The idea of bankruptcy came from the Old Testament.  It was created for your protection - to ensure your right to a fresh start.

 The most important thing is to save your home.

If you happened to have lost your home to foreclosure in either 2009 or 2010, there is a new process available which allows you to request a foreclosure process review to ensure it was handled correctly.  If errors,  falsifications, or other wrongdoing is found within your foreclosure process, you might be eligible for monetary compensation or other solutions.  Keep in mind that this reveiw of process is only applicable to the house that was your primary place of residence.  The mortgage companies will mail out letters of notification, but the letters will more than likely go to the home that was foreclosed which you no longer reside in.  So if you are interested in having your foreclosure process reviewed, call 1-888-952-9105 to request the form that will need to be filled out or go to the web site at www.independentforeclosurereview.com.

The mortgage loan servicers that must participate in this review process are:

1)  America’s Servicing Co. 2) Aurora Loan Services 3) Bank of America 4) Beneficial 5) Chase 6) Citibank 7) CitiFinancial 8 ) CitiMortgage 9) Countrywide 10) EMC 11) EverBank/EverHome Mortgage Company 12) GMAC Mortgage 13) HFC 14) HSBC 15) IndyMac Mortgage Services 16) MetLife Bank 17) National City Mortgage18) PNC Mortgage 19) Sovereign Bank 20) SunTrust Mortgage 21) U.S. Bank 22) Wachovia Mortgage 23) Washington Mutual/WaMu 24) Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Foreclosure is the process that a mortgage company takes to repossess and sell your home when you fall behind in the payments.  In Mississippi, the mortgage company does not have to file a lawsuit against you and get an Order from the Court in order to sell your home.  In Mississippi, the mortgage company does not have to send you a letter telling you they are foreclosing and when the sale will be.  All they have to do is to run an ad in the newspaper and then auction your home.
When you fall behind on the mortgage, your mortgage company will typically send you a letter telling you that you have a thirty days or so to catch up before foreclosure proceedings start.  This is called an acceleration letter.  Once the mortgage has been accelerated, the mortgage company is no longer obligated to accept payments unless they are enough to catch up all of the past due amounts.  But this won’t be just the number of months that you think you are behind.  It will be all of the past due amounts they say you are behind, plus all of the fees and charges they have added on to your account, including foreclosure fees.
The lender must advertise the sale in the newspaper once a week for at least three weeks.  At the end of the advertising period, usually the fourth week, the foreclosure auction sale takes place on the courthouse steps.  Anyone can bid, including the mortgage company and the property goes to the highest bidder.
What happens after foreclosure? If the mortgage company sells the property at a loss, it has one year from the date of the foreclosure sale to come after you for the difference between what was owed on the mortgage and the amount actually paid by the purchaser at the foreclosure sale.
If your mortgage company gets a judgment for this deficiency, it can use all of the remedies available under the law, including garnishment of your wages, garnishment of your bank accounts and levying on other property.
An eviction proceeding in court usually follows the foreclosure, to force you out of the house if you don’t leave the property voluntarily.

Individuals with excessive debt sometimes wonder whether it makes sense to file for bankruptcy.  There are many reasons why people who need financial help should file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  Making this decision is something you should discuss with a well informed Mississippi Bankruptcy attorney who is an authority in consumer bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy laws are there to help you get a fresh start and relieve you of the burden of overwhelming debt.

When Does Filing Bankruptcy Makes Sense.
There are a numerous circumstances in which filing for bankruptcy can benefit you:

1. You Have Already Tried to Negotiate.  If you have attempted to negotiate or work a repayment plan with your mortgage company or other creditors and they won’t listen to you.  They want all the money now and aren’t willing to be paid out over time. This can leave you with no option other than to file for bankruptcy.

2. Your Debts Exceed Your Income. A major reason why people file is they just can’t pay their bills.  This may be due to job loss, reduced hours at work, illness, divorce, and many other causes beyond their control.

3.  Your Mortgage Company is Trying to Take Your Home.  We are in the middle of a major mortgage fraud scandal involving robo-signers, fake documents, false affidavits and bogus assignments. Mortgage servicers make more money now when they foreclose than they do taking your regular monthly payments.  One sure way to get control over your mortgage servicer is to file bankruptcy and sue the servicer and owner of your note in the bankruptcy proceeding.

4.  Your Credit Score is Already Bad.  Filing bankruptcy can improve your credit score.  Most of our bankruptcy clients are back to a credit score in the 700′s within one to two years of a Chapter 7 discharge.

5. You Want to Keep Your Home and Vehicles.  Many people are concerned that they will lose everything if they file for bankruptcy. However, getting rid of your unsecured debts like credit cards, loans and medical bills will leave you with the money you need to be able to keep the important things like the house and car.

Before you make any decision on bankruptcy, consult an attorney skilled in consumer bankruptcy and mortgage problems.  Every individual’s situation is different and what might be right for someone else may not be right for you.  Speaking with an attorney ahead of time can help you do some pre-bankruptcy financial planning so you don’t run the risk of losing certain rights and/or property.  Hiring an attorney that only represents individuals, because of his or her knowledge and experience in consumer bankruptcy, is well worth the money.

It used to be that filing bankruptcy in Mississippi carried with it a bad social stigma.  Not anymore.  Did you know that Toni Braxton has filed bankruptcy twice.  She stated in an interview that “bankruptcy for me was a protection”.  She used bankruptcy to protect herself from all the creditors that came after her when she canceled her Las Vegas show due to illness.

People who really need to file bankruptcy in Mississippi to stop foreclosure or stop wage garnishment still hear persistent myths that are either half-truths or completely false.  The goal of bankruptcy is to help you out of difficult financial problems.

Here is a short run-down of some of the top false myths about bankruptcy.

1. You Can’t File for Bankruptcy Anymore
Not true.  There were changes to the law in 2005, but the end result was to put more of a burden on bankruptcy attorneys.  Bankruptcy is alive and well and an important financial tool.

2. Your Credit Will Be Ruined
Not true.  Bankruptcy does have an impact on your credit history – but in most cases that impact can improve your credit score.

3. You Will Lose Everything
Not true.  Mississippi bankruptcy law allows you to keep a certain amount of property, along with your house and cars.  This is true in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.  No one wants you to start over again with nothing.

4. You Will Lose Your Retirement
Not true.  File bankruptcy in Mississippi and your retirement account, 401(k) plans and IRAs are exempt and fully protected, no matter how much you have in the account.

5. You Can Only File Bankruptcy One Time
There are limits on how many times you can get a discharge in bankruptcy, but you can file more than once.  A Chapter 7 discharge is available every eight years.  Chapter 13 discharge is  available every two years or four years from a Chapter 7 discharge.  A Chapter 13 can be started in between these time periods and you will not be granted a discharge, yet you will still have all of the protection of a Chapter 13.

Bankruptcy law is complex and you should seek legal advice before selling or disposing of property if you are in a financial bind.  The ultimate goal of bankruptcy in Mississippi is to help those who are in financial crises.  We offer free consultation to individuals and couples who are concerned about financial problems, foreclosure, wage garnishment, and mortgage fraud.

As part of the Federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, every Mississippi Resident is eligible to receive one free Personal Credit Report every 12 months from each of the nationwide credit reporting companies. To learn more, please visit the FACT Act Central Site located at:  www.annualcreditreport.com.  Any other web site offering you free credit reports is a scam.  There are no free credit reports available other than on this site.

To order your free credit reports chose one of the following methods, Internet, Mail or Telephone:
1.    Go to the internet site at www.annualcreditreport.com and order or print online.
2.    Print out the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
3.    Call 1-877-322-8228 and order by phone.

Be very careful that you DO NOT agree to arbitration if you order the reports online.

Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually for your free annual reports. They provide free annual credit reports only through the web site, the above telephone number or by mail.
But, if you have been turned down for credit in the past 60 days then you are entitled to get a free report directly from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus each time you are denied credit.  In addition, you may also order a report  from them at anytime and if you pay their credit report fee, usually around thirty dollars.

You can reach the three Credit Bureaus at:
EQUIFAX    equifax.com   800-685-1111   POB 740256,  Atlanta, GA 30374
EXPERIAN    experian.com  888-397-3742   POB 2002,  Allen, TX 75013
TRANSUNION   transunion.com  800-888-4213   POB 1000,  Chester, PA 19022

No.

Bankruptcy laws are designed to give you a fresh start without having to start all over again with nothing.  As part of your new lease on life you get to keep a certain amount of property for you and your family. This property is called “exempt property.”

The Mississippi exemptions available for motor vehicles provide up to $10,000 worth of equity in one or more vehicles.  Since many  vehicles are worth less then the amount that is owed on them it is not usually necessary to use any of your exemptions for a vehicle.

An individual that is seventy years of age or older is entitled to an additional $50,000 exemption that can be applied to motor vehicles or any other property.  There are many other generous Mississippi exemptions available to protect and allow you to keep other types of property.

If you have questions about bankruptcy in Mississippi, or are considering filing bankruptcy, give me a call at 601.948.1600.

No.

Bankruptcy laws are designed to give you a fresh start without having to start all over again with nothing. As part of your new lease on life you get to keep a certain amount of property for you and your family. This property is called “exempt property.”  The Mississippi exemptions available to homeowner residents are usually sufficient to protect your residence.

They allow an individual or couple to retain a homestead consisting of up to 160 acres of land and $75,000 worth of equity in that property. An individual that is seventy years of age or older is entitled to an additional $50,000 exemption that can be applied to the homestead or any other property. There are many other generous Mississippi exemptions available to protect and allow you to keep other types of property.

Mississippi residents that are interested in exploring bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy options can contact me for a free consultation at 601.948.1600.

There is enough personal and private information revealed in court pleadings for an ID thief to take an individual’s identity and use it to commit fraud. These frauds can take many forms, from simple larceny to complex identity crimes.

An adult may not find out about the identity theft until they review their credit bureau reports or they are contacted by a debt collector.  If it is a child’s information that is taken it might not be discovered for years and years.  Identity theft has become the commonly accepted term for this type of crime, though you can’t really steal someone’s identity, you can only use it.

It can take some victims thousands of dollars and years repairing the damage to their good name and credit record.  During this time they lose out on job opportunities, are denied loans and pay more for credit because of the negative information on their credit reports.  They may be arrested for crimes they did not commit.

Protection of personal, sensitive and private data in court papers is not a new or novel concept.  The E-Government Act of 2002, contains laws governing privacy of information in court files.  Federal courts were directed to immediately conform their rules and practices to the Act.  These rules provided that personal identifying information is prohibited.

Specifically listed as examples of personal identifying information were:

• Social Security Numbers;
• Financial Account numbers;
• and Birth Dates.

The policy and local rules also contain cautions and restrictions on the disclosure of other information deemed sensitive.

The following categories of information were deemed sensitive:

• Personal identifying numbers, such as driver license numbers;
• Medical records, treatments, and diagnoses;
• Employment histories;
• Personal financial information;
• Proprietary or trade secret information.

The restriction pertaining to personal identifying information is equally applicable to this sensitive information.  Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 and Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9037 also contain sections on redacting personal data before filing it in court papers.

An individual’s Social Security Number and other private information is of no use and not a concern of the general public.  Interfering with the private affairs of a individual by disclosing this sensitive and personal information intrudes upon their right to privacy and creates a risk of identity theft.

A party who has suffered an exposure to identity theft should be entitled to damages.  These damages may consist of future credit monitoring, fees for security freezes and obtaining periodic credit reports and civil contempt and sanctions for violating the policies, rules and orders of the court, injunctive relief to render the offending document inaccessible to the general public and compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees, expenses and suit money.

In collection type cases and bankruptcy cases the underlying debt should be canceled as part of a settlement or judgment.

Mississippi residents that are interested in exploring bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy options can contact us for a free consultation at 601.948.1600.