The Tale of a House, and an Entire Market By SHAILA DEWAN and CATHERINE RAMPELL The history of 12204 Backus Drive in Bowie, Md., is in many ways the history of the American housing market over the last two decades. This four-bedroom home in Bowie, Md., has sold several times since 1990, at […]
The Deadline to Submit Final Flood Insurance Claims is Approaching | Some Tips to Avoid the Minefields
Flood Ebbs, Insurance Woes Don’t The mayor of Hoboken, N.J., isn’t the only one complaining that her Hurricane Sandy relief money has been held hostage. Some homeowners whose properties were damaged by the storm would say the same about their flood insurance carriers: More than a year after the hurricane struck the East Coast, there […]
Debt Settlement and Essential Facts that Every Consumer Should be Aware Of
Settlement is an important aspect of just about every area of law. In many cases it is a more beneficial to both the debtor and the creditor, allowing the debtor to pay a smaller sum than originally owed and allowing the consumer to get a significant amount of the money they are owed while incurring […]
Post Petition Inheritance May be Property of the Bankruptcy Estate
In a recent Chapter 13 case, a Trustee’s motion to modify a debtors confirmed plan to include a debtors post petition inheritance was granted. The debtor with a monthly income of $2,096, who had unsecured debt amounting to more than $20,000, had notified the bankruptcy court that he would be receiving between $25,000 and $40,000 […]
7 Ways Parents Can Help Children Escape Debt
Like most people, I wasn’t born with a silver or gold spoon in my mouth. And I didn’t get everything I wanted with a “snap of my fingers.” In fact, it was Christmas 1979 that my dad was laid off from his job in the auto industry. He was laid off for seven and half […]
The Bankruptcy Estate
The potential filer for Chapter 7 bankruptcy should understand that in such a bankruptcy there is not plan of repayment on the part of the debtor, like there is in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. What occurs in a Chapter 7 is the creation of what is known as the “bankruptcy estate.” Under 11 U.S.C. § […]
Choosing Child Care When You Go Back to Work
The largest financial commitment that many new parents make is also the most emotional: choosing a full-time caregiver for your child as you head back to work. As many parents know all too well, it’s a giant expense, often second only to housing costs. Many families pay the equivalent of college tuition, and that’s not […]
Service Members Left Vulnerable to Payday Loans
Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The New York Times A business offering short-term loans near Fort Bliss in El Paso, Tex. Interest rates on such loans can reach as much as 80 percent. Petty Officer First Class Vernaye Kelly winces when roughly $350 is automatically deducted from her Navy paycheck twice a month. Month after month, […]
Caught in Unemployment’s Revolving Door
Gretchen Ertl for The New York Times Jenner Barrington-Ward says that she has been told, “point-blank to my face, ‘We don’t hire the unemployed.’ ” On a cold October morning, just after the federal government shutdown came to an end, Jenner Barrington-Ward headed into court in Boston to declare bankruptcy. It took weeks to put […]
Protecting Your Children’s Credit
If you want to make sure your personal information isn’t at risk from identity thieves, you can ask to have a security freeze placed on your credit file at the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. That prevents lenders or credit card companies (that you aren’t already doing business with) from gaining […]
