Name: Attorney Mark Buckley, CFP
Price range: $$$

Debt Settlement Lawyer

Debt settlement can be the right solution in certain situations. Its a matter of knowing when its appropriate and how to do it effectively.

I’m not talking about the typical debt-relief advertisements you hear on radio and television. You know the ones. They instruct you to stop paying your bills and send them your money instead. Usually to some address outside of Rhode Island.

After starving your creditors for 6+ months, the theory is that there should be a pool of money big enough to offer settlements to your desperate creditors.

These programs usually fail because they are not a good fit for most people drowning in debt. If you owe a lot of money and are dealing with too many creditors, it isn’t likely that everyone will agree to negotiate.

Will you be satisfied if you can only settle some of your accounts, while the remaining debt is unpayable? You might create a tax liability on the forgiven debt, and a possible lawsuit on the unpaid debt.

To make matters worse, debt settlement companies are paid-in-full long before you realize its a losing battle. You could waste thousands of dollars and be left with a problem that still requires filing bankruptcy.

So when does debt settlement make sense? Answer: When you have a pile of money, under your own control, that can be used to offer lump sum settlements.

Effective debt settlement works best when you have cash in hand and can afford to pay income tax on the amount of debt forgiven. Money talks.

A few times each year, I encounter such a person. Someone who has immediate access to money, but wants to pay as little as possible to settle old credit accounts. If this describes you, I can help.

I had a client who owed $ 60,000 in old debt and now could afford to pay the debt in full. Wanting to avoid the interest and penalties that accumulated over many years, he asked me to contact each creditor and settle for the smallest amount possible. I negotiated settlement for less than $ 8,000 and he was more than happy to pay the income tax owed.

If bankruptcy is avoidable, and you have the money to make it work, a debt settlement may be an option to consider.

As your debt settlement lawyer, I can be the go-between to negotiate a low settlement. I can explain that unless we receive a good offer, the creditor will likely get nothing in a bankruptcy.

Disclosing All Property When Filing Bankruptcy

by Mark Buckley

In Rhode Island, are you required to disclose all of your property when filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy?

In a word: Yes.

A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy exists to protect you and your property. However, to receive a discharge of debt, you must disclose all of your assets.

During the bankruptcy process, a debtor will be asked if he is telling the truth. Bankruptcy lawyers will even use the phrase “under penalty of perjury” to remind a client that hiding assets is a violation of federal bankruptcy law punishable by jail.

You see, under Rhode Island bankruptcy law, it makes no difference if:

Your property came as a gift or through inheritance
Someone else paid for it
It is easily hidden and there is no paper trail

Your bankruptcy petition must fully list all of your property.

Understand that the US Trustee has many tools to discover hidden assets. Even calls from “anonymous tipsters” help trustees make sure that a debtor is not attempting to conceal assets.

Disclosing all property to your bankruptcy lawyer is actually in a debtor’s own best interest. Telling your lawyer the complete truth will help him protect you and your property.

Common property interests that require complete disclosure in your Rhode Island bankruptcy petition:

Any claims you have for money, including personal injury claims and potential lawsuits
Gifts you may have received
Assets you disposed of in the last 4 years
Possible inheritance interests after someone has died
Bank accounts/ real estate owned by parents with your name on it
Property you may receive in a divorce settlement
Personal debts owed to you by a friend or family member

Most who file bankruptcy are honest, hardworking people who have run out of options. Having a debtor list all his property in a bankruptcy petition makes the system fair for everyone.

Bottom line: your bankruptcy petition must be complete, accurate, and truthful. Don’t leave out any property.

Health Care Costs and Filing For Bankruptcy

America may be a world leader in many areas, but healthcare affordability is not one of them. According to a recent survey conducted by Health Affairs, American adults, more than the citizens of any other industrialized nation, avoid critical healthcare because of the high cost of coverage.

This comes as no surprise to bankruptcy lawyers, and certainly not to those who have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief due to unavoidable medical bills.

Health Affairs’ survey revealed several interesting facts—

one-third of American adults neglected recommended medical care when obviously ill (whereas in Germany, only one quarter of adults went without care.)
one-fifth of Americans reported having trouble paying off medical bills (barely 10% of Europeans and Canadians cited similar troubles.
almost one-third of Americans surveyed agreed on the confusing nature of insurance policies and documentation.
America reported the widest margins relative to available healthcare between income levels, with the poorest citizens receiving the least care.

Most of my clients have at least some medical debt at the time I file their bankruptcy petition. For some, it is the primary reason they need to file for bankruptcy relief. Many had either no health insurance, or poor coverage, at the time of a major illness or accident. I’ve seen medical bills range from a few thousand dollars, to hospitalizations costing over $ 100,000.

If you face a mountain of unpayable medical debt, give me a call. I can advise whether it makes sense to file for bankruptcy in your particular situation.

Top 7 Reasons To File Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13

The US Bankruptcy Code provides a number of choices to people struggling with debt. The most popular choice is to file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy petition. Here are seven reasons why.

Time—A normal Chapter 7 bankruptcy case takes about 100 days from beginning to end. After a brief creditor’s meeting one month into the process, the case ends two months later.
Property—Because federal and/or State exemption laws allow a debtor to protect their assets, most Chapter 7 filers do not lose any property. The bankruptcy trustee handles most cases as “no asset” cases, meaning that the debtor is not required to forfeit any property.
Cost—Filing under Chapter 7 is considerable cheaper than filing under Chapter 13. Even though lawyer fees may differ from state to state, most bankruptcy attorneys will quote a fee that is fair and affordable. Bankruptcy lawyers who practice exclusively in bankruptcy (not general practitioners) understand you don’t have extra money to overpay for their services.
Repayment—You are not required to repay unsecured non-priority creditors like credit cards, utility bills, personal loans, or medical bills. If you created your debt in good faith and no creditor objects to your bankruptcy, most unsecured credit obligations will be destroyed in your bankruptcy.
Privacy—Record of your bankruptcy is only accessible in the court system. In most cases, the only people who will know you filed for bankruptcy protection are you, the court, and your creditors.
Credit—Most people who file under Chapter 7 can reestablish credit shortly after their bankruptcy concludes. (Your debt to income ratio improves once your debt has been eliminated: the first step towards rebuilding your credit.)
Stress—Most chapter 7 filers never set foot in a courtroom. Instead, they merely attend a brief, informal hearing with the trustee assigned to their case.

How To File a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition

by Mark Buckley

For the last 30 years, I’ve been drawing pictures and timelines to explain to my Chapter 7 bankruptcy clients how the process works. I finally decided to make a video and hope you find it helpful.