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Top 3 Bankruptcy Lawyers – Providence, Rhode Island – Attorney Mark Buckley, CFP

by Mark Buckley

The Providence Law Office of Attorney Mark Buckley, CFP®, is pleased to announce being selected as one of the Top 3 bankruptcy lawyers in Providence, Rhode Island based on reputation, history, ratings, satisfaction, trust, cost and general excellence.

Three Best Rated® was created to identify the top 3 local professionals, businesses, etc. in each city and display only the 3 best based on a 50-Point Inspection.  To be a trusted resource of identifying the best local professionals, Three Best Rated is independent and does not accept money to be listed.

Attorney Buckley practices Chapter 7 bankruptcy representation for clients with more than $10,000 of debt due to credit cards, unsecured loans, medical bills, car repossessions and utility bills.  He also offers debt negotiation and settlement options for clients outside of needing to file for bankruptcy relief.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: attorney Mark Buckley, best bankruptcy lawyer, best bankruptcy lawyer in Providence, Chapter 7 bankruptcy, debt settlement lawyer, Providence bankruptcy, Providence bankruptcy attorney, Providence bankruptcy lawyer, Rhode Island Bankruptcy lawyer, RI bankruptcy lawyer Mark Buckley

Health Care Costs and Filing For Bankruptcy

by Mark Buckley

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.

Filed Under: Blog, Rhode Island Chapter 7 Tagged With: Bankruptcy, health insurance, medical bills, RI bankruptcy lawyer Mark Buckley

RI Bankruptcy Law: Median Income Figures Change Again

by Mark Buckley

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, 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

A Unique Opportunity: Second Mortgages in Chapter 13

by Mark Buckley

Guest post by South Carolina Bankruptcy Lawyer Lex Rogerson.

If you’re trying to decide which approach to bankruptcy is best for you, the prospect of writing off a second mortgage can be a powerful reason to consider filing Chapter 13.

Chapter 13 carries certain disadvantages for consumer debtors as compared with Chapter 7.  The fees are higher, the bankruptcy case continues for years instead of months, and the debtor usually has to pay some creditors who might get nothing if he filed Chapter 7.  So there has to be a good reason to choose Chapter 13.

Traditionally the most common reason is that Chapter 13 lets debtors catch up with delinquent mortgage payments in an orderly way.  But with real estate values down an average of 30% over the last few years, an increasingly common reason to file Chapter 13 is to strip off an “underwater” second (or third) mortgage.

Let’s start by looking at how secured debts are treated in bankruptcy.  In Chapter 7, for the most part, secured debts pass through unaffected.  If you have two mortgages when you file Chapter 7, you will almost always have two mortgages when you finish your case.  You cannot strip off a mortgage in Chapter 7.

By comparison, in Chapter 13, secured debts generally are paid in full.  But unsecured creditors are often paid a nominal amount, possibly as low as one to two percent of their claims.  If a debt can be classified as unsecured, the debtor can likely eliminate it with a minimal payment.

Now, we typically think of a mortgage as a classic secured debt, because the creditor has a lien on the home or other real estate to secure payment.  But the Bankruptcy Code has a special definition of secured debts.  Under Section 506, a debt is secured only to the extent of the value of the collateral.  So if I own a TV worth $200 but owe $300 on the TV, the creditor has a secured claim of $200 and an unsecured claim for the remaining $100.  We refer to this as bifurcating the claim or “cramdown.”

With home mortgages, it works a little differently.  In order to encourage mortgage lending, Congress has decreed that first mortgages on residential real estate cannot be crammed down.  So while Chapter 13 can help you catch up with a first mortgage if you are behind, it cannot reduce the total amount required to pay off the mortgage debt.

The situation can be different for second mortgages.  If the value of the property is less than the payoff on the first mortgage, the second mortgage has no remaining value to “attach to.”  In effect, the first mortgage eats up all the value of the property, leaving none for the second.  In this situation, the second mortgage can be classified as fully unsecured.  This means the debt to the second mortgage holder, like any other unsecured debt, can be discharged, usually with only a nominal payment.  We refer to this as stripping off the second mortgage.

To illustrate how this works, let’s say you have a first mortgage with a balance of $100,000 and a second of $40,000.  If your home is worth less than $100,000, your Chapter 13 plan can classify the second mortgage as an unsecured debt and usually pay it off at pennies on the dollar, because the first mortgage eats up all the value in the home.  But if your home is worth $100,001, the entire second mortgage survives and must be paid in full.

Because determining real estate values is not a precise matter, it is not always possible to tell for sure whether a stripoff will succeed.  But the potential upside is tremendous: the debtor can emerge from Chapter 13 after three to five years with only one mortgage instead of two, and without paying a substantial amount on the second.  It’s an opportunity you will want to discuss with your RI bankruptcy attorney if your second (or third) mortgage may be underwater.

One last wrinkle.  If the value of the property is more than the first mortgage payoff  – even if only a few dollars – this leaves some value in the property that the second mortgage can attach to.  The second mortgage then gets the same protection as the first.  It must be paid in full.  It’s an all-or-nothing proposition.  Any value beyond the first mortgage means the second mortgage survives.

Filed Under: Blog, Chapter 13, Personal Finance, Rhode Island Bankruptcy Articles Tagged With: bankruptcy attorneys, bankruptcy lawyers, Chapter 13, filing bankruptcy in Rhode Island, Mark Buckley, Rhode Island, Rhode Island bankruptcy, Rhode Island Bankruptcy lawyer, RI bankruptcy lawyer, RI bankruptcy lawyer Mark Buckley, RI Chapter 13, SC bankruptcy lawyer Lex Rogerson, second mortgage, stripping off mortgage

Choosing the Best Rhode Island Bankruptcy Lawyer

by Mark Buckley

The tiny state of Rhode Island is home to 5,878 licensed attorneys.  With a population of only 1,050,788, Rhode Island has one lawyer for every 178 people.

Did you know that an attorney is licensed in the general practice of law?  With only a few exceptions, any lawyer can represent any matter he pleases, whether it be a murder case, a speeding ticket, or a bankruptcy case. With tough economic conditions affecting the legal profession, many lawyers are doing just that: reinventing themselves as bankruptcy lawyers. You will find no shortage of lawyers willing to take your Rhode Island bankruptcy case.  Advertisements for bankruptcy lawyers are everywhere. The question is, however, which RI bankruptcy lawyer should you hire?

The answer is simple: Get the best experienced bankruptcy lawyer you can afford.

The key is finding a lawyer who concentrates his practice exclusively doing bankruptcy work.  Just because a lawyer will take a bankruptcy case doesn’t mean he has experience in the field of bankruptcy law.  Just as you wouldn’t hire a dentist with only pliers and a bucket for tools, you don’t want to hire an inexperienced lawyer to represent you in the Rhode Island bankruptcy court.

Here are just a few questions to ask:

  1. What areas of law does he practice in addition to bankruptcy law?  A debtor is best represented by an attorney who devotes his entire practice to RI bankruptcy law.
  2. How long has he been practicing bankruptcy law?  If he changed his personal injury law firm into a “bankruptcy boutique” just last week, you have the right to know.
  3. How many bankruptcy cases has he personally handled?  Would you feel better knowing he has handled only a few cases like yours, or a few hundred?
  4. Who will do most of the work?  Does he spend just 30 minutes with you on the initial consultation before letting his secretary takes over?  If he has you filling out lengthy questionnaires without spending much time with you himself, you should be concerned.  You may be at a “bankruptcy mill.”
  5. Who will represent you at the creditor’s meeting?  Will you be disappointed if an attorney you’ve never spoken to before represents you at your hearing, because the lawyer you hired is too busy to attend?
  6. Are his fees comparable to what other experienced bankruptcy lawyers are charging? Not too low, not too high.

Like most things in life, you get what you pay for.  An experienced bankruptcy lawyer will save you money by avoiding costly mistakes and offer you the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your case has been handled properly and professionally.

Filed Under: Blog, Personal Finance Tagged With: bankruptcy attorneys, bankruptcy filing, best bankruptcy lawyer, Chapter 13, Chapter 7 bankruptcy, cheap bankruptcy lawyer, credit card, filing bankruptcy in RI, Mark Buckley, Rhode Island bankruptcy law, RI bankruptcy lawyer Mark Buckley

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