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Cleaning Up Finances Before Bankruptcy

in Bankruptcy

There’s good reason to tidy up.  The popular show on a major streaming service has made tidying up a national sensation. Many people try to cleaning up finances before bankruptcy but that isn’t always a good idea. In fact, don’t waste your time cleaning up finances before bankruptcy and especially before you consult with a bankruptcy attorney.

Doing this could result in you wasting money or losing options under the bankruptcy code if you make any last minute changes to your financial situation. Your situation has the most options available to you if your attorney sees your financial picture in its totality.  What looks like a mess to you may look like major opportunities and significant advantages to your bankruptcy counsel.

There’s a potentially high cost to trying to tidy up.

The most sickening feeling I get when consulting with a client is when they tell me they just paid off a debt to a family member, borrowed against their retirement to satisfy debts, or paid off taxes in lieu of something else while cleaning up finances before bankruptcy. None of these things should be done without seeing a competent bankruptcy attorney.

Paying off debts to family

Paying off our family seems like the right thing to do.  We want to take care of our family, especially when they took a risk by loaning us money.  People do this for many different reasons. Some do it to hide the fact that they had to file bankruptcy while others do it to potentially protect assets from the bankruptcy process before you file.  

The most likely outcome of this situation is that paying off these people (friends, family, business partners) will actually hurt you and them more than it helps anyone. The Trustee can sue family members and friends you’ve paid off for during the preceding year to recover the money you paid them. These payments are often known as preferential payments and they are not legal under the bankruptcy code.  Under bankruptcy, there must be fair payments to ALL creditors, not just the ones you want to pay off.

Often, the exemptions allowed in Georgia will protect more of your money than you expect.  Once your case is concluded, you can pay off your family or friends without any kind of adverse consequences.  In other words, hold onto your money until AFTER you’ve consulted with an attorney.

Most settlements before bankruptcy are a waste

One of the most troubling scenarios I’ve seen in recent times involved an older couple who had spent more than 5 years trying to pay off credit card debt through a debt settlement agency.  They did this in lieu of meeting with a bankruptcy attorney. What they didn’t realize was that despite all the thousands of dollars they had spent, not all of their debts were being paid through the settlement. They had to file bankruptcy anyways and they got no credit from the money they spent trying to pay off their credit cards.  During this time they struggled to pay their property taxes and student loans and they ultimately fell into default as well.

The better option for that would have likely been to file bankruptcy and use the excess money they had to retire the tax debt or pay off their student loans as those two types of debts are not dischargeable under bankruptcy.

Generally speaking, your bankruptcy will be no simpler, less expensive or less damaging to your credit based on the number of creditors you have.  If you have to file bankruptcy, reducing the number of creditors you have isn’t going to matter to your case.

Tax debt can actually be useful

Generally speaking, people usually think owing the government is bad business.  However, in your bankruptcy case it could actually be an asset if your income is above the average in your state.  This helps with the means test that helps determine if you make too much money for a Chapter 7. You can deduct the tax debts you owe from your income in order to qualify for a Chapter 7 in certain cases. The same thing goes for mortgage arrearages and property taxes you owe on your home.  These types of debts can be useful in getting you into the type of bankruptcy you want to file. If you eliminate this type of debt before you consult with an attorney and it leaves us with fewer tools to adjust your income when working with the means test.

Stop trying to clean things up

Don’t make the mistake of cleaning up finances before bankruptcy if you haven’t consulted with an attorney.  We need to see all the pieces, broken or not. Don’t try to sweep debts under the carpet or pay them off before you consult with a competent bankruptcy attorney. The attorneys at Harmon and Gorove have decades of experience in helping people clean up their financial mess and get their life back.  Contact us today for a free consultation to see how we can help you.

How long do I have to file a Personal Injury Claim in Georgia?

in Personal Injury and Workers Comp

When it comes to Personal Injury claims, there’s generally two types of injuries:

  1. Intentional Injuries: Where someone harms you and means to harm you.  This is usually done with malicious and/or criminal intent and will likely result in charges being brought against the person who injured you or your loved one.
  2. Accidental Injuries: Injuries caused by freak accidents and non-criminal negligence. People aren’t likely to face charges in this situation unless you have a situation like a drunk or distracted driver.

Some people who are prosecuted for intentional injuries can also face civil liability in the form of personal injury suits.  You can sue someone for an injury or death caused by their criminal activities. A good example of this would be a drunk driving accident that left an innocent person partially paralyzed. Not only would the drunk driver face criminal charges (drunk driving is against the law, after all), the injured driver can sue the drunk driver to recover damages from the accident.

Other times, the at-fault party won’t be looking at criminal charges; however, that doesn’t mean they can’t be held liable. In many accidental injury or death cases, the person who is injured or loses a loved one can file a civil lawsuit against the at-fault party to collect damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost income, etc. Let’s say that a child is swimming at a summer camp and drowns. In this case, the camp supervisors were supposed to be watching the child swim in the pool but the lifeguard was off flirting with someone and not paying attention. The lifeguard turns around after 5 minutes and the child is floating lifeless in the pool.

Though the camp is responsible for the child’s accidental death, the lifeguard didn’t necessarily commit a crime. In this case, the child’s parents can sue the camp for their child’s wrongful death. Usually, a claim of this nature would be filed against the camp’s liability or property insurance policy.

The Statute of Limitations in GEORGIA

If you were injured in a car accident, a pedestrian accident, or because of a dangerous product, a dangerous dog, or hazardous property condition, you must file a claim within Georgia’s statute of limitations, which is the deadline for filing a claim. If you delay and you file after this time period expires, the court will deny your claim and you will have no legal recourse.

In Georgia, you must file a personal injury claim within TWO YEARS of the date of the injury. If the injury claim is against a municipality or county, you ONLY HAVE  SIX MONTHS to file a claim; however, you do have TWO YEARS for claims filed against the state.

The State of Georgia does not have a cap on damages for personal injury or medical malpractice cases.  This is good because it allows jurors to award what they think is fair, no matter the amount. This is because in 2010, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that imposing such caps would violate people’s rights to a trial by jury under the state’s constitution.  For more information about personal injury cases in Georgia, check out Title 51 of the Georgia Code.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident through no fault of your own, contact the attorneys at Harmon and Gorove today to find out how we can assist you in recovering the maximum amount of damages for you injury.  We have decades of experience and work with one of the best personal injury teams in the state. We will fight for you!

Estate Planning Just Can’t Wait

in Wills and Power of Attorney

We get it, Estate Planning is scary. Creating what is known as an estate plan is a very important aspect of everyone’s life that they will need to undertake at some point.  Not only will it give you peace of mind, it will allow those you leave behind to know for sure what your final wishes are so they aren’t left guessing in a time of grief and heartache.  Beyond knowing your final wishes, it will also allow your assets to be distributed according to your wishes upon your death. Regardless of how important this process is, significant numbers of people do not have an estate plan, often making excuses about why they don’t need thinks like a will, a power of attorney and a healthcare directive.

One of the biggest excuses people have for not having a plan in place is thinking that they don’t have enough money, assets and prized personal belongings to warrant that kind of planning.  Even if you all you have is the roof over your head and the clothes on your back, you still need a power of attorney or health care directive so that your loved ones are able to make the kinds of healthcare and financial decisions you would want in the event you are unable to do so yourself.

Another excuse people make is the belief that having a joint bank account with your children or others is a good means of transferring that particular asset upon your passing.  The cold hard truth of that is, unless you only have one child you will have a very difficult time separating accounts equally for your children. This can leave hurt feelings amongst your heirs and even more trouble in life if you are incapacitated and unable to manage your finances.

Another reason people don’t have an estate plan is that they believe that it simply costs too much.  The truth of the matter is, nothing is potentially more expensive than dying without a will.  The attorneys at Harmon and Gorove offer a free, no pressure consultation to help clients understand how important and how easy it is to implement a proper estate plan.  Our fees are among the most competitive, at times, even less expensive than online tools you pay for. Furthermore, the filing fees at probate courts are usually minimal and only enough to keep the programs running in the future.  

Finally, most people simply state that they just haven’t gotten around to is and one day they will get it done.  Believe me, we understand. One our own attorneys put off proper estate planning until the death of a loved one prompted them to take action.  It NEVER pays to wait around, especially with something as important as your estate planning. Your estate plan allows loved ones to make decisions with peace of mind, knowing your wishes and desires. It also allows you to distribute your assets in ways that you deem fit, making sure that only those you deem worth inherit your most prized possessions.

Considering the consequences of not having an estate plan for our loved ones should we pass before making these plans should provide more than enough motivation to take the first steps of implementing an effective and meaningful plan. The attorneys at Harmon and Gorove understand how hard it is to make that first step.  We want you to feel comfortable and understand what your options are. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation where we can discuss your estate planning goals. 

Social Media and Divorce

in Divorce

Social media has changed the world in just a few short years.  The first real Social Media sites debuted in 2002 and 2003 with the biggest one of them all, Facebook, debuting in 2004.  Social Media has had a significant role in changing the world we live in and making our lives more connected. Sometimes these social media sites have made our lives better and sometimes they’ve made them much worse.  It allows us to connect to old friends and keep in touch with long distance relatives. Social Media has also had many negative effects. It has led to countless extra-marital affairs, numerous divorces both uncontested and contested.  33% of all divorce filings in 2011 mentioned the word Facebook and certainly the number of divorces has grown by leaps and bounds since then with the advent of even more social media sites and messaging apps.  Without knowing the state of your relationship, we can’t say for sure that social media can be the downfall of your marriage but it most decidedly has the ability to cause substantial problems.  Even an amicable, uncontested divorce can go off the rails when one party of another sees pictures of the other spouse dating someone new, spending money, partying or acting carefree. Divorce, as we all know, is extremely trying on one’s emotions, even for people who feel that’s their only option. Even if someone’s ready to move in with their life, it doesn’t mean that they don’t still have feelings for their soon to be ex.

At one point or another, most couples had some good times and when they see their spouse with their arms wrapped around a date or a new partner, it breaks their heart, quickly turning feelings of sadness into jealousy, anger and spite.

What’s going on in your situation?

Many people ask, “Should I stay off Social Media during my divorce?”

The answer depends on your individual situation:

  1. Do you use social media every day for a job or other business purpose?
  2. Is your spouse on social media?
  3. Are your mutual friends and family members on social media

If a post on Social Media that could upset your soon to be ex is likely to be seen by them or shown to them by someone else during the divorce proceeding, it would be in your best interest to stay off social media until your divorce is complete.  If you must use social media, it’s in your best interest to not comment, post or like anything that could upset the other party.

In our experience, it’s best to be cautious and this often means to abstain from Social Media during your divorce. If this sounds too difficult, then don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want your spouse or their attorney to see.

During your divorce, we recommend avoiding the following posts at all costs:

  • Pictures of you partying.
  • Pictures of you drinking alcohol or using drugs.
  • Pictures of an unusual purchase like a new car or a lavish vacation.
  • Pictures of you with what could be construed as “dates” or romantic partners.

And last but certainly not least:

Rants about your spouse or divorce.

Social media can be a lot of fun and a great way to distract yourself from your divorce, but don’t forget to post responsibly. You don’t want to say or do anything that can anger or upset your spouse to the point where a cheap, uncontested divorce turns into a full-blown divorce battle. We say this because it happens all the time to spouses amid divorce, and it’s entirely preventable.

If you find yourself needing the counsel of a competent and compassionate attorney to handle your uncontested divorce, please give us a call today to schedule your free, no obligation consultation.  The attorneys at Harmon and Gorove have decades of experience in handling uncontested divorces in ways that KEEP them uncontested.  

Resuming Your Maiden Name after Divorce

in Divorce

Going back to your maiden name after a divorce is a deeply personal choice.  Many people wonder if it’s the right thing to do or not. Truly, it’s up to you. People who decide to return to their maiden name or keep their married name always have a reason as to why.  Here’s some of the common reasons people choose to go back to their maiden name or keep their married name.

REASONS WOMEN GO BACK TO THEIR MAIDEN NAME

Some women choose to return to their maiden name because they like it better. Sometimes it just sounds better on the tongue or when it’s read. Cauthen or Cheever? Williams or Willis? Occasionally the maiden name just looks much better on paper.

Sometimes marriages end poorly.  Whether it just didn’t work out or was physically abusive, many women are eager to return to their maiden names because they don’t want the reminder of a painful past. Even if their maiden name is less appealing, they may be in a hurry to go back to quickly erase all evidence of their abusive spouse from their home.  Sometimes going back to your maiden name is all about freedom and starting anew. Women feel as if going back to their life before their failed marriage will make them feel whole again.

REASONS WOMEN KEEP A MARRIED NAME

Some women who have become mothers choose to retain their married names because they want to have the same last name as their children.  Many may also not want to have to deal with a statements and questions like, “Oh, you’re divorced” or “Why do you have a different last name than Billy or Suzie?” Sometimes, the choice to keep a married name may be made because you are known professionally by that name. For example, if a woman has built her whole career or her brand around her married last name, it may be too costly or risky to make the switch. Finally, the hassle of a name change alone can be the driving force behind staying put for some women, especially if they really don’t mind keeping their married name.  If you’re a woman who’s getting a divorce in Georgia and you wish to go back to your maiden name, the attorneys at Harmon and Gorove can explain how to do that as a part of your divorce before the divorce is finalized. If you need to speak with an attorney regarding the prospect of uncontested divorce please call our office today to schedule a free consultation with our experienced team of lawyers.

Using Headphones While Driving

in Personal Injury and Workers Comp

Often, automobile and truck accidents happen because someone was distracted while driving.  Driving while distracted is one of the most significant causes of accidents across the entire world.  This is mostly because there are tons of actions that fall into the distracted driving category. The actions most commonly associated with distracted driving is texting and using electronic devices to transmit data or make phone calls.  However, those are certainly not the only things that can cause distracted driving. Eating behind the wheel, changing the radio station, even reaching down to scratch an itch can distract someone. One of the things that most people don’t think about when it comes to distracted driving is the use of headphones.  People use them for a myriad of reasons but in the State of Georgia, you are not allowed to use any device that impairs your hearing or vision while operating a vehicle. This is spelled out in Ga. Code § 40-6-250. The statute does allow earbuds or headsets that are used for purposes of communicating hands free. Basically, the statute is meant to protect our roads from drivers who can’t hear what is going on around them. For example, drivers should be able to hear other vehicles’ horns in the event of an emergency. Drivers should also be able to hear sirens of approaching emergency vehicles in time to clear the way. There are a variety of instances in which it is imperative that a driver be able to hear their surroundings. Even people on bikes and pedestrians should think twice before traveling with earbuds or headphones that prevent hearing the environment around them. The ability to hear approaching motor vehicles may be the only way to prevent a serious, life-threatening bicycle or pedestrian accident.

Because we deal with victims of serious auto accidents every day, we understand the importance of safety on our streets and highways. It only takes one second of distraction to cause a serious accident that could change lives forever. If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of another person’s negligence in a automobile accident, contact the injury lawyers at Harmon and Gorove today for a free consultation.