… the employee’s disposable income.  Unfortunately, those payments will continue until the entire debt has been paid off.  Any kind of debt can lead to garnishment of wages, but the most common types include back child support, unpaid court fines or judgments, defaulted student loans, and the biggie–taxes owed to either state governments or the IRS.

Once the garnishment has been served on an employer, the company takes a portion of the employee’s salary during the payroll process in …

Category: Fort Worth Lawyer , Property Exemptions , Tax - Debt Garnishments

Tags: Bankruptcy Chapter 13 Title 11 United States Code Garnishment Internal Revenue Service tax

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… is to obtain a discharge of debts, which means the debtor is no longer personally liable for that debt.

Q:  What does a “discharge of debt” mean, exactly?

A:  The goal of bankruptcy proceedings is to obtain a discharge of debts, which means the debtor is no longer personally liable for that debt.

Q:  So what does “personal liability” mean, then?

A:  Having personal liability for a debt means that creditors who obtain a judgment against you can use legal means, …

Category: Bankruptcy Q&A , Debt and Tax Relief

Tags: Bankruptcy Questions Discharge of Debt

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… an article in the Star-Telegram, the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers away from using debt settlement companies, which often worsen their financial condition and fail to deliver on their promises.

The article said:

“The Better Business Bureau at Fort Worth has just completed a report on debt settlement businesses and warns consumers that seeking their help is rarely a good idea. Debt settlement usually adds to the consumer’s debt load and rarely leads to a significant …

Category: Bankruptcy , Debt Consolidation , Economy

Tags: Bankruptcy Better Business Bureau Debt settlement Financial services

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Many debtors are intimidated by debt collectors who often cast themselves as these all powerful entities who can wreck havoc on a debtor’s life.  But the truth of the matter is that debt collectors aren’t as powerful as they seem, it’s just that many debtors’ lack of knowledge about their rights and the limitations of debt collectors make them vulnerable to debt collector tall tales.  Here are a couple myths and …

Category: Debt Collectors , Economy , Managing Your Finances

Tags: Debt Collectors facts Myths threatening

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The first step to conquering debt that has gotten out of control is to get honest with yourself.  Take the time to find out how much you owe, how much you earn and what the real gap is in between.  One of the biggest shockers debtors experience when they file bankruptcy is just how indebted they really are compared to what they had imagined.  Don’t engage in self-deception, get to the root of the truth now.

 Create A …

Category: Bankruptcy , Bankruptcy Q&A , Debt and Tax Relief , Economy , Filing Bankruptcy

Tags: Bankruptcy Attorney budget Debt

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) successfully sued three debt collection companies who scammed consumers into paying money they did not really owe.   A total of $1.6 million was recovered from the debt collection scammers and will be distributed to 24,916 consumers.

In 2003, the FTC sued three companies, operating under the name National Check Control, charging them with harassing and abusing consumers, falsely threaten­ing criminal prosecution, …

Category: Breaking News , Debt Collectors , Economy

Tags: consumers debt collection

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There are several requirements that a debt must meet before it becomes governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:

The debt must be a consumer debt that was incurred for personal, household or family reasons. For example: Medical debt incurred because of a spouse’s illness would meet this criterion; however, medical debt incurred because of an employee’s accident would not meet this criteria. …

Category: Debt Collectors

Tags: Debt Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Know Your Rights Threatening Collector

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Federal and state tax authorities encourage taxpayers to pay their taxes with credit cards; but doing so may not be in the best interest of the debtor. Here’s why:

The interest rates on credit cards are typically higher than the interest charged by the state or tax authorities.  Once you charge your taxes to a credit card, unless you plan to repay the debt immediately, you could incur …

Category: Managing Your Finances , Tax - Debt Garnishments

According to an article in the Star-Telegram, American Corrective Counseling Services, a debt collection company has agreed to a $2.55 million judgment to settle a lawsuit brought by thousands of debtors who claimed they were wrongly led to believe they had to pay costly fees to avoid criminal charges for bouncing checks.

The article said:

“The company sent out letters as recently as last winter purporting to be from various Pennsylvania district attorneys’ offices to …

Category: Debt Collectors , Lawsuits

Tags: American Corrective Counseling Services Debt Collector Judgement

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… to settle than ever before.”

This is good news if you are struggling financially and have any tax problems.  Tax problems were once significantly harder to deal with than what they are today and mainly because the IRS has tried to clean up their image.  Having said that, if you are having tax related debt problems you need to take the time to talk to a professional about your situation.  Yes, you can try to go at them on your own, but many people try that route and end up hurting …

Category: Bankruptcy , Tax - Debt Garnishments

Tags: Internal Revenue Service tax United States

… don’t plan on falling behind on their bills.  Then… to add insult to the financial injury, a debt collector with an attitude calls you.  Their job is plain and simple…to get you to pay.  Some collector’s though have the belief that their job is to get you to pay, regardless of what it takes.  You might owe the debt.  You probably feel guilty about what you haven’t been able to pay, because that’s how your parents raised you:  pay what you owe.  Even if you have guilty …

Category: Bankruptcy , Debt Collectors , Debt and Tax Relief

Tags: Consumer protection Debt Collectors Federal Trade Commission Know Your Rights

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… realize the shortfall. You can be assured that by the time the IRS decides to try to collect the tax from you, the original amount you owed will have increased significantly, due to penalties and years of interest accruing. It would even be safe to say that the small sum of money you owed the IRS in 2003 has now doubled, or even tripled in size. Dealing with the IRS can be a very scary situation. You did not file fraudulently, you did not file late, and the tax due is more than three years …

Category: Debt Consolidation , Debt and Tax Relief , Tax - Debt Garnishments

Tags: Income tax Internal Revenue Service Lawyer United States

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