Dayton Ohio Bankruptcy Help

Helping Homefull in our community

2011-12-19T18:04:00.002-05:00

Each year the staff of Burdge Law Office does something for a local charity to help out the needy.

This year we returned to Fairhaven Church to help Homefull.org. Homefull works tirelessly to help homeless people by providing housing relocation help, prevention services, street outreach assistance, support services and education to the homeless in Ohio. Every day the folks at Homefull dedicate themselves to ending homelessness in our communities. Nationally an estimated nearly 700,000 people in the US are homeless according to a report in 2011 from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Fairhaven Church is a very giving congregation and this year their Christmas Gift project was to fill over 1,000 large plastic bins of needed home supplies for Homefull's team, to help make a difference in lives of homeless people as they struggle and gradually move into available housing opportunities.

The entire staff joined in the effort to fill some of the one thousand plus plastic tubs with the normal houseware goods and items that we all take for granted but which homeless people don't even have, so that as they move into housing they each have a 'starter' kit to help ease the transition. Now, with the tubs delivered to Homefull's staff for distribution, it's great to see so many tubs jammed full of the needed items to help ease the daily lives of the needy in our home town community.

Some of the over 1,000 plastic tubs
of supplies for the homeless

During the last year, attorney Burdge was also again invited to speak at a national seminar, this time in Colorado Springs and presented by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, where he spoke to attorneys and other professionals on the importance, value and reward of giving back to the community and the legal profession, based on research he and others have conducted on how the simple human act of sharing and giving impacts the world we live in, the legal profession, and each giver too.
The staff of our law firm has always sought to help the needy in our world and every one of us is proud to have contributed to the Fairhaven Church Christmas Gift project again this year. The homeless of every community can use a helping hand and we encourage you to help out in your home town too.

Giving is what makes the spirit of Christmas last all year long.

Burdge Law Office

www.DaytonBankruptcyHelp.com/

Helping consumers all year long

7 Ways to Avoid Holiday Debt

2011-12-08T17:30:00.000-05:00

California bankruptcy attorney Tim McFarlin has a great Avvo Legal Guide article giving tips on avoiding digging yourself into a financial hole at Christmas.

His article is titled 7 Ways to Avoid Holiday Debt and you can read the short version of it by clicking here.

However, if you can take few minutes to head over to his blog you can find a much more thorough version that gives you a lot more info on the 7 tips as well as an understanding on why they matter. We highly recommend this great advice so click here to read his blog on how to avoid getting into debt at the holiday season. Although the article was written two years ago, the advice is timeless and perhaps even more true today than ever.

Burdge Law Office

www.DaytonBankruptcyHelp.com

Helping consumers start fresh everyday

Dollar Stores Now Outnumber Drug Stores

2011-12-05T17:32:00.000-05:00

Another sure sign that people have changed their ways? Dollar stores - stores that specialize in selling items priced at $1 or less - now outnumber all the drug stores in the country.

CVS stores seem to be just down the street from every Walgreens Drugstore, which are all just around the corner from Rite Aid stores. But when you count them all up, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and 99 Cents Only stores outnumber the drug stores across the board, according to a news release from DrugStoreNews.com.

A research study from Colliers International, just release Monday, reports the rapid expansion of dollar stores, which dressed themselves up with storefront and merchandise display improvements as their customer base increased - a sure sign that shoppers are getting far more careful of how and where they spend their money.

The simple fact of life seems to be that as debt mounts, dollar store sales increase.

Given the harder economic times that a very large part of the consuming public are living in each and every day, it should not be a surprise. It's the same reason that more and more folks are looking hard at bankruptcy as a way to deal with their debt - even during the holiday season.

If that's on your mind too, it's understandable. It may be a good time to do some bankruptcy planning so that after the first of the year you can be sure you understand your legal rights and what your options are. Bankruptcy isn't for everyone, but in these times, it may be the relief you need. If so, remember that we handle those cases in the Dayton, Ohio area and we can probably help you too.

Burdge Law Office

www.DaytonBankruptcyHelp.com

Helping consumers find a way out of debt, everyday

Banks keep trying to get more of your money

2011-11-15T23:01:00.000-05:00

Recently outlawed overdraft fees and and reduced debit card swiping fees, among other reductions caused by recent banking laws, have forced banks to give up billions in fees and consumer charges that mostly went unnoticed. Well, losing that money certainly caused the banks to notice.

In fact, they are planning on how to make it up on your right now. Some of the ideas that you need to watch out for and that might be headed your way?

$5 to replace a debit card and $20 if you want it in a hurry.

Fifty cents to deposit a check to your account if you use your cell phone to do it.

$15 to deposit a wire transfer of money INTO your account ... they charge you when you put money into your own account. Now, that's nerve.

Account fee increases like Citigroup's bump of its $8 standard account fee up to $10 and Chase up to $12.

Interest on savings accounts dipped slightly to save the bank money.

Now may be a good time to think about using a credit union for your money needs.

If your bank is hitting you up for excessive charges and fees, check out your alternatives. And if they put a squeeze on you that you can't stand anymore, or bills are stacking up while you struggle to get by, bankruptcy is an option that you may want to consider. Call us for a free consultation.

Burdge Law Office

www.DaytonBankruptcyHelp.com

Helping people get back on their feet everyday

Say Thanks to Someone Who Served

2011-11-10T18:39:00.005-05:00

A few years ago, a local farmer came in to see me for some help. Bills and crop prices and debt had him over a barrel and we talked about bankruptcy and what it could and couldn’t do to help relieve his situation. He was a big strong man, the way some farmers just naturally are, both in his heart and his size. We were about the same age but he looked so much older.

His situation took about 5 months to get resolved but I will never forget the day that I learned that he was a chopper pilot in Vietnam about the same time as my older brother, Larry, was there. I had no clue and never would have guessed.

We both stopped what we were talking about, his own current problem, while he looked out the window and quietly talked about what it was like then, back in Vietnam. It was hard for me to look at this older and much heavier man and try to imagine what he must have looked like back in the days of 1966-'68. Now, he was mostly bald and probably weighed a lot more than he did back then, but like me he had been young once too. Now, he didn't move as quick as he undoubtedly did in 'nam either.

But you could tell from the distance in his eyes as he spoke that he had never really left it all behind him.

He talked about what it was like to fly a chopper in and out of valleys and hills and fire, dropping down as quickly as he could and picking up a wounded soldier or two and getting back out of there, wherever "there" was, as fast as he could. Nothing but plexiglass between him and the bullets.

He said he loved flying helicopters then, but that he was never in his life as scared as he was in those few minutes between the time just before he would land and when he was back out of the worst of the fire. He said they were the longest minutes of his life. He called it "dodging a lifetime of bullets," scared to death that one of them had his name on it.

He had a dusty old baseball cap in his hand as we talked. It hung loosely in his hand as he gazed aimlessly out the window. It was from some team that didn't really matter, I'm sure. His eyes were never in the room with us as he calmly and matter-of-factly talked of how men died around him and also of those who came back like him.

You could tell he had memories he wished he didn't have. He said the worst feeling he had from the whole war was that every time he'd lift off the ground he knew that while he was getting out of there, he was leaving other boys behind. He'd fly away, his heart pounding loud in his chest, while the fighting went on below him.

After a long while, he stopped talking and we just sat there, not talking at all. I could see that things were going on inside his mind and I just didn't know what to say. I was dumbstruck by this seemingly now-gentle giant of a man who had been through hell. Truth be told, I didn't think I had a right to say anything at all. After what seemed like the longest time, both of us returned to the present moment. He never spoke about it again.

It's been years now. I don't even remember his name. Probably most of the guys he saved didn't remember it either. I haven't thought of him since then until my older brother sent me a recording he found on the internet, called God's Own Lunatics (click below) that explained what it was like to be one of those foot soldiers on the ground. I clicked on it, listened, and the memory all came back to me.

I recall that he was the son of a local farmer who had gone off to war and came back all grown up - to be his father's son, a farmer again. Something about beating your swords into plows seems appropriate for me to end this note but it also seems so trivial a thing to say. I can still recall his face.
We all owe veterans a whole lot more than any of us will ever be able to repay. If you know someone who served, shake their hand and thank them. You don't need to say why. They'll know.

Ohio Exemptions About to Change again

2011-10-31T20:50:00.000-04:00

If you've been thinking about filing bankruptcy - you're not alone. But there's no reason to rush.

The "exemptions" are about to change and that can mean that it might get easier for you to file. Periodically bankruptcy law requires the "exemption" numbers to be looked at again to see if they are still current with the times. Those are the numbers used to determine the "means test" which is how the court decides if you can file a chapter 7 case (to get rid of your bills) or if you have to file a chapter 13 case (to repay your bills over time under a court-controlled budget).

Well in another week those numbers will be looked at again.

If you are on the edge of making a decision, but you aren't sure if you could qualify for a chapter 7 and avoid the repayment headache of living under the bankruptcy court's control for 3 to 5 years, then maybe you should wait. You can run the "means test" at this website: http://www.legalconsumer.com/ where there is a free online "test" that will answer it for you. Just plug in your answers to a few questions and you can immediately learn whether you can qualify to get rid of your bills.

The LegalConsumer.com website has lots of info and answers to questions and can help you no matter where you live. By typing in your zip code, the means test and other bankruptcy answers will fit your local area.

And if you want help, call us on our Toll Free Bankruptcy Help Hotline at 1.888.331.6422 or our local number at 1.937.432.9500 or email us right now for a free case review.

We are a debt relief agency that helps consumers file bankruptcy so they can get a fresh start, stop the debt collector phone calls, and throw away those bills they can't pay.

We understand and we can help.

Burdge Law Office

www.DaytonBankruptcyHelp.com

We help you start over again

Consumer debtors burying heads in sand, USA Today reports

2011-10-13T10:07:00.000-04:00

At the top of the USA Today Money section in today's paper, and as reported elsewhere in the news, they report that more US consumers are in economic trouble than ever, burying themselves with more debt, but fewer US consumers are trying to find help to start over again. Why?

Poverty has increased. Unemployment is stuck at 9%, more or less.consumers added more debt in the last few months, on top of their already-burdened household debt load, as they struggle to get by.

In spite of that, credit counseling numbers are down, debt repayment planning has dropped, and bankruptcy filings are also down. So why aren't more people getting help with their bills? Two reasons are being talked about.

First, many consumers are struggling and can't afford to pay for counseling or debt repayment plans. It's a matter of paying some bills or turning to bankruptcy - both of which are hard choices in these times. They just don't have the money to do much more than just get by day to day.

Second, a lot of consumers are near to just giving up. They have struggled and tried - and feel helpless from the exhaustion of the fight.

Stop debt collector phone calls

Both of those are reasons to start thinking about bankruptcy more, not less.

Filing bankruptcy can stop debt collector phone calls, lawsuits for bills, debtor examinations from judgments, and seizure of your bank account money or you furniture and other assets. In these hard times, planning is more important than ever. Filing a bankruptcy puts an automatic stop to all collection attempts, lawsuits, threats, garnishments, phone calls and harassment.

And planning bankruptcy right can mean coming out of it without a court judgment that puts a lien on your home too. Burying your head in the sand and ignoring certified mail letters can end up hurting you even more.

For instance, if a credit card company sues and gets a judgment against you - and later you want to file bankruptcy on it, you can wipe out the debt but the judgment can stay on your record. If you file bankruptcy BEFORE they get a judgment, then there is no court judgment on your record when your bankruptcy is over with.

That's just one of the reasons that consumers should be planning carefully in hard times. For more, stop by for a free consultation to see if bankruptcy is the right answer for your debt problem.

Burdge Law Office

http://www.daytonbankruptcyhelp.com/

Helping consumers start over for more than 30 years

You don't always need to file bankruptcy

2011-10-06T21:15:00.000-04:00

Bankruptcy isn't for everyone. True it can help you get debt collectors off your back and stop the dunning notices in the mail, but not every debt can be discharged - or wiped out - in a bankruptcy.

For instance, taxes. Most taxes that are owed are simply owed and you can not wipe them out by filing bankruptcy.

Also, if you don't own anything and don't have a job, there's not likely much practical reason to file bankruptcy. So the credit card company may sue you? Well, if you don't own any real assets, they might get a judgment but they won't have any ability to collect anything anyway - so why should you spend money to file bankruptcy if you don't have assets to protect?

And if you don't have a job, then you don't have any wages that can get garnished anyway.

Not every situation is that easy though. For instance, if you may be coming into an expected inheritance soon but you don't have any right to it now, then you may want to get rid of debts now by filing bankrutpcy to wipe them out.

Each situation is different so don't make any decision without first talking to an attorney who handles bankruptcy cases so you can find out what your rights are and whether or not filing bankruptcy is a good idea for you - or not.

Burdge Law Office

www.DaytonBankruptcyHelp.com

Helping people start over

Free debt review appointments, call 937.432.9500

The Wild Card Exemption under bankruptcy law can help you keep assets

2011-09-27T07:03:00.000-04:00

It can help you

Bankruptcy law in Ohio lets most consumers keep most of their property as a general rule, in spite of rumors to the contrary. There is a schedule of exemptions that lets consumers know the specifics but one of those exemptions is called the Wild Card and can be puzzling.

The idea behind this exemption is that while there is a specific category and value amount assigned to a variety of types of property, which the consumer can exempt from forfeiture in a bankruptcy (which means you get to keep it), sometimes you may own something that either doesn't fit a category or is worth a little more than the max a category allows.

For instance you may own something whose value is $500 or $1,000 above the limit for that type of item and you want to keep it. Perhaps it's a sentimental piece of jewelry or something else. What it may be doesn't matter to the law.

If so, then the wild card can then be used to let you keep that item by exempting its value from forfeiture in the bankruptcy, up to the wild card limit of $1,150. It can come in handy.

If you are puzzled about bankruptcy and whether or not it's right for you, call us for free help at 937.432.9500. Our office is on the south side of Dayton. We are a debt relief organization and we help people understand bankruptcy laws and how they can get rid of debt and get a fresh start.

Burdge Law Office

www.DaytonBankruptcyHelp.com

Getting rid of worry and getting back peace of mind

for Miami Valley consumers since 1978

More people are filing bankrutpcy each year than ever in the last five years

2011-02-08T21:49:00.004-05:00

A sign of the economy still struggling? Consumers are filing bankruptcy more than ever to find help dealing with job losses, rising medical bills, debt collectors, and high interest rate credit card debt and bank loans. You aren't alone.

The American Bankruptcy Institute monitors the number of people who are forced to file bankruptcy each year just to cope with debt collectors and bills that don't stop coming. It turns out that more consumers filed during the last year 2010 than in any other year in the last five years.

Over 770,000 consumer bankruptcies were filed during the first six months of 2010 alone. That's a 14 % increase over the same time a year earlier, according to ABI.

"Years of rising consumer debt and low savings rates, combined with the housing and unemployment crises, are causing bankruptcy levels not seen since the 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano.

2005 is the year that Congress rewrote much of the bankruptcy law, intending to make it harder on consumers who couldn't pay their bills but who were forced with bankruptcy. Instead, thousands more people filed before the 2005 law took effect. And since then the numbers seem to have risen.

Job losses and an economy that still struggles is the cause of many consumer bankruptcy cases, just as medical bills and credit debt also are continuing to cause consumers to juggle bills with everyday living expenses.

If you live in the Dayton, Ohio area and you are considering bankruptcy as an alternative way to cope with your debt and get back on your feet, we can help.

To find out if you should file bankruptcy, take our easy and quick online test by clicking here.

Bankruptcy isn't right for everyone. But if you're drowning in debt that you can't handle, it may be right for you. Call us toll free 1.888.331.6422. In Dayton, call direct at 937.432.9500. Or email us today for a free interview appointment to see if bankruptcy can help you.

Burdge Law Office
www.DaytonBankruptcyHelp.com
We're here to help.

Find the answers to the top ten most often asked questions about bankruptcy.
It's free and it's online. Click here.

Court Cancels Sale of Haunted House

2010-10-28T22:23:00.001-04:00

Let's take a detour today for the perfect story for Halloween. In 1989 Jeffrey Stambovsky bought an old Victorian house on the banks of the Hudson River at the bottom of a dead end street in the Village of Nyack, NY. At first he thought he got a good deal. But he didn't know what the seller knew.

It was haunted.

You can find the court case in a reported decision - 169 A.D.2d 254, 572 N.Y.S.2d 672 is the citation where you can find the case in a lonely law book hidden away on a dusty shelf in the dark damp corners of an empty law library that echoes your footsteps down the hallway as you search among the stacks of musty leather bound volumes no one reads anymore, tucked away in rooms no one dares to enter.

As the court of appeals laced its decision with ghostly references to literature and lore, the court also did something that no other court seems to have ever done - it held that the home was haunted as a matter of law. No if, and or but about it. The poltergeist, it seems, was legally declared to be real. Or was it?

Quipped the judge, "I am moved by the spirit" as he proceeded to declare that "From the perspective of a person in the position of plaintiff herein, a very practical problem arises with respect to the discovery of a paranormal phenomenon: 'Who you gonna' call?' " Of course, we all know the answer to that one.

The buyer had signed an "as is" clause so the seller, Helen Ackley, argued to the court that there was nothing the buyer could do. He certainly couldn't sue her, she said, and the trial court agreed. Apparently the buyer had never asked if the house was haunted so, technically, the seller never really lied or hid it from him. He just didn't discovery it until he moved in. Haunted by the seller's treacherous deceit, the plaintiff appealed.

Like the 3 ghostly apparitions residing in the home, the appellate papers worked their way through the twists and turns of the legal system until they ended up on the desk of Justice Rubin of New York's Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department. Then, on an undoubtedly stormy summer night in 1991, no doubt with a headless horseman effigy hanging from a tree out front in the dark, Justice Smith sided up with Justice Rubin and together they crafted their wiley words that would undo the heartless seller's dirty deed.

No doubt with a straight face, the appellate judges noted the difficulties a buyer would face if the ghostly-burdened seller was allowed to avoid liability by her silence. "The notion that a haunting is a condition which can and should be ascertained upon reasonable inspection of the premises is a hobgoblin which should be exorcised from the body of legal precedent and laid quietly to rest." And so they proceeded.

With citations to the ghost of Hamlet from Shakespeare, joined by Prosser on Torts, and muddied with actual case law to support the fearful logic of it all, Justice Rubin noted the difficulties faced by all home buyers if the seller's "as is" clause allowed her to sweep under the rug the loud proclaiming she had made (both nationally and locally) about her home's regular (and irregular) hauntings, made in the years before this unsuspecting buyer came along.

"Applying the strict rule of caveat emptor to a contract involving a house possessed by poltergeists conjures up visions of a psychic or medium routinely accompanying the structural engineer and Terminix man on an inspection of every home subject to a contract of sale," announced the court of appeals. A normal "subject to inspection" clause might never be the same.

In a written decision that resulted in 17 published points of law [which lawyers call "headnotes", not to be confused with the headless notes of less worthy court decisions, no doubt], the court ruled that since the house was haunted with poltergeists, then the seller did not deliver the premises "vacant" as required by the sales contract. Ahah, with the contract breached, a remedy had to be found.

To that end, the court declared the contract rescinded by the Law of Equity - and with that the seller's ownership of the home arose like a zombie from the grave to haunt her again. And the buyer's purchase was cancelled as the court ghoulisly called the sale "a most unnatural bargain."

So, if this Halloween season you are lured into buying a house without knowing it's haunted, you might want to call the fabled lawyer who got this seller back his money. He went on the become the town attorney for a nearby New York community - presumably where there are no poltergeists.

As for the seller, Helen Ackley, she finally sold the house and moved to Florida in the early 1990's. And just by a curious coincidence, perhaps, just across the river from the haunted house is Tarreytown. Sound familiar? It should. All little children have heard the story. That's where the famed Sleepy Hollow is - the one described by Washington Irving's Halloween tale of the headless horseman, "The Legend of Sleepy Hallow."

Burdge Law Office
http://www.burdgelaw.com/

Helping consumers protect themselves everyday, even from poltergeists.

Special thanks goes out to Nadine, a great friend and source of the case citation above.

The photo above is copyright by Warner Bros. from their 1940's movie "I Walked With a Zombie"

Bankruptcy on the Rise Again

2010-03-04T06:45:00.003-05:00

Stuck with mortgages and credit card rates that are going up, medical bills that insurance companies won't pay, and car loans that are overdue, bankruptcy filings are up 14% last month over the same month a year earlier.

The economy still has not recovered and pesonal finances are harder than ever, many Americans are finding. And 9% more bankruptcies were filed in February than in January 2010.

Oddly, Samuel Gerdano, the American Bankruptcy Institute executive director, is quoted in the March 3 issue of USA Today as blaming it on "years of consumer spending" but we think that misses the mark. People don't file bankruptcy because they want to. They do it because they have to. It isn't "years of consumer spending" that cause bankruptcy, so much as it is a collapsed economy, no jobs, skyrocketing credit card interest rates, Bernie Madoff and other Wall Street thieves, and the bailout that everybody else got but not the average Joe on the Main Street.

It's not the "consumer spending", stupid, it's the tanked economy.

What Washington needs to do is get the economy back up, gets jobs going, and people will be better off. Until then, bankruptcy will continue to be the only place that the average Joe can turn to for relief.

Sometimes, bankruptcy is necessary. When it is, then it's what a person has to do. It's a hard decision to make, but there's no reason to beat people up about it.

Burdge Law Office

www.DaytonBankruptcyHelp.com

Helping people get back on their feet again.

Dealing with Debt

2010-01-13T12:52:00.004-05:00

Here's a short video that explains your rights when it comes to dealing with debt collectors, what they can and can not do, what's legal and what's not. And if they violate the law, just remember that you've got rights and we can help you enforce them. That's part of what we do. Everyday. Since 1978.

Burdge Law Office

http://www.daytonbankruptcyhelp.com/

Helping consumers deal with debt since 1978.

Rep. Mike Turner Tries to Help Homeowners

2009-12-13T11:46:00.004-05:00

We live is some tough times. And some politicians aren't helping any. US Rep. Mike Turner, however, isn't one of those.

Too many policitians vote by party label first and people's needs second. That shows up early in the process too. Such as when they sign on as a sponsor of a bill or amendment. That sponsoring is important because it signals to other members of congress where they stand on an issue.

Maybe that's why Rep. Turner, a republican from Centerville, Ohio, signed on as the only republican as a sponsor of an amendment to help bankruptcy homeowners keep a roof over their heads.

Maybe he did it because he realized the much-ballyhooed government home loan program earlier this year (you know, the one that was supposed to help millions of homeowners modify their mortgages to keep their homes in hard times) had pretty much failed to accomplish anything at all. A good idea, badly implemented, which created lost of paperwork and frustration but accomplished no good. Only about 4% of homeowners whose homes were reworked thru the program have managed to get a permanent modification to save their home from foreclosure, reports USA Today writer Stephanie Armour.

Maybe he heard the defensive clamoring of near countless mortgage companies that said they were still "working on it" while hundreds of thousands of modifications remain tied up with their red tape. Why? Well, after all, lowering interest rates and reducing payments is not going to put any extra money in those mortgage company pockets. And, bottom line, that's what bankers are all about.

George Bailey may have been running his savings & loan to help folks out, but that's just a seasonal movie to be found on television once a year. George Bailey doesn't live on Wall Street.

Maybe Mike Turner did it because he's from one of the hard hit states that have suffered the loss of thousands and thousands of jobs, foreshadowing the foreclosure crisis that always follows on the heels of pink slips being passed out.

Whatever the reason, we say "Good for Mike." He appears to be the first republican to wake up and realize that the ultimate power to modify a mortgage is not to be found in a mortgage company's boardroom. It's to be found in the power of a federal bankruptcy judge.

No one has seen more foreclosures, or the impact they cause, than the judges who sit on the nation's bankruptcy courts every day.

On December 11 Rep. Mike Turner signed on as a sponsor of an amendment to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 that would give federal bankruptcy judges the power to modify mortgage terms on primary residences when the homeowner is in bankruptcy. In doing so, Turner acknowledged reality and, at the same time, necessity.

In the Dayton, Ohio area, Turner noted, it is estimated that some 10,000 housing "units" (let's just call them homes, or at least they used to be) have been abandoned because of the mortgage crisis (let's just call that a mortgage mess, which is what it is).

Ironically, bankruptcy judges already have the power to modify mortgage terms for people's vacation homes (that tells you something about who wrote that law, for sure). This new amendment would give them that power for primary residence homes. It's about time.

Meanwhile, the money-grubbing American Bankers Association came out against the amendment, shouting from the roof tops that the amendment will "impose unforeseeable costs on lenders." Gosh, folks, I just feel so very, very bad for them bankers.

Not surprisingly, another Ohio congressman, Rep John Boehner (looking remarkably well-tanned for someone from wintry cold-weathered Ohio), opposed the amendment. Clearly, while he knows where the tanning parlor is, Boehner's home is not in foreclosure. He just doesn't get it.

Helping banks and mortgage companies will not stop foreclosures. Creating government programs that they don't have to do anything about is not exactly going to keep roofs over the heads of the jobless victims of this economy.

Judges are notoriously conservative and almost always neutral. What's wrong with giving them the power to make a mortgage company accept a little less profit in order to keep another home from being abandoned, boarded up or not?

Abandoned homes are a major cause of crime increases, blight, and reduced home values for everyone. If you doubt that, then just call up the Detroit police chief and ask him.

Rep. Mike Turner has spoken his conscience. It comes from looking around his hometown.

It's too bad a lot of people in Congress don't get that. But then again, it's not their homes (or their neighbors) that are being foreclosed on. If it were, they'd be voting a lot differently.

Burdge Law Office

www.DaytonBankruptcyHelp.com

Helping people find ways to get by. Everyday.

Living in tough times

2009-11-22T21:27:00.003-05:00

Think you live in the state with the worst economy? Think again.

Everyone seems to know that California is in the biggest economic trouble, with an economy in the dumpster, high unemployment, and no easy way to fix any of it. What may surprise many is not California. It’s the other states that are so very close to their own economic abyss.

There’s a new study out that has looked at the economy of all 50 states and ranked them.

The PEW Charitable Trusts has crunched state numbers for more than a decade, with a goal of making state governments stronger in order to improve the services we all get for our tax dollars. Part of that includes reporting on the bad times and, as we all know, we are now in a blockbuster bad time.

They looked at numerous factors to come up with a scorecard for each state: foreclosures, budget gaps, loss of revenue, unemployment, how easy or hard it is for each state to raise its taxes in order to cover shortfalls, etc.

With a “30" score being the worst and a lower score being better, here’s the “top 10" of the worst state economies, in order: California, Arizona, Rhode Island, Michigan, Oregon, Nevada, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa scored the best.

So where does your state fit? Ohio is almost the center of the list while Georgia’s budget gap put it just a hair behind the auto belt states of Michigan-Wisconsin-Illinois by one point.

The worst ten states account for nearly a third of the US population and economy, which is why those states in particular matter to all of us.

What the study shows is just how much farther the US economy has to go, although there are bright spots of how hard some states are trying. Wyoming, for instance, had a 19.7% drop in revenue but managed to come with 2% of balancing its budget.

We’ll all get through this as the economy starts to get better and better, but if history has shown anything, it’ll be a longer road than anyone wants it to be. Bankruptcy may help you get from here to there. If you aren't sure, or if you have questions, call us. Helping people understand bankruptcy is what we do. Since 1978.

Burdge Law Office

www.DaytonBankruptcyHelp.com

Helping people protect themselves everyday. Since 1978.

Can bankrutpcy tie up my tax refund?

2009-10-01T16:31:00.003-04:00

Yes. Bankruptcy may affect your right to receive a tax refund. Waiting could cost you.

If you file bankruptcy after January 1, and you get a tax refund for an overpayment on your withholding during 2009, you could end up having to turn that money over to the bankruptcy court.

If you are thinking of bankruptcy, now may be the best time to get your bankruptcy processed.

Another reason to be careful about timing is that if you have any pending lawsuits or possible judgments these may turn into a garnishment. Only a filed banktupcy filing can stop them from proceeding any further.

If you are considering bankruptcy, find out about your tax refund rights. Plan now to avoid losing money later.

Burdge Law Office

http://www.daytonbankruptcyhelp.com/

Helping people with debt relief since 1978.

Are Dayton Foreclosures Increasing?

2009-07-16T20:23:00.004-04:00

You better believe it. In spite of bank bailouts and Wall Street windfalls, the rate of delinquencies and foreclosures in Dayton are still going up according to the Dayton Daily News recently. Big business may be getting a hand out, but our neighborhoods are still hurting.

Many homeowners are still strapped with high monthly payments after loss of jobs or cutbacks in income. While foreclosures are increasing, sometimes it's because the homeowner just doesn't know what to do.

Contact your lender as soon as you realize that making your next payment is going to be a problem. If they won't help you or negotiate with you on your payment amount or payment schedule, then think next about turning to family and friends for help. If that's not possible, then you may need to think about a chapter 13 repayment plan.

Chapter 13 is one type of bankruptcy that may actually help you out. You can forestall a foreclosure and get time to get your finances in order. With a chapter 13 you can take your mortgage arrearage, the payments you missed, and pay them over time while you get all your other bills under control too.

Bankruptcy can be complex and it may not be the best solution for you. To help you figure it out, call us (937.432.9500) for a free, private, and confidential conference with one of our Dayton bankruptcy attorneys. We're here to help.

Burdge Law Office

http://www.daytonbankruptcyhelp.com/

Helping consumers start fresh, every day.

Where can I find the answers to frequently asked questions about bankruptcy?

Click here.