunity if you are not behind on your income taxes and want to save to buy your own boat. Many commercial fishermen have benefited from it.

Out of Town Expenses

A fisherman or boat owner should only use an accountant with experience preparing returns for commercial fishermen. There are many deductions for out of town expenses that commercial fishermen can take advantage of. These include gear and supplies, out-of-port meals, provisions, telephone, internet expenses, and several kinds of travel expenses; such as airfare, meals, and lodging expenses. An accountant experienced with returns for fishermen will make sure you are getting all the deductions you are entitled to.

Estimated Tax Payments

There are two special methods for commercial fishermen that establish the dates and the minimum amounts a fisherman must pay their taxes .

You either pay an estimated tax of 80% of the previous year’s tax liability by January 15th following the end of the tax year. But you must file your return by April 15th and pay the balance of your taxes with your return.

Or you can skip paying estimated taxes altogether and just file and pay in full by March 15th following the end of the tax year. On paper, the second method is better because you just pay what you owe when you file your return. In effect, this means that commercial fishermen do not have to pay estimated taxes at all.

But this is very difficult to do. It means that you have to save up money all year long and you have to get your paperwork to your accountant right away after the end of the tax year so that the return can be completed by the March 15th deadline.

You can also just pay the usual estimated taxes during the tax year, just like for any business, which is 20% of the previous year’s taxes due on each of these dates: April 15th, June 15th, September 15th, and January 15th of the following year. So this way you at least are getting the money to the IRS and the ODR and aren’t trying to save it up all year.

If you owe back taxes or have had trouble making estimated taxes before, you should consider another method using your average tax rate for the previous year and then paying that amount each time you get paid. To do this, look at your previous year’s returns. Divide the total taxes by the gross income and then use that percentage to determine how much to pay to the IRS and the ODR each time you get a check.

For example, if you made $250,000.00 in 2021, before any taxes or expenses, and owed $12,500.00 to Oregon and $25,000.00 to the IRS, then the ratio would be 10% for the IRS and 5% for the state. Then, if you got a check for $30,000.00 you would immediately send off $3,000.00 to the IRS and $1,500.00 to Oregon. The advantage is that the money is out of harm’s way, i.e. it is not going to get levied or garnished for old taxes and you aren’t tempted to spend it on something else.

Be sure to print off the estimated tax vouchers from the IRS and ODR websites to send with your payments so that they are applied to the current tax year. Here are the links:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf

https://www.oregon.gov/dor/forms/FormsPubs/form-or-40-v_101-172.pdf

Tax Issues Commercial Fishermen Should Look Out For

If you own your fishing boat, you can usually depreciate what you paid for it over 10 years. Fishing tenders or processing boats as well as gear with a useful life longer than a year may qualify for a 7-year depreciation.

Gear that lasts one season or less can usually be deducted as a cost of business.

But when you sell your boat there may be depreciation recapture if the sale prices is more than what you paid for it less the depreciation you wrote off each year.

Permits and leases can usually be written off over their time length.

Make sure that you maintain complete business records and keep all of your receipts. It is not enough just to have a check register or bank statements. You must also have the receipts to back them up.

For additional context and information, you can reference this page for all information in this section.

Capital Expenses, Gains, and Losses

When commercial fishermen purchase equipment or other assets that have a useful life longer than one year, it usually can’t be counted as a deductible business expense, like fuel, ice, provisions or supplies can be. For assets like the fishing boat that have a useful life measured in years, the commercial boat owner can depreciate the value of the boat and reduce their income taxes each year. However, this will lower the cost basis which means that on the sale of the property, the difference between the sale price and the basis less depreciation, represents a capital gain.

The most important thing is to be sure that you have an accountant with experience doing returns for fishermen or for the owners of fishing boats. They will be up-to-date on the latest rules regarding all of these issues and will make sure that you get the deductions that you are entitled to and that you get full advantage of all of the rules for depreciation and capital gains for fishermen and boat owners.

Get Assistance from an Attorney if you owe Back Taxes

If you owe a lot of back taxes, it is just as crucial that you get the assistance of an attorney experienced in helping commercial fishermen. An experienced tax attorney can help you deal with the IRS and the ODR, advise you as to whether you might qualify for a settlement, and help you get set up on a payment agreement if you don’t

An experienced attorney can also advise you on your options in bankruptcy and whether some of your old taxes could be discharged. Dealing with the IRS and the ODR is complicated and time consuming. But if you want to get your tax situation under control, the only way to do it is to get the help of an attorney who has been through the whale process before.

Why do so many commercial fishermen turn to Behrends & Carusone to help them deal with old income taxes? It is because so many friends, family members, other commercial fishermen, accountants, or attorneys have referred them to us! We have helped so many commercial fishermen in Oregon get offers in compromise approved, tax liens released, payment plans set up and, yes, millions of dollars in old income taxes discharged in bankruptcy.

We work with many accountants who send their clients to us when they finally want to resolve their old tax problems and put the collection notices and threatening letters behind them. They send us their commercial fishermen clients who finally want to get their tax debts under control.

Before you pay a national tax resolution service thousands of dollars, check with us for a $250.00 appointment to find out what kind of tax relief might be available to you. Can we help you with the old taxes you owe the IRS or the Oregon Department of Revenue? Send us a message or set up a phone appointment to find out! If you are a commercial fisherman who owes back taxes, call us at 1-800-391-7472. You'll be glad that you did!

Commercial Fishermen Tax Tips FAQ's

Is it unethical or morally wrong to file bankruptcy?

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 01:50:41 GMT

Potential clients tell me "It's not the way I was raised!"

Is it unethical or morally wrong to file bankruptcy?

People that I talk to almost all feel bad about their financial situation and often they will say to me that they think that they are going to have to file bankruptcy even though they say that they know it is unethical or morally wrong. “It’s not the way I was raised!”

And then, as I spend some time finding out about their situation, I find out that they have had bad things that have happened to them like uninsured medical expenses, loss of employment, divorce or a business failure. A lot of people these days have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis. So many people lost their jobs or saw their business go down to nothing overnight.

So is it unethical or morally wrong to file bankruptcy?

We as a society have made the choice, the right one, I believe, to give people a way to get a fresh start. Bankruptcy is the law of the land for a reason. And that is because many, many good people find themselves deep in debt and desperately in need of a way out, a way back to a normal financial existence. And it is not just the people in debt who are at risk but everyone who depends on them financially and emotionally.

Bankruptcy is a trade off, with benefits and consequences. It isn’t a one way street but it may be the only way to peace of mind and freedom from crushing stress and even depression.

So bankruptcy can make you whole again and let you again be part of society and the economy. It can let you support your family and plan for your future in a way that otherwise would not be possible. And for many seniors, it can let you retire at peace and financially independent instead of being a burden to your family.

So the answer is that bankruptcy can be an ethical and moral choice.

As Eugene, OR bankruptcy and debt relief attorneys, we help people all over the state get the answers to their questions about bankruptcy and tax collection settlements. We handle a lot of cases from the coast, from Lincoln City to Bandon and Gold Beach. We have helped many families from Corvallis, Albany and Roseburg. We can help you too- all you have to do is call!

How important is it to hire a bankruptcy or debt relief attorney in Eugene, OR with professional support staff?

Sat, 09 Oct 2021 15:49:34 GMT

Many people in Eugene hire a bankruptcy or debt relief attorney based in Portland or Salem or an attorney who is a one person operation.

How important is it for your bankruptcy attorney to have a local Eugene or Springfield office staffed with professional legal assistants? Many people filing bankruptcy in Lane County end up hiring a lawyer who is based in Portland or Salem. And some attorneys have branch offices in Eugene or Springfield but without any professional legal staff here.

Also, there are attorneys handling bankruptcy cases in Eugene who have a one-person operation, ie, just them, including some of the ones from out of town.

So, does it make a difference if you hire an attorney who doesn't have any support staff or who is based out of town?

Professional support staff in a local office simply means you are probably going to get better service. You will be able to reach someone who knows about your case when you need help. You can drop off documents with someone who can look through them while you wait and let you know if you have everything that is needed.

And if there is an emergency, like an unexpected garnishment or an attempted repossession, it can really make a difference. You are more likely to be able to get immediate assistance. This might mean someone who can pick up the phone and take care of a problem right away. There will be someone who can print off any documents that are needed, for example, to get your case filed sooner that planned, and have them waiting for you to sign.

So the bottom line is that if you are looking for a bankruptcy or debt relief attorney in Eugene, OR it might not be a bad idea to find out if the attorney you are thinking of hiring has an office here in the Eugene Springfield area with professional support staff . If not, please give us a call. Our paralegals are smart and experienced and will make sure that you are given the kind of top notch service that you need.

Can You Sell Property without Paying All of the Tax Liens on it?

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 22:17:15 GMT

Selling Property Subject to State or Federal Tax Liens? Our experienced tax and debt relief attorneys may be able to help you close the sale without paying the liens in full.

Can you sell property that isn't worth enough to pay the tax liens against it? Or do they have to be paid before the property can be sold? Does it matter if they are Oregon Department of Revenue or IRS tax liens?

The IRS has a form and a process to release property from tax liens in this situation. You can go to IRS.gov and look at Form 14135 and the instructions for it as well as Publications 783 and 4235. This will let you see what you will need to apply to have the liens released as part of a sale.

However, if you call the Oregon Department of Revenue an ask them, they are almost certain to tell you that they would only release the liens in exchange for full payment. However, there actually is a process know as an Application for Release of Specific Property you can use to sell property even if the price isn't enough to pay the ODR tax warrants in full.

If you have a property with ORS or IRS tax liens that can't be paid from the sale, call us today to find out more about how this process works or for help getting your sale to go through.

When the property is someone's home and there are judgment liens against it, often they can be removed even if they won't be paid in full.

This important information was brought to you by Behrends, Carusone and Covington, trusted tax lawyers and debt relief attorneys in Eugene, OR.

Ramifications of Supreme Count Decision on Recovering Repo'd Vehicle by Filing Ch 13

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 18:38:07 GMT

Can you get your repossessed vehicle back by quickly filing Ch 13?

In January of 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of City of Chicago v. Fulton , 141 S. Ct. 585 (2021)

This case was the subject of a case review by U of O Law School Professor Andrea Coles-Bjerre in the Spring, 2021 Oregon State Bar Debtor/Creditor Subsection Newsletter. It is of great interest to us as Eugene, OR bankruptcy attorneys and debt relief lawyers because it involves the issue of whether you can get a repossessed vehicle back by quickly filing Chapter 13.

Justice Sotomayor concurred in the opinion but noted that the decision created a lack of procedures for a timely and cost-effective turnover to debtors, especially debtors seeking to recover their daily driving vehicle needed for an effective reorganization. She called this a “gap left by the court’s ruling today.”

In practice, this is a chasm with debtors facing extraordinary costs and delay in recovering a vehicle from a creditor who chooses to follow the Supreme Court’s safe harbor of “passive retention,” resulting in an increase of surrendered vehicles where the loans could have been restructured in a Chapter 13. This decision has also emboldened certain auto lenders to move vehicles to distant auction markets, making it even more difficult for a debtor to recover a vehicle. Locally, I have seen repossessed vehicles moved rapidly to Boise or Seattle for auction.

Justice Sotomayor’s concurring opinion was a direct plea to Congress and/or the Court to resolve the procedural problems the decision created. But before looking at such a response, let’s take a few minutes to review what happened after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The case consolidated four separate Chapter 13 cases where the City of Chicago had seized a debtor’s vehicle to pay municipal obligations such as parking or traffic tickets. The Supreme Court reached a narrow ruling interpreting the stay under Section 362(a)(3) and the turnover provisions of Section 542(a). The Supreme Court did not address any other subsections of 362, and remanded the case back to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The Seventh Circuit evaluated the appeal record and determined that in two of the four cases, there were unresolved issues regarding potential stay violations of other subsections of 362. Therefore, it remanded those two cases, In Re Fulton and In Re Shannon back to the Bankruptcy Court for further proceedings. (City of Chicago v. Fulton, case no. 18-04116, nonprecedential disposition order dated April 12, 2021 (7th Cir. 2021))

Ultimately, these remands did not produce any decisions that would assist with the unanswered questions from Chicago v. Fulton.

In In Re Fulton, the Chapter 13 case had been dismissed for debtor’s failure to make Plan payments. The debtor, the City of Chicago and the trustee all agreed that there was no need to reopen the case to adjudicate potential stay violations and any related damages.

In In Re Shannon, the Chapter 13 Plan had been completed and the case was in final stages of closing. Again, the parties decided not to adjudicate any potential stay violations and related damages. The City had already surrendered the vehicle by Bankruptcy Court Order as a sanction. However, this case was somewhat unique in that there was no turnover motion but just a motion for Section 362(a) sanctions after Plan confirmation. In the approximately 40 published opinions citing Chicago v. Fulton, none have interpreted it with regard to the issues in the case. All of the written opinions cite it for other reasons.

Part of the gap identified by Justice Sotomayor was a rule-based gap in that FRBP 7001(1) requires an Adversary Proceeding “to recover money or property”. The Supreme Court’s decision was released on January 14, 2021 and, within 15 days, the legal profession had responded. On January 29, 2021, 45 law professors raised the issue to the U.S. Court’s Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules. Their letter analyzed the issues and attached detailed proposed rule changes to create a new motion proceeding for turnover under Section 542. Their proposal was to create a national turnover procedure for use in all chapters by all debtors as to any property.

On February 4, 2021, three further law professors provided comment on these proposed rules and provided some minor revisions. Shortly thereafter, the National Bankruptcy Conference submitted its own comments that supported of the initial proposed rules by the 45 law professors and also provided some minor revisions.

At the May 24, 2021 meeting of the Committee, these proposals were discussed and the Committee agreed that the Consumer Subcommittee should further investigate the matter, including whether there should be an expansive rule change as proposed by the law professors or a more limited rule change. The Subcommittee would also survey Bankruptcy Courts and trustees because the Committee noted that some Bankruptcy Courts were already allowing turnover by motion.

The Subcommittee reported back and, on August 19, 2021, the Advisory Committee reached a final decision on a rule change to be published for comment. The Committee ultimately proposed a very narrow change to Rule 7001, differing substantially from the proposal by the law professors and the National Bankruptcy Conference.

The Committee felt that the rule change should focus on the issues in Chicago v. Fulton. The proposed rule would merely add a further exception to Rule 7001 that reads “a proceeding by an individual Debtor to recover tangible personal property under Section 542(a).” There is no discuss as to why “tangible personal property” was used instead of say “consumer property.” Nor did the Committee suggest how “tangible personal property” was defined. Thus, the Committee left it to local jurisdictions to craft rules for a turnover motion of tangible personal property by an individual Debtor.

The Subcommittee’s survey of Bankruptcy Courts and Trustees is somewhat interesting. It received responses from 45 clerks. 4 clerks responded that their districts, prior to Fulton, had local rules that allowed turnover of estate property by motion. Several other districts do not bar turnover motions but allow them to proceed as a motion if the respondent does not object. And 8 courts were in the process of considering rule revisions in response to Fulton.

The Trustees, perhaps providing overlapping responses, also reported that 4 courts allowed turnover by motion and 6 were considering rule changes to allow turnover by motion. And 3 commented that their courts have been allowing turnover by motion without a local rule that expressly provides for that procedure. So, it seems that the gap is closing fast and that motions under Section 542(a) for turnover will shortly be allowed in all jurisdictions.

However, neither the Supreme Court, the rules Committee nor the commentators’ proposed rules address turnover motions under Section 543, which is turnover by a custodian. Chicago v. Fulton was somewhat of an unusual case because all of the vehicles had been seized by the City and held by the City as creditor. But a far more common occurrence is an auto lender using a repossession agent to recover the collateral and to move it through the liquidation process. So, is there still a gap for the more common situation of a repossession agent in possession of a vehicle and with directions from the creditor to move the vehicle along to auction? Or can local court’s address Section 543 in conjunction with Section 542?

First, one must consider if a repo agent constitutes a custodian under Section 543. “Custodian” is defined at Section 101(11) and includes “a Trustee receiver, or agent under applicable law or under a contract that is appointed or authorized to take charge of property of the debtor for the purpose of enforcing a lien against such property or for the purpose of general administration of such property for the benefit of the debtor’s creditors.”

A repo agent would constitute a classic state law agent acting on behalf of a lender under applicable state law and contract. The agent is taking charge of a debtor’s property for the purposes of enforcing a lien against such property. Therefore, repo agents are arguably custodians.

If that is the case, then there would be no bar to local court’s enacting rules for turnover by repo agents who remain in possession of a debtor’s vehicle at the time a bankruptcy petition is filed. This is because of significant differences between Section 543 and Section 542.

One issue courts have considered in looking at Section 362, Section 542 and Rule 7001, is that Section 542, while mandatory, contains conditions and exceptions that require an adversary proceeding. But those conditions and exceptions are not present in Section 543, which is equally mandatory. More importantly, Section 543 has some different conditions and exceptions that all requires a custodian to get a court order to be relieved of Section 543's mandatory provisions, after notice and a hearing. A court is also empowered, after notice and a hearing, to enter other orders of various types, including orders to protect the custodian who complies with the turnover obligations, to provide payment to the custodian for reasonable expenses and costs, and to surcharge the custodian for any improper behavior in administering the asset.

Therefore, one cannot conclude that Section 7001 prohibits a turnover motion against a custodian because Congress expressly authorized matters related to custodian turnover to be addressed by the court after notice and a hearing. This is similar language that justified the Oregon District Court adopting rules for lien stripping under Section 506 instead of an Adversary Proceeding under Rule 7001. Rule 7001 requires an Adversary Proceeding to “determine the validity, priority, or extent of a lien” but Section 506 also allows the extent of a secured lien to be decided by motion. Since the Code supersedes the Rules and the code is clear that a court has authority to engage in motion practice under Section 543, all districts are free to proceed with Section 543 turnover motion rules.

Congress should give further thought regarding the Supreme Court’s decision and a growing safe harbor for “passive retention”. The ruling was not surprising in light of a similar ruling regarding cash collateral in Citizens Bank of Maryland v. Strumpf, 516 U.S. 16 (1995) and various court decisions as to pre-petition ligation allowing a creditor to passively retain a case on a state court docket instead of actively dismissing the case.

Fulton is just a another instance of passive behavior that is a judicial exception to the stay. But passivity by a creditor can ripen into sanctionable behavior. A good example are cases were a debtor surrendered a relatively worthless vehicle. The creditor then refuses to recover its collateral yet refuses to surrender title to allow a debtor to dispose of the worthless collateral. This is a type of passive behavior. But the courts, starting with In Re Pratt, 462 F.3d 14 (First Cir. 2006), have found such passive behavior can be coercive and, therefore, a violation of the discharge injunction. Similarly, under Strumpf, the passive behavior, such as a freeze on a debtor’s accounts, can quickly degenerate into a stay violation.

But a bank or credit union can no longer wait out the case to discharge and then, with the stay lifted, exercise their offset rights by seizing the cash collateral. Nor can they wait months to seek relief from stay. To do so is a stay violation. In re Orr, 234 B.R. 249 (Bankr. N.D.N.Y. 1999); In re Wicks, 215 B.R. 316 (U.S. Dist. Ct. E.D.N.Y. 1997).

Of course, it is up to Congress to address whether such passive behavior should be treated as a stay violation by amending the Code.

Need Debt Relief or Tax Help in Lincoln County?

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 14:41:49 GMT

Are you in Newport, Toledo, Lincoln City or somewhere else in Lincoln County and need some help dealing with the IRS, the Oregon Department of Revenue or other debts? We can help!

Are you ready to see the sun set on your financial problems?

Good news! Even though we're based in Eugene, we have helped many people in Lincoln County get debt relief and deal with their tax problems. We've helped fishermen settle with the IRS and small business owners and homeowners protect their assets while discharging their debts. We can handle liens, levies and garnishments. Everything can be done over the phone and by email so that you don't have to leave home to get help. Call now to schedule a free consultation by phone. We can help you get the debt relief you need just like we've done for so many other people from Newport and elsewhere in Lincoln County.

POSSIBLE SCAM ALERT- BOGUS MORTGAGE SERVICER CHANGE NOTICE?

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 21:23:09 GMT

Have you received a notice that your mortgage payments should go to a new servicer?

It seems a new scam has surfaced this month - October 2021. So beware if you have a loan that is a HUD backed mortgages, including reverse mortgages, FHA and USDA rural home loans. People are getting notice of a mortgage servicer transfer and a change of the address for payment starting in October.

At this time, this notice appears to be a scam. The new servicer is said to be ISN Corporation which is a legitimate company that works with government agencies including HUD. But the contact information on the notice including the payment information does not appear to be connected with ISN. If you receive such a letter, we suggest you call your current loan servicer and ask if there has been in fact a change to a new servicer.

In addition, current law requires that an old mortgage servicer forward to the new servicer any payments accidently sent to the old servicer during the change. So you can still pay the way you always have while you are confirming if there actually is a change in where to send or how to make your payments. This will allow you to avoid any late fees.

Please call or email if you have any questions about this possible scam. .

Tax Garnishments and Levies

Sat, 18 Sep 2021 16:40:47 GMT

Can the IRS or ODR take money from my bank account without warning me first?

Q: Does the IRS or the ODR have to let you know of their plans before they take money out of your bank account? I had $5,000.00 in my account and my bank says that they received a garnishment from the Oregon Department of Revenue for taxes my ex-husband failed to pay years ago on a joint tax return. I never received a warning that they were going to collect from my bank account and our divorce decree says that he is responsible for paying these taxes.

A: No, the taxing agencies don’t have to warn you before they take money out of your account. If you know that you owe money to the State of Oregon you shouldn’t leave money in a bank account because they can garnish it without warning. Usually the first time you find out that there is a garnishment is when your bank tells you or when you can’t get access to your funds. As far as whether the ODR can collect money from you that your ex was ordered to pay in the divorce decree, the answer is yes it if was a joint return. The ODR isn’t bound by the terms of the dissolution of marriage and since you both owe the taxes on a joint return, they can collect from you. You have the right to go against your ex for violating the terms of the divorce but it doesn’t protect you from the ODR.

Is your mortgage forbearance program about to expire?

Sun, 05 Sep 2021 15:56:19 GMT

New Rules for Mortgage Lenders and Servicers May Help!

Are you in a mortgage forbearance program that is about to expire?

Good news! The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a new rule effective August 31, 2021 that requires loan servicers to help borrowers in forbearance to find options for repaying their loans. It also allows them to provide some repayment options without requiring a complete loan application from the borrower.

However, It is extremely important to reach out to your lender or servicer as soon as possible to find out about and have the opportunity to use the options available to you. Here's a link to the CFPB blog discussing the new rule. Paste it into your browser window to see the blog entry.

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/new-mortgage-servicing-rule-aims-to-prevent-avoidable-foreclosures-as-protections-expire/

Call us to discuss the ramifications for you personally or if you have any questions about your financial situation.

Chapter 13 Plan Extensions Available Again

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 21:17:54 GMT

Congress Extends Crucial Deadlines

Last year Congress allowed people in Ch 13 with a plan that was confirmed before March 21, 2020 to get an extra 24 months to complete it, if they had been impacted by the COVID 19 crisis. This gave many people more time to pay what they were already going to have to pay. The extension didn't require that they pay more, just that they had more time to pay.

Unfortunately, that option went away on the anniversary of the law that created it. So people who didn't have a confirmed plan prior to March 21, 2020 or who didn't request an extension by March 21, 2021 were out of luck.

Fortunately Congress now has granted a one year extension both on when you had to have a confirmed plan and also the deadline by which you had to request the extension.

So if you are in a Ch 13 case, call your attorney immediately and see if you are eligible. It may give you the ability to reduce your payments and still complete your plan.

Financial problems can eat you alive!

Fri, 21 May 2021 18:47:53 GMT

Schedule a confidential phone conference and learn more from the privacy of your own home!

We're getting more and more calls from people who are struggling with unpaid bills. Unless you have had to live through a time financial distress, from loss of your job or uninsured medical expenses, for example, you may not understand how it can take over your whole life. People tell us that they wake up at night worrying about what will happen with the bills they can't pay. They're concerned about losing their homes or cars. The kids know that something is wrong and worry about what it is that has their parents so upset all of the time. My partners, Kim Covington and Jud Carusone, have been helping people in situations like this for years and know how hard it can be to reach out to someone for help. You can call us and talk about your situation and your options in bankruptcy without any pressure or guilt. We're here to help!! Call 541-344-7472 or visit their websites:

https://www.kimcovington-bankruptcylawyer.com/

https://www.judsoncarusonelaw.com/

Bankruptcy Help

Sun, 20 Dec 2020 23:08:40 GMT

Will there be big changes to bankruptcy laws in 2021?

There could be important changes coming to bankruptcy laws if the two democrats win in the special US Senate elections in Georgia on January 5, 2021.

The 2020 Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act introduced on December 9, 2020 would replace Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 with a single new bankruptcy Chapter. Among the big changes are that it would allow discharge of student loans, provide a discharge before completion of plan payments, help renters with unpaid back rent avoid eviction, provide for discharge of local government fines, allow changes to the principal balance owing on home mortgages that are underwater and provide a way for re-amortization of home mortgages with terms and maturity dates that extend beyond the bankruptcy case.

If you are interested in the actual language of the proposed bill, copy this link into your your browser.

https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Consumer%20Bankruptcy%20Reform%20Act%20(DUN20676)%2012.7.20%20FINAL.pdf

These kind of changes are definitely needed and would make a huge difference in the lives of many people. The means test in the 2005 bankruptcy reform has caused a lot of problems and the ban on discharging student loans is unfair and deprives many people a chance at a fresh start and a secure financial future. Changes to the bankruptcy code are long overdue.

What about foreclosures? I know I can file Ch 13 but are there other ways to defend against foreclosure?

Sat, 12 Dec 2020 23:45:11 GMT

Mortgage Foreclosure Defense is Complicated. You need an expert to help protect your property.

You can always stop a foreclosure sale by filing Ch 13.

But Chapter 13 has many complications. It is a last resort and should be used only when you don't have any alternatives. What can you do if the foreclosure is wrongful? What if the lender isn't giving you credit for payments or has changed the amount of your escrow payments without an explanation. What if you are denied a loan modification when you should have been approved?

In these situations you need an expert in mortgage defense like my partner Judson Carusone. Check out his website which has valuable information about stopping a foreclosure without filing Chapter 13.

https://www.judsoncarusonelaw.com/mortgage-foreclosure-defense/

He has handled many cases and has stopped foreclosures, reinstated mortgages and recovered damages for wrongful foreclosure. Please give him a call and schedule a phone conference if you think your mortgage company is improperly doing something or refusing to do something with your mortgage. He'll be able to tell you if you have a case and what you can do if you do.

Will I lose my car if I file bankuptcy?

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 17:08:00 GMT

Many people wonder if they will lose their car if they have to file bankruptcy. The answer is, of course, complicated but usually it is "No!"

Keeping your car can be essential to getting a fresh start. Is there a danger that you will lose it if you have to file bankruptcy? Usually the answer is no but it is complicated.

Most people owe money on their car so we'll discuss that situation first.

The process here is called "Reaffirmation." This means that you have to agree that you will continue to make the payments and that the lender on the car won't be affected by the bankruptcy. At first glance, this seems like just what you want-- so what's the problem?

It's the danger of the "deficiency!" Most people know that if you have to give a car back or if you can't pay and it's repossessed, the bank or credit union will sell it at auction and that you will still owe them what they don't collect through that process. This is called "the deficiency." But is that still true after bankruptcy? Wouldn't the debt be wiped out so that all they could do is repossess the car? Wouldn't be the end of it?

The answer is that the reaffirmation means that you are responsible for the debt just as though you didn't file bankruptcy at all and so you would still have to pay the deficiency if the car was repossessed or returned after the discharge had been entered.

So one way to avoid this risk, especially if the car is worth much less than what you still owe, is to do a different process, called a "redemption." This means paying what the lender the value of the vehicle in a lump sum. The question, of course, is where would you come up with that money? The good news is that there are lenders who specialize in these loans. You would need a down payment but they will look at the value of your vehicle and tell you what they would loan on it. If you could make a down payment to come up the difference between the value and that loan amount, we would go to the original lender and offer to redeem the car or truck. If they wouldn't agree on the value, the court can force them to accept a fair value for their payoff.

Otherwise, you just have to reaffirm the loan and hope that after getting rid of the rest of your debt, it will be easier for you to pay your car loan.

Another alternative is just to let it go back and buy a used car for cash and drive it for a couple of years while you rebuild your credit and then get a newer used vehicle.

The other situation is if you own your car free and clear. It is still likely that you will be able to keep it. For most people, there are exemptions available to protect their vehicle(s) in bankruptcy. If you have a vehicle that is paid for and is worth a lot, you might have to negotiate a payment to the Ch 7 trustee for the non-exempt equity. This is not uncommon and, of course, we help our clients with this process just like we help them with redemptions and reaffirmations.

Please call or email if you have questions about your car and whether you would lose it if you had to file bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy for Seniors so they can retire with dignity, freedom and peace of mind

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 17:52:16 GMT

If debts are making your retirement miserable, bankruptcy may be the responsible way to bring peace of mind and financial security.

I have helped hundreds of seniors live with dignity, peace of mind and freedom from debt. Your income in retirement may be enough to live on comfortably but not to service the credit cards and other debts from the days when you were working. Many people have ended up with extra bills from helping their kids or from medical bills. Sometimes you have to quit work unexpectedly when medical problems come up.

Of course, with the current pandemic and shutdowns, many who were expecting to work for a few more years are finding that their options have changed.

So I have found that for many seniors, bankruptcy can be the path to a peaceful and secure retirement. It is the responsible way to respond when you find yourself with debt that you can't pay. If you start drawing down your retirement faster that you should to service the debt, you may find yourself without enough income to pay your bills and have to rely on help from your children.

Others will defer needed medical procedures, home or vehicle repairs because they can't afford to do what needs to be done while they are trying to keep up with the bills.

No one wants to file bankruptcy but sometimes it is best to acknowledge the reality of your situation and officially get rid of the debts. It is better for you and better for those who depend on you, both financially and emotionally, to face the situation and deal with it in a straightforward and honest way.

Please call to set up an appointment for me to call you and discuss all of your options, both in or out of bankruptcy. I have been helping people just like you for years.

Financial Distress- Signs You Should be Worried

Sat, 14 Nov 2020 20:49:45 GMT

My years as a bankruptcy lawyer tell me how to know your finances are in trouble!

I have been handling bankruptcy cases and listening to people tell me about their financial problems for almost 42 years. Here are some of the clear signs of trouble.

No savings for emergencies. Everyone needs a little cash set aside for unexpected problems or glitches. If you have none or if yours has been depleted, you will have no cushion if even small problems come up.

Using one credit card to make the minimum payments on another card. This use "Peter to pay Paul" is a sure sign that things are getting out of control.

Using credit cards to buy groceries or medication. This is another sure indication that you are digging deeper into debt.

Borrowing money from family or friends. It is good to have family and friends who can help when you need it but it is also an indication that things are going downhill.

Using payday or internet loans. These are popular ways to keep things going where there is "more month than money" left after payday. Things will start to spiral out of control fairly quickly because of the way these lenders insist on pre-authorized payments from your bank account and also because their interest rates are sky high.

Collection notices or phone calls. If things have gone to a collection agency, it is a sure sign that you are going to need help to sort out your financial problems.

Deferred doctors appointments, maintenance on your home or your vehicle or inability to fill your prescriptions when needed.

What should you do if you find yourself with one of more of the situations described above?

Ask for help! There are local and national non-profit groups, like Nonprofit Free Credit Counseling (www.nfcc.com), that specialize in debt counseling and payment plans. Call us if you want to see how it would work if you filed bankruptcy because often it is misunderstood and there are many popular misconceptions. For example, a discharge in a bankruptcy case followed by active efforts to rebuild your credit will often result in better credit ratings sooner than you would have with a debt payment plan.

But recognize that these signs mean serious financial problems could be on the way if they aren't addressed.

Eugene Springfield Bankruptcy Law Firm has Helped Thousands Get a Fresh Start

Sat, 24 Oct 2020 21:10:13 GMT

We represent clients all over the State of Oregon on Bankruptcy, Tax and Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Cases

We are based in Eugene but we help people all over the State of Oregon with their bankruptcy questions and tax collection problems.

Bankruptcy is complicated and you should have a law firm with a team of professionals to answer your questions and get you through the legal process. We care about our clients and are proud of being diligent, responsive, caring and professional.

Tax problems can be especially stressful. When you owe money to the IRS or the State of Oregon, it may be impossible to get back to a normal financial life, even after you file bankruptcy. This is why many bankruptcy attorneys, accountants and tax preparers refer clients to us. They know that we have the experience to help people get their tax problems under control.

National tax settlement firms can charge thousands of dollars to evaluate your chances for a settlement. But for only $250.00 for a one hour consultation, I can usually tell you if you are going to be eligible to settle your tax debt for pennies on the dollar. I can also advise you about your tax debt to the State of Oregon, which many of the big tax settlement companies can't do.

Are you wondering if it is possible to get your tax debt under control? Don't spend thousands on a firm that promises that they can settle anybody's tax debt. You can find out where you stand in an hour or less. And, you will get advice on how to start to get your tax problems under control.

We have helped thousands of Oregonians get their tax or other debts under control. We'd be happy to help you too. Just give us a call or send us a message and we can set up a phone appointment to get started. It's easy and you will be happy that you have taken the first step to getting your life back.

Do you have questions about bankruptcy? We have answers

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 18:01:43 GMT

Some Bankruptcy, Repossession, Home Purchase Loans and Foreclosure Questions Answered

Q: Do you have to have bad credit to be able to file bankruptcy? We have pretty good credit but can’t afford to pay much more than the minimum payments on our credit cards. They spiked when my wife was ill and our insurance didn’t fully cover the costs of many of her medications. We’d like to buy a house but we can’t save money for a down payment because of the payments on the credit cards and it will take years to pay them off. Can we file bankruptcy even though we have good credit scores?

A: There is no requirement that you have bad credit to file bankruptcy. The better your credit is going into bankruptcy, the easier it will be to rebuild it afterwards. Bankruptcy might be a reasonable and responsible solution to your situation.

Q: I have decided that I have to file bankruptcy. I talked to an attorney for a free consultation and was thinking of hiring him. I had a question about whether I should still pay the payment on my credit cards while raising the money to file. It would take six months if I keep making the payments but only a couple of months if I stop. But I didn’t know if I would get in trouble with the bankruptcy court if I stopped making my payments and used the money to pay for the bankruptcy lawyer. I left a few messages but never got a call back. It turned out that they work completely by themselves, without partners, a legal assistant or an office manager. So I was hoping I could get the answer from you!

A: Once you have decided for sure to file bankruptcy, it is ok to stop making the payments on your credit cards and other unsecured debt. Of course, you should keep paying your car payments and student loans. Stopping the payments will make it slightly harder to rebuild your credit since you will get some negative marks on it from not making the payments but on the other hand it will help you file your case much sooner.

Q: I have heard that it takes 10 years to rebuild your credit after a bankruptcy. Is that true?

A: Most people find that they can rebuild their credit after a bankruptcy in two and a half to three and a half years. You should plan on taking active steps to rebuild your credit. These are things like taking advantage of small opportunities to get and use credit, including secured credit cards or a modest car loan. Sometimes it helps to start an account at a local credit union before your file bankruptcy and then try to use that relationship to help build your credit afterwards.

Q: How long will after I file bankruptcy can I get a home loan?

A: The answer depends on whether you lost a home to foreclosure in the past and whether you have the income to qualify for a home loan. If you have had a foreclosure, it can take 4 to 6 years longer than if you did not. Most people find that if they have regular income, they can qualify for a home loan in two and a half to three and a half years after a bankruptcy if they don’t have a foreclosure on their credit record. Of course, the better your credit is going into bankruptcy, the easier it is to rebuild it afterwards.

Q: I have lived in Oregon my whole life. I have a lot of credit card debt, approximately $45,000.00 from the period of time when I was in a relationship and had a good income. I also have a lawsuit against me from a car that I purchased with my girlfriend. I wasn’t able to make the payments after we broke up and so it was repossessed. The lender sold it and there wasn’t enough to pay the balance we owed. The only thing I have now is a couple of years old Ford F-150 that is free and clear. It is worth about $16,000.00 or $17,000.00 if I tried to sell it. I would like keep it because I use it for my job in construction. My brother said that I should transfer it to him or to my dad before I file bankruptcy so that, when I do, I won’t have anything for the bankruptcy court to take. Is this a good idea?

A: No, it is definitely a bad idea. If you transfer it, the bankruptcy trustee can sue your brother or your father for its value. If you didn’t transfer it but instead still had it when you filed bankruptcy, you could claim it as exempt under the Federal Bankruptcy Exemptions. There is a $4,000.00 exemption for a vehicle and a $13,900.00 catch all or wild card exemption that can be added to the vehicle exemption to cover your truck. Under those circumstances, the bankruptcy trustee couldn’t take it. But if you transfer it, you can no longer claim the exemption, so the court could get it or its value from your brother or your father.

Q: The IRS is taking 15% of my husband’s social security for personal income taxes on our 2014 returns. We filed the in 2015 when they were due. We owed a lot on them because we had to take money out of a 401(k) to help our daughter. I am still working and am being garnished by the State of Oregon for the same tax year. They are taking 25% of my net pay. We don’t have a lot of other debt and we live in a manufactured home that we own outright. It is worth about $20,000.00 and is located in a mobile home park. I heard from one friend that you can’t file bankruptcy on taxes and that we would lose our home if we did anyway. But my sister, who had to file bankruptcy a couple of years ago, said that her attorney told her that her home was protected up to a value of $50,000.00. She also said that her accountant told her that once taxes are more than three years old, they can be discharged in a bankruptcy case. Is she right about these things?

A: Yes, she is, with one possible exception. It is true that taxes that were due more than three years ago and filed more than two years ago can be discharged in bankruptcy. She is also correct that your homestead exemption is $50,000.00 for a couple and $40,000.00 for an individual under Oregon law. So your home is safe. However, if the IRS filed a tax lien with the Secretary of State, it might have a lien against your home. Bu the IRS wouldn’t try to take your house or try to sell it even if they had a lien. You would just have to pay them if you sold it within 10 years from when the lien was filed, even if you filed bankruptcy. If they filed with the County Deeds and Records, the IRS wouldn’t have a lien against your MH because you don’t own the land. The bankruptcy would help your monthly budget a lot because it would stop the garnishment of your check and the 15% coming out of your husband’s social security.

Q: My brother co-signed on a car loan for his son and his wife. The car was totaled in a wreck and it turned out that there wasn’t any insurance because their check had bounced. Now they are going to file bankruptcy. My friend said that the bankruptcy would wipe out the debt so that it couldn’t be collected from my brother either but that doesn’t sound right to me. Will he still be responsible for what the credit union doesn’t get from selling the wrecked car?

A: Yes. Bankruptcy will only take care his son and his wife’s liability on the loan; it doesn’t wipe out the debt or eliminate your brother’s responsibility for it. He would either have to file bankruptcy himself or try to work out a settlement or payment plan with the credit union.

Q: I am worried about foreclosure sale being set on my house. I am 68 years old and I just can’t afford the payments on my social security of $1,464.00 per month. My house is worth about $235,000.00 and I only owe $67,000.00. Realtors keep calling and knocking on my door but I don’t want to move. I heard that Chapter 13 could stop a foreclosure and save my home. Would it work for me?

A: No, because you would have to be able to make the payments after the Chapter 13 case was filed. Otherwise, you would have to plan on selling it yourself either before or after the bankruptcy was filed to stop the foreclosure. There is only one real alternative that might be able to keep you in your home and that is a reverse mortgage. Generally, we don’t like them because over time they can reduce the equity in your home but they do work well to eliminate mortgage payments while letting you stay in your home. However, if you are thinking of looking into reverse mortgages, call around and ask a lot of questions because the terms and the costs can vary widely. And don’t forget that you still have to pay the homeowners’ insurance and the property taxes yourself, even if they were being paid out of your monthly mortgage payment before. But if a foreclosure sale is set and you need to stop it, you can always file Ch 13 to buy the time to get the reverse mortgage in place.

Bankruptcy can Help Solve These Urgent Problems but Call Right Away to get Started

7016608589 — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 18:34:09 GMT

The immediate concerns when we first talk to a potential client about Bankruptcy

These are the things that I usually discuss first and worry about the most when I talk to someone for the first time about bankruptcy.

These urgent problems include getting legal paperwork like a summons and complaint. This called being served with a lawsuit or small claims case. This can include personal delivery to you or someone at your home. The paperwork usually gives you a deadline to “appear” in the case which really just means that you have to file your own paperwork or the debt collector will win a judgment automatically. Being served with paperwork is an urgent problem because it means that the collection agency is quickly going to get a judgment and be able to garnish your bank account or wages.

A judgment against you or a garnishment on your wages or bank account is an immediate concern. If you find out that there is a judgment, you should withdraw your money from your bank accounts to make sure that the bill collector who has it can’t get it first. If you file bankruptcy, it would stop further garnishments.

If a creditor has already seized your bank account or wages, you should talk to a bankruptcy attorney right away because you may be able to get some or all of the garnished money back if you file a bankruptcy case soon enough. Typically, our clients can get back funds that were garnished from their wages or bank accounts within the 90 days before they filed a bankruptcy, if the creditor received, in that 90 day period, a total of at least $600.00.

There can also be problems if you owe money to your bank. Even if the funds were, for example, social security or unemployment compensation that would be protected if other, outside creditors, tried to garnish them, your own bank could take them or freeze your account if you missed a payment or if you told your bank you were thinking of filing bankruptcy. If you aren’t going to be able to make the payments to your bank, you should open an account at a bank where you don’t owe any money. This is especially important if you end up having to file bankruptcy.

Another problem that needs urgent attention is if you are getting notices from the IRS or the State of Oregon Department of Revenue. You may have rights to deal with collection of taxes before levies, liens and garnishments are filed but only if you file your appeal or request for hearing within certain deadlines set out in the notices. If you are getting IRS or ODR notices, you should definitely call us right away so we can see if you have a chance to stop things from going further. If you get certified mail notices, always pick them up right away because they may be crucial to getting to the IRS or the ODR before they proceed further on trying to collect past due taxes.

Owing money to the IRS or the State of Oregon is another situation when you should withdraw your money from your bank accounts to make sure that the tax collectors can’t get it first.

Another immediate concern is the risk of repossession of your vehicle. Are you 30 to 60 days behind on your car payments? Most lenders will start to attempt to repossess once you are 60 days behind. It is important to call the lender and try to make arrangements to catch up on the missing payments. However, if that is not possible, you may need to park the vehicle in a secure area like a garage or inside a fenced yard to keep it from being repossessed.

Filing bankruptcy stops a repossession but only Chapter 13 guarantees the right to cure the missing payments over a lengthy period of time. In Chapter 7, you will have to catch up fairly quickly but in Chapter 13, you can put the car loan “in the plan” which means that the loan will be paid from the payments you make to the trustee on your Chapter 13 plan.

In Chapter 7, if you stop a garnishment or can stop paying the credit cards or past due medical bills, you might have enough money left over after your living expenses to catch up on the car payments.

A common urgent problem that is the number one reason for filing Chapter 13 getting behind on your house payments and being unable to work out arrangements with the mortgage company. If you have received a notice that a foreclosure proceeding is going to be started, it is crucial that you get an appointment scheduled immediately to start working on a strategy that will let you keep your home and catch up on the missed payments over a period of time.

These are the most common urgent problems that should be addressed right away. Delay usually hurts your chances of a favorable outcome. Unfortunately, time definitely is not on your side!

Some Common Questions About Chapter 13 Plans

7016608589 — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 22:43:45 GMT

Common Chapter 13 Plan Questions

Q: Do I have to pay all of my bills in full in Chapter 13? Isn’t it just a Court Ordered Debt Repayment Plan?

A: Only a few Chapter 13 cases require 100% payment to all of your creditors, both secured and unsecured. Most plans pay only a small percentage to their general unsecured creditors. Secured creditors will get potentially different treatment under the plan, and your attorney will be able to discuss this with you as that treatment depends on your individual circumstances.

Q: Do my creditors get a copy of the plan? Can they object to it?

A: Yes, due process requires that the creditors get notice in the form of a copy of the plan and are told that they have an opportunity to object to it. Certain secured creditors will get an additional copy of the plan from your attorney. A certificate of service has to be filed with the Court showing that this was done.

Q: Why do people file Chapter 13? Why doesn’t everyone file Chapter 7?

A: There are three main reasons why people choose to file Chapter 13 rather than Chapter 7, and two reasons why for some people, the only way to get bankruptcy court protection is to file Chapter 13.

The primary reasons people choose to file Chapter 13:

The first, and the most common, reason is to save their home from foreclosure. They can reinstate their mortgage or land sale contract and catch up on missed payments over the life of the plan (3-5 years).

The second is to handle big (but not too big!) tax problems. They get protection for the duration of their plan from the state (ODR) and the IRS while they pay their taxes.

And the third is to retain non-exempt assets that a Chapter 7 trustee might take and sell to pay creditors. Instead of taking assets, the Chapter 13 trustee just takes the payments made monthly through the plan and disburses the money to the creditors himself, while you get to retain these assets and, depending on what they are, continue to pay for them through the plan.

A few reasons some people can only use Chapter 13 and can’t file Chapter 7:

They have already filed Chapter 7 within the last eight years. You can file Chapter 13 four years after the filing of a bankruptcy case (any chapter) that resulted in a discharge but you must wait eight years before you can file another Chapter 7.

And perhaps the most complicated reason: Too much income! This is measured by something called the means test and has multiple parts.

First, the form requires that you put in your income from the last six full months before the month in which the case is filed and this number is then compared to the median income for a household the same size as the yours in your state.

If you are above that figure, the means test form then requires that you look at the numbers derived from the IRS local and national standards for income and expenses, compare your numbers to them, and see if there is any money left over. And if so, the form then looks at whether that left over income could make a significant payment on the debt.

The determination that a payment could be make a meaningful reduction in your debt is a determining factor for the requirement that some people have to file Chapter 13 versus Chapter 7.

Q: Who determines the amount of the Chapter 13 plan payment?

A: The debtor and the debtor’s attorney propose the payment amount in the plan and the trustee responds to that proposal.

Q: How much will my plan payment be?

A: There are three tests to determine how much the proposed plan payment has to be:

The best interest test: This test says that you have to pay your creditors as much as they would have received in a hypothetical Chapter 7 case. So, for example, if you had assets that could have been sold by a Chapter 7 trustee to pay back your creditors (after any expenses associated with the sale are deducted, as well as any applicable exemptions as to that asset and the trustee’s fees), then whatever that net amount the creditors would have received in the Chapter 7, they must now also receive in Chapter 13.

The best effort test: This test says that you have to pay all of your income above your reasonable and necessary expenses into the plan.

The feasibility test: This test requires that the plan payments must be sufficient to pay what has to be paid through the plan. This includes mortgage arrears or back taxes the trustee’s commission, additional attorneys fees for your lawyer, priority claims, other secured claims being paid through the plan, including interest, and the best interest test number to the unsecured claims.

Q: What if my income or expenses change a great deal? Can the plan payments be adjusted?

A: Under the best effort test, if your income goes up more than 10% you are required to tell the Court and then you and your attorney will probably have to prepare an amended plan to increase your plan payments. The payments probably won’t go up dollar for dollar the same as your income increase, but they will likely go up.

On the other hand, if your income goes down, you may be able to decrease your payments but only if the plan still meets the feasibility test. So if there are priority claims, secured claims or a best interest number that has to be paid, your payments have to stay high enough to pay them all even if your income goes down.

Chapter 13 is powerful, but complicated! You definitely want to get help from an attorney who has a lot of experience in Chapter 13 cases. Please give me a call if you have questions or you can use the contact form on my website to set up a phone conference.

Chapter 13 is a powerful tool to protect you from the IRS or ODR

7016608589 — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 19:00:58 GMT

Chapter 13 vs Chapter 7- How Chapter 13 can protect you and your home or business from the IRS or the Oregon Department of Revenue!

Chapter 13 is a powerful tool that can give you up to 5 years to pay recent income taxes or payroll taxes from your business that can't be discharged. It will also let you limit the amount that has to be paid on tax liens to the value of the collateral. And, at the same time, it stops collections on all of your other debt and, at the end of the plan, will discharge them, just like a Chapter 7.

Chapter 13 also lets you keep your home even if you have equity above the homestead exemption. Oregon's protection for the equity in your home is seriously out-of-date but the homestead exemption built in to the Bankruptcy Code is even worse. At $20,000.00 for an individual and $40,000.00 for a couple, it is really way too low. If you have lived in Oregon for at least two years, you get to choose which set of exemptions you use when you file bankruptcy.

We have been finding that after years of a strong real estate market in Oregon, many homeowners, who may need to file bankruptcy because of loss of their jobs or business income from COVID related business closures, have substantial equity in their homes. Believe it or not, the Oregon Homestead Exemption is only $40,000.00 for an individual and $50,000.00 for a couple. So, if you have more than that, say $75,000.00 or $80,000.00, the trustee in a Chapter 7 case is duty bound to sell your home and use the non-exempt equity to pay your debts.

But Ch 13 lets you pay over a 5 year period the amount of the non-exempt equity that your creditors would have received in Ch 7. So you can keep your house without having to pay everyone in full.

And if you owe back taxes, they get paid first and in some cases are the only things that get paid.

Many people are unable to make their mortgage payments once the COVID related forbearance ends. Chapter 13 stops foreclosure proceedings and lets you catch up on the missed payments or, in the worst case scenario, to sell your home yourself instead of losing everything in a foreclosure sale.

So Chapter 13 is a powerful tool to protect your home and, if you owe back taxes, get them under control at the same time.

How does it work? In Chapter 13, we propose the plan and then the trustee and any creditors who want to be involved react to it. Then the negotiations start to get everyone on board with a workable solution consistent with the protections that are built into the Bankruptcy Code.

We do the paperwork together with you and come up with the plan plus the budget and other documents to support it. If you have a business, this includes the business budget and a strategy to protect the business and its assets, if necessary.

Obviously this is complicated and requires an attorney with years of experience dealing with the ins and outs of Chapter 13.

Please give me a call if you have questions. I care about your financial future and protecting you, your home and your family and I am here to help you. You can schedule a free consultation over the phone. I will call you to answer your questions and discuss your options, in and out of bankruptcy.

Get Bankruptcy Help Fast- Call now to set up a free phone conference!

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 16:00:51 GMT

Good news - the new website is here! Bad news - they lost all of my old blog posts!

The old blogs have sailed into the sunset! I don't know how we didn't catch it in the process of creating the new website but they're gone now. I may be able to recreate some of them from my rough drafts but at any rate we'll have new ones going forward.

I am writing this blog myself instead of just paying someone to create content.

Q: This sounds like a lot more work so why not just have someone write something that they think will create more traffic for my site?

A: I want this blog to actually be helpful to people having financial problems so severe they are thinking of filing bankruptcy. Or for people who are trying to get their lives back on track by taking care of outstanding tax debts.

You can call or use the contact form to set up a phone conference. We set aside an hour to talk which give us plenty of time to go over your situation and come up with options, both in and out of bankruptcy. There's no rush so you have time to think about the new information and ask questions.

This is just a fact finding mission so we don't need to make any hard or fast decisions. But it will help you because you will have accurate and complete information about your options. You can plug this information into your own calculations and thinking about your situation.

The free consultation also comes with some free follow up phone calls or emails. Bankruptcy is complicated and it wouldn't be unusual for you to have questions that you think of after the initial phone conference is over. No problem! You are welcome to call or email with follow up questions.

My goal is to reduce your stress level by giving you an idea of some solutions that may be available to you. It helps to find out that you are not alone, that many others have been caught in dire straits and that there are some well-trod paths to help you get back to a normal financial life.

So why wait? There is no cost or obligation and all you have to do is pick up the phone when I call for our phone conference.

Good news - the new website is here! Bad news - they lost all of my old blog posts!

The old blogs have sailed into the sunset! I don't know how we didn't catch it in the process of creating the new website but they're gone now. I may be able to recreate some of them from my rough drafts but at any rate we'll have new ones going forward.

I am writing this blog myself instead of just paying someone to create content.

Q: This sounds like a lot more work so why not just have someone write something that they think will create more traffic for my site?

A: I want this blog to actually be helpful to people having financial problems so severe they are thinking of filing bankruptcy. Or for people who are trying to get their lives back on track by taking care of outstanding tax debts.

You can call or use the contact form to set up a phone conference. We set aside an hour to talk which give us plenty of time to go over your situation and come up with options, both in and out of bankruptcy. There's no rush so you have time to think about the new information and ask questions.

This is just a fact finding mission so we don't need to make any hard or fast decisions. But it will help you because you will have accurate and complete information about your options. You can plug this information into your own calculations and thinking about your situation.

The free consultation also comes with some free follow up phone calls or emails. Bankruptcy is complicated and it wouldn't be unusual for you to have questions that you think of after the initial phone conference is over. No problem! You are welcome to call or email with follow up questions.

My goal is to reduce your stress level by giving you an idea of some solutions that may be available to you. It helps to find out that you are not alone, that many others have been caught in dire straits and that there are some well-trod paths to help you get back to a normal financial life.

So why wait? There is no cost or obligation and all you have to do is pick up the phone when I call for our phone conference.

Stephen Behrends, Attorney at Law, PC Blog | Eugene, OR

COVID Tax Refund: IRS Deadline & Who Qualifies

H1: COVID Tax Refund: What You Need to Know About IRS Refunds

What Is the COVID Refund and Why Are People Talking About It?

Why That Could Lead to an IRS Refund

Who Actually Qualifies for a COVID Tax Refund?

Situations Where You May Qualify

When You Likely Don’t Qualify

The IRS Refund Deadline You Can’t Ignore

The Key Date

Why the Deadline Matters

How to Claim a COVID Tax Refund

Start With Your Tax Records

Filing a Refund Claim

When It Makes Sense to Get Help

Common Misunderstandings About COVID Refunds

“Everyone Is Getting Money Back”

“It’s Another Stimulus Check”

“The IRS Will Handle It Automatically”

Oregon Taxpayers: Does Anything Change?

Federal vs. State Differences

Why It May Matter Locally

When to Talk to a Bankruptcy Attorney

Final Thoughts: Don’t Wait Too Long to Act

COVID Tax Refund FAQ's

Bankruptcy Myths Debunked: Separating Fact from Fiction

Eight of The Most Common Bankruptcy Myths

Understanding Bankruptcy Myths

Myth 1: Filing for Bankruptcy Means You're a Failure

Myth 2: You Will Lose Everything You Own

Myth 3: Bankruptcy Permanently Ruins Your Credit

Myth 4: You Will Never Be Able to Get Credit Again

Myth 5: Only Financially Irresponsible People File for Bankruptcy

Myth 6: All Debts Are Wiped Out in Bankruptcy

Myth 7: You Can Only File for Bankruptcy Once

Myth 8: Filing for Bankruptcy Is Complicated and Costly

Speak With an Experienced Bankruptcy Attorney About Your Options and Get Answers to Any Questions You Might Have

Bankruptcy Myths FAQ's

8 Ways to Rebuild Your Credit After Bankruptcy

8 Tips to Rebuild Your Credit After Bankruptcy

The Importance of Rebuilding Your Credit After Bankruptcy

How Good Credit Influences Financial Health

Strategy 1: Create a Budget so You Can Always Pay Your Bills On Time

How Late Payments Affect Your Credit Score

Strategy 2: Regularly Review Your Credit Report

Strategy 3: Get a Secured Credit Card

Strategy 4: Apply for a Credit-Builder Loan

Strategy 5: Consider Getting a Co-Signer

Who Can Be a Co-Signer and What Does it Mean for Them

Strategy 6: Diversify Your Credit Mix

Strategy 7: Keep Your Credit Utilization Low

How to Calculate Your Credit Utilization Ratio

Monitor Your Credit Card Balances

Use Credit Wisely

Increase Credit Limits:

Pay More Than the Minimum:

Strategy 8: Practice Patience and Persistence

Rebuilding Your Credit After Bankruptcy

FAQs

How to Prepare for a Meeting With a Debt Relief Attorney

Preparing to Meet with a Debt Relief Attorney

Questions You’ll Be Asked

What to Bring to the Consultation

What to Expect From Your Attorney

The Different Types of Bankruptcy

Understanding the Different Types of Bankruptcy

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Eligibility for Chapter 7

Waiting Period

MEANS TEST

Role of the Trustee

Debts That Can Be Discharged

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Eligibility for Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Repayment Plan

Wage Garnishments

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Retaining Control of the Business

Chapter 11 Reorganization Plans

Chapter 12 Bankruptcy ﻿

Chapter 12 Bankruptcy

Wage Garnishment in Oregon