Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

When a consumer files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy , there are certain types of debt that can not be discharged (or are non-dischargeable). When consumers in Oak Park think about non-dischargeable debts, they often consider debts related to spousal or child support, or tax debt. Yet it is important to understand that debt owed as a result of a personal injury lawsuit also may not be dischargeable if the damages award resulted from a drunk driving claim. To put it another way, if a consumer owes a significant amount of debt related to injuries she caused in a drunk driving accident, is that debt dischargeable? Does the answer to that question change if the debt is related to the consumer’s own medical expenses caused by a drunk driving accident that she caused? We want to answer these questions by discussing the way the U.S. Bankruptcy Code approaches debt discharges and drunk driving accidents. Bankruptcy Discharges for Drunk Driving Accident Verdi...

The holiday season can be one of the most expensive times of year for many consumers, from throwing costly holiday parties to spending money on gifts for friends and extended family members. If you are already struggling with debt and considering consumer bankruptcy , it is extremely important to avoid taking on additional holiday debt this year. We want to discuss some tips from an article in Forbes for avoiding holiday debt, and then discuss the ways in which a consumer could face allegations of bankruptcy fraud if she were to charge significant amounts of money during the holiday season only to file for bankruptcy soon into the new year. How can You Avoid Holiday Debt This Year? Avoiding holiday debt is never easy. As the article highlights, “57% of American adults with children say they’re willing to take on debt to make their children happy,” and middle-income families are particularly susceptible to taking on unnecessary debt during the holiday season. To be s...

The holiday season can be a stressful time for many consumers in Oak Park, especially if finances are tight. For many consumers in Chicagoland, the holiday season is also a reminder of credit card debt and the inability to cover the high costs associated with holiday gifts, parties, and other expenditures. While some consumers know their rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), many others do not understand their rights—or the responsibilities of debt collectors—according to the federal law. The FDCPA, in short, prohibits deceptive, fraudulent, and otherwise unfair debt collection practices . One question that consumers might ask who have some familiarity with the FDCPA and its protections is, “Is it unlawful under the FDCPA for a debt collector to contact me during the holidays? More specifically, can a debt collector call me multiple times on, for example, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day?” An article in Credit.com addresses this question, and we ...

Student loan debt is an enormous problem in the Chicago area and across the country. There are certain loan forgiveness programs that some debtors can rely upon if they meet the necessary requirements. In numerous cases of debtors who were defrauded by for-profit schools, a federal loan forgiveness program was supposed to come to the rescue. However, according to a recent article in The New York Times , that “government program meant to forgive the federal loans of cheated students has all but stopped functioning.” In short, tens of thousands of borrowers seeking relief from deceptive lending tactics under a “borrower defense” program are not getting the relief they were promised. Claims for Loan Forgiveness are “In Limbo” The student loan borrowers at the center of the article are those who assert that they “were victims of fraud, left with useless degrees and crushing debt.” Some of those borrowers went to Corinthian Colleges, a name that many consumers now associa...

What is “overbiffing,” and how is it harming debtors ? According to a recent report from CBS News , “overbiffing” is a term used for a practice in which debt collectors overstate the amount of money that consumers owe. And, as the article underscores, it is “the latest outrage in unfair debt collection .” In effect, through “overbiffing,” a debt collector can trick a consumer into paying more than she or he actually owes. If you were contacted recently by a debt collector who said you owed more money than you do, or who attempted to collect a debt from you that you do not owe at all, you may have been a target of “overbiffing,” and you may have a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). An experienced Oak Park consumer protection attorney can discuss your options with you. How Does “Overbiffing” Occur? How exactly does “overbiffing” work? In other words, what are some of the tactics or methods that debt collectors use in overstating the amount ...