3 COMMON MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE BEFORE FILING BANKRUPTCY

3 COMMON MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE BEFORE FILING BANKRUPTCY

1.           PAYING OFF DEBT FROM A TAX-EXEMPT RETIREMENT PLAN

              As an example, IRAs and 401K Retirement accounts are protected from creditors under bankruptcy law. (certain limits and conditions apply).   

2.           BORROWING MONEY FROM LOVED ONES TO PAY OFF UNSECURED DEBT

              Most people want to pay back their family and friends and you can’t give preferential treatment to pay back your loved ones and not pay back your unsecured debt in bankruptcy.  Most people have good intentions and want to pay their debt; but this is not an effective way. 

3.           PAYING OFF SECURED DEBT FIRST

              We realize that when people are over extended they look for ways to reduce their monthly expenses.  A lot of people make the mistake of paying off their auto loans or their mortgages (With their retirement no less!!) for ways to free up money to pay their unsecured debt.  Inside Bankruptcy there are exemptions (immunities) for your automobiles and real properties.  To help you better understand, IF you have a car that had a 10K balance at Bank XYZ and the value of the car is 11K, and if your exception (as an example only, not a true number) is 2K then your vehicle is an exempt asset.  IF you paid off your auto loan, then your vehicle is not exempt and you now have a 9K Asset (11K value minus the 2K exemption).

Check out more valuable information about Guam's Laws and working with Mark Williams, Guam's Best Lawyer, on Dededo Law Office's website, www.GuamLegal.com.

Why Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer? - Personal Injury Guam

Why Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Guam?

One of the most frequent questions we get asked is whether or not you need to hire an attorney when you’ve been hurt in an accident that was no fault of your own.  The answer is, yes.

Most people are honest and trustworthy; so they are assuming that insurance companies or even the party at fault will also be honest and trustworthy; but the truth of the matter is that you need a lawyer to help protect your rights.  Ask yourself this, is the other party or their representatives going to protect your interests or their own?

At The Law Office of Mark Williams - We keep the Law on your Side!

Check out more valuable information about Guam's Laws and working with Mark Williams, Guam's Best Lawyer, on Dededo Law Office's website, www.GuamLegal.com.~ http://www.injurylawyerguam.com/

Do not pay zombie debts! - Bankrupcty Guam

Do not pay zombie debts!

Many people believe that they should not delay when it comes to paying off their debts and getting back on the road to being in a good financial position. However, you could be in for a big – and not so nice – surprise if you send a check to a debt collector seeking payment on an old debt.

Of course, your debts can accumulate over time, particularly as the interest on the unpaid principal balance mounts, and leave you in a very difficult spot. Even if you can only make a small dent in your overall debt balance, you may think, every little bit helps. Other times some debtors get so frustrated by the debt collectors’ tactics that they actually end up encouraging the borderline-illegal behavior by giving in to the demands and paying off the debts.

But the truth is that paying off old debts could actually hurt you when planning for bankruptcy.  This is because recent payments to creditors which are going to be subject to discharge can be considered an unlawful preference in favor of such creditors over other creditors not being paid. 

Consult with your professional bankruptcy attorney before paying debts if you are considering bankruptcy!

Check out more valuable information about Guam's Laws and working with Mark Williams, Guam's Best Lawyer, on Dededo Law Office's website, www.GuamLegal.com.

FINANCIAL TROUBLE and MARRIAGE PROBLEMS GO HAND IN HAND

One of the most common reasons for marriage problems is money problems.  Money Magazine says that couples who fight, fight more about finances than any other issue.  So when it comes to financial problems, relationship problems seem to coincide. Often one leads to the other, regardless of which begins first. Some people say financial problems led to relationship trouble. Other says relationship problems led to the money problems.

No matter which comes first, the money or the marriage problem, once both are in play, life and peace of mind can get very messy and stressful for you and your home and family life.  This also means that clearing up financial problems might help save your marriage and, in that case, bankruptcy could help you deal with money issues and might get your relationship back on track. 

Whether there’s a way to fix your marriage problems or not, clearing up your money issues should make your life easier, and give your relationship a better chance to succeed, because unmanageable debt contributes to stress, which can in turn strip away your peace of mind and quality of life.  Getting out of debt can greatly improve your life and reduce stress. And without all that weighing you down, you might be surprised that your relationship and homelife also can improve significantly.

Need help? Contact us to get help!

Check out more valuable information about Guam's Laws and working with Mark Williams, Guam's Best Lawyer, on Dededo Law Office's website, www.GuamLegal.com.

BEWARE "DEFERRED INTEREST CREDIT CARDS"

“Deferred-interest” credit cards are different from zero interest credit cards. A zero-percent interest credit card will not add interest to the balance of the purchase made during the promotional period, until after that period is over, and the balance is not paid. 

In contrast, deferred-interest cards charge interest from the time the consumer originally made the purchase, which can lead to much higher interest charges (especially when many cards charge rates of 25% or higher).  

This is because a deferred-interest card company charges consumers accrued interest on the entire promotional balance from the time they made the purchase, even if that charge has been nearly (but not completely) paid off! 

For example, a customer might use a deferred-interest card to make a $1,000 purchase. The promotional period may last, for example, one year. If the customer pays back all but $100 of that amount, she would still be charged one full year’s worth of interest on the entire $1,000 charge!  And since many retail deferred-interest cards have interest rates of 25% or more, those charges could be very significant!

many retailers use credit cards with deferred-interest promotions. What’s worse, customers may open one of those cards to finance a big purchase, and many use terms in their marketing such as “special financing” or “same as cash if paid in full.” A 2016 survey from CreditCards.com found that nearly half of retail-branded credit cards carry an APR of at least 25%, much higher than the 15.18% national average for all credit cards.  Add that together with the fact that many of these cards are used to buy large purchases, which are not commonly completely paid off within the promotion period, and you have a recipe for financial disaster!

Check out more valuable information about Guam's Laws and working with Mark Williams, Guam's Best Lawyer, on Dededo Law Office's website, www.GuamLegal.com.

SMALL BUSINESS – WHAT THEY DON’T TELL YOU

SMALL BUSINESS REORGANIZATION

Owning and operating a small business is never easy, from the time when more start-up capital is needed for overhead expenses, to the normal fluctuations in the business cycle, with money needed for ongoing advertising, insurance, payroll, taxes etc. - all required before a profit is even made. 

Small businesses naturally involve risk and most small businesses do encounter financial difficulty and may often fail, but personal liability or guarantees for such debts does not have to hinder a small business person's ability to reorganize or to start again. 

Call now to discuss business reorganization questions and bankruptcy assistance.  671-637-9620!

Check out more valuable information about Guam's Laws and working with Mark Williams, Guam's Best Lawyer, on Dededo Law Office's website, www.GuamLegal.com.

YOU NEED TO READ THIS!

4 Signs to Consider Bankruptcy

1. Debt balances are not going down

2. Withdrawing retirement money to pay debts

3. Necessary care & attention for family members is suffering due to debt problems

4. Secured debt balances higher than the value of the collateral

We can help! Call Now to Attorney Mark Williams

Dededo Law Office; Guam

671-637-9620

Check out more valuable information about Guam's Laws and working with Mark Williams, Guam's Best Lawyer, on Dededo Law Office's website, www.GuamLegal.com.