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Clients’ Choice Award – I’d like to thank . . .

by Mark Buckley

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Providence/ Warwick bankruptcy lawyer, I rescue clients from financial chaos. I solve debt problems caused by job loss, ill health, and other life-changing setbacks. For so many with too much debt and too little income, I help them push the RESTART button.

After examining spending patterns, budgets and monthly income, we consider all debt-relief options including payment plans, debt settlement, and bankruptcy.

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is designed to protect property and give a financial fresh-start. My clients feel immediate relief after I file their case and debt collectors stop calling. 90 days later, the case ends and financial freedom begins.

 

Many are surprised to learn how Rhode Island and federal law can help protect most/all of their property. These bankruptcy “exemption” protections apply to cars, real estate, retirement assets, jewelry, etc. Most clients do not lose any property at all.

These same laws also help remove most unsecured debts like credit cards, payday loans, utility bills, personal loans, lines of credit, medical bills, car repossessions, mortgage foreclosures, etc. Sometimes, even income tax obligations can be discharged in bankruptcy.

I understand its not easy to ask for help, especially when it comes to money-matters. I get it. That’s why I designed my practice differently.

Anyone with a debt problem can call me, without any obligation, to get my legal-financial advice. I’m pretty easy to talk to and would be happy to help you determine the best path out of your debt dilemma.

Hit the Avvo badge below where clients generously shared their experience in working with my firm.

8.3Mark Steven Buckley CFP

PS: I don’t take these “awards” too seriously, but I’m always happy when bankruptcy clients appreciate the realized benefits of a financial do-over.

Here it is.Mark Steven Buckley CFPClients’ ChoiceAward 2019

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: attorney Mark Buckley, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, cfp, Chapter 7 bankruptcy, debt relief option, debt settlement, debt settlement lawyer, RI bankruptcy attorney, RI bankruptcy lawyer, stop creditor calls

RI Bankruptcy Law: Median Income Figures Change Again

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RI bankruptcy lawyers have new income guidelines to determine who qualifies for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief.  On November 1, 2012, the US Census figures became effective for all new consumer bankruptcy filings.  Other than for 3-person households, it became slightly more difficult to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief for every other household size in Rhode Island.

Below are the median income figures that I use for my Rhode Island clients who need to file for bankruptcy protection:

  • 1 person household $ 45,945 (down from $ 47,798)
  • 2 person household $ 60,538 (down from $ 61,506)
  • 3 person household $ 75,306 (up from $ 68,909)
  • 4 person household $ 82,086 (down from $ 88,990)
  • Add $ 7,500 for each additional household member above a 4 person household

As a reminder, these are gross income figures.  To determine whether you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief, we take your trailing 6 months of gross income from all sources (except Social Security and unemployment benefits), multiply it by two and then compare it to the chart above.

While its easier to qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy with gross income lower than the median, in many cases, you may still qualify with income slightly higher than the median.

Bottom line: Its impossible to forecast whether it will become easier or more difficult to file your Chapter 7 case in the future.  Even if you are not ready to file your case now, I can run an analysis on your family’s income to see if your income is presently low enough to qualify for debt relief.

Filed Under: Blog, Means Test, New Blog, Rhode Island Tagged With: bankruptcy lawyers, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Mark Buckley, Rhode Island bankruptcy, RI bankruptcy lawyer, RI bankruptcy lawyer Mark Buckley, RI means test

The Truth About the Mortgage Modification Process

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Obama’s mortgage modification program: on its way out?

Could the Obama Administration’s program to help American homeowners stay afloat be nearing the end of its usefulness? A committee of Washington Republicans assigned to oversee White House programs says this could be the case.

Soon after it became obvious that a major national financial crisis was looming on the horizon, the Obama Administration launched its Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), offering mortgage lenders financial incentive to restructure their customers’ payment plans. Although optimists predicted this program would stem the tide of sub-prime mortgage failures, it only ended up being temporarily effective: confusing paperwork, uninformed staffs, and poorly organized processes hopelessly confounded a large number of participants, many of whom ultimately failed to acquire long-term mortgage modification.

Newly elected Republican officials are expected to study and scrutinize many of the President’s recession-protection strategies, and thanks to its less-than-stellar performance, HAMP will probably make an easy target. “This program seems to have outlived its usefulness,” stated Darell Issa of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In Issa’s opinion, the incentive program is yet another example of superfluous government intervention.

This allegation is not entirely without basis in reality. Although hopes ran high for HAMP, in truth the entire program was rushed and poorly planned from the beginning. Of the 500,000 homeowners granted temporary mortgage modifications under HAMP, only a miniscule fraction was approved for permanent modifications. In the long run, this left many further behind on their mortgage than they began.

Additionally, recent unemployment rates have been less than conducive for HAMP’s success. In recent years it has become impossible for much of the country to attain income levels capable of handling modified mortgages, let alone unadjusted ones.

The fact that HAMP has been associated with the robo-signing controversy only compounds problems. Republicans now blame Democratic regulators for not paying close enough attention to the foreclosure industry.  Representative Robert Goodlatte is quoted in a recent hearing on Capitol Hill as demanding Democrats to “explain how the OCC [the agency in charge of overseeing the activity of America’s largest banks] …failed to detect that there were foreclosure documentation issues well before this turned into a crisis.”

Julie Williams, Chief counsel for the OCC, had little to say in response: “In hindsight, if we think about the volume of transactions that were going through the process, we could have been more suspicious.”

Filed Under: Blog, Personal Finance, Rhode Island, Rhode Island Bankruptcy Articles, Rhode Island Chapter 7 Tagged With: bankruptcy attorneys, bankruptcy lawyer, bankruptcy lawyers, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, Chapter 7 bankruptcy, filing for bankruptcy in RI, foreclosure, HAMP, Home Affordable Modification Program, Mark Buckley, mortgage, Rhode Island bankruptcy, Rhode Island Bankruptcy lawyer

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