Month: May 2012

Ok.  So you have filed personal bankruptcy and your bankruptcy attorney says that you will have to attend a Section 341 hearing.

So what does this mean?  Are you going to be there by yourself? Is it in front of a judge? What are you going to be asked?  What if you don’t know the answer?

These are all perfectly natural questions.  You have never filed personal bankruptcy and it is not your job to know all the information there is to know about a bankruptcy.  That is why you hired a great personal bankruptcy attorney right?

Good thing you came to us.

Your Section 341 hearing will he held in either Trenton, Newark, Camden, or Robbinsville, depending upon the Chapter you filed and where you live.

The hearing will not be in front of a judge.  The Trustee assigned to administer your case will conduct your hearing.  This will be done in a conference room with.  Everywhere but in Robbinsville you will be permitted to listen to the other hearings being conducted.  If you hear a question you can’t answer, tap your attorney and have a quick conversation about the questions so that you will be prepared.

When it is your turn you will present your photo id and social security card to the trustee and he/she will verify your identity.

Once your trustee has verified your identity they will over a pretty standard set of questions which can be found here.  Some trustees may ask you how you got in your financial situation.  There is no wrong answer to this question.  I have had some brutally honest clients along the way, one of them legendarily told the trustee they had a gambling problem, and it has always worked out fine.

I once had an attorney tell me that clients worrying about their 341 hearing were “Wasting a worry.”  I agree.

Haven’t filed bankruptcy yet and are looking for a great attorney to represent you at your 341 hearing give us a call at 732-302-9600 or fill our our five minute consultation and we will call you.

It has happened to every person that has ever consulted a bankruptcy attorney.  You sit down with the attorney you found in the phone book and they start talking about creditors, stays, 341 hearings, and schedules…and all you can think is “What the heck is this this guy talking about?”

A lot of personal bankruptcy attorneys like to use $300.00 an hour language with their clients.  I don’t do that.  I am of the opinion that clients are looking to you for guidance and part of that guidance is explaining to you what words mean.  Unfortunately, there isn’t always a good synonym for one of these words so we have a list of what some of the more common bankruptcy terminology mean on our website ready for you to review before your appointment, after your appointment, or whenever else you may need it.

If the list isn’t good enough, you can always call me and we can talk about how to handle your financial problems in plain english or fill out our online consultation form and I will call you.

Call for a FREE consultation at 732-302-9600

Bank of America announced recently that it will be launching a new mortgage modification program as part of the DOJ settlement established earlier this year.  This mortgage modification has big promises, including forgiveness of up to $150,000 off the principal of your mortgage balance.

Sound too good to be true?  Here is a brief synopsis of what you need to know about this new settlement:

1.   Not every homeowner will qualify.  Specifically Bank of America is looking at homeowners that were behind on their mortgage on January 31, at least 60 days past due and whose homes are worth less than they owe.  If you meet these requirements it just means you are eligible, it does not mean you WILL be approved.

2.   There is the possibility of principal reduction in this type of modification but that does not mean that Bank of America is going to reduce the principal on your loan, it just means it is possible that Bank of America will do so.

3.   The qualification process will be much the same as your mortgage modification application was before.  You will still need to monitor the submission of paperwork and you will still likely have to resubmit and wait extended periods of time for a decision.

Still interested?  Great.  Give our office a call at 732-302-9600 or submit our contact us form and will will be happy to assist you in applying for your mortgage modification.

A study was released today by Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and Washington University in St. Louis has suggested that there will be 200,000 to one million debtors who will be unable to afford bankruptcy services this years.

This means that up to one million people could be trapped under oppressive debt because they cannot afford to file for bankruptcy.

I know what you are thinking, why is a bankruptcy attorney pointing out high fees?

Because if you are reading this you cannot afford to not file for bankruptcy.  Many of my client will look at me like I am out of my mind when I tell them my fees or I will hear an audible sigh when I state my fees on the phone.

But let’s put this in perspective:

The average person calling me right now is behind on the mortgage by at least one to two months, has a car loan with a shameful (shame on the lender) interest rate, and about $15,000 in credit cards with equally shameful interest rates.  More often than not the driver behind their calling me is something extreme, such as foreclosure, a pending garnishment, or their bank account was drained by a creditor.

Taking no action here could result in more wage garnishments, more levies on bank accounts, foreclosure, and a whole host of other much more expensive than the $1500.00 national average that it costs to file bankruptcy.

In addition, when it is all over there will be no credit card debt and there is a decent shot at negotiating a better rate on the car, and working out something to bring you current on your mortgage.

Suddenly that national average on attorney’s fees of $1,500.00 is looking like a steal right?  That is what I thought.  On top of all of this most attorneys are not going to ask you to come up with all of that fee the first time you meet with them.  For the most part each attorney has their own way of helping you, myself included.

Interested in how we can help you get out of oppressive debt?  Give us a call and we will talk about how we can help at 732-302-9600 or fill out our online consultation form and we will call you.