Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s Office drafted the Illinois Student Loan Bill of Rights (SB 1351), which was sponsored by Sen. Daniel Biss and Rep. Will Guzzardi. We discussed the legislation with you back in May when the proposed legislation went through the Illinois state legislature. The bill was designed to prevent unfair debt collection practices and abusive loan collection tactics . However, according to a recent press release from Madigan’s office, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has vetoed the bill. What does the Attorney General’s office have to say about this? What does the veto mean for student loan borrowers in Oak Park and throughout Chicagoland? Reasons for the Student Loan Bill of Rights As many Illinois residents know, debtors across the state are struggling with student loan payments. The press release highlights that student loan debt represents “the largest form of unsecured debt in the country.” Currently, there are more than 40 million borrowers t...

You might have heard that certain students who took out student loans to attend a now-closed for-profit college could end up having the balance of their loans discharged. According to a recent article in Consumer Affairs , approximately 41,00 former students will benefit from a settlement involving Corinthian Colleges. On average, each student will receive relief in the amount of $6,500. Those tens of thousands of students who borrowed money to receive an education from Corinthian Colleges will see some of their student loan debt disappear. How did this settlement arise? Is Corinthian the only institution from which students can be eligible for student loan cancellation ? What students can be eligible for a refund from the settlement? Former College Students and Eligibility for Federal Student Loan Cancellation in Illinois In April, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office issued a press release informing former students—along with attorneys general from 44 states i...

If you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Oak Park, can the bankruptcy trustee ask for your Amazon Prime or PayPal passwords? According to a recent article in Bloomberg BNA , there was a recent bankruptcy case in which trustees asked for a debtor’s log-in information and passwords for a number of different accounts, including PayPal, Amazon Prime, and eBay. While this incident did not occur in the Chicago area, it is an important issue to consider given that the U.S. Department of Justice indicated that it “doesn’t support the move” of trustees seeking this kind of information. As of now, however, there is a difference between whether something is legal and whether the Justice Department supports it. Is it legal for bankruptcy trustees to make this kind of a demand in a consumer bankruptcy case? Bankruptcy Form Demands Log-in and Password Information for Debtors To better understand whether debtors can be required to provide log-in and pa...

There are a series of new bankruptcy rules that will take effect on December 1, 2017, and they will have an impact on consumer bankruptcy proceedings. Generally speaking, most of these new rules will have the greatest impact on financial institutions, but it is important for individual debtors who are thinking about filing for bankruptcy to understand how the new rules will work and how they will change aspects of personal bankruptcy. First, we will say a few words about how these changes came about. Then we will discuss some of the changes and will explain what consumers in Oak Park should know about bankruptcy proceedings once the rules take effect on December 1. In the meantime, if you have questions about filing for consumer bankruptcy in the Chicago area, you should speak with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer. Supreme Court Submits Amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Official changes to bankruptcy rules began when Chief Justice John Rober...

When we think about unfair debt collection practices , most of us think of scenarios in which creditors assess exorbitant fees for late payments, or situations involving fraudulent debt collection measures. When we imagine the creditor in these scenarios, few Chicago residents think about nonprofit colleges and universities. However, the harmful actions of various for-profit colleges, which have led to massive student debt, have made national news over the last several years. As such, it should not come as too much of a surprise that nonprofit colleges also may be engaging in debt collection practices that involve the assessment of “whopping collection fees for unpaid tuition,” according to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune . What else do you need to know about the debt collection practices of colleges and universities when it comes to unpaid student tuition? Student Debt Collection: A Case Study The article discusses one student’s recent debt collection i...

If you recently filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in part to avoid foreclosure, and if your mortgage was with Wells Fargo, it is important to know about a recent lawsuit that alleges fraudulent practices by the bank. In short, according to an article from CNN Money , a married couple who filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy have alleged that Wells Fargo pushed through “stealth” mortgage modifications after bankruptcy. These new modification terms did in fact modify monthly mortgage payments, but they also extended the terms of the mortgages, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. Individuals who have filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Illinois could be impacted by the outcome of the case. To better understand the stakes, let us tell you a bit more about the current case against Wells Fargo. Debtors Allege that Wells Fargo Modified Mortgage without Authorization In 2014, Christopher and Allison Cotton had a mortgage with 16 remaining years of paymen...