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4 Mistakes That Will Drive up the Cost of Your Divorce

Here are the 4 mistakes that lead to these costs and what you can do to avoid them.

How to Tell if You Have a Valid Personal Injury Claim

One of the most common questions people ask when consulting with a personal injury attorney for the first time is "Do I have a valid case?" Of course, the only way to know for sure is to speak with an attorney about the specific details of your case. Still, there are generally three conditions that need to be met in order for a personal injury claim to be considered valid.

Brett Kavanaugh Sworn in as 114th Justice of the Supreme Court

On October 6, 2018, the United States Senate approved the nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States by narrow vote of 50-48.

Default Judgment: The Automatic Stay Could Help at the Last Minute

The automatic stay is an extremely helpful injunction, and your creditors will be alerted to your bankruptcy filing; however, even if they are not, the automatic stay still prohibits them from collecting on any debts.

2019 Medicare Advantage Plans Incorporate Long Term Care, Aging in Place Benefits

Medicare Advantage Plans are cautiously incorporating benefits that aid in Aging in Place planning

Notice to creditors is critical to eliminate debts. Sending a notice to too old an address may not work.

If a creditor does not receive notice of a bankruptcy, their debt may not be eliminated by the bankruptcy case, even if the case is successful. If addresses are not quickly corrected, or a creditor added soon after filing, it may not be possible to add the creditor later. If an address is incorrect or outdated, the debt may not be eliminated. In one recent decision, the debtor sent a notice to an attorney that had represented the creditor four years earlier instead of to an address shown on the judgment to the creditor itself. While the debtor 'got away with it' in this particular case (though incurring substantial additional fees in the process), under very slightly different circumstances the debt would not have been eliminated.

Courts may disallow homestead exemption if property is put up for sale during case or within a year after

A number of states may limit whether a homestead remains exempt if the debtor has it for sale when the case is filed, or puts it up for sale between the filing and the date the case is completed, or, in some cases, if it is sold within a year after filing. If the home is sold during a case, it is often critical to put all funds in a segregated bank account where they are never mixed with any other funds, not to use any of the funds for anything other than purchase of a new homestead in the same state, and to use the funds within a reasonable time (which may be one year or less) to purchase a new home.

Means Test in chapter 13 and interest to unsecured creditors

The 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act added a new budget test, called the means test, to determine whether debtors can file chapter 7, and if they file chapter 13, how much needs to be paid to unsecured creditors. One ancillary issue arising from this test is whether interest needs to be paid to unsecured creditors when debtors are paying unsecured creditors in full during the plan but not paying the full amount shown as available in the means test. Courts give conflicting answers on this. One recent decision ruled no interest is required.

Consumer Debt Can Cause Stress, Depression, Divorce

Discussing numbers and statistics on the national scale is important, but if you have fallen heavily into debt, you may not feel like that information helps you out much in terms of your own financial distress.

LIMITED SCOPE REPRESENTATION IN FAMILY LAW CASES IN CALIFORNIA

Limited scope representation in family law cases in California.

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