They say that there are only two things that are inevitable: death and taxes. There is a third: Lawyers are expensive. That is just a fact of life and because of that, there is a temptation to represent yourself in court. The truth is that you have an absolute right to represent yourself in ...
When I was in Law School, one of my professors constantly said “there is no such thing as a free lunch”. Of course, what he was saying is don't expect the world to come and give you anything for free that you didn't earn or pay for. The same thing could be said about the myriad of advertisement...
So, in a recent article from Nerdwallet that got a lot of coverage by media outlets, their writer extolled the virtues of an unconventional way of entering into home ownership. The trend is called “co-buying” and lest you think that this is some new cool way of buying a home; this was always an ...
So, when you have been doing Bankruptcy law for 27 years you have had a chance to see a lot of ups and downs in the economy. Whenever there is economic upheaval, we see a natural increase in the number of home foreclosures. Normally foreclosures are done in a very up-front way. I have been on ...
There is no doubt that AI (artificial intelligence) will have profound aspects on how we do things in the future. In many ways, the ability to synthesize information in a coherent way has created great labor savings and increased productivity for many people. Unfortunately, at this point in tim...
A lot of people are falling on hard times, and most people's highest expense each month is rent. For those lucky enough to have a friend or family member let them move in, this can really help with rising expenses. As is often the case, however, just eliminating or reducing rent is not always e...
As a Bankruptcy attorney, unquestionably the top goal of most of my clients is to buy a home. Home ownership is a great wealth creator as well as something that brings great personal satisfaction, but it can come with risks and planning ahead is always the right strategy. First, if you have had...
As people start to struggle to make their financial ends meet one of the things that people want to do is keep their lifestyle as normal as possible even when the money to do so is not there. So, the natural reaction is to turn to credit cards. Once upon a time you were using them for big needs...
In our post-Covid world we are all reconciling ourselves to new realities. One of those realities is that many of our loved ones are suffering from illnesses of despair. Why would a Bankruptcy attorney be talking about mental illness? There is no Bankruptcy attorney who has been practicing f...
When you owe money to someone, their options to recover that money are generally legal in nature. If the debt is unsecured (such as medical bills, or credit card debt), that legal process starts with being “served” with the lawsuit to provide you notice of your right to defend. Most people unde...
Hi Folks, So, a very nice young man just left my office who was the victim of an online scam. Collection agencies are not above using aggressive tactics to get you to pay on an old debt, but generally speaking they are actual companies who have actual relationships with your creditors. Unfortu...
Hi Folks, As we close out 2023, student loans have reared their ugly head after 3 years of Covid hiatus. Unfortunately, what should have been an expected transition from forbearance to monthly installment payments is turning into a bureaucratic nightmare for many people. This is causing some p...
There seems to be no doubt that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will make a significant change to our society soon. Many professions will see significant changes. Everything from medicine, accounting, to the legal profession will see a change the way that business is conducted. The legal professi...
“Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I love that Longfellow quote because it sums up one of the quintessential truths of life. There will be unforeseen problems. You can't avoid them. But you can prepare for them. Right now, ho...
Hi Folks, So, there are lots of strategies on the internet for getting out of debt. As a Bankruptcy attorney for over twenty years, I've heard all of the stories. Let me start by saying that any attempt to get out of debt is a good thing, but you have to be realistic at the outset, or the whol...
Hi Folks. I've practiced Bankruptcy law for over 25 years and I've found that most people who have never experienced Bankruptcy believe that the cause of Bankruptcy is almost always related to personal failures. I can tell you that the vast majority of my Bankruptcy clients ended up in Bankru...
Hi Folks, So, the current economic outlook is not good. While that might not come as surprise, some of the numbers are truly staggering. Now that we have come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, certain realities are starting to take shape. During the pandemic, surprisingly people actually were abl...
For years the advice was to have an emergency reserve of cash savings to handle unexpected expenses. In the old days, we used to call this the “coffee can fund”. The idea was that you would put a few dollars into a coffee grounds tin each month until you (hopefully) got to the magical figure of...
As a Bankruptcy attorney for over 20 years, one of the most common stories that I will hear from clients is how they went on a spending spree without even knowing why they did it. After establishing some trust with the client, they eventually confide in me that they suffer from bipolar disorder....
Recently there have been a lot of articles related to “cash stuffing” which was a method of budgeting popularized in the 1990's but which has been making a big comeback with Gen Z through social media users. Essentially, cash stuffing is a way of cash-only budgeting that can be very effective. ...
A client recently called me to express his frustration at how many car dealerships were soliciting him to buy a car while he was in Bankruptcy proceedings. He thought nobody would lend to him after the Bankruptcy, and in truth, the opposite is actually true. Why is that? Well, first of all, ...
When you file for Bankruptcy, you have to make a lot of hard choices. One of the hardest choices is whether or not to keep your existing car. There are several factors that come into play here. First, you have to remember that, in most cases, if you want to keep your car, you are going to have...
Hi Folks. We get this question all the time. Many 401(k) (and other retirement plans) make it super easy to borrow against them for all sorts of personal needs. Right now, the average working age American (aged 25-40) is carrying $27,251 in non-mortgage debt. So when you are looking at those ...
If you are not working, resist the temptation to get into more debt. Once upon a time getting a credit card was a big deal. I remember my Dad getting a Diner's Card in the 1970's and he was very proud that the qualified for a card that was of extremely limited use. Today, we read about stories...
Are creditors calling you? Is there an unexpected job loss? Increasing medical bills? Are you using your credit cards to buy groceries and cannot afford to pay the minimum? We understand the stress that financial hardships can cause to you, and the confusion about choosing the right solution. As experienced Bankruptcy attorneys, Brian and Diem Hallaq can help you regain control over your finances. We help clients who want to file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy petitions.
