When you’re in chapter 13, you don’t want a tax refund. Why? If you get a refund more than $250.00, you have to send it in to the bankruptcy trustee. So you don’t want to over-withhold. You also don’t want to under-withhold. Why? Because on April 15, you’ll owe a tax payment. And you probably won’t have money available to pay it. So you want as far as possible to break even when the taxes are filed. In Chapter 13, as far as possible, you want to break even when you file your taxes. That can be tough to do. In January 2020, the IRS released a new calculator, that they claim will help you be accurate. Here it is. Hope it helps.

What About ….? What about my bank account? Filing bankruptcy does not force you to close your bank account. (Many credit unions will fire you as a customer.) If your credit is already so bad you can’t open an account, try TD Bank, a new bank in Northern Virginia. Another option is Wood Forest Bank, in some of the larger Walmarts, including the one on Liberia Avenue in Manassas.. What about immigration status? Filing for Bankruptcy will not hurt your immigration status. You can still get a green card– you can still become a citizen, exactly the same as before. What about my tax refunds? Filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will not stop your tax refunds. Will my employer know? Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will not involve your employer. Will I be garnished? Filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy does not mean you will be garnished– it makes it illegal for your credit cards and medical bills to garnish you. The post Miscellaneous Virginia Bankruptcy Questions appeared first on Robert Weed Bankruptcy Attorney.

Many clients have contacted us regarding defaulted SBA EIDL loans and the period of time in which the SBA or the Government may sue them to collect on the defaulted loan (the statute of limitations). The law and rules, as noted below are complex and vary based on the facts of the case.The Federal Government has 6 years to commence a lawsuit (statute of limitations) against the entity or person that obtained the EIDL loan from the SBA and defaulted.The Federal Government also has 6 years to sue the guarantor of a defaulted SBA EIDL loan.The 6 years runs from the date the borrower defaulted on the debt or the last time the borrower made a payment or otherwise acknowledged the debt in writing.However, the Federal Government also takes the position that the statute of limitations for fraud on an SBA EIDL loan is 10 years.Tax Refund Offsets - The IRS generally has 10 years to collect outstanding taxes, penalties, and interest by offsetting tax refunds. This 10-years starts  from the date the tax return was filed or the date the tax was assessed.Federal Payments Offset - Federal agencies generally have 10 years to refer eligible debts to the Treasury Offset Program for administrative offset of federal payments like Social Security retirement and disability benefits. Salary Offset - Salary offset refers to withholding money from a federal employee's disposable pay to collect a debt owed to the federal government. There is generally no statute of limitations on federal salary offsets.Administrative Wage Garnishment - This is garnishment of pay as a means of collecting defaulted federal debt, even for a non-government employee. There is generally no statute of limitations as long as the underlying federal debt is still valid and legally enforceable.However, only 15% of a person’s pay may be offset thru wage garnishment. This post does not discuss the statute of limitations for criminal penalties or actions by the Federal Government, which is beyond the scope of this post. Individuals or businesses with questions about SBA EIDL loans should contact Jim Shenwick, Esq   [email protected]    917 363 3391Please click the link to schedule a telephone call with me.https://calendly.com/james-shenwick/15minWe held individuals & businesses with too much debt!

Many clients, attorneys, and accountants have asked where they can find our blog posts on SBA EIDL loans. To make their search easier, they are listed below. If you would like to speak with Jim Shenwick, Esq regarding your SBA EIDL loan, please click the link to schedule a telephone call with me.https://calendly.com/james-shenwick/15minSBA EIDL Penalties if an SBA EIDL Loan is Not Repaidhttps://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/12/sba-eidl-penalties-if-sba-eidl-loan-is.htmlMisuse or Misapply SBA EIDL Loan Proceeds and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filingshttps://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/08/misuse-or-misapply-sba-eidl-loan.htmlSBA EIDL HARDSHIP PROGRA Mhttps://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/07/sba-eidl-hardship-program.htmlDefaulted SBA EIDL Loans, Limited Liability Company (LLC) and Cancellation of Debt Income (COD) under Section 108 of the Internal Revenue Codehttps://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/07/defaulted-sba-eidl-loans-limited.htmlOffers In Compromise ("OIC") for Defaulted SBA EIDL loans and Section 108 of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC"), Relief of Indebted Income, a Trap for the Unwary!https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/05/offers-in-compromise-oic-for-defaulted.htmlEIDL LOAN WORKOUTS AND BANKRUPTCY    https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/07/eidl-loan-workouts-and-bankruptcy.htmlEIDL Loan Default Questions & Answers https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/10/eidl-loan-default-questions-answers.htmlEIDL LOAN DEFAULT DOCUMENT REVIEW, WORKOUT, BANKRUPTCY FILING & OFFER IN COMPROMIS Ehttps://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/07/eidl-loan-default-document-review.htmlEIDL Defaulted Loanshttps://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/07/eidl-defaulted-loans.htmlNew Relief Program for SBA EIDL Borrowers Who are Having Difficulty Repaying EIDL Loans " Hardship Accommodation Plan"https://shenwick.blogspot.com/2023/05/new-relief-program-for-sba-eidl.htmlEIDL LOANS and SBA OFFER IN COMPROMISE PROGRA Mhttps://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/07/eidl-loans-and-sba-offer-in-compromise.htmlPPP & EIDL Fraudhttps://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/08/ppp-eidl-fraud.htmlBetter to connect-What small business owners need to know about repaying loans tied to pandemic relief from the SBA EIDL Loanshttps://shenwick.blogspot.com/2022/11/better-to-connect-what-small-business.html

 IRS waiving $1B in penalties for people, firms owing back taxes — here’s who qualifiesNY Post has article discussing the IRS waiving $1 billion in penalties for certain tax years. The article can be found at https://nypost.com/2023/12/19/business/irs-waiving-1b-in-penalties-for-people-firms-owing-back-taxes-for-2020-or-2021/?utm_source=gmail&utm_campaign=android_nypJim Shenwick, Esq  917 363 3391  [email protected] Please click the link to schedule a telephone call with me.https://calendly.com/james-shenwick/15minWe held individuals & businesses with too much debt!

The New York Post published an article stating that consumer spending through "buy now, pay later" services has increased as consumers struggle with growing debt obligations. This trend could lead to a rise in bankruptcy filings after the holidays. The article is available below. https://nypost.com/2023/12/18/business/holiday-debt-hangover-poised-to-be-particularly-nasty-this-year-analyst-says/?utm_source=gmail&utm_campaign=android_nypJim Shenwick, Esq  917 363 3391  [email protected] Please click the link to schedule a telephone call with me. https://calendly.com/james-shenwick/15minWe held individuals & businesses with too much debt!

New Year, New Start: Should You File For Bankruptcy In 2024?   Many people use the New Year as an opportunity to set goals and create new habits. That could be improving fitness, reading more, or even setting a budget and maintaining better financial practices. But with the cost of living higher than ever, creating a budget and sticking to it might not be sufficient to ease your financial woes. A creditor could repossess an asset that you have already poured money into or get an order from the court allowing them to take your paycheck. This will make it even more difficult to get out of debt than it already is. Filing for bankruptcy could be instrumental in helping you get your financial situation back on track in the new year. Make your filing as effective as possible by hiring a skilled bankruptcy firm to represent you in your case. If you need financing to pay for your case after it has been filed, you may qualify for our firm’s zero-down payment plan option. To get your questions answered with your free consultation, call 480-470-1504.  How Bankruptcy Protects You From Creditors One of the top incentives to file for bankruptcy is the protection you will gain through the automatic stay. The automatic stay is activated the moment a debtor files their case in court. The debtor should submit a full and accurate petition (unless they are using a skeleton petition) accompanied by a creditor mailing matrix and their first credit counseling course certificate to ensure their case remains in good standing. If their case is dismissed, the protections from the automatic stay will lapse, giving creditors a chance to proceed with collection without a motion for relief from the automatic stay from the court.  It’s important to keep the automatic stay in effect because it prevents creditors from pursuing many types of collection against the debtor. It stops lawsuits that have already been filed from proceeding and new lawsuits from being filed against the debtor. This includes home foreclosures and evictions that haven’t proceeded too far in the process. If the creditor has already obtained a judgment against the debtor, the automatic stay can stop them from garnishing the debtor’s wages or draining money from their bank account with a levy. If you are concerned about your creditors collecting your debt through some other method, see if the automatic stay can help by scheduling your free consultation at 480-470-1504.  Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy To Reorganize Your Finances If you choose Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2024, your case will last well past 2024. Chapter 13 bankruptcy lasts either 3 or 5 years but can help the debtor deal with more types of debt than Chapter 7. The payment plan sorts debts into four categories and pays them off in order. The first debt to be paid is attorney’s fees and other legal costs associated with the bankruptcy. Next, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan will pay off secured debts like home mortgages and auto loans. After secured debts, priority debts must be paid. This includes child support, alimony, student loans, and some taxes. The fourth and final category paid off in Chapter 13 bankruptcy is unsecured debt. These are the debts that would be wiped away in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, such as credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans. The debtor’s payment plan will also be based on how much disposable monthly income they have. The fourth category, unsecured debts, only needs to be paid off as much as possible based on the debtor’s disposable monthly income. Chapter 13 also offers debtors with secondary mortgages the opportunity to clear them like an unsecured debt. For more information about how Chapter 13 bankruptcy could set your finances straight, call 480-470-1504 for your free consultation.  Special Considerations For Filing Bankruptcy In The Beginning Of the Year There are different concerns a debtor might face depending on which time of the year they file for bankruptcy. One of the top concerns for debtors who file at the beginning of the year is what will happen to their potential tax refunds. This extra cash could be important to a family’s budget, and losing it could be highly detrimental. It is almost guaranteed that the trustee will take a bankruptcy debtor’s tax refund. This continued for three or five years in Chapter 13 bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtor may be able to time their filing so that their refund isn’t put at risk.  The trustee can’t take a Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtor’s tax refund if it is received and spent before the debtor files their petition. If a debtor plans to file for bankruptcy after spending their tax refund, they should make sure they are caught up on tax filings and file the current year on time. If you procrastinate and file an extension for your taxes, it will push back when you receive your refund and how long you have to wait to file your bankruptcy case. The sooner you file your taxes, the sooner you can receive and start spending your refund. It’s also important to spend your refund on reasonable expenses during this time. Consider stocking up on household goods, getting repairs or maintenance you’ve been putting off, or even spending your tax refund to hire your Mesa bankruptcy attorney. For more information on avoiding surrendering your tax refund to bankruptcy, call 480-470-1504 for your free consultation. Rebuilding Credit After Discharging Debt The new year can be a great time to implement new financial habits, including those that will help you rebuild credit after a bankruptcy case. Part of that could be making better decisions regarding your credit card usage. Credit cards aren’t necessarily a bad thing, as they can come with perks and benefits and contribute to your revolving credit balance. However, skipping a month or two of paying off your full balance can make it more difficult to catch up, and you may have significant interest fees. When you receive offers for new credit cards after bankruptcy, make sure you select offers with the most favorable terms and keep your spending in an affordable range.  There may be many opportunities available to you to build a credit history without you even realizing it. Monthly expenses like rent and cell phone service can often provide credit reporting. A post-bankruptcy debtor should be creative and seek out options to build credit with things that are already in their budget.  Paying your auto loan may be a major contribution to your credit history. But if you have the same auto loan after discharging debt in bankruptcy, your auto lender won’t be obligated to report your timely payments to the credit bureaus anymore. They can and will report late payments that can hurt your credit, however. Financing a vehicle, ideally at a better interest rate now that debts have been cleared, will contribute to your post-bankruptcy credit score.  Let Our Skilled Bankruptcy Lawyers Assist You With Debt Relief If you want to start the new year off on a good foot, your bankruptcy can’t be filed with errors and mistakes. Filing bankruptcy without enjoying its full benefits might not be worth the time, effort, and implications for your credit. Let My AZ Lawyers review your situation and inform you about your options. To get started with your free consultation, as well as to see if you qualify for our Zero Down payment options, contact us or call 480-470-1504.    Arizona Offices: Mesa Location: 1731 West Baseline Rd., Suite #100 Mesa, AZ 85202 Office: (480) 448-9800 Email: [email protected] Website: https://myazlawyers.com/ Phoenix Location: 343 West Roosevelt, Suite #100 Phoenix, AZ 85003 Office: (602) 609-7000 Glendale Location: 20325 N 51st Avenue Suite #134, Building 5 Glendale, AZ 85308 Office: (602) 509-0955 Tucson Location: 2 East Congress St., Suite #900-6A Tucson, AZ 85701 Office: (520) 441-1450 Avondale Location: 12725 W. Indian School Rd., Ste E, #101 Avondale, AZ 85392 Office: (623) 469-6603 The post New Year, New Start: Should You File For Bankruptcy In 2024? appeared first on My AZ Lawyers.

New Year, New Start: Should You File For Bankruptcy In 2024?   Many people use the New Year as an opportunity to set goals and create new habits. That could be improving fitness, reading more, or even setting a budget and maintaining better financial practices. But with the cost of living higher than ever, creating a budget and sticking to it might not be sufficient to ease your financial woes. A creditor could repossess an asset that you have already poured money into or get an order from the court allowing them to take your paycheck. This will make it even more difficult to get out of debt than it already is. Filing for bankruptcy could be instrumental in helping you get your financial situation back on track in the new year. Make your filing as effective as possible by hiring a skilled bankruptcy firm to represent you in your case. If you need financing to pay for your case after it has been filed, you may qualify for our firm’s zero-down payment plan option. To get your questions answered with your free consultation, call 480-470-1504.  How Bankruptcy Protects You From Creditors One of the top incentives to file for bankruptcy is the protection you will gain through the automatic stay. The automatic stay is activated the moment a debtor files their case in court. The debtor should submit a full and accurate petition (unless they are using a skeleton petition) accompanied by a creditor mailing matrix and their first credit counseling course certificate to ensure their case remains in good standing. If their case is dismissed, the protections from the automatic stay will lapse, giving creditors a chance to proceed with collection without a motion for relief from the automatic stay from the court.  It’s important to keep the automatic stay in effect because it prevents creditors from pursuing many types of collection against the debtor. It stops lawsuits that have already been filed from proceeding and new lawsuits from being filed against the debtor. This includes home foreclosures and evictions that haven’t proceeded too far in the process. If the creditor has already obtained a judgment against the debtor, the automatic stay can stop them from garnishing the debtor’s wages or draining money from their bank account with a levy. If you are concerned about your creditors collecting your debt through some other method, see if the automatic stay can help by scheduling your free consultation at 480-470-1504.  Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy To Reorganize Your Finances If you choose Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2024, your case will last well past 2024. Chapter 13 bankruptcy lasts either 3 or 5 years but can help the debtor deal with more types of debt than Chapter 7. The payment plan sorts debts into four categories and pays them off in order. The first debt to be paid is attorney’s fees and other legal costs associated with the bankruptcy. Next, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan will pay off secured debts like home mortgages and auto loans. After secured debts, priority debts must be paid. This includes child support, alimony, student loans, and some taxes. The fourth and final category paid off in Chapter 13 bankruptcy is unsecured debt. These are the debts that would be wiped away in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, such as credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans. The debtor’s payment plan will also be based on how much disposable monthly income they have. The fourth category, unsecured debts, only needs to be paid off as much as possible based on the debtor’s disposable monthly income. Chapter 13 also offers debtors with secondary mortgages the opportunity to clear them like an unsecured debt. For more information about how Chapter 13 bankruptcy could set your finances straight, call 480-470-1504 for your free consultation.  Special Considerations For Filing Bankruptcy In The Beginning Of the Year There are different concerns a debtor might face depending on which time of the year they file for bankruptcy. One of the top concerns for debtors who file at the beginning of the year is what will happen to their potential tax refunds. This extra cash could be important to a family’s budget, and losing it could be highly detrimental. It is almost guaranteed that the trustee will take a bankruptcy debtor’s tax refund. This continued for three or five years in Chapter 13 bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtor may be able to time their filing so that their refund isn’t put at risk.  The trustee can’t take a Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtor’s tax refund if it is received and spent before the debtor files their petition. If a debtor plans to file for bankruptcy after spending their tax refund, they should make sure they are caught up on tax filings and file the current year on time. If you procrastinate and file an extension for your taxes, it will push back when you receive your refund and how long you have to wait to file your bankruptcy case. The sooner you file your taxes, the sooner you can receive and start spending your refund. It’s also important to spend your refund on reasonable expenses during this time. Consider stocking up on household goods, getting repairs or maintenance you’ve been putting off, or even spending your tax refund to hire your Mesa bankruptcy attorney. For more information on avoiding surrendering your tax refund to bankruptcy, call 480-470-1504 for your free consultation. Rebuilding Credit After Discharging Debt The new year can be a great time to implement new financial habits, including those that will help you rebuild credit after a bankruptcy case. Part of that could be making better decisions regarding your credit card usage. Credit cards aren’t necessarily a bad thing, as they can come with perks and benefits and contribute to your revolving credit balance. However, skipping a month or two of paying off your full balance can make it more difficult to catch up, and you may have significant interest fees. When you receive offers for new credit cards after bankruptcy, make sure you select offers with the most favorable terms and keep your spending in an affordable range.  There may be many opportunities available to you to build a credit history without you even realizing it. Monthly expenses like rent and cell phone service can often provide credit reporting. A post-bankruptcy debtor should be creative and seek out options to build credit with things that are already in their budget.  Paying your auto loan may be a major contribution to your credit history. But if you have the same auto loan after discharging debt in bankruptcy, your auto lender won’t be obligated to report your timely payments to the credit bureaus anymore. They can and will report late payments that can hurt your credit, however. Financing a vehicle, ideally at a better interest rate now that debts have been cleared, will contribute to your post-bankruptcy credit score.  Let Our Skilled Bankruptcy Lawyers Assist You With Debt Relief If you want to start the new year off on a good foot, your bankruptcy can’t be filed with errors and mistakes. Filing bankruptcy without enjoying its full benefits might not be worth the time, effort, and implications for your credit. Let My AZ Lawyers review your situation and inform you about your options. To get started with your free consultation, as well as to see if you qualify for our Zero Down payment options, contact us or call 480-470-1504.    Arizona Offices: Mesa Location: 1731 West Baseline Rd., Suite #100 Mesa, AZ 85202 Office: (480) 448-9800 Email: [email protected] Website: https://myazlawyers.com/ Phoenix Location: 343 West Roosevelt, Suite #100 Phoenix, AZ 85003 Office: (602) 609-7000 Glendale Location: 20325 N 51st Avenue Suite #134, Building 5 Glendale, AZ 85308 Office: (602) 509-0955 Tucson Location: 2 East Congress St., Suite #900-6A Tucson, AZ 85701 Office: (520) 441-1450 Avondale Location: 12725 W. Indian School Rd., Ste E, #101 Avondale, AZ 85392 Office: (623) 469-6603 The post New Year, New Start: Should You File For Bankruptcy In 2024? appeared first on My AZ Lawyers.

Thank you.  Two powerful, yet simple words.  As an arbitrator and a mediator, I have so much to be thankful for, which I thought about as I read Dr. Seuss’s Thankful Things. In this story, Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat are two thankful things who share with us all that they are thankful for. Thing 1 and Thing 2 are thankful for what each day brings.  Thing 1 and Thing 2 are thankful for things to learn and things to make.  And they are thankful for things to fix the things that break. Thing 1 and Thing 2 are thankful for stories.  And for each other.  They are thankful for many other things. But most of all, Thing 1 and Thing 2 are thankful for you. Thankful Things beautifully captures all that I am thankful for too as a mediator and arbitrator. Just like Thing 1 and Thing 2, I am truly thankful for what each day brings. I am thankful for things to learn.  As both an arbitrator and a mediator, I learn from the parties every day.  I learn about facts and law.  I learn about thoughts and feelings.  I learn about obstacles, options, opinions, and outcomes. I am thankful for things to make.  As a mediator, I help the parties make a path to resolution through settlement.  As an arbitrator, I work with the parties to make a schedule and design a process tailored to their dispute. I am thankful for the ability to fix the things that break.  As both an arbitrator and a mediator, I fix deadlines and problems.  And whether through reaching a settlement in mediation or through the issuance of an award in arbitration, we often fix what is broken and bring closure to the parties. I am thankful you share your stories.  As both a mediator and an arbitrator, I hear your stories, your challenges, and your pain. Just as with Thing 1 and Thing 2, what I am most thankful for is you. Thank you to those who read my writing or watch my videos.  Thank you to those for whom I have had the privilege to serve as mediator or arbitrator.  Thank you for teaching me and learning with me.  Thank you for sharing your stories with me.  Thank you for making things with me.  Thank you for fixing things with me.  And thank you for being you. Author’s Note: As a mediator, I am a “forever student” always seeking new ways to help people find a path to resolution in mediation.  As a parent, I have spent a gazillion hours reading books to my children.  Often, these books teach me new ways to approach conflict resolution.  In this case, Dr. Seuss’s “Thankful Things” inspired this post. Disclaimer:  Nothing contained herein constitutes legal advice nor does anything contained herein create a professional relationship. ADR Insights - Thank You The post ADR Insights: Thank You! appeared first on Sylvia Mayer Law.

As a mediator, I often say that I rely heavily on the ABC’s of mediation.  What are the ABC’s of mediation? A:  I am an analyst.  I analyze the facts and the law.  I analyze options, outcomes, and the cues that I receive from the parties. B:  I am a bartender.  Very often in a mediation, one or both parties need to tell their story.  Sometimes more than once.  I listen.  I listen patiently and empathically.  And I listen as often as they may need. C:  I am a chameleon.  I adapt throughout the process.  I may change from room to room or hour by hour in an effort to meet the needs of each of the parties and facilitate finding their path to resolution. So, as a mediator, when I say that I rely on the ABC’s of mediation, I mean that I analyze, I listen, and I adapt.  Disclaimer:  Nothing contained herein constitutes legal advice nor does anything contained herein create a professional relationship. MMM - The ABC's of Mediation The post MAYER MEDIATION MINUTE: The ABC’s of Mediation appeared first on Sylvia Mayer Law.