Bankruptcy is NOT the End of the World! Filing for bankruptcy is absolutely not the end of the world. Financial upset does not mean you are a bad person or an outlaw. In most cases, bankruptcy is the beginning of a better life for you and your family.  Seeing bankruptcy as an opportunity instead of a last resort is the first step to regaining your financial security. You can file for bankruptcy while you are employed and your employer will likely never find out. One’s neighbors and loved ones don’t need to know either. Your spouse does not even need to file with you.  Financial choices are yours and can be as personal as you’d like them to be. Take a look at the resources we provide on bankruptcy. We have forms, tools, articles, and agencies that can help. Don’t buy into the “you don’t even have to file bankruptcy” hype that you see all over the advertising world.  There are debt consolidation companies that take huge amounts of your hard earned money that don’t eliminate your debt, but they get a BIG payday. There is life after bankruptcy!  The negative impact of bankruptcy is incredibly exaggerated in our society today.  Your future is not bleak and your credit is not ruined. Dozens of well-off people have filed for bankruptcy: Larry King, Walt Disney, Willie Nelson, and even Donald Trump! Money is the top cause of stress in America today. Too much stress can lead to irritability, heartburn, infertility, high blood pressure, sore muscles and can even contribute to diabetes.  At the Chris Wesner Law Office, LLC, we take a strategic approach to your case based on the unique details of your situation. We are dedicated to finding the right lawyer for you, who can provide knowledgeable and ethical support in your uniquely challenging time. The post Bankruptcy: Not The End Of The World appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.

MEDALLION AUCTION UPDATE:Crain’s New York Business reports that Aspire Federal Credit Union will be holding an auction of 14 New York City taxi medallions on Jan. 16, 2018.  To attract bidders, at least one of the medallions will have an opening price of $150,000.  The article notes that the last major auction that involved competitive bidding was a package of 46 medallions sold in September for about $186,000 apiece.  For updates on this auction and further developments in the taxi medallion industry, please keep reading our blog.

If you are facing foreclosure, you may feel like your life is falling apart. However, it is not the end of the world. Some lenders try to work with people in order to keep them in their home. The truth is that it costs the lender a lot of money when a house gets foreclosed on so they will sometimes discuss different options. Here are some options that you might be able to discuss with your lender if you are facing foreclosure. Save your home from foreclosure Fix an adjustable interest rate, making the monthly mortgage payment more affordable. Adjustable interest rates can really make your payments fluctuate month to month. By keeping it the same, you will know exactly how much you owe every month. Stop a few payments now and adding them to the end of your loan. Though you might have to pay for another year or two, this might really help you get caught up on all of your bills so that you can pay a monthly mortgage payment. If you are late on several payments, nothing is more stressful than watching the amount due continue to rise. You may be able to see if your lender can take that money that you owe and add it into your loan. This helps to split the payments up, making it more affordable. If the payments are too high (but you can pay part of it), you might want to see if you can change the length of your loan or even the interest rate. Small changes in either the length or the interest rate can make big differences. Some mortgage companies will allow you to transfer your home to someone else who takes over your mortgage payment. Though not every mortgage company is able to work with you, it never hurts to ask. They really don’t want the expense of a foreclosed home so it might be your lucky day! Contact us for all of your legal needs. The post Foreclosure and dealings with Lenders appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.

Legal dissolution or divorce of a marriage is a complex situation: you need a confident attorney to represent your interests. Choosing the right attorney will make the process go much smoother for you, and your family. Here are some things to consider when choosing an attorney to represent you. Interview more than one attorney. You should feel confident in the attorney-client relationship. Intimate details of your marriage may come up in the divorce. You need to be comfortable sharing these details with your attorney. If the interview does not go well or you feel for any reason that the attorney is not the right choice you: just send them an email, and continue your search. This is a business for them, and they do not want to take on a client who is not confident in them from the start.  Budget. When you interview a prospective attorney, you need to discuss the budget for the divorce. Be realistic about your finances and completely honest with the attorney. The more they understand about your situation, the better they can assist you. Location. Location of the attorney’s office. This is essential. Consider your travel time when adjusting your schedule. Balancing work, children, the divorce, and your other obligations may become very frustrating if your attorney’s office is a considerable distance away. The attorney will appreciate you being on time to appointments. Credentials and experience. Most attorneys proudly display their diplomas on their walls and will gladly discuss their credentials. If the attorney seems reluctant to answer these questions: consider it a red flag. Ask the attorney about their experience with your type of case. Consider child custody, spousal support, marital property, and other details that your case unique. Be prepared. Gather as much information as you can for the attorney. Gather birth certificates, adoption records, and medical insurance records for children of the marriage. Gather all banking and other financial records. Be sure to include income tax returns, mortgage, and car payment records. Having these records in your possession: will save the attorney time in information gathering. Consider bankruptcy before the divorce. Discuss bankruptcy with your attorney prior to filing for divorce. Filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy before the divorce may be advantageous, and make the property division in the divorce easier. Individual and joint bankruptcy filing fees are the same in some states. A chapter 7 bankruptcy is a liquidation bankruptcy: It will discharge your unsecured debts such as credit card debt, and medical bills. However, when considering a chapter 7 bankruptcy before the divorce, you need an attorney who understands divorce and bankruptcy to advise you about property division and the allowable property exemptions in your state. If you and your spouse bother earn and income: your attorney can advise you on how to proceed if your joint income exceeds the chapter 7 bankruptcy income limits. If you have questions about legal issues related to divorce, bankruptcy or debt: please contact us. Our experienced attorneys work hard to obtain the best outcome for our clients. The post How to Find the Right Divorce Attorney appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.

11th Circuit ruling on Georgia pawn law finds that while bankruptcy extended the unexpired redemption period to reclaim a pawned car by 60 days, once that extension expired title reverted to pawn shop. In re Northington, No. 16-17467, 2017 WL 6276001 (11th Cir. Dec. 11, 2017)Debtor had possession of vehicle at time of filing, remained in possession through confirmation. Proposed paying secured claim to pawnbroker at 5% interest. Plan confirmed over objection (motion to lift stay deemed by 11th Circuit to be tantamount to objection) of pawnbroker, district court affirmed, 11th Circuit reversed, finding that since broker contested confirmation and appealed it was not bound by confirmation order. Georgia law provides that upon expiration of redemption period title automatically revests to pawn broker. The automatic stay does not apply to change this, as that would make the 60 day extension of §108(b) superfluous. Further, stay does not prevent assets from evaporating under ordinary operation of state law. The property of the estate created by §541 can expand or contract in accordance with the underlying state law property rules. Note a vigorous dissenting opinion, that there was no formal objection to confirmation (and affirmatively asserted it had no such objection) and that the broker is bound by the confirmed plan. Asserts broker had a secured claim which could be modified in the chapter 13 plan. Sections cited by the majority, §§541(a)(6) and (a)(7) are intended to add property to the estate, not subtract such property.

Provided below is sales data from the sale of 14 taxi medallions as reported by the TLC for November 2017. The foreclosure sales prices for the two medallion sales at $750,000 are the result of foreclosure sales and those prices may be inflated because the banks “credit bid” at those foreclosure sales (they bid up to the amount of their loan balances); therefore, they may not accurately reflect the fair market value of a taxi medallion. Similarly, the estate sale at $150,000 may be too low a value because these sales reflect a sale by the estate of a taxi medallion owner who died, and those may “desperate sellers.” Medallion owners with “underwater” medallions (where the loan balance exceeds the value of the medallion) should contact Jim Shenwick to discuss their options under the law. Price Type of Sale Number of Medallions $750,000 Foreclosure 2 $750,000 Foreclosure 2 $400,000 1 $350,000 2 $350,000 2 $250,000 1 $190,874.15 Partnership Split 1 $150,000 Estate 1 $150,000 1 $0 Estate 1

Here at Shenwick & Associates, many of our clients have concerns regarding tax issues.  In some cases, tax debts can be discharged in bankruptcy (as we wrote about most recently here).  However, in many cases, the IRS has already filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien (putting other creditors on notice of the government’s legal claim against your property), has issued a Final Notice of Intent to Levy (which means that the government is considering taking a portion of your salary, your bank accounts, your other property and/or your real estate) or may have begun levying property.  Based on the Employee Retirement Security Act (ERISA) and other federal law, ordinary creditors can’t access Social Security payments and retirement accounts and income to satisfy debts, but government agencies (like the IRS) can.  For an excellent review of the IRS’ abilities to levy on these assets, we recommend this post on pension plans and IR As and this post on Social Security payments.All of us at Shenwick & Associates wish you a safe and happy holiday season, and we’ll be here for you in 2018.  

Finding out that your home is going into foreclosure can be a stressful, overwhelming, and emotional time. The threat of losing your home, and you and your family being displaced, can make it difficult to know what to do or where to turn. This is where it can be helpful to turn to a foreclosure attorney who can guide you through this difficult time. Here are just a few of the benefits of consulting an attorney after being presented with a foreclosure notice.   Have Someone on Your Side The fact is that the banks are in business for themselves and are not out to protect you. By hiring an attorney you will have someone on your side to represent your interests throughout the process of the foreclosure. They will make sure that you are being presented with fair options, and that your lender is following all the rules and not trying to undermine you.   Present You With Other Options Most homeowners are not familiar with foreclosure, and are unaware of the rights and options they have during this time. The fact is that you may have alternatives available to foreclosure that your lender has not disclosed such as modifying your loan, or in certain circumstances you may even be able to keep your home by filing for bankruptcy. With a lawyer on your side you will have as many options available to you as possible to help you get through this difficult time as painlessly as possible.   Contact us to learn more about how consulting an attorney can be benefit you after receiving a foreclosure notice. The post The Primary Reasons to Hire a Foreclosure Attorney in Ohio appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.

    In In re Horne, No. 16-16789, 2017 WL 6002508 (11th Cir. Dec. 5, 2017) the 11th Circuit ruled that §362(k)(1), which allows attorneys fees for violations of the automatic stay, also applies to fees on appeal.      In this case the creditor, an attorney, filed a civil action on behalf of her clients against the chapter 7 debtor post-petition and repeatedly refused to dismiss the action after being informed of the automatic stay.  The bankruptcy court awarded $81,714.31 in damages including $41,714.31 in attorneys fees.  The creditor, appealed this ruling to the district court, which affirmed and awarded an additional $34,551.28 in fees for the appeal.  The creditor then filed motions in both the bankruptcy court and district court seeking recusal of the bankruptcy judge, which was denied by both courts.  The district court however denied the debtor's motion for fees in defending the appeal of the recusal order.  The creditor appealed the denial of the recusal order by the district court, and debtors cross-appealed the denial of fees.  The 11th Circuit initially affirmed that recusal was not required, and remanded for the district court to either award fees under §362(k) or explain why the motion for recusal did not involve litigation over the stay.  On remand the district court found that the fees were mandatory and awarded an additional $14,918.60 to debtors.  The creditor sought a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court which was denied.  Debtors then filed motions with the 11th Circuit for fees defending the appeal to the 11th Circuit and defending against the writ of certiorari.  This was transferred to the District Court which awarded fees of $92,495.86, which was then appealed back to the 11th Circuit.  The court first address the creditor's argument that §362(k)(1) only applies to attorneys fees incurred in ending a stay violation, but not to fees incurred pursuing damages or defending the award on appeal.  The statute provides   (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), an individual injured by any willful violation of a stay provided by this section shall recover actual damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, and, in appropriate circumstances, may recover punitive damages. Creditor cited Baker Botts L.L.P. v. ASARCO LLC, 576 U.S. ––––, 135 S.Ct. 2158, 192 L.Ed.2d 208 (2015), which warned that courts should not depart from the American Rule—“the rule that each side must pay its own attorney's fees”—absent explicit statutory authority. Id. at 2163–64.  This decision focused on §330(a)(1), which allows compensation for professionals, and ruled that the provision was not a fee-shifting statute.  However, §362(k)(1) explicitly departs from the American Rule by including costs and fees in the damages due for a willful violation of the automatic stay.  The statutory language 'including costs and attorneys fees' broadens the notion of actual damages beyond the immediate injury incurred in ending the automatic stay.  This is consistent with the broad interpretation of another fee-shifting statute, §330(i)(1) which was held to include appellate fees.  In re Rosenberg, 779 F.3d 1254, 1265 (11th Cir. 2015).            Nor does anything in §362(k)(1) limit the scope of fees solely to ending the stay violation.  Rather, it applies to a full recovery of damages incurred from violating a stay.  The same conclusion was reached by the 9th Circuit in In re Schwartz-Tallard, 803 F.3d 1095, 1101 (9th Cir. 2015).    This result also recognizes that the lion's share of damages from violations of the automatic stay are typically attorneys fees.  Most debtors cannot afford to prosecute damages, and limiting fees to those incurred in ending the violation would be too small to justify the litigation costs that may follow.  The Court found that defending a judgment on appeal is within the fee-shifting provision of §362(k)(1).     The creditor also asserted that debtors should be denied fees because their motion did not comply with Fed.R.App.Proc. 27 or the 11th Circuit Rule 27-1(a)(3), requiring a motion to state with particularity the ground for the motion, the relief sought, and the legal argument necessary to support it, as well requiring any accompanying affidavit to be served with the motion.   The 11th Circuit found that the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to reject the request on this basis and examining the substantive issues.  The creditor further challenges whether debtors met the burden of proof establishing their damages.  The 11th Circuit found that the affidavits from debtors' counsel attesting that the served as counsel and kept contemporaneous record of their services, as well as the billing statements and itemized list of services and time spent, combined with references to earlier-filed affidavits by disinterested legal experts attesting that the hourly rates charged were consistent with the prevailing market rates in their local legal community supported allowance of the fees.  Finally, the creditor challenged the reasonableness of the fees.  An award of fees is governed by the reasonableness standard using the lodestar approach.  This requires a court to 1) determine the nature and reasonableness of the services rendered, 2) determine the value of such services, and 3) consider the factors from Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc., 488 F2d 714  (5th Cir. 1974).  These factors are  (1) the time and labor required, (2) the novelty and difficulty of the legal questions, (3) the skill required to perform the legal service properly, (4) the preclusion of other employment by the attorney due to acceptance of the case, (5) the customary fee for similar work in the community, (6) whether the fee is fixed or contingent, (7) time limitations imposed by the client or the circumstances, (8) the amount involved and the results obtained, (9) the experience, reputation, and ability of the attorney, (10) the undesirability of the case, (11) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client, and (12) awards in similar cases.Grant v. George Schumann Tire & Battery Co., 908 F.2d 874, 878 (11th Cir. 1990).  The Court rejected creditor's argument that the district court failed to exercise proper billing judgment by not considering the proportionality of the requested appellate fees to the results obtained.  The district court found that while the fees were substantial, they were not unreasonable given the time and labor involved in the appeals, which were unnecessarily complicated by creditors's many appeals.  It also pointed to the skill and experience of debtors' counsel the favorable results, and the undesirability of litigating against a fellow lawyer.  The creditor's proportionality argument ignores the fact that debtors necessarily incurred the appellate fees because of her own litigation decisions.   Debtors filed yet another motion for fees incurred in the instant appeal.  The 11th Circuit granted this request, finding it was supported by documentation showing 121.4 hours spent at $250/hour plus expenses of $290.98, and allowed the request at $30,559.98.  Michael Barnett www.hillsboroughbankruptcy.com

Being confronted with a foreclosure notice can be extremely stressful and upsetting. It is likely that you have never gone through a lawsuits before and that you do not know what will happen next, or where you can turn. Here are some tips on steps you can take to help you get through this difficult time. Consider Your Options Going through a this process can be extremely difficult, and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and hopeless. However, it is important to remember that you will have options during this time, and with the proper support, you will make it through this difficult time. However, you will want to take some time to research the steps of the foreclosure process and to consider your options. Is there any way you will be able to keep your home, or would it be best for you to start over? These are things you will want to consider. Consult the Proper Counsel As you have likely already discovered, foreclosures can be complex and confusing, making it difficult to know how to begin dealing with this process. This is why it is so important that you consult a foreclosure attorney when going through a foreclosure. An experienced attorney will be able to help you figure out what your options are, whether you may be able to keep your home, and how best to negotiate with your lender, helping to relieve as much of your stress as possible. Chris Wesner Law Office, LLC is here to help with your potential foreclosure.  We are experienced and willing to go to bat for you. Going through a foreclosure can be difficult enough, do not try to go through the process alone. Contact us to learn more about the foreclosure process and how you could benefit from consulting a foreclosure attorney. The post Tips to Help You Deal With Foreclosure in Ohio appeared first on Chris Wesner Law Office.