As long as you meet your state's eligibility requirements, you should start receiving benefits within a few weeks after you file, all without any help from a lawyer. In some cases, however, it might make sense to hire a lawyer, even if money is tight.
If you've recently lost your job, you may be tightening your belt and counting your pennies, trying to figure out how to make ends meet until you find new work. In this situation, you probably aren't interested in paying any of your dwindling cash to a lawyer -- and often, this will be a smart decision.
You have legal claims against your employer. If you believe your employer has violated your legal rights, you should consult with a lawyer to find out how strong your claims are.
If you're grappling with loads of debt to the point where you can't see yourself paying it off, your best bet may be to enlist the help of a debt settlement attorney. Of course, the primary downside of going this route is the cost involved.
Bank accounts, money market accounts, safe deposit boxes, promissory notes, and other financial accounts are all subject to creditor garnishment writs. Generally, a judgment creditor cannot levy or garnish a bank account until the creditor has filed its lawsuit, served the debtor with process, and obtained a judgment.
If you don't repay or settle the debt, the debt collector can sue you. At this point, you will receive a notice from the court regarding your appearance date. If you fail to show up for your court date, the court will likely rule in favor of the debt collector.
If You Don't Pay You'll owe more money as penalties, fees, and interest charges build up on your account as a result. Your credit scores will also fall. It may take several years to recover, but you can rebuild your credit and borrow again, sometimes within just a few years. So don't give up hope.
A bank account levy allows a creditor to legally take funds from your bank account. When a bank gets notification of this legal action, it will freeze your account and send the appropriate funds to your creditor. In turn, your creditor uses the funds to pay down the debt you owe.
Options for asset protection include:Domestic asset protection trusts.Limited liability companies, or LLCs.Insurance, such as an umbrella policy or a malpractice policy.Alternate dispute resolution.Prenuptial agreements.Retirement plans such as a 401(k) or IRA.Homestead exemptions.Offshore trusts.
Not being able to meet payment obligations can make anyone feel anxious and worried, but in most cases, you won't have to worry about serving jail time if you are unable to pay off your debts. You cannot be arrested or go to jail simply for being past-due on credit card debt or student loan debt, for instance.
To find out if you've got savings or are expecting a pay out, your creditor can get details of your bank accounts and other financial circumstances. To do this they can apply to the court for an order to obtain information. You'll have to go to court to give this information on oath.
five yearsIf you've had banking problems, ChexSystems will alert other banks about them for up to five years.
For most debts, the time limit is 6 years since you last wrote to them or made a payment. The time limit is longer for mortgage debts. If your home is repossessed and you still owe money on your mortgage, the time limit is 6 years for the interest on the mortgage and 12 years on the main amount.
Usually, a debt collector must obtain a court order before accessing your bank account. However, certain federal agencies, including the IRS, may be able to access your bank account without permission from a court.
Protecting Your Portfolio from LawsuitsKeep a Retirement Lifeline. Putting money into retirement accounts is one way to guard your wealth. ... Use Asset Protection Trusts. ... Transfer Ownership of Real Estate. ... Use an Insurance Umbrella. ... Incorporate and Isolate.
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Assuming the lawyer was a debt collector, yes, if the hospital got a judgment against you, the hospital can get a lien on your bank accounts and withdraw the money until the debt is fully paid off.
I am guessing the law firm is acting as a debt collector. If the law firm has obtained a judgment against you, it can levy your bank accounts until the judgment is satisfied.
In some cases, a creditor may be able to take money from your bank account. However, before the creditor could try to take money from your bank account, they would have to sue you and be able to get a judgment against you.
A judgment is a court order that states that you owe the creditor money. If the creditor sues you, you will receive a Summons and Complaint. This is a legal document that tells you what the creditor’s claim is. If you think the creditor is wrong, you would have twenty (20) days to respond.
Examples of protected income that many elderly or disabled individuals rely on include: Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Railroad Retirement and benefits from the Veteran’s Administration. Federal pensions are also protected but most other pensions can be taken.
If the creditor has an attorney, the first thing you can do is send the attorney proof that all of your income is from a protected source. Do this as soon as possible, even if the attorney has not yet served you with a Summons and Complaint. If you use direct deposit, your bank statement will show the source of your funds.
If the creditor doesn’t object to your exemption claim within six (6) days, your bank will release the funds to you. If the creditor/attorney objects, they must file an objection to your claim within 6 days of receiving it and request a hearing on the claim.
There is a way to determine the exact amount of money that is protected. It is called first in, first out. Essentially, the money that is deposited into the account first is the first to leave when you write a check.
This article is funded in part by the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging under the Older Americans Act.
If your unemployment claim is denied, you have the right to appeal. State procedures differ, but typically you will have to file a written appeal and attend a hearing, in person or by phone, to state why you think you are entitled to benefits.
If you believe your employer has violated your legal rights, you should consult with a lawyer to find out how strong your claims are. For example, you might believe that you were selected for layoff because of your race, or that your employer fired you in retaliation for reporting health and safety violations.
If your lawyer believes you have a good case, he or she can help you file for unemployment, making sure to state the facts in the way most favorable to your case . The lawyer can also use the unemployment process to start assessing your employer's likely defenses and strategies. You were fired or quit your job.
And, you should carefully consider whether you have a chance of winning: A lawyer can help you make a persuasive case, but can't change the facts. If you are clearly not eligible for benefits under your state's law, hiring a lawyer won't help. Talk to a Lawyer.
2. Your wages are at risk of being garnished. In some cases, your creditors can come after your earnings if your debt goes unpaid for too long. For example, if you owe the IRS back taxes, ...
Debt settlement lawyers can command a small fortune for their services, whether they work on contingency (meaning they take a cut of the debt savings they negotiate for you) or charge a specific hourly or per-case rate.
Not only is it expensive, but it can stay on your record for seven years in the case of a Chapter 13 filing, or 10 years in the case of Chapter 7.
If you're looking for outside help in dealing with your debt, you can also enlist the help of a debt settlement company, which might charge less than a lawyer would. The benefit of using an attorney, however, is having someone who not only is experienced in debt settlement, but may know how to help you minimize your legal risks.
In some cases, your creditors can come after your earnings if your debt goes unpaid for too long. For example, if you owe the IRS back taxes, or if you're delinquent on your loans, you could be at risk of having your wages garnished, compounding your financial troubles. If that's the situation you're facing, then it might pay to hire an attorney to step in.
Now let's be clear: You don't need an attorney to negotiate with creditors. You can try to work out arrangements yourself.
You're thinking of filing for bankruptcy. If your debt has escalated to the point where you're thinking of filing for bankruptcy, then it's a good idea to see if a debt settlement lawyer can help you avoid that fate. While filing for bankruptcy might seem like an easy solution to an otherwise daunting problem, it's no picnic.
Avoiding Foreclosure. If you're behind on your mortgage, you might be able to negotiate a loan modification with your lender . For example, the lender might agree to add your missed payments to your loan balance, to stretch out your loan over a longer term, or to convert an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed-rate one.
If a creditor has gone to court and won a judgment against you for collection of an unsecured debt, theoretically the creditor (now called a judgment creditor) will be able to take any cash in your business's bank account, your business income, and your business assets to pay off the debt.
As you probably know, if you miss a payment or two on your car loan (and, as is typical, the loan was used to buy the car and is secured by the car), the lender has the legal right to physically repossess the car and sell it to recover the money you owe, plus the costs of the sale and attorney's fees.
Unsecured Creditors. A secured creditor is any creditor to whom you or your business has pledged collateral in exchange for a loan, line of credit, or purchase. Collateral might be business property, such as inventory and equipment, or your own property, such as your house, car, or boat.
The total amount your creditors can take from your wages is 25% of your net pay. That limit applies whether you have one creditor or many. And if your wages are low, there are additional protections—you must be left with weekly income equal to 30 times the federal hourly minimum wage. (A few states have lower limits.)
(In many states, a court judgment can be collected for at least ten years.)
Typically, in five or six years, depending on your state's statute of limitations, the debt will become legally uncollectible. (Only a few states, such as Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, and Rhode Island, have longer statutes of limitation, up to ten or 15 years.)
Whether you file alone or file jointly with your spouse, at the conclusion of your bankruptcy you will be granted a discharge. A discharge is an order from the bankruptcy court that eliminates your obligation to repay those debts. And legally prevents any of your creditors, or others, from trying to collect those debts again.
A judgment is a court order declaring that you do owe the debt and must repay it. Typically you have 21 days to pay the entire judgment. If you do not, the judgment creditor can use the judgment to obtain something known as a wage garnishment or bank levy.
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And since wages are considered community property if you have unpaid debts that result in judgments against you, your spouses’ wages can be garnished also. And any bank accounts containing their wages can be levied even if they are not joint accounts.
Dealing with the consequences of un paid debts does not necessarily have to spill over to your spouse and in most cases will not. Still depending on the state you reside in your spouses’ assets may be at risk if your debts go unpaid for too long.
This means that your spouse is not responsible for your unpaid debts. That is not to say that if you do not live in a community property state, you should not take precautions. Courts have a lot of power to tailor their judgments to the specific facts of a case.
Fortunately, most states are not community property states so your spouse cannot be pursued for your debts. Currently, there are only nine community property states in the United States: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington. Even if you do live in a community property state you can avoid exposing your ...