After eight states initiated investigations into deceptive mortgage lending practices by its subsidiaries, Wells Fargo has made a deal that could offer hope to distressed homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum...
Year: 2010
Singer Toni Braxton Files Chapter 7 Bankruptcy for Second Time
After debt problems that included a potential foreclosure, an possible upcoming divorce and delays in the release of her latest CD, singer Toni Braxton filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on September 30. This will be Braxton's second experience with bankruptcy after a...
Supreme Court Takes On Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Deductions Case
In one of its first cases of the term, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case on October 4. The case involves what deductions a debtor can take from his discretionary income when setting up a Chapter 13 repayment plan. In this case (Ransom v. FIA...
Treasury Dept Expands ‘Hardest Hit Fund’ for Unemployed Homeowners
This week, the Obama Administration announced that the U.S. Treasury Department has approved additional assistance for Florida homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages due to unemployment. The Treasury Department has approved a plan by the Florida Housing...
Chapter 7 & Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Rates Drive Demand for Lawyers
A recent report by a bankruptcy study group shows a sharp rise in demand for bankruptcy attorneys, particularly in Florida. Both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy rates have both soared in Florida, California, Arizona and Nevada as a result of the real estate market...
Credit Card Debt Collection After Death: Is Calling Family Fair?
In part 1 of this series, we discussed the increasingly common practice among debt collectors of calling surviving relatives of deceased debtors in an attempt to persuade them to pay. In the vast majority of cases the relatives have no legal obligation to pay the...
Calling Kin to Collect Deceased’s Credit Card Debt Growing Common
In today's economy, debt collection companies are getting creative when it comes to collecting delinquent debts -- some say too creative. In cases where a credit card holder has died, the debt has always been legally addressed through the probate process. These days,...
South Florida Foreclosures Decrease by Half
Since the beginning of the recession, Florida has continually been one of the hardest hit states, filing record numbers of foreclosures over the past two years. However, new numbers indicate that Florida's fate could be changing. According to recent reports, home...
Never Pay Up-Front Loan Modification Fees in Florida
Many so-called loan modification companies have been in the news recently for charging up-front fees but never providing real services to customers. Two more Florida companies are now in the spotlight under similar accusations. Hope Financial Services and Global...
Credit Card Debt Can Increase Vulnerability to Scams
The current troubles with the economy have made consumers more vulnerable to credit score repair scams. Across the nation and in Florida credit card debt, car payments, mortgages and overdue bills weigh on consumer's minds. Falling for a scam not only costs money, but...