| Volume 67 Number 11 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
A landlord has an obligation to change the locks on your doors whenever you request it. You may be charged the cost of making the change, but no additional fees. Click here for more.
The Cost of Sleepless Nights
The average American loses nearly 12 days of productivity a year due to insomnia, at a cost of $2,280 per person, per year. Interestingly enough, insomniacs generally aren't missing work due to their sleepless conditions. Rather, they're simply less engaged in their work. Do you have trouble sleeping? What can you do to increase your sleep and make for more productive days? Click here for more.
Bank of American Softens on New Fee
Bank of America is already softening on its new $5 debit card fee, which is currently set to begin in January. According to one insider, Bank of America is reviewing proposals that would offer ways for consumers to avoid the new fee. Under a revised plan, consumers could avoid the fee by having their paycheck deposited directly in to their account, maintaining minimum balances, or by obtaining and using a Bank of America credit card. If implemented, would these exceptions be enough to convince you to stay with Bank of America? Click here for more.
600K Facebook Profiles Compromised Daily
Is your Facebook account safe? According to a Facebook spokesperson, only about 0.6% of billions of Facebook log-ins are compromised on a daily basis. Don't let the number fool you. The seemingly low 0.6% that Facebook uses to tout its safety actually represents 600,000 compromised log-ins per day. How do hackers do it? How can you protect your information? Click here for more.
Your Money
Calculate your estate tax liability. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
A Chapter 13 debtor could “strip off” wholly unsecured liens on his principal residence. The 8th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel ruled that a debtor may strip off junior liens on his residence which was fully secured by a first lien. The debtor’s proposed bankruptcy plan treated the claim of the senior lienholder as secured, but “stripped off” or avoided the liens of the second and third lienholders – treating their claims as wholly unsecured. The junior lienholders argued that the proposed strip off of their claims was prohibited by §1322(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code. The code permits a Chapter 13 plan to “modify the rights of holders of secured claims, other than a claim secured only by a security interest in real property that is the debtor’s principal residence, or of holders of unsecured claims.” But the court decided that Section 1322(b)(2)’s antimodification did not apply because the value of the debtor’s principal residence is less than the claim of the senior lienholder and there is, therefore, no value securing the junior lienholders, rendering their claims unsecured under §506(a). Click here for more.