On behalf of Hassan, Hassan & Tuchman, P.A. posted in Debt Relief on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
With growing consumer debt and high rates of foreclosures, financial literacy is becoming a more and more common subject of discussion, among politicians and educators alike. In an attempt to raise public awareness about financial literacy, the Maryland State Comptroller has made a number of public statements regarding the importance of understanding money and debt.
In an attempt to advance that goal, the state school system has begun providing financial literacy lessons to schoolchildren between third and twelfth grades. The hope among state educators is that teaching children to manage money earlier will protect them from the overwhelming debt that burdens many Maryland residents later in life.
On behalf of Hassan, Hassan & Tuchman, P.A. posted in Personal Bankruptcy on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Maryland students, like students across the United States, are plagued by debt. The cost of tuition compounded by a poor job market can make the management of personal debt seem nearly impossible. One solution many new graduates are looking to for protection is Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, bankruptcy may be more complicated for certain kinds of debt relief.
For example, in Maryland and throughout the country, law students are incurring astronomical debt, especially when the cost of education is compared to graduates' earning power. According to recent data, law students are borrowing on average $106,000 for private schooling and $70,000 for public schooling. Some students report debt as high as $150,000 at a time when fewer jobs are available to pay back school loans.
On behalf of Hassan, Hassan & Tuchman, P.A. posted in Chapter 13 on Monday, February 6, 2012
In a recent report conducted by Karma Credit, Maryland came in third among states with the highest amount of mortgage debt in the country. Ironically, like many other states with large mortgage debt, Maryland is also among the lowest in foreclosure rates nationwide.
In Maryland, homes lost between 7 and 10 percent of their value during the recession. Compared to states like California, where homes lost nearly 30 percent of their value, this statistic may seem fairly good. However, the average per-person mortgage debt is still over $40,000 greater in Maryland. With that said, debt relief options, including Chapter 13 bankruptcy, can help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
On behalf of Hassan, Hassan & Tuchman, P.A. posted in Personal Bankruptcy on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Maryland residents who are seeking debt relief will be glad to hear that, even in this challenging economy, there is some good news to report: credit card debt declined by 11 percent nationally in 2011. But there's bad news, too: credit scores also fell. But taken as a whole, financial experts believe that the news is primarily positive. Despite the dip in individual credit scores in Maryland and across the entire U.S., consumers have reduced their personal debt -- and that is definitely seen as a good thing.
The reduction in credit card debt occurred despite an end-of-the-year slow down in debt repayment. In December, only nine states saw consumer debt reduced from what it was in November. In six of the nine states that saw reductions, the debt was reduced by less than one percentage point, which is not entirely surprising considering it was the holiday season.
On behalf of Hassan, Hassan & Tuchman, P.A. posted in Chapter 7 on Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Over the past few years, as the U.S. economy has declined and personal incomes have fallen, the number of people who live in poverty has increased. According to recently released U.S. Census Bureau data, more than 15 percent of Americans were living below the poverty line in 2010. That's the highest percentage in almost two decades, but it may not come as a surprise to people in the Baltimore area considering personal bankruptcy.
Maryland is a state of stark of contrasts when one looks at poverty level rates. The city of Baltimore has the highest rate in the state at 24.7 percent, while residents just west of the city, in Howard County, have the lowest poverty rate at just 5.2 percent. Montgomery County is at 7.5 percent, exactly half the national average.
On behalf of Hassan, Hassan & Tuchman, P.A. posted in Debt Relief on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Many Maryland residents are familiar with automatic payments, a tool used by lenders and creditors where payments are automatically deducted directly from a person's bank account. Generally, the majority of these automatic deductions are for monthly payments of things like home mortgages. In addition, an automated debt payment agreement may have been set up between you and a creditor as part of a debt relief agreement.
Automatic payments can indeed be very helpful and easy to use, but if you are not careful or don't fully understand the agreement that you signed, it could end up causing you more grief than convenience.
On behalf of Hassan, Hassan & Tuchman, P.A. posted in Personal Bankruptcy on Thursday, January 12, 2012
With the recent appointment of Richard Cordray to the position of director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the agency now has the full authority to use the powers bestowed upon it by Congress. It was not until a director was appointed that the agency, which had been operating since July 2010, could utilize the full depth of its authority.
For Baltimore residents concerned with debt relief, the primary function of this new agency is to serve as a national agency for consumer protection and to aid in the elimination of creditor harassment. The type of companies the agency will be monitoring include banks, credit lenders, securities firms, debt collectors, mortgage servicing companies and other financial companies.
On behalf of Hassan, Hassan & Tuchman, P.A. posted in Credit Card Debt on Friday, January 6, 2012
When your finances are in dire straits, filing for personal bankruptcy can be your best option. The idea in doing so is to alleviate your poor financial situation, whether it is because of credit card debt, unpaid loans or simple mismanagement, by converting non-exempt assets to cash to pay whatever you can to your creditors.
Filing personal bankruptcy is supposed to stop anyone from trying to collect anything beyond the agreed upon debt owed according to the provisions of the bankruptcy court's order. But according to several lawsuits filed against Capital One, that might not have been the case.
On behalf of Hassan, Hassan & Tuchman, P.A. posted in Personal Bankruptcy on Thursday, December 29, 2011
Lessons learned early in a child's life can hold immense value later on. This holds especially true when it comes to personal finance and Maryland parents and kids alike can take steps to cultivate good personal finance habits for use in the future.
There are a lot of different factors that can lead to financial problems. Consumer credit card debt, unexpected medical expenses, and unemployment can lead to endless calls from bill collectors and possibly the need to file for bankruptcy. In the opinion of one now-successful businessman who struggled with debt early in life, teaching proper habits regarding money management should start early and continue through adulthood.
On behalf of Hassan, Hassan & Tuchman, P.A. posted in Debt Relief on Thursday, December 22, 2011
Almost everyone has debt. These days, it is a way of life. Sometimes in life, bad things happen to good people. These bad things can put people in situations they cannot control. As a result, sometimes people have a hard time paying back their debt. However, there is always help available, and bankruptcy can potentially lead to debt relief.
Yet, having a hard time paying off debt does not make someone a criminal or a bad person. It also does not mean that debt collectors can harass you either. Maryland residents can benefit from learning how to get relief from their debt and to stop creditor harassment. As reported in The Frederick News-Post, more than 3,000 Maryland consumers made complaints about abusive debt collection practices in the past three years.
