As the owner of a small bankruptcy law practice in Tampa, Florida, we were often thought of as the epicenter of the great recession and foreclosure crisis back in 2008-2012. One thing that always made a big impression on me, was the number of people who genuinely believed and tried…
The question as to whether the private student loans were incurred “solely to pay qualified education expenses” under 26 U.S.C. Section 221(d)(1) is where these cases are won or lost. In Conti v. Arrowood Indemnity Co., No. 20-1172 (6th Cir. 12/14/20), the Court affirmed a bankruptcy court’s judgment against the…
The most important thing about being a POA is to sign as POA! If you are assisting an elderly person with his or her finances, including contracting with vendors for services, such as home health services, assisted living arrangements, under a durable power of attorney, you must make clear to…
Dementia may cause major financial problems long before diagnosis – this was the headline in a recent Washington Post article. Often, family members are the first to notice something awry. The signs could include things like missing critical medications, or putting last night’s leftovers in the toaster oven or microwave…
Despite Secretary DeVos summarily denying virtually every Borrower Defense to Repayment application that was ever filed under her watch, don’t give up hope! The Judge in Sweet v. DeVos just ruled that Secretary DeVos must give prior notice to the Court before denying any more borrower defense claims from student…
Are you STILL having problems with your mortgage servicer after catching up with your mortgage while in a Chapter 13? Are you being charged a huge sum to catch up even after the bankruptcy is over? A mortgage servicer is required by federal law to perform an annual escrow analysis…
Good news. There’s lots of money left in TEPSLF. 700 million was appropriated and as of September 2020, only about 87.5 million had been discharged under TEPSLF. There is a new form here: https://studentaid.gov/sites/default/files/public-service-application-for-forgiveness.pdf. Under the new form, you don’t have to apply for regular PSLF first, be denied, and…
Join us tomorrow at noon EST/ 11:00 CST for a Facetime Interview between Jamie (Miller and Miller in Wisconsin) and Christie (Arkovich Law in Florida) as we discuss why NO ONE should feel compelled to return to work right now, just to be able to pay their student loans. There…
Are you tired of endlessly paying on your student loans, only to see no headway at all being made? I wrote this article for our local Cramdown publication for Tampa Bay attorney advocates and bankruptcy attorneys – these are tips that everyone should know about and ask their advocate for…
The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) assesses overpayments in any instance where it thinks it may have overpaid benefits. This most commonly occurs when a recipient doesn’t timely report a change in circumstances, such as income. In many cases, the overpayment may be caused by the SSA itself, when it fails…