Sequestration Affects New York Courts
May 16, 2013What is Sequestration? It is a U.S. legal procedure in which automatic spending cuts are triggered. UScourts.gov reports that sequestration has reduced the federal judiciary’s overall funding levels by almost $350 million, which is equivalent to a 5 percent cut. Each court decides how to implement the funding cuts. In all, approximately 2,000 employees nationwide [...]
Read MoreWhat Do Mickey Mouse and Bankruptcy Have in Common?
May 14, 2013Wald Disney. Walt Disney, the man who created Mickey Mouse, the Disney theme parks and many blockbuster movies, experienced financial ups and downs like most people, including bankruptcy, according to justdisney.com, a website that is not affiliated with The Walt Disney Company. Disney was born in 1901 and spent his childhood in Missouri with three [...]
Read MoreMedical Doctors File Bankruptcy too!
May 14, 2013Bankruptcy filings by doctors have recently increased, according to Bobby Guy, co-chair of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s health care committee, in money.cnn.com. Guy tracks bankruptcy trends tied to distressed businesses. The accelerated bankruptcy filings by physicians’ practices have consequences for both doctors and patients. For some doctors, it is a career-ending move, and for patients, [...]
Read MoreAn Interesting Way To Get Rid Of Debt
May 6, 2013A week before Christmas 2012, Strike Debt, an affiliate of the Occupy movement, had purchased the medical debts of 44 lucky upstate New York residents and forgiven them! Now, the same organization plans to forgive $11.5 million in medical debt owed on the secondary market by families who either live or once lived in Kentucky [...]
Read MoreWhat Do Filing for Bankruptcy and Winning the Nobel Peace Prize Have in Common?
May 2, 2013Despite his remarkable achievements, Jean Henry Dunant, who in 1901 received one of the first Nobel Peace Prizes, endured periods of ups and downs in his life, including bankruptcy, according to www.nobelprize.org, the official website of the Nobel Prize. Dunant was a founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the initiator of [...]
Read MoreWells Fargo Hit with Sanction for ‘Egregious’ Mortgage Loan Actions
April 30, 2013Wells Fargo was recently sanctioned $3.1 million for flagrantly and repeatedly violating court orders related to its mortgage debt collection practices. A federal judge in Louisiana imposed the substantial penalty against the nation’s second largest mortgage loan servicing company for misapplying mortgage loan payments and charging improper fees against individual bankruptcy debtors. Despite ample opportunities [...]
Read MoreWestchester County Real Estate Sales Remain on Upswing!
April 26, 2013The Westchester real estate market continues on the road to recovery in the first quarter of 2013, according to the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service, the White Plains Daily Voice reports. First quarter home sale closings were up 7 percent over the same period last year. The transactions so far this year mostly involved properties [...]
Read MoreCheck Your Credit Report At No Cost!
April 24, 2013To determine whether you have a good credit score that maybe affected by bankruptcy or whether past-due bills have already affected your credit score, check your credit report. Consumers are eligible for one free credit report from the three big credit-reporting companies per year. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each [...]
Read MoreHow Long Should You Keep Financial Records?
April 22, 2013It may be tempting to get rid of bank statements and other financial documents that seem to clutter your home or office. But don’t be too quick to dispose of them. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation provides guidelines about how long to keep your financial records. As a general rule, documents that pertain to taxes [...]
Read MoreCourt Looks at Whether Town Can Protect Pensions in Bankruptcy
April 22, 2013On March 26, 2013, a trial between the City of Stockton, California, and its creditors began. The outcome will determine whether Stockton receives bankruptcy protection while leaving pensions intact and bondholders holding the losses, according to Reuters.com. Since at least the 1930s, no major city or county has forced a reduction in the principal of [...]
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