Charlotte Attorney's Informative Blog

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PROCESS OF FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY: 341 MEETING

BY Maxwell Law Firm

When it comes time to formally file for bankruptcy, you will need to participate in a 341 creditor meeting. Many people find themselves intimidated merely by the thought of it, but the process is not scary or negative in most instances. Instead of a grand inquisition, most individuals facing bankruptcy find that a meeting of the creditors to be simple and helpful.
Although it is called a 341 creditor meeting, there are rarely any creditors physically in attendance. But even though the creditors may not attend the meeting, their presence in known and they are capable of calling future actions once the proceedings have entered the court of law.
However, just because the creditors do not have to be in attendance does not mean that it isn’t critical for the debtor to be in attendance with his or her lawyer (if applicable). The meeting is presided over by a bankruptcy trustee (there will not be a judge in attendance).
This individual will work to ensure that both sides have the correct facts available to them when it comes time to file for bankruptcy in a court of law (but ultimately, the trustee represents the creditors). Additionally, the trustee is appointed to the meeting by the court and has the authority to swear in the debtor.
The 341 creditor meeting is held anywhere from 20 to 40 days after you file for the bankruptcy petition. This meeting is necessary for anyone filing for a Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
You are strongly encouraged to seek professional legal representation by a bankruptcy attorney. This is especially true in cases that are complicated, since a lawyer will be able to help you muddle through the legal information to ensure that you are on the right path at all times. If you choose not to enlist a lawyer in your bankruptcy proceedings, you will be representing yourself in the 341 meeting.
During a 341 creditor meeting (More information on what to expect at a 341 meeting), the trustee will first swear you in and then begin the meeting. These meetings are usually short and informal, requiring little more than a prepared statement from you.
This statement should state the reason why you are filing for bankruptcy in addition to a list of all of your debts. After the statement has been read, the creditors are able to ask questions. Since few creditors even attend these meetings you won’t likely be presented with many questions to answer.
After hearing the information in your statement, the creditors are then able to submit any challenges regarding the debts listed in your statement. Although most creditors will not submit any challenges, you may have debts listed that fall in the space between the dischargeable and non-dischargeable categories (see discharging debts).
In the end, a 341 creditor meeting is not meant to embarrass or anger you. The purpose of the meeting is to find all the facts before the case appears before a judge in a court of law.

If you are looking for a  Foreclosure Defense Firm and or a Bankruptcy Attorney in
in North Carolina Please Call Maxwell Law Firm, PLLC
at 704-461-1883 or contact us here

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Bankruptcy and Short Sales in North Carolina

BY Maxwell Law Firm

Every week we get clients filing for bankruptcy protection asking questions whether they should proceed with a short sale on their real estate. If you are filing for BANKRUPTCY, then you do not need to proceed with a short sale.

Lets first define what a short sale is. A short sale is a sale approval by the lender to receive less than the full amount of their loan, very common now in this depressed real estate market. For example: you bought a home in 2007 for $250,000 with a first mortgage of $250,000 and second mortgage of $50,000. The property is now worth $200,000 and you have a buyer willing to close escrow in 30 days for $200,000. If the first mortgage agrees with the sale, they will receive about $50,000 less than their current debt and the second will receive $0.Typically the second signs off with a nominal payment such as $5,000.00.

The short sale then triggers a host of problems that the borrower does not discovery until later. But if you are filing bankruptcy, there is usually no reason for the short sale. In fact, the short sale generally hurts more than helps for at least five reasons.

First, the short sale triggers a taxable event and allows the lender to issue a 1099-A or 1099-C. This is sent to the IRS and essentially states that you received income that you now need to pay taxes on. In the forgoing example, you would then need to pay taxes on $100,000 of income. There is one exception to this rule and you must qualify fot this.
Second, it will damage your credit. Since you are breaching the contract, the lender has the right to report that you did not pay the balance in full. It is has almost the same effect your credit report as a foreclosure, and a short sale is usually far worse on credit reports than any bankruptcy filing. This can lower your credit score by as much as 200 points!!!

Then, there may be no need to do the short sales, since the lender probably has no other recourse against you since the loan was purchase money or will foreclose non-judicially, the short sale is not changing any liability issues. That means they can still sue you for the difference on the note.

Also, you are wasting your time and money. The only party really benefiting here is the realtor and buyer. Since all the work, worries, and monies you provide do not benefit you at all, the entire short sale process is usually done in vain. Instead, the realtor gets a fat commission at your expense. Instead you could be spending less than $1500 for a bankruptcy ( this includes the filing fee) to take care of this debt and others in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

Lastly, you will be losing time in your property. Since the typical foreclosure process can usually last over a year when a bankruptcy is filed, you may be losing a substantial amount of equity recoupment or rents. If your mortgage is $2000 per month and you short sale now as oppose to allow foreclosure a year from now, you lose about $24,000.
Instead, it is usually best to surrender the home after the bankruptcy is filed. Under bankruptcy laws, there is no taxable event on a foreclosure after bankruptcy (except possibly a capital gain in rare cases in today’s economy), the lender can not report to credit bureaus foreclosure but can only report “$0.00 balance, bankruptcy discharge”(which by the way gets reported in all bankruptcy cases whether you keep the home or not and is generally better than foreclosure or short sale in terms of effecting your credit score), the debt is finalized as non- recourse, you avoid wasting your time and money, and you are able to stay in the property or rent it out longer.

Thus, at least in North Carolina, it is advisable in almost every case to avoid a short sale if a bankruptcy case is being filed. If you are currently in a short sale process and your bankruptcy has not been filed yet, you may want to get out asap. To the extent any buyer or realtor tells you you can not, simply list them as a creditor in your case and any claims they have will then be discharged as well.

If you are looking for a  Foreclosure Defense Firm and or a Bankruptcy Attorney in North Carolina Please Call Maxwell Law Firm, PLLC
at 704-461-1883 or contact us here

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REASON # 4 foreclosure

BY Maxwell Law Firm
Foreclosure is the Legal process initiated by the lender by which borrower is deprived of his interest in the property, typically triggered by default by the debtor/borrower.

Deficiency- Another ACTION brought Following a foreclosure sale the proceeds of which are not sufficient to cover debt, lender can sue the borrower to recover remainder of debt.

Tax Implications

Borrower may have to pay income tax to IRS for unpaid balance paid to the lender, unless certain criteria are met (see conditions for mortgage tax relief.)

Credit Impact

Foreclosure stays on your credit report for 8 years like any other negative item, making it difficult to buy another home or a car int he near future.

What are your options If you are facing foreclosure
Option # 1 Deed In lieu of Foreclosure-Mortgagor hands over a deed to mortgagee in satisfaction of the debt. First lender must accept this arrangement and they typically do not. This is almost like a voluntary repossession and stays on your credit report just as long as a foreclosure.

Option # 2 Equitable Right of Redemption- Debtor’s right to redeem foreclosed property. Requires full payment of the mortgage debt in it’s entirety. Typically if you are in foreclosure you are not able to do this. Further more the damage has been done to your credit (Missed payments).

Option # 3  Short Sale –Within the lenders control and has the same impact on your credit as a foreclosure.

Option # 4 Bankruptcy–Federal protection from foreclosure and stops all foreclosure proceedings. With this option if you file  and qualify for a chapter 13 you can modify your mortgage loan interest. If you qualify and file a chapter 7 you can catch up on the payments and keep your home and possibly submit a loan modification during the process. Yes Bankruptcy stays on your credit report for the same amount of time as foreclosure BUT you can take care of other debts that you have as well such as unpaid medical bills, tax debt, stop car repossession, and the list goes on.

If you are looking for a  Foreclosure Defense Firm and or a Bankruptcy Attorney in
Charlotte or Concord North Carolina Area Please Call Maxwell Law Firm, PLLC
at 704-461-1883 or contact us here

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REASON # 2 HIGH CREDIT BALANCES ON NUMEROUS CARDS

BY Maxwell Law Firm

Your credit score is like a numeric grade that’s applied to your credit history at a specific point in time. The credit score is based on the information that’s listed in your credit report. Your credit report includes information about your credit cards and loans. Things like the account balance, payment history, credit limit, and age of the account are listed on your credit report. The credit score is calculated based on a formula that gives weight to different parts of your credit history.

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Maxwell Law Firm, PLLC is a full service Law firm that offers bankruptcy, traffic / speeding ticket representation, and family (divorce) services.

Bankruptcy

Maxwell Law Firm offers consumer bankruptcy services including representation in Chapter 7, Chapter 13 representation.

If you need assistance with unpaid medical bills, preventing foreclosure, preventing repossession, reduce financial liabilities, stopping wage garnishments, stop collection calls, debt settlement, reduce or eliminate tax debt, and or rebuilding your credit consider consulting with us for your options. Bankruptcy gives protection to people in financial trouble who are drowning under piles of debt. Because of today´s difficult economic times millions of people are exercising this protection of filing bankruptcy, Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. The bankruptcy laws were created by Congress to provide relief to those who have been victimized by job loss, staggering medical bills, disability, and divorce or identity theft.

We are a debt relief agency and can help you reduce or eliminate your liabilities and keep your property. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Traffic

Many people ask themselves should hire Lawyer for a Traffic Matter? Well what you have to take into account is that your driving record could affect your employment opportunities, insurance rates, and your driving privileges.

Our firm is experienced in handling traffic violations including: North Carolina Speeding Tickets, infractions, Reckless driving, Stop sign and stop light violation, license restorations, Driver’s license violations, hit and run violations, Seat belt violations, reopening paid or closed traffic cases, Registration, inspection and insurance violations, Racing violations, and Signal violations. We work hard to minimize the points on your license and keep your insurance rates low.

Family Law

When dealing with issues involving your children, assets, and the dissolution of one’s marriage it is always a great idea to at least consult with an Attorney to discuss your options and rights. We offer reduce fee consultations for family services and flat free retainers for uncontested divorces.

Maxwell Law Firm offers family law representation for divorce, custody, child support, and visitation, alimony, distribution of property, and separation agreements.

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BY BANKRUPTCY

1. ELIMINATE LEGAL OBLIGATIONS—you can get out of contracts (cellphone, gym ect), return property, reduce your financial responsibility on certain debts.
2. STOP FORECLOSURE –once you file something called the automatic stay is triggered and that stops all creditors from collecting on debts owed or contacting you.
3. PREVENT REPOSSESSIONS—again the automatic stay stops creditors from acting including regaining possession and control over the property. During this period you can catch your payments up so that you can keep the property. Remember in a chapter 7, one of two things happen you can affirm property if you are current on it or you can surrender it if you do not intend to keep it and avoid repossession (an additional negative item). If you are not current the creditor, after the automatic stay, can then seek to recover the property as their only form of relief.
4. Eliminate High Medical Bills—medical bills are unsecure debts which can be completely discharged in bankruptcy.
5. Loss of Employment or Income –loss of income can affect your ability to pay your debts and stay current so this factor that is taken into account when determining your ability to file for chapter 7.
6. Stop Wage Garnishments—the automatic stay applies here to stop even IRS from garnishing your wages once you have filed and they have received notice.
7. Stop Collection Calls—the automatic stay applies to creditor calls, letters, or any action and is valid for up to thirty (30) days after filing.
8. Prevent Utilities from being turned off—same as number 7.
9. Relief from high student loan payments—although student loans can not be discharged unless you are severely mentally incapable of being able to work and pay them back (i.e. Jamie Foxx in the soloist) you can get the payments reduced once you file for bankruptcy.
10. Prevent creditor fraud—often times creditors tack on these usury or extremely high  
11.  ELIMINATE OR REDUCE TAX DEBT —tax debt that due more than three years ago where a return was return was filed within the last two years or more can be discharged.
12. REBUILDING CREDIT—you can eliminate several negative items with one bankruptcy, which will stay on your credit for 8-10 years but will enable you to rebuild your credit immediately.

Maxwell Law Firm, PLLC assists clients with Chapter 7 Bankruptcies in the Charlotte/Concord Metro Areas call 704-461-1883 for further information.

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Bankruptcy

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CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY

Many people are facing difficult times due to our current economic conditions. Whether you have been affected by a job loss, divorce, medical expenses or overwhelming credit card debt, you may find yourself unsure of what your next step should be. Having to confront handling your finances can be a difficult thing to do, but ignoring them can lead to dire consequences. With the help of our caring and dedicated bankruptcy attorney. One of the main purposes of Bankruptcy Law is to give a person, who is hopelessly burdened with debt, a fresh start by wiping out his or her debts.

Great Service
We assist clients with bankruptcy filings, negotiating a settlement of your debts, unpaid medical bills, and the defense of collection litigation and defending you against foreclosure. We treat you as a person, not a case number. It is as simple as that. We are a firm that focuses on giving you the best legal service possible. Have all your questions answered during a private and confidential consultation.

Low Fees
There are no gimmicks, antics, or surprises. We charge a nominal consult fee of $50.00 (due at the time of your consultation) that covers the fee to pull an extensive credit report on your behalf. The Chapter 7 fees are as follows: $999.99 for a single filer, $1099.99 for married filers, $1199.99 for persons with business debt (whether or not they are married). Note these fees do not include the filing fee of $299.99 paid to the bankruptcy court. We can guarantee that we are the lowest priced bankruptcy in Attorney in town!

Convenient Locations
We have offices in Charlotte and Concord, North Carolina. Our two offices offer clients the convenience of meeting face-to-face with an attorney without having to travel far and take time away from their live.

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We can assist with foreclosure help now, debt settlement, bankruptcy filing, wage garnishment, irs debt collection. We have a simple questionnaire that helps to evaluate your unique financial situation. Go here to fill out the Questionnaire
Schedule your consultation today
Contact Maxwell Law Firm, PLLC
704-461-1883 Filing bankruptcy in north Carolina,

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Tax help now

BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO CONSULT WITH JUST ANY ONE TO FILE YOUR RETURNS, CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

Now the next step: Thoroughly vetting the tax professional.

Remember, regardless of who fills out your 1040 and sends it on to the IRS, when you sign your tax return, you are legally responsible for everything on it. So it’s crucial to hire a tax pro who’s not only knowledgeable, but also ethical.

Most tax preparers are honest and provide quality service. But as with any consumer transaction, it’s up to you, the buyer of the services, to make sure you’re hiring a true professional.

Here are some things to keep in mind when someone else prepares your return.

Check on IRS registration
Starting this year, preparers must be registered with the IRS to file a return. Make sure the person you hire has done so.

If you live in a state that licenses or registers tax preparers, contact that regulatory office to make sure there are no complaints against the person you plan to hire.

Do they belong?
Check your preparers professional affiliations. Membership in such groups requires that a tax preparer follow a code of ethics and participate in continuing education programs.

Office hours are important
Make sure your tax preparer will be around after the April filing deadline. Some offices open up just during filing season and then disappear as soon as returns are filed. But the IRS can come asking questions about a return months later. The person who helped you file it should be around so you can get the answers to any possible IRS questions.

Who does the actual work?
If your tax preparer is part of larger firm, determine whether he or she will be the person actually doing your tax work or whether your taxes will be delegated to someone else in the office, perhaps a person with less tax training.

Also find out if your preparer exports tax returns for preparation. Foreign countries do not have the same security and privacy laws as the United States, nor is there any recourse should your information be compromised as a result of lax or nonexistent privacy procedures.

How do they charge?
Don’t hire a tax preparer whose fee is based on how big of a refund you get. That’s usually an indication that tax law envelopes will be pushed to get you more money than you’re rightfully entitled to just so your tax preparer can make more money.

Similarly, avoid preparers who claim they can get you a larger refund than other preparers. If your returns are prepared correctly, every preparer should come up with essentially the same tax and refund numbers.

Find someone who wants to know
Be wary of preparers who aren’t concerned about documentation. Reputable tax preparers will request to see your receipts and will ask you detailed questions to determine your qualifications for expenses, deductions, credits and the like. It’s always better that these questions are asked by your preparer and answered before filing, rather than later by an IRS examiner.

Avoid blank return requests
Remember that warning about being responsible for the return you sign? If a tax preparer asks you to sign a blank tax return, find a new tax pro. Never sign a tax document before it’s finished and then only after you’ve read it carefully and understand the entries.

If you’re unsure about an entry and your tax pro can’t explain it to your satisfaction, then don’t sign the return. A tax preparer who won’t or can’t explain the items on your 1040 and associated schedules is either incompetent or unscrupulous.

Sure, thoroughly checking out your tax pro takes some time. But it’s time well spent when it ensures that your taxes are completed properly.

For several years now Attorney Maxwell has assisted clients with tax collection defense and has seen several of her clients audited based on improperly prepared returns and countless other issues and errors on income tax returns which cause her clients a lot of trouble and money in the end. She is a Tax Lawyer that offers Low Cost Income tax preparation services, FREE ELECTRONIC FILING for both individuals and businsess tax payers, 1040 filings, 1099 filing assistance,  and year round income tax service

She also assists with:

•Itemized Deductions (Sch A)
• Interest and Ordinary Dividends (Sch B)
•Sole Proprietorship Income & Expenses (Sch C)
• Capital Gains and Losses (Sch D)
• Calculating Cost Basis on Long Term Investments
• Rental Property Income, Expenses and Depreciation (Sch E)
• Household Employment Taxes (Sch H)
• Income Tax Filing Extensions

Clients have several options for having their returns prepared. We have two locations one on Charlotte and One in Concord. You can also mail or fax your information into our office for fast and efficient services. For more information see our tax intake form located here http://maxwelllegal.com/2010%20Income%20Tax.pdf

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