Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Bankruptcy Credit Counseling Under The New Bankruptcy Law

Bankruptcy credit counseling is a requirement of the new bankruptcy law effective October 17, 2005. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 requires court approved bankruptcy credit counseling to be completed by debtors prior to filing for bankruptcy within the 180 days immediately preceding the filing of a bankruptcy petition.

The new requirement for bankruptcy credit counseling prior to filing for bankruptcy may be completed by internet credit counseling, phone credit counseling, or group or individual credit counseling at specific, court approved bankruptcy credit counseling agencies. Under the new bankruptcy law, the U. S. Trustee's Office is responsible for approving bankruptcy credit counselors. The U. S. Trustee's Office may approve a nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency or an instructional course concerning personal financial management if the nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency meets certain stringent requirements set forth in the law.

The new bankruptcy law has made filing bankruptcy more difficult than ever before. The new bankruptcy law was fueled by credit card companies and their high powered lobbyist who wanted to make it harder for debtors to wipe out credit card debt. Bankruptcy credit counseling has been seen by many bankruptcy attorneys as an attempt to delay a debtor from seeking protection in the bankruptcy court. The delay may be just enough time for a creditor to obtain a judgment or collect garnishment funds.

Most bankruptcy lawyers are finding out that the telephonic method of counseling is the easiest for debtors to complete in a hurry. Most telephonic counseling can be completed in about 1 hour.

The maximum amount any bankruptcy credit counseling agency can charge for counseling is set by law. No bankruptcy credit counseling agency can charge more than $50.00 for the credit counseling. Once bankruptcy credit counseling sessions have been completed, debtors are given a certificate of completion from the credit counseling agency to be filed with the bankruptcy court upon filing of the debtor's bankruptcy petition.

BankruptcyHelpOnline.org is the bankruptcy resource solution that makes bankruptcy under the new bankruptcy law easy to understand. For a complete list of court approved bankruptcy credit counselors, visit BankruptcyCreditCounselors.com.



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Debt And The Credit Lawyer

These days credit is easier than ever to get. This includes being invited to join diner’s clubs, to receive multiple credit cards, and the like. However, though it is easier to gain access to such financial privilege, it is also easier to go quickly into debt. For this reason, many find themselves thinking about seeing a credit lawyer. This is not a bad idea, in the worst case situation. Yet first let’s see what other options may exist before the aid of a credit lawyer becomes necessary.

First, while credit is simple to get, anytime a person misses even a single payment, this is recorded on that person’s credit report. This is not to say that this blemish cannot be repaired. Simply sending the money for the payment as soon as possible helps, and not missing another payment for 1 to 2 years, depending upon the companies that will revue your credit, will also help you.

On much worse credit, that spanning years with no payment whatsoever, the situation is much greyer. A default on a bill will stay with you for a minimum of 7 years before being negated from your report. This is the normal case. However, with bills such as certain utility bills, the requests for payment and bad credit can dog you for years. Worse yet is non-payment of a student loan, which will never leave your credit report until paid in full.

At this point you may wonder if a credit lawyer is right for you. This depends entirely upon your situation. You must first get a credit report from each of “The Big Three” –that is, the three major credit reporting agencies. Don’t skimp and purchase only one of the reports, as each report may reflect different aspects of your debt. Read each report and see if there are any accounts or debt that you disagree with. If there is anything wrong with your report, try to have it corrected through the credit agency and through the company that claims you owe them money. If this proves to be fruitless, it’s time to get a credit lawyer to repair this problem.

Aside from this, let’s say that you wish to start paying your debts off. This will be quickly reflected upon your report and will cast a good light upon you. Try to pay all of the debts off simultaneously, even if only a small amount is paid to each company each month. However, be aware that some debts gain interest, so you must pay more than the monthly interest rate, to get the principle down to size.

However, if even this is impossible, you must learn to change your spending habits. Stop buying on credit or empty promises, period. Otherwise this problem will continue to haunt you and every credit lawyer in the world will be inconsequential to resolving your problem.

Yes, finally, do seek a credit lawyer if all else is lost. A credit lawyer will instruct you on the best ways of saving your credit reputation and being able have a good credit rating overall. As well, she can help you to learn to contain your spending, that you never again require the services of a credit lawyer.

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Five Steps On How To Find And Choose A Bankruptcy Attorney

If you are like many men and women in the 21st century, you may have found yourself literally drowning in debt. As a result, you may have made the touch decision to file for bankruptcy. In this regard, you may be wondering what steps that you need to take to determine how to find and choose a bankruptcy attorney. Indeed, there are some specific steps you need to take in order to determine how to find and choose an appropriate attorney.

1. The first step in how to find and choose a bankruptcy attorney is to contact the local bar association in your community. While your local bar association will not make any specific recommendations about a particular lawyer, your local bar association will provide you with a list of lawyers in your community that specialize specifically in the practice of bankruptcy law. Because bankruptcy is such a specialized area of the law, it is vital that you obtain a lawyer that is specifically trained and experienced in the practice of bankruptcy law.

Additionally, there are lawyers that specialize in consumer bankruptcy law and commercial or business bankruptcy law. Depending on what type of bankruptcy case you will be filing -- consumer or personal, commercial or business -- will depend on what type of lawyer you actually will want to retain. (There are also lawyers who specialize in agricultural bankruptcies. Agriculture bankruptcies are also specialized and require the assistance of specifically trained attorneys.)

2. The second step in how to find a bankruptcy attorney is to listen to what your friends, family members and colleagues have to say about one attorney or another. In this high-tech age, many people overlook the benefits of word of mouth. In the final analysis, some of the best information that you can obtain about a lawyer even in this age of high-tech communications is through word of mouth. Chances are very good that you know a friend, family member or colleague who has had to go through a bankruptcy. Find out what that person or those persons have to say about the lawyer or lawyers that they have used for their own bankruptcy cases.

3. The third step in how to find a bankruptcy attorney involves doing an Internet search about the specific lawyers that you have on your list of potential attorneys to assist you in your own bankruptcy case. Oftentimes on the Net, you will be able to find newspaper articles, bar association notices and other information about lawyers. By reviewing this information, you will be able to develop a clearer picture about the business and background of particular bankruptcy lawyers that you are considering employing.

4. As you continue to narrow down your list of attorneys, you will reach the step at which you will want to arrange face to face meetings with a few of the “finalists” on your list of potential lawyers. In so many ways, there is nothing more important than meeting with a lawyer face to face before you engage that attorney. You can sum up a lawyer easier when you are able to see and hear them in person.

5. The final step in how to find and choose a bankruptcy attorney involves making the decision to go with a particular lawyer. At this juncture, you will want your new lawyer to provide you with a specific contract that lays out what your lawyer will do for you, what services he or she will provide. In addition, you will want to make certain that the lawyer specifically lays out what he or she will be charging you in the way of fees and how those fees will be paid by you. (In most instances, the fees that are assessed to you by your lawyer must be approved by the bankruptcy court. Therefore, in many instances, you will not pay attorney fees relating to a bankruptcy case up front.)

By following these steps to how to find and choose a bankruptcy attorney, you will be in the best possible position to choose and select a bankruptcy lawyer that will best meet your particular needs. As a result, you will have the best possible chance to truly bring order to your chaotic financial house both in the short and the long term.

Publisher & Author - Billy Baxter - There's a free attorney selection tool along with more relevant bankruptcy assistance, highly informative eye opening articles and up to date news at Billy's site, see it all here at http://www.bankruptcy-aid.com


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The True Cost Of A DUI

Driving while under the influence, also known as DUI, is not worth it because not only are you incapable of driving safely, but you are also very likely to receive a ticket. While you might think receiving a DUI simply requires you to pay a fee and try to get out of the ticket a DUI is really more expensive than you might have ever imagined.

Receiving a DUI might cost you thousands of dollars, but it may also cost you emotionally, physically, and others will pay as well. So, before you drink and drive you should really consider all of the many costs you might face as well as the effects your actions will have on the lives of others.

First of all, a DUI does cost a lot of money if all that happens is you are pulled over and receive a ticket for driving while under the influence. Your car might be impounded, you will be taken to jail, and you will receive a ticket, as well as other fees and fines that might apply to your specific situation. This will cost you a pretty penny.

Then, there are the emotional costs of a DUI. You will likely feel ashamed and embarrassed, and that is if you just get a ticket. In addition, you might wreck your vehicle or the vehicle of another individual, causing more emotional pain and suffering. Then, if you or others are injured you can count on significant emotional suffering.

Physical costs are likely with driving under the influence because accidents happen more often than not. You might injure or even kill yourself, not to mention others. Imagine how you will feel if you cause yourself to be paralyzed or kill another individual? These are some hefty costs of drinking and driving.

Then, there are the costs to other people. Your family will feel embarrassed and ashamed if you receive a DUI citation, not to mention if you are killed or kill someone else because you chose to drink and drive. Then there is the family and friends of other individuals that you might injure while drinking and driving. They will feel angry and hurt as well.

Obviously, there are a lot of costs associated with drinking and driving; most of them will change your life and the lives of others forever. So, if you want to drink make sure you call a cab or at least have a designated driver to ensure you get home safe and sound. Avoid all of the costs of a DUI and don’t drink and drive.

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Orange County DUI Lawyers Report Field Sobriety Tests Designed For Failure

In the course of a drunk driving investigation, police officers will usually administer a series of so-called field sobriety tests (FSTs). This may consist of a battery of three to five tests, usually selected by the officer; these may include walk-and-turn, one-leg-stand, horizontal gaze nystagmus, fingers-to-thumb, finger-to-nose, Rhomberg (modified position of attention), alphabet recitation, or hand-pat. In an increasing number of law enforcement agencies in Orange County, California and across the nation, a standardized battery of three tests will be given - walk-and-turn, one-leg-stand and nystagmus - and they must be scored objectively rather than using an officer's subjective opinion.

How valid are these FSTs? Not very, according to the information at http://www.orangecountyduilaw.com by Orange County DUI attorney Lawrence Taylor, a former prosecutor and the author of the leading legal textbook Drunk Driving Defense, 6th edition. The tests are basically designed for failure. In 1991, Taylor reports, Dr. Spurgeon Cole of Clemson University conducted a study on the accuracy of field sobriety tests. His staff videotaped 21 individuals performing 6 common field sobriety tests, then showed the tapes to 14 police officers and asked them to decide whether the suspects had had too much to drink to drive. Unknown to the officers, the blood-alcohol concentration of each of the 21 subjects was .00%. The results: 46% of the time the officers gave their opinion that the subject was too inebriated to drive. In other words, the FSTs were hardly more accurate at predicting intoxication than flipping a coin. Cole and Nowaczyk, Field Sobriety Tests: Are They Designed for Failure?, 79 Perceptual and Motor Skills 99 (1994).

What about the new, improved standardized DUI tests? Research funded by the National Highway Traffic Administration determined that the three most effective field sobriety tests were walk-and-turn, one-leg stand, and horizontal gaze nystagmus. Yet, even using these supposedly more accurate -- and objectively scored -- tests, the researchers found that 47% of the subjects who would have been arrested based upon test performance actually had blood-alcohol concentrations of less than the legal limit. In other words, almost half of all persons failing the tests were not legally under the influence of alcohol!

According to the Orange County DUI lawyers in Mr. Taylor's Southern California law firm, the fact that these tests are largely unfamiliar to most people, and that they are given under extremely adverse conditions, make them more difficult for people to perform. As few as two miscues in performance can result in an individual being classified as impaired because of alcohol consumption when the problem may actually be the result of unfamiliarity with the test.

In short, field sobriety tests are unreliable and can be effectively handled in trial by an experienced DUI lawyer.

The Law Offices of Lawrence Taylor, Inc., is a firm of DUI attorneys specializing in DUI defense since 1979. Please visit http://www.orangecountyduilaw.com for more information.


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When You Need A DUI Lawyer

Despite the fact that Americans have been campaigning against drunk driving since the early eighties, there are still those who excuse themselves from breaking such a serious law. For this reason, police are constantly vigilant for those who may be operating a vehicle under the influence. Yet, this is not to say that if you are arrested for such a thing that you are necessarily drunk. Each case is different, and unique. If your case is one of the exceptions, you may require a DUI lawyer.

The great thing about having a DUI lawyer is that he knows exactly what must be done and how to go about doing it –properly. As the DUI lawyer has experience with this specific form of case, he will be able to do his job expediently while giving you a feeling of relief knowing that someone is on your side.

One of the first things that the DUI lawyer will look for is whether you were in any way deprived of your constitutional rights. This can mean something as simple as not being read your Miranda Rights, or being arrested without being first given a breathalyzer test. This may also apply if there were any known discrepancies with the breathalyzer or other means of determining your blood to alcohol level. For instance, maybe a model of breathalyzer was utilized which has proven to be defective, often giving readings that are much higher than they are in reality. Your DUI lawyer will be looking for just this sort of discrepancy.

The simple fact is that the police have a specific protocol to follow and if they do not it may infringe upon your basic rights, and this is unacceptable. Due to the complexity of drunk driving laws, there are many aspects that a DUI lawyer will look at to see if not only your rights were upheld, but also that the procedures that the police utilized to apprehend you were legal, and that every aspect leading up to and beyond the arrest was correct within the eyes of the law.

Many may find this a bit scandalous, thinking that DUI lawyers are simply “cons freeing the guilty.” However, the truth of the matter is more complex. Challenging the law and police procedures keeps the police “more honest.” At the same time those charged with DUI are simply exercising the rights granted by our constitution and subsequent, lesser laws.

Further, while a great many drunk drivers are certainly guilty, the fact is that there is a minority of cases in which the innocent are charged wrongfully. Such a case existed in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1993. A man who was medicated was given an especially powerful dose by his caregiver, which affected his driving, unbeknownst to him. By weaving on the road he attracted the attention of a peace officer, who rightfully pulled him over. Yet, not being a doctor, the officer mistook the driver for inebriated, and so arrested him. Don’t let this be you.


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What A Federal Lawyer Can Do For You.

If you’ve recently gotten into trouble with the law - the federal law - then you’ll soon know it. Federal marshals will come to your house and arrest you. The good aspect to breaking a federal law as opposed to a state law is that the marshals at the federal level are usually better educated and more polite. (As well, should you be incarcerated, the federal penitentiary system is notably far superior to the state prison system.)

However, this is of little comfort to someone possibly going to prison. Especially when it is the education of federal marshals and investigators that allowed them to catch you. Either way, you’ll need a federal lawyer. If you have recently been accused of one of the crimes listed below, or are considering a career in law, this article may be for you.

The federal lawyer is a solicitor trained specifically to defend suspects who are believed to have broken a federal law. This is usually, but not always a more serious crime. Let’s look at some of these crimes, that you may better understand them.

Kidnapping This more often than not involves a parent who has half or no custody of a child, who picks the child up after school and takes that child somewhere that the other parent, (who either also has partial or full custody of the child ) doesn’t know about. This is the case throughout the United States with most of the “Milk Carton Kids.”

Narcotics The possession of narcotics is generally a state matter, unless the amount of drugs is so great that it is obvious that the person is dealing the drugs. Any form of trafficking, including dealing, is of a federal nature, and the accused person will wish to seek a federal lawyer, as opposed to a state-law representative.

Tax evasion To knowingly cheat on your personal or business taxes is heavily punishable and yet another case where need for a federal lawyer will be present. Tax evasion is possibly one of the more common cases that the average federal lawyer must handle each year. It was, in fact, the only way the federal government was able to pin and incarcerate “Scar Face” Al Capone.

Murder is generally a case for federal law, though there are lesser degrees of this, such as manslaughter (if it can truly be deemed “murder”) which are a matter for the state laws. This is one of the more serious and time-consuming types of case that the federal lawyer must try to resolve, and is usually very expensive, both for legal and court expenses.

The federal lawyer is a prestigious job which typically pays an excellent salary. As well, it is infinitely more interesting than say, a tax lawyer. If you’re considering becoming a lawyer, consider this branch of law. As well, if you’ve been accused of breaking a federal law, do consider calling one of these professionals; with their care and diligence, you will have a fair opportunity at exonerating your name.


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Too Many Lawyers In Franchising Today

Attorneys and Lawyers are ruining the franchise industry. It is too bad too, because franchising represents over 400,000 businesses in our country and accounts for just over one-third of every consumer dollar spent in this country. By over regulating and over lawyering the industry we are weakening our free markets and suffocating our up and coming entrepreneurs.

I remember standing with a group in Las Vegas at the annual IFA meeting at the MGM, where everyone was gathered around Mr. Rosenberg and the attorneys were making comments apropos to franchise law, Bob, just rolled his eyes and threw up his arms in gest; “Oh you guys?” he said, meaning, all these laws and rules have nothing to do with successful franchisees or running a franchise company. He did not do it by laws and rules, he did it by caring, working hard and not giving up. Franchising is a win-win situation. Could he have done what he did then, today?

The reason I ask is that Krispy Kremes, with a never ending supply of capitalization just got creamed themselves recently and now the lawsuits will fly as the dough hits the ceilings, Atkins diets will take hold and people will have less fillings. KKD’s CFO leaves the company, insiders tied up in class action lawsuits, what next? Well Krispy Kreme will have parties for Washington DC insiders to slow possibility of any regulatory actions. It’s all a game now, so I ask could Duncan Donuts do the same thing today with all this over regulation? Do not be so quick to answer yes, think on it a bit. Think of all the unnecessary disclosure, laws, lawsuits and market forces? If you are an optimist the answer is maybe. If you are a realist, the answer is most likely not. Think about it. Is the Federal Trade Commission willing to get on the same page with reality?

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/


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Senate Passes New Bankruptcy Law

The United States Senate passed a law on March 10, 2005 that changes the bankruptcy laws in America. It is expected that the House of Representatives will look to pass the same bill in April, which will send it to President Bush for his signature. Since it is well known that President Bush will sign the bill into law, a new bankrupcty law is just one step away from ratification. This law makes it much harder for Americans to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. So for those of you trying to decide whether to file bankruptcy in the next few weeks, realize you may not have the same options in a couple of months time.

This bill is a pure win for the credit card companies. Since the bill was written by credit card company lawyers, you can imagine how advantageous it is to the credit card industry. It means that Americans will pay their earnings to creditors for many years to come, with little help from the U.S. government. Of course, creditors say these are bills charged up by the debtors. But since the credit card industry is one big legal trap, it amounts to the federal government helping bankers and lawyers trick average citizens out of their money. As I always say, if a person has been paying their minimum monthly payment for a few years, the creditor made a huge profit on their original loan years ago. That applies even if a debtor files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The real shame is that 50% of Chapter 7 bankruptcies happen due to medical and health issues. With the loss of jobs overseas and the subsequent loss of health insurance, many Americans are slipping into debt to try to pay their medical bills. Twenty percent of bankruptcies come from single mothers who children have deadbeat fathers. In other words, the mother filing bankruptcy is not to blame, but is the victim of an ex-husband who refuses to pay his debts to his children. The new law will leave the mother on the hook to the credit card industry.

Now is the time to do your homework when looking for debt consolidation loans and other consumer credit counseling advice. It looks like the public sector is no longer a friend of the consumer, so you have to look at the private sector to help you out of your troubles. Do your research. Choose wisely. There are ways out of your financial crisis, but one of the most used options just got undermined by the politicians in control of legislation at the moment.

You can read more about personal finance and debt issues at the Debt Consolidation blog.


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