The Wells Fargo Home Projects Card and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy The Wells Fargo Home Projects Card is issued differently than most credit cards. As far as I can tell, they don’t market it directly to consumers. Instead, they get home improvement businesses to sign people up. That way Wells Fargo finances the home improvement and […] The post The Wells Fargo Home Projects Card and Chapter 13 by Robert Weed appeared first on Northern VA Bankruptcy Lawyer Robert Weed.

 A Mortgage on a House and a Subsequently Filed Tax Lien-which lien has priority the bank or the IRS?   This is a question that clients often ask us.   The typical scenario is that a couple buys a house, and then due to financial difficulties, they are unable to pay their taxes, and the IRS files a lien against the house. There is concern from the clients and they ask what takes priority, the tax lien or the mortgage? New York is a race state and if the mortgage was recorded and duly perfected, then it has priority over a subsequently filed tax lien. See Citizens Bank, N.A. v. Nash, No. 2:20-cv-00351 (E.D. Pa. 2021) which involved  a lien priority fight  between the IRS and the bank holding the taxpayer’s mortgage.  The bank erroneously recorded a release of its mortgage and that error caused it to lose the lien priority fight with the IRS.  An excellent article on this case can be found at Procedurally Taxing blog at https://procedurallytaxing.com/irs-wins-lien-priority-fight-with-bank/ The question we are next asked is whether the IRS will foreclose on their tax lien and seize the house to satisfy their tax debt. The IRS rarely forecloses on tax liens because they need to satisfy the mortgage first, as a result of the sale, and they do not want taxpayers to lose their homes. In addition, in Kings, Queens, New York, Bronx, Richmond, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, Westchester, or Putnam counties, there is a $179,950 homestead exemption per spouse who owns and lives in the house. Therefore, a married couple who owns and lives in the house can protect $359,900 in equity. A homestead exemption applies after a mortgage but before a tax lien. Therefore, if a house had a $700,000 fair market value and a mortgage of $500,000, and a bank foreclosed on its lien, the bank would receive $500,000, the homeowners $200,000, and the IRS nothing.   So what is the impact of an IRS tax lien on a house if the IRS does not foreclose on the tax lien? The IRS  tax lien will prevent the taxpayer from selling or refinancing their house for 10 years. A tax lien is a lien against a home for ten years.  If a homeowner wants to sell or refinance their house and is subject to a tax lien, they can contact the IRS and request a satisfaction of the lien by paying the tax at closing.  Taxes, interest, and penalties must be paid to the IRS by homeowners. Sometimes the IRS will waive certain tax penalties, so homeowners should hire a lawyer or CPA to negotiate with the IRS on their behalf.  Those with questions about foreclosures and tax liens should contact Jim Shenwick 212-541-6224 & [email protected], who has an LLM in taxation from NYU Law School. 

Refinancing your mortgage will typically save a homeowner money, especially if it substantially lowers their current interest rate. The only potential problem is that the closing costs offset your savings. However, what if you are in a current bankruptcy? The first question a bankruptcy debtor needs to ask is, “is it possible to refinance your […] The post Are There Any Dangers of Refinancing Your Mortgage? appeared first on .

In the United States, nearly $34 billion in child support is supposed to be paid annually. However, in many cases, the custodial parent will not receive the child support they are supposed to according to either a court order or agreement. If you are not paying the child support you are required to, the debt […] The post Can You File For Bankruptcy to Avoid Paying Child Support? appeared first on .

Filing for bankruptcy is one option people have for handling debt or restructuring payments they are struggling to make. Unlike working directly with creditors, bankruptcy affords an individual or couple legal protections on both the state and federal levels that limit their creditors’ options. You can file for bankruptcy to pay back a delinquent mortgage, […] The post Can You File For Bankruptcy to Avoid Paying a Judgment? appeared first on .

Summary: The Donald Lewis formed Deerfield Mobile Home Park, L.L.C. in 2005, transferring to it 5.355 acres of land which he had owned with his wife, Norean Lewis, as tenants by the entireties since 1978, retaining 1.721 acres, which was … N.C. Ct. of App.: Murray v. Deerfield Mobile Home Park- Statute of Frauds and Tenancy by the Entireties Read More »

Summary: Ms. Hinyub obtained a default judgment against AA Recovery for $5,000 in damages and $4,100 in attorney’s fees and cost. When AA Recovery failed to pay, Ms. Hinyub requested to conduct an examination of the primary officer of AA … W.D.N.C.: Hinyub v. AA Recovery- Examination of Judgment Debtor under N.C.G.S. §1-352 Read More »

Summary: The parties involved in the transaction at issue ha previously agreed to a settlement with a judgment for $200,000 and also a confession of judgment for $446,000. Mr. Pfeifer satisfied the terms of the $200,000 judgement, through proceeds from … Bankr. E.D.N.C.: BRRRT Properties v. Pfeifer- Nondischargeability under §523(a)(2)(a) and (a)(4); Credit for Payments under Judgement Read More »

Summary: Ms. Hollan hired the Kaspers & Associates Law Offices, L.L.C. (“Kaspers”) in 2013 to represent her in an employment discrimination law suit. During that case, Ms. Hollan sold her unecumbered homed in Atlanta, with net proceeds of more than … Bankr. E.D.N.C.: In re Hollan- Denial of Discharge due to Unaccounted Funds Read More »