Tax Liens/Garnishments

So Uncle Sam or the State of Michigan says you owe them money? Stop the madness. They’re already dipping into your income, but they want more, at a time when you can least afford it.

Well, it doesn’t have to be you footing that bill for the government. Filing bankruptcy stops tax garnishments and may eliminate tax debt all together.

That’s right!  The really good news; a lot of IRS income tax liabilities are dischargeable. Those that claim that taxes are not dischargeable are not entirely correct.  It is one of those myths about bankruptcy that is not true.  The taxes that you owe may, in fact, be dischargeable.   Most importantly, filing for bankruptcy here in Metro Detroit, it will immediately stop the tax garnishments. Presto, just like that, you get your full paycheck each and every week.

Stop Garnishments

There truly is nothing worse than opening up your paycheck, and finding that 25% or more of your take home money is missing. You look over the paystub, and all of the sudden you see this new category appear under “Other”, and then you see that horrible word. “GARNISHMENT.”

You don’t have to put up with that. Not one more paycheck. If you call us now at Gudeman & Associates.  We’ll not only stop that wage garnishment, but we’ll very likely be able to get you back any money garnished from you over the past 3 months. This is just one of the ways that we get your creditors to help pay your fees for filing bankruptcy.

We’ll make sure that from here on out, you’re getting paid in full for your hard work.  We’re going to get you through this!

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With new and good paying jobs in short supply, even with a college degree, it can be difficult to secure a lucrative job nowadays. Often, people are taking jobs unrelated to their field of study, just to get some income coming in. Unfortunately, your school loan lender wants their money, based on the promissory note you agreed to, regardless of whether you are employed or not and regardless of how much you may or may not be earning.

Now, it is true that student loans cannot be discharged by filing bankruptcy in Michigan (or elsewhere, for that matter.) But, we can still help.

By filing bankruptcy, we can restructure your repayments to the lending institution. We’ll get half of your school loan on a 3-5 year payment plan, with zero interest. This will give you that time to still continue paying off your school loans, and allow you to get ahead, so when you are off of this new restructured payment plan, you’ll have a leg up in getting the rest of it paid.

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Is the Repo Man on his way over to pick up your car? You’ve tried to keep up with the payments, but between higher gas prices and putting food on your family’s table, you just can’t keep up. And forget about trying to explain your circumstances to the loan company. All they want to hear is a check number and when they’ll be getting their money. Or worse, they’re sending the big burly Repo Man to steal your car from you in the middle of the night. There really is no worse feeling than waking up in the morning, getting ready for work, getting the kids ready to take to school, and when you walk outside your front door, the car is gone, and all that remains is a note from the Repo Man, notifying you that you’re kids will be missing school today and you’re walking to work.

Thankfully, the law is designed to protect you from such scurrilous tactics by your lenders.

We understand that things happen. A child gets sick and even though you have health insurance; the deductible is so high, that because you’re living from paycheck to paycheck, all of the sudden, you come up short for your car. You hope that you’ll be able to make it up by the next month, and hopefully only have to pay a late fee, but unfortunately, things have gotten slow at work, and you’re now down to 4 days a week.

The worst part is that these lenders don’t have to wait 2 or 3 months to send the Repo Man in the dead of night to take your car. Legally, if you’re one day late, your car could be gone the next day.

All of us at Gudeman & Associates understand how important your transportation is to you keeping a job, taking the kids to school, and taking care of all of the errands you must run. Who’s going to pick up the milk for the kid’s cereal in the morning?

We’ll do everything in our power to make sure your kids aren’t having their cereal with water or worse, going to school hungry in the morning.

If you call us immediately, sometimes we can get your car back the next day.  But if you hesitate, your ability to get your car back may be gone forever.

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This is what we call the bottomless black hole of debt. There is no getting out from under debt using pay day loans.

It always starts off with this one time. You need an advance of a few bucks to hold you over until Friday when you get paid. You spend that money before you have it. Then, pay day arrives, and they want their money, and then some. That “and then some” is called interest. We call it usury.

So now you’re in the hole again. You had less money this week because of the pay day place taking their cut, and you pre-spent this week’s money. Gas isn’t getting any cheaper, so Tuesday comes around, and you’re back at the same Pay Day Loans place. But this time, you showed up a couple of days earlier than last week. Hey, the budget is tight, and you need some cash.

Well, guess what? The folks at the pay day loan place will gladly give you your money early. It would be their pleasure. Because it’ll be your pain when you’re paying through the nose in interest, as this racket takes advantage of you and your livelihood.

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Do You Owe the Federal or State Government for Past Due Taxes?

If you owe past due taxes to the federal, state or local governments and you are worried about paying them, you probably should be. These governmental authorities have are probably the most powerful Creditors that you can have. They can levy on and take your real estate and personal property. They can seize your bank accounts. They can garnish your wages. In other words, they can play very rough. So, if you are worried about not paying the money that you owe the IRS or the State of Michigan, you have good cause to worry. But what if you do not have the money to pay them! The answer is that if you owe Federal, state or local taxes and you are also behind in other payments to creditors, Federal Laws can give you assistance. The U.S. Bankruptcy Code allows you to stop the collection efforts of the federal government, State of Michigan and local governments in their tracks!!

Filing Bankruptcy Stops Tax Garnishments!

Many times, the biggest pressure on you is a garnishment by the IRS or State of Michigan Department of Treasury. That garnishment may be taking out of your wages and away from your family money that you currently need to take care of you and your family. Filing bankruptcy stops tax garnishments! Yes, the U.S. Bankruptcy Code even allows you to stop the IRS in its tracks. Just like any other Creditor that you may have, as soon as the taxing authority finds out about your bankruptcy, it is must release the garnishment. That’s right! You can stop the government in its tracks. It does NOT matter what kind of tax you owe. The garnishment must stop. This is only one indication of many that should allow you to realize how powerful the U.S. Bankruptcy Code is.

You may still owe for the taxes and you should know that many taxes are not capable of being discharged in bankruptcy, but many are. But with the garnishment lifted, your receiving your paycheck and with the power of the law that you get from the U.S. Bankruptcy Code you are in a better position to deal with your tax liabilities on terms you can afford.

If the tax is one of the types that are dischargeable in bankruptcy, it will be gone forever and so will the taxing authority’s garnishment and the liens and the levies.

Dischargeable Income Taxes:

If you owe Income Taxes and the taxes you owe are more than 3 years old, you may not have to pay them back at all. Your petition has to be filed more than three years from the date of the filing of your tax return for the period for which you owe taxes. So, if your tax liability is for the year 2002, but you did not file the 2002 return until April of 2005, the three years period starts on the day of filing in 2005. This means that your petition in bankruptcy would have to be filed after April of 2008, in order to discharge the taxes for 2002. But if you had filed your tax return in April of 2003, when the return was originally due, you would be able to discharge the taxes owed at any time after the expiration of three years from the filing date in 2003. Beware! If you never file the return, the clock never starts.

Most people believe the myth that all taxes are not dischargeable. [Adam, provide link to Myths about Bankruptcy.] Don’t you be fooled. The fact is that certain older taxes are “dischargeable. There are rules that apply to determine if your back income taxes are dischargeable. Gudeman & Associates, P.C., knows how to apply those rules. We work with them every day. When you call for your free consultation, bring your tax records to discuss it with us. We can also have you sign a form that lets us get information about you from the IRS or the State of Michigan and to verify your liabilities and to determine whether or not your tax liability is dischargeable.

Every year, Gudeman & Associates, P.C. helps our clients get rid of hundreds of thousands of dollars in income taxes.

What About The Taxes That Are Not Dischargeable?

We can get you up to 60 months to pay it back. This assumes you file a Bankruptcy Petition under Chapter Thirteen This type of case is also called a “Reorganization.”

What does this mean? It means you can get the IRS off your back for 60 months. It means you can set up payments that you may be able to afford. By way of example, if you owe the IRS $10,000.00 in “non-dischargeable” taxes, you can require the IRS to take as little as $38.46 per week on principal. In some cases, you can even require the IRS to take payments without interest. So, if you are afraid that the IRS is going to levy on your bank account or garnish your wages, there is no need to be afraid anymore. You can file for protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and the IRS and the State of Michigan have to comply with the rules in Bankruptcy, not their own. You can fight back, just by using the power of the laws that have been written to protect you. Gudeman and Associate, P.C. will help.

Disclaimer:

The results that we are able to achieve will vary. The example above is provided just to illustrate how powerful the U.S. Bankruptcy Code is and how much power it puts in your hands.

Gudeman & Associates has handled thousands of such situations and can put to use the experience and expertise that it has developed to your benefit.

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If you’re getting sued, don’t just sit there, but fight back. And the best way to fight back is to call us now. Call now at 1-248-546-2800.

Often, people become intimidated by a notice that they are being sued. It’s a frightening thing to deal with, especially when you owe people money. And much too frequently, people freeze and don’t do anything about it. That’s the absolute worst thing you can do.

You need us to help you deal with this during these uncertain times. While you’re ignoring all of the notices coming in the mail regarding the suit against you, you even miss out on the notices that notify you on how to protect certain property from the judgment. From here, everything starts spiraling out of control.

The next thing you know, you’ve got a lien against your home or property is being confiscated to settle your debt. Worst of all, you’ve overlooked one of the best ways to stop the suit in its tracks.

Bankruptcy is designed to protect you and your assets. You don’t have to be bullied any more.  You don’t have to lose any property.  Take control!!

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HOW IS YOUR CREDIT SCORE DETERMINED? 

Your credit score reflects your ability to borrow money.  The higher your score, the easier it will be to obtain a mortgage car loan, lease, credit card or other extension of credit by a lender , including banks, stores and other credit card issuers.   Your credit score is reflected by your credit report and may affect a lenders decision to grant your request to borrow money .

There are 3 major credit reporting bureaus:

Equifax 

1-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com

Experian 

1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com

Trans Union 

1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com

In addition to a list of a person’s lenders and their payment history, credit reports also contain other information that can be used by potential lenders determine whether to extend credit to you. Here is a list of some of the things a credit report may also include:

• With whom you have applied for credit;
• Your name, current address, Social Security Number and your spouse’s name;
• The name and address of your current employer, as well as the amount of your income;
• Information regarding lawsuits, foreclosures, repossessions, and whether you have filed for bankruptcy in the past; and,
• Information about any tax liens that have been filed against you for unpaid federal, state or local taxes.

What is the importance of all the information included in your credit report?  Your potential lenders want to know whether you can be counted on to pay back your debts. Insurance companies also look for risk factors on your credit report.  Potential employers sometimes use your credit report to make employment decisions about job applicants.  New, potential landlords may use it to determine if you are likely to pay the rent on time.

Your potential lenders often use all of the information on your report to derive a credit score on you. A credit score is a number used to rate and rank your credit worthiness compared with the public at large.  There are a number of different credit scoring systems. One of the best known  scoring systems is the Fair Isaac Corporation (“FICO”) Credit Score. FICO scores range between 300 and 850. According to FICO, 40% of the population score at 690 or lower, while 40% score 745 or higher, with just 20% above 780.

Your potential lenders want to know if you will repay a debt once a loan is extended.  They will use the credit score to determine if and how much they will lend you, and at what interest rate. Lenders assign points to the various aspects of your credit report. Typically, potential lenders use the following top five (5) factors when making their credit decisions:

• Debt to income ratio. Your Debt to Income ratios is the proportion of how much total debt you have relative to your income level. This is probably the single largest factor that creditors consider in determining whether or not to extend a loan or other credit to you. You should be aware of the fact that even if you have no outstanding or unpaid balance on your credit card, your credit limit is still added to the debt side of your debt-to-income ratio.
• Payment history.  Your payment history reflects whether or not you have paid your debts on time, including real estate mortgages, automobile loans, credit cards, credit lines,  store charge accounts or other loans.
• Length of credit history. Lenders look at the length of your credit history to see how long you have paid on your debts. Good past payment history can help sway a lender to loan you money if you’ve had recent issues that could negatively affect your ability to get the credit.
• Number of Recent Credit Applications and Inquiries by Potential Lenders. If your credit report indicates that you have applied to a large number of other potential lenders, it could be a factor in their decision not to make a loan to you.
• The type of credit for which you are applying.  Lenders that will retain a security interest in the asset that you want to buy (“collateral”) such as a car finance or mortgage company, may be more willing to lend money to more ‘at risk’ borrowers when the lender knows that they can always take back the collateral in the event of default on payments.

Other factors that lenders look at to determine who is a good credit risk are:

• Education level.  Potential Lenders have statistically determined that the more education that you have had the better credit risk you are, so the more education you have the less you are a credit risk.
• How long you have lived in your current place of residence.   If you have moved around frequently in the past few years, your credit score will be lower, unless have relocated in order to secure a better job and/or your income level is now higher as a result of those moves.
• How long have you had your current job.  Potential lenders like consistency.  The longer you have had the same job or employer, the better credit risk you are considered to be.
• Homeowner v. Renter.  If you own your own home, your Potential Lenders will consider you better risk than if you rent your home.

Overall, your Potential lenders really like to see a history of stability.  If you can show that you are a stable, reliable person and have the ability, capacity and willingness to repay your debts, your Potential Lenders will consider you a much better credit risk..

It is not uncommon for mistakes to be made on your credit report.  Consequently, you should be sure to review your credit report not less than annually. If your credit report has errors in it you can correct them by application to the credit reporting services, online.  Just go tohttps://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp for your free report and the ability to connect to each credit reporting agency without charge.  Importantly, you must understand that  just a few points difference in your credit score can determine whether or not you will get the additional credit that you need or want. Therefore, it’s absolutely crucial to have an accurate credit report.

And, in today’s world of “ identity theft” you must pay attention to your credit report, just like you should pay attention to your health.  Your doctors recommend an annual physical.  Gudeman and Associates’ Law Center for Debt Relief recommends not less than an annual checkup,  Failure to pay attention can, all by itself, place your credit in such jeopardy that you may have to file bankruptcy just to clear up the debt that identity thieves have caused you to incur.  Avoid the legal and financial difficulties of identity theft by frequently reviewing your credit report. It may save your years of stress, frustration, legal fees and even the ability to avoid bankruptcy.

You must report inaccuracies to the credit bureau whose report contains any inaccuracy.  It is not their responsibility to identify errors.  Once you identify an error, however, the credit bureaus must correct the information within 60 days, if actually determined to be in error and to send you a free copy of the credit report showing that the inaccuracy was corrected.

For a totally free credit report, that you can get once a year without charge go to:

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

For more information about Credit Scores, go to:

http://www.consumerfed.org/topics.cfm?section=Finance&topic=Credit%20Scores%20and%20Reporting
http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/CreditScores.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_score
http://money.howstuffworks.com/credit-score.htm

Gudeman & Associates  can help you.

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Making Payments to Keep Your House

Unless you are completely incapable of making your house payments following a personal bankruptcy filing, you can keep your house. In Chapter 13, you incorporate any past due payments into your overall debt payment plan. That serves as an interest-free loan on the arrearages. If you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you need to reaffirm that debt if you are current on your mortgage or can bring it to current status and continue making payments.

Using Personal Bankruptcy Laws to Avoid Foreclosure

At Gudeman & Associates we use our experience and knowledge of bankruptcy laws to ensure you are protected. That includes protecting your family home. Your mortgage company cannot take your house away just because you have filed for personal bankruptcy. The process of debt discharge or reorganization in bankruptcy is one of the most powerful rights you can exercise. You have the right to have peace of mind, the right not to be harassed by overly aggressive creditors seeking to collect debts, and most importantly, the right to keep your house.

Contact Us

For more information or to schedule an appointment with an experienced lawyer in regards to using bankruptcy to stop foreclosure, please contact us. Or call us now for a free consultation.

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