Tag: Chapter 13

Escrow: The Forbearance Gotcha

in Bankruptcy, Credit and Credit Cards

Millions of people have applied for and received mortgage forbearances during the pandemic. It’s been a huge lifeline that has saved hundreds of thousands of homes from foreclosure.  There’s only one problem.  Once you stop making your mortgage payment, money stops going into your escrow account.  That leaves deficiencies in the account that pays your property taxes and your homeowners insurance.  

What’s an escrow

Most mortgage lenders require that you pay a portion of your monthly payment into what’s known as an escrow account.  Escrow accounts usually pay out for things like homeowners insurance premiums and property taxes.  Because those are things that have to be paid, the lender takes the money and sets it aside to make sure that it actually gets paid each year.  

Escrowed taxes after forbearance

At the end of your forbearance, whenever that may be, you will still be responsible for the payments you missed.  Some lenders are asking that the payments be made up in a lump sum while others are allowing the amount to be divided up over a period of months.  There’s simply no single way that says how something has to be handled.  There is no firm and solid rule yet. 

While the principal may not be due in one lump sum and could ultimately be spread out over years, one thing is certain. Skipped escrow payments will be due long before anything else is.  This could potentially add hundreds of dollars to payments each month when they do resume because lenders are allowed to recoup the escrow shortage over 12 months.  

Example: Your escrow is short $4,500 for the year.  If you make that up over the course of a year, that’s an extra $375 a month on top of your normal payment, not including any principal payments that must be added in.

Keep escrow in mind

The Covid emergency, coupled with numerous different terms laid out in mortgages, make the answer about what’s going to happen very complicated.  What makes it even worse is that the goal posts keep moving.  We don’t know what kind of legislative remedies are going to pop up in the future.  

The long and short of it is, be mindful of what’s happening to the escrow balance of your mortgage and ask questions now so you aren’t blindsided later.  

Finally, if uncertainty still exists and you’re financially able, set aside the escrow portion of your mortgage just in case you need to make up the balance quickly and if for some reason you don’t, at least you have a little bit of savings on hand for another emergency.  If you’re in trouble with your mortgage and need help, contact the attorneys at Harmon and Gorove.

Crushing Tax Penalties In Bankruptcy

in Bankruptcy

I often tell people that in the grand scheme of government bureaucracies, the scariest one isn’t the usual suspects.  Sure, some people think they need to worry about the FBI or the NSA…maybe even the DEA or the CIA, but they’re wrong.  

The scariest and most dangerous organization within the federal government isn’t one of those aforementioned groups (unless you’re a drug dealer or mafioso).  It’s the IRS.

The IRS has the ability to garnish your wages, put liens on your home and other property.  Seize your bank accounts and pile on tons of interest and penalties to unpaid taxes. Let’s be honest.  When you’re already having trouble paying the taxes, the penalties are just adding insult to injury.  

There seems to be a penalty for everything.  Failure to file in a timely manner, failure to prepay your taxes,  failure to be completely accurate.  All of these penalties add up quickly, oftentimes dwarfing the actual amount of the unpaid taxes themselves.  

The good news is, bankruptcy can not only eliminate your liability for certain taxes, it can wipe out the tax penalties as well.

Too good to be true…think again.

The rules for discharging tax penalties

Penalties for dischargeable taxes are dischargeable

A tax penalty is always tied to a particular filing year.  If the tax for that year is able to be discharged in bankruptcy, the penalties are dischargeable as well. 

The way this work is as follows:

  1. The return for that  year was due more than three years before the bankruptcy was filed. 
  2. The return was preferably filed on time but if it wasn’t, it’s been on file for at least two years.
  3. The tax for that year was assessed at least 240 days before the bankruptcy.

If you meet his formula, the tax is dischargeable and so is the penalty. 

A Penalty related to events more than three years old is dischargeable.

If the penalty is triggered by a failure that was more than three years old, the penalty is dischargeable.  It’s even dischargeable in cases where the tax for that year is not dischargable…even if you didn’t file the tax return on time.

Don’t believe me, see 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(7).

All tax penalties can be wiped out in a Chapter 13

Yep, that’s true.  All tax penalties are discharged by a Chapter 13. 

That’s a deal that’s almost too good to be true.  

While a Chapter 13 bankruptcy does require that you pay all priority taxes in full along with all the interest that accrued before you filed your case, in the end all the penalties are wiped out, even on the priority taxes.  

Lots of rules

Discharging tax debt is complicated.  That’s why so many bankruptcy attorneys are reluctant to do it, they just don’t know their way around the rules.  

We do. 

We get the tax transcripts and verify all the important dates and transactions. We follow up with your accountants and we work directly with the IRS and state department of revenue. 

When it comes to tax problems, get experienced legal help. Otherwise you may not be able to successfully discharge taxes and tax penalties.  This isn’t the time to go with the TV lawyers or the “$0 down” kooks.  Bring in the big guns and set yourself up for success.  Call us today if you find yourself in major trouble with taxes. 

Life…after bankruptcy

in Bankruptcy

Are you tied up in debt? Should you file bankruptcy? 

Is it better to live with this debt and keep making the minimums?

What’s going to happen to me if I file bankruptcy?

WHAT’S LIFE LIKE…AFTER BANKRUPTCY?

Every one of these are Good questions.  I applaud people who realize that debt and debt relief have consequences for the future. We’ve written about it before. People are scared of what they don’t know and we all know that you’ve heard all the horrible myths about bankruptcy.  

Now that we have looked at this we have to turn the question around:  what will life be like if you continue on as you’re doing now?

Spending your life in debt

Servicing debt cuts your options for the future.  Think about it.  A large portion of your paycheck is already spent before you even see the check. It doesn’t matter if it’s a credit card bill, a doctor bill, the light bill or a payday loan, you’re locked in.  

Not long ago, the government published a study that stated most Americans couldn’t even handle a $500 emergency without borrowing money.  Even more than that, you’re also likely not making provisions for your retirement because you’re spending all your money paying for the now.  

Lots of people tell me they don’t think they’ll ever retire. Some say it because they like what they do…but most can’t make ends meet without a job. What you don’t consider now is 1. You will get old (unless you drop dead) and the job choices you have will diminish the older you get.  The older you get, the less able you are to handle the rigor of a full time career. 

Beyond that, we all know that stress kills.  Study after study show the negative side effects of stress.  Jobs are stressful. Do you really want to spend your golden years scratching and clawing at a job just to get by? 

After bankruptcy

So, you pulled the trigger and made it out of debt.  

What now?

Here’s a list of the negative aspects of filing for bankruptcy.

  • Credit (at least in the short term) is more expensive
  • Bankruptcy will show on your credit report
  • If you rent some landlords may be uncomfortable
  • Some new employers will have issues. 

Time heals all wounds and that is true even of bankruptcy.  This needs to be weighed against the negatives of continuing in debt. 

Everyone always worries about their credit score but let’s be honest,  if you’re this deep in debt, it’s probably not great anyways.  The biggest thing is to look at your debt to income ratio. That gets better immediately.   Don’t believe me, just ask the CFPB. 

The Benefits of Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy might be the first step to improved financial health.  You can start with more financial alternatives and the chance to do things differently.

Bankruptcy may even be a step in better physical health. Stress takes an enormous physical toll on your body, not to mention the mental health implications.  Bankruptcy, ultimately wipes out that stress so people can go on living their lives.  Bankruptcy also enables you to save for the future.  It wipes clean all the things that were nickel and diming your paycheck to death and allows you to finally start building that nest egg to help you with the unexpected or to save for retirement. 

Cash for Keys

in Bankruptcy

Losing your home is never easy. No one thinks that one day, the home they’ve spent so much time and money trying to build, literally and figuratively, will have to be turned over due to often unforeseen and occasionally unfair reasons.  Millions of Americans experienced this during the 2008 financial crisis and now with Covid, the issue arises again.  The good news is, once you’ve dealt with the reality that your home will likely have to be turned over to the bank, you can look at options.  One of the best ones is called…cash for keys.  

When you’ve decided to walk away from a house you can no longer afford, don’t overlook the opportunity to be paid to move out.

Cash for keys started during the foreclosure crisis in 2008.  Banks that were often forced to foreclose were finding that the occupants of the house would often strip the house bare of anything of value.  We saw a house where even the kitchen cabinets and toilets had been taken out.  The banks who were foreclosing were having to take huge losses because of the amount of work prospective buyers were looking at having to do to get the house habitable again.  So…banks figured out a solution.  

The banks determined that it was advantageous to both them and the occupants to pay the former owners money to help them move and voluntarily surrender the house.  The former owner gets cash to help move and start over again and the bank gets the house on a schedule, with the property in good order.

Time = $$$

Typically, you see the banks are willing to give you more money the faster you get out.  Move out in two weeks and we’ll give you more than if you take two months.  

Why pay

All this said, why does the bank pay for quick possession?  That’s easy:  It costs less than having to get the former owner of the home tossed out by the authorities, it’s faster AND the money comes with strings.

Until the foreclosure actually goes through, you’re still the owner of the house and you have every right to live there.  You also have every right to take from the home you own whatever you want and sell it.  You could literally strip the toilets, cabinets, appliances, etc. out of the house and sell them to your neighbor (that happened). I actually encourage anyone who is thinking about walking away from their homes to to live there until the jig is up. When the banks actually do get ownership of the house, they often have to get a court order to get you out of the house.  

All of this takes time and time, as we well know, is money.  

More $$$ leads to better feelings

Better feelings leads to less damage to the property.  It’s faster, it’s cheaper and it usually leaves the house in much better condition for the bank to resell. In order to get the cash, the former owner will have to leave the house in good condition with all of the fixtures and agreed upon appliances in place.  

It also solves the problem that the former owner has…no cash.  It allows them to fund their move and it keeps the house in livable condition so the bank can make more money reselling the house.  

Let’s make a deal

If you’re facing foreclosure, don’t panic.  If you want to try to save your house, call us immediately.  Don’t wait until the day before the foreclosure to talk to a good bankruptcy lawyer.  It’s too late then.  

If you’re ready to walk away, still call us, you don’t want the bank to try to sue you for any arrearages or slap a massive tax debt on you after they get the house, sell it for nothing and “forgive” the rest of the loan (that can technically be considered income). 

If you want to save your house, we’ve got you covered. If you want to walk away, we have negotiated several cash for keys deals for our clients.  It may even be enough to pay off your bankruptcy, fund your move and leave some money in the pot for you.  

Either way, it’s a good idea to give us a call if you’re in a pickle.  We can help you settle the foreclosure issue once and for all and get you back on your feet.

Business Bankruptcy Questions

in Bankruptcy

Business is tough right now, especially small business.  Sometimes it’s hard to know whether to keep trying or to throw in the towel. Here are three things we can examine to determine whether a business bankruptcy will work for your business or not. 

How much of the business debt is secured? 

How much of the debts is secured vs unsecured generally guides us in how much we can help the business.  Business liens are tricky and can limit how the debts can be paid or reorganized.  Some liens can be crammed down but others stick around unless certain conditions are met.  

Is the debt tax related?

If you’re an employer and you haven’t been withholding taxes from your W-2 employees, you’ve got a problem.  When you take that money you’re taking on the role of a fiduciary for that cash that belongs to your employee (and technically, Uncle Sam). 

If you’ve propped up your business with your employees tax contributions you’ve exposed the corporate officers to severe penalties and made them personally responsible for the taxes not paid to the government.  

The same can be said for sales tax money.  If you’ve been propping your business up with unpaid sales tax liabilities, you’ve got some real trouble.  

Are you paying debts to insiders? 

If, in the last year, you’ve repaid relatives or decision makers on their liens against the business, these can be recovered by the trustee under a rule that limits what’s known as a preference.  

You’ve got to be extremely careful when filing a business bankruptcy against an LLC.  You might be opening the corporation and it’s directors and family members up to lawsuits to recover money for creditors.  

If your business is struggling and you need to discuss your options, call the attorneys at Harmon and Gorove to see how we can help you solve your financial puzzle.  

Distressed Debts

in Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is supposed to make all the stress go away.  We’ve talked over and over again about how wonderful bankruptcy is and how it melts stress like butter.  When you file and get your discharge, you’re supposed to be in the clear.  What happens though, when you’re in the clear and then out of nowhere, someone comes knocking wanting to collect on an old debts?

Getting a collection notice on a debt that was supposed to be discharged is a stressful situation.  Sometimes people make mistakes or attorneys get lost in the shuffle but more often than not, that debt collector is just in the wrong. 

Chances are, the debt collector bought your debts without having any idea that you’d filed bankruptcy.  This is what we call, distressed debt.  Distressed debt is when companies who can’t collect on debts often sell them, in packages, to debt buyers.  Debt buyers pay 5-10 cents on the dollar for debts and usually just get a list of debts.  If they collect on 10% of the debts, they usually make a good return on their money.  

Fight it.

If you get a phone call or letter from some crummy debt collector, fight it.

The first thing you should do is find out who they bought the original debt from That will usually be listed on the collection letter.  The next step involves getting your bankruptcy paperwork.  First and foremost, find your discharge paperwork.  Once you have that in hand, send the creditor a copy.  Usually just saying you filed bankruptcy will scare off most people like this

You’ll want to get proof that you sent them this information so send it USPS certified.  Keep a copy of the letter you sent them and your bankruptcy papers.  Again, remember, they usually have no idea you filed bankruptcy so this will usually make everything go away.  

But they won’t stop

You called their bluff and sent them the paperwork you needed to send.  They should have gone away.  After All, it’s the law, but some of these guys are insufferable and just won’t listen.  That’s when you call in the big guns.  

First, call us.  We’re always happy to help and we love to smack these guys down.  They’re disregarding our hard work and the discharge order from the judge. Most judges don’t take kindly to people ignoring their orders.  We’ll call them and remind them that you were discharged.  That’s their last warning.  

Our next step is to file a motion for sanctions against the collector that’s violating your discharge order.  We’ll help you do this.  We will file the order in the court that your original case was filed in and then we’ll go to work.  We’ll submit evidence to the judge and once we do that you’re entitled to damages, including any fees you have to pay us for taking this on.  

Establishing the case for damages

If this happens, it’s best to take meticulous notes about the outfit that keeps calling you.  Keep track of all the money you’ve had to spend to fix this problem.  The better record you keep, the easier it is to prove your damages if it goes that far.  

You need to keep an eye on your credit report and make sure that the discharged debt hasn’t been placed on there again.  If they have, they’ve opened themselves up to additional damages.  

Long story short, we love what we do and we love helping people.  We’re always here for you to help you with your bankruptcy related issues.  If you have an issue, give us a call and let’s see how we can figure this out together.