Articles Tagged with bankruptcy

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student loan bankruptcyIf the debt from your student loans is overwhelming you, you’re not alone. According to the Institute for College Access & Success, an independent non-profit organization, 68% of students who graduated from both private and public colleges in 2015 had student loan debt. The debt average had risen 4% since 2014 to a whopping $30,100 per borrower in 2015.

While it can be challenging, it is not impossible to have student loan debt discharged in bankruptcy. In order for your student loan to be discharged, you must be able to prove that it is causing undue hardship. Courts use certain tests to make this determination. The most common is called the Brunner Test, in which courts will look for you to meet the following three criteria:

  1. You are unable to maintain a minimal standard of living for you and your dependents if you are required to continue paying your student loans.
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When you fhow to stop creditors from callingace the unfortunate situation of falling behind on your credit card, mortgage, auto loan or other bills, you may also find you’ve become the victim of debt collection harassment. The goal of this type of harassment is to annoy, intimidate or bully a consumer into paying off a debt.

Debt collection harassment can come in different forms—email, direct mail or texts—but it is most often done by constant, repetitive phone calls. These phone calls are often designed to annoy and belittle not only the person who holds the debt, but also whoever happens to answer the phone. At worst they may contain profane language and threats. They might even contact your friends and neighbors about your debt, seeking to humiliate you.

Fortunately, you have rights. While debt collection agencies are legally permitted to collect the debt that is owed to a creditor, they are not legally permitted to use abusive tactics to collect this debt from you. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces something called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This act prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unreasonable and/or deceptive practices to collect a debt.

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Bankruptcy is an excellent retirement strategy, especially if you are behind in saving for retirement because your credit card debt is robbing you of your ability to save.

Just look at the math:

Let’s say you’re about 10 years away from retirement, and you owe $25,000 in credit card debt at a typical 18.9% interest. Based upon your budget, you can pay no more than $500 per month toward this debt while maintaining your monthly expenses.

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In JACKSONVILLE, foreclosures filings continue to decrease, however there are still thousands of homeowners still struggling with their mortgage companies.

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2015-08-07/story/federal-judge-rules-bank-america-hurt-jacksonville-couple-must-pay 

Florida courts, specifically Duval, St. Johns, Clay and Nassau counties, areas that affect First Coast Families continue to fast pace foreclosures through the court system, in many cases ignoring homeowner’s due process rights. 

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