Abandoned wife files chapter 7 to discharge collection lawsuits for $20K Client no. 1 IS it even legally possible that your social security benefits can be garnished? If creditors can get your social security income when you retire, how can you have peace of mind when you retire? To be sure, not every kind of creditor…
IT is illegal to harass a worker because of that person’s race or sex. Racial harassment may be verbal or physical conduct targeting the worker’s race, skin color, or national origin. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or offensive remarks about a person’s sex. Both types of harassment are illegal, particularly…
IF you fail to file on time or pay on time, penalties kick in. Here are 10 reasonable causes to abate (forgive) penalties for late filing or late paying: 1. Tax returns were mailed on time. A return used to be considered filed on time if it is postmarked on or before the due date. …
ARE you being harassed by your creditors day and night due to unpaid bills? If you are, you know that this is a pretty unpleasant experience. You may feel scared, angry or embarrassed about your situation. The prospect of debt relief through bankruptcy may sound appealing to you but you are not quite sure if…
“ You owe it to yourself and your family to put yourself in firm financial footing now for future prosperity by getting rid of accumulated debt now.” Client 1: Garment factory CLIENT presents himself as a businessperson, who has been in the garment business since 2002. He has a factory with ten employees where he…
Q: I AM a single mom and I have worked for this company for several years. Recently, while talking with another newly hired male co-worker whose responsibilities are similar to mine, I discovered he was making as much as 50 cents more per hour than I am. I asked my branch manager why the difference…
IF you have not filed your income tax returns by the end of March, chances are you do not expect a refund, your tax records are a mess, or you simply do not want to break tradition. Just remember that filing extensions is not exactly a nice habit. Besides prolonging your worries, it also extends…
I HEAR this all the time. People who are in debt are barely making it by living paycheck to paycheck so how can they even think about saving for the future? Are you in this situation right now? If so, you need to do something about it or you will never be able to get…
HAVE you ever wondered why it’s so important to see us every six months? From oral health maintenance to serious disease prevention, there are a lot of reasons to keep your semi-annual visits on your calendar. Open wide and say “aahhh” So what do we look for when we examine your pearly whites? During typical checkups we examine the overall…
SOMETIMES debtors cannot decide whether they should seek debt relief through Chapter 7 wipe out of all dischargeable debts or personal reorganization through Chapter 13, or business reorganization though Chapter 11. All of these methods get rid of unwanted and burdensome debt while allowing debtors to keep most if not all of their assets. Thus,…
Granting medical leave may not be enough LAURALYN Swanson is a highly accomplished elementary school teacher with over 30 years’ experience teaching kindergarten through sixth grade. She has a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, and holds several teaching credentials and certifications. In August 2006, the Morongo Unified School District (School District) hired Swanson as…
THE Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA, an agency that oversees the IRS) instructed the IRS to expand audits to prior and subsequent years. This means that if IRS audits your income tax return for 2013, they must expand the audit to your 2012 and 2014 as well. Ouch! The Treasury Department conducted its…
IF you are struggling with debt problems and are starting to feel hopeless about your situation because you are not getting anywhere in spite of your efforts, at what point do you consider filing bankruptcy as an option? Bankruptcy scares a lot of people and that’s understandable because everything they’ve heard about it from friends,…
Senior protects house from $100K judgment lien with Chapter 7 Chapter 20 NEVER heard of Chapter 20? That’s because in the Central District of California, most courts don’t allow Chapter 20, except in Riverside. Riverside bankruptcy court allows Chapter 20. What is Chapter 20? First, you do a Chapter 7 to discharge your debts. Then…
Q: AS a mobile technician, I travel to patients to obtain laboratory specimens. I drive the company vehicle, which I garage at my home, to do my job. I cannot use the vehicle to run personal errands while working. I cannot even use it to drop off my child at school. My employer pays me…
1. MAIL your payments to be received on time. The monthly due date is the date of receipt at the IRS Service Center, not the date of mailing. 2. Use certified mail with return receipt. 3. Do not skip one payment and double up on the next payment. One skipped payment causes the entire installment…
ARE you facing insurmountable debt problems? Are creditors threatening you with lawsuits, judgments or a wage garnishment? Are you afraid of losing what little you have and wonder how you are going to survive if you can’t even pay for life’s basic necessities like rent, mortgage, food, transportation, etc., let alone pay your bills? Making…
Signs of a company headed toward failure and important ways to fix the problems SOMETIMES companies get into financial trouble. They have leadership issues, they have failures by suppliers, and they have cash flow problems. Companies have a lot of problems, often every day. Most of the time, companies get past their problems and move on,…
Q: I TRAVEL several times a month as part of my job duties using my own car. I also make several business-related calls on my personal cell phone. My work duties sometimes require me to stay out of town overnight and I incur further expenses. My employer pays me a fixed amount of money, included…
(Part 2 of 2) THE Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a major expansion of its “Fresh Start” initiative to help struggling taxpayers by providing: • Offer in Compromise (OIC) – more flexible guidelines for collection potential. • Payment plans – more taxpayers can apply without financial statements. We discussed OIC in a prior article. Let’s…
I KNOW we’ve never met. But there’s a common fear everyone shares when they’re in drowning in debt. As a debt relief attorney, I hear it from people who consult with me every day. It is this: The possibility of losing what they’ve worked hard for all their lives…their homes, their savings, their retirement money,…
Senior with $24K debt seeks Chapter 7 relief; Senior protects house with Chapter 13 Chapter 11 CLIENT presents himself as an importer & nationwide distributor of electronic items with gross annual sales $5.0M. He has a warehouse in Los Angeles with 15 employees. His business is actually doing well. But due to a business dispute with…
Q: I work for a large company and recently took a leave of absence due to pregnancy disability. My pregnancy was high-risk and I used up all of my 4 months of leave. However, due to some health complications, after the birth of my child, my doctor says I still cannot return to work, and…
TOO good to be true? Perhaps, but read on. The IRS cannot deny your application if you satisfy all of the following requirements: 1. The tax is not more than $10,000. 2. You timely filed and paid all income tax returns for the past five years. 3. You did not enter into any installment agreement….
INDIVIDUALS who have accumulated excessive debt are often left to ponder whether they should file bankruptcy in order to get out of debt. Sometimes, these people feel that somehow, they’ve lost, failed, or that they will never have a chance to rebuild their credit again. Because we are living in a society where having a…
Have you ever received an email, a flier on your car, shopping catalogues in the mail, a promotional letter from your cable provider, or have seen television commercials, banner ads, or outdoor advertising? If you answered yes, then you have been a target of direct marketing. Direct marketing is a type of advertising campaign that…
SOMETIMES companies get into financial trouble. They have leadership issues, they have failures by suppliers, and they have cash flow problems. Companies have a lot of problems, often every day. Most of the time, companies get past their problems and move on, they continue to make money, pay their employees and the owners take home…
Q: I WORK at UX Corp, a big national processing plant. However, I am employed by ABC Agency, a subcontractor of UX Corp. ABC Agency pays my wages. We often work more than 8 hours per day at UX Corp but we are not paid overtime. When we complain to managers at UX Corp about…
BEING in debt can be one of the most stressful situations you will ever face in life. It happens to everyone although you may feel like you’re the only person on the planet going through what you’re going through. But let me assure you that you are not alone in your struggle. The first step…
IRS audits have been dominated by examination of Schedule C for taxpayers who conduct their businesses as sole proprietors (instead of corporation or LLC). This includes professionals, technicians, and independent contractors who receive 1099s as subcontractors (instead of W2s as employees). Here are some issues that generate the most dollar assessments & therefore the most…
