| Volume 44 Number 3 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Starting a new business can be risky, and the type of business determines your individual liability. If you run a business in your own name, or as a partnership, you are responsible for all the liabilities of the business. To protect yourself, consider operating the business as a corporation or limited liability company. An attorney can help you make the right choice. Click here for more.
A Lifeline for Homeowners
When congress passed the bailout, it hoped financial institutions would help consumers by restructuring loans and preventing foreclosures. Since financial institutions have been slow to help consumers, congress may force them to create a new remedy: principal reductions. With unemployment still on the rise and a new round of foreclosures looming, will congress force financial institutions to confront the remedy they have long avoided? Click here for more.
The Biggest Consumer Scams of 2009
Vulnerability during tough economic times opened the door to a new breed of scam artists. In fact, 2009 was a year of both new and repackaged "old" scams, causing consumers nationwide to lose millions of dollars. From stimulus/government grant scams to mortgage foreclosure rescue/debt assistance "programs," read about the ten biggest scams of 2009 (and perhaps 2010). Click here for more.
FTC Settles With Debt Collection Agencies
The Federal Trade Commission settled with two defendants who allegedly misled, threatened, and harassed consumers. According to the report, the debt collectors violated the law by making false or deceptive threats of garnishment, arrest, and legal action; improper calls to consumers; frequent, harassing, threatening, and abusive calls; and unfair and unauthorized withdrawals from consumers’ bank accounts. To find out more about the FTC settlement, and to watch a new educational debt collection video, Click here for more.
Your Money
Want to save a million dollars? It might be easier than you think. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Property acquired upon parent's death isn't part of bankruptcy estate. A Tenth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel ruled that the property a Chapter 7 debtor received upon the death of her father is not a part of her bankruptcy estate. The bankruptcy trustee argued that the POD property was part of the bankruptcy estate under §541(a)(5)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code. The statute makes property acquired by “bequest, devise, or inheritance” within 180 days of a bankruptcy filing part of a debtor’s estate. But the court concluded that the statute does not apply to property acquired through the operation of “will substitutes” like POD or transfer on death (TOD) accounts. Click here for more.