Bankruptcy Lawyer, Debt Relief Attorney in Troubling Times
In an ideal world, you would pay all of your debts, and have money left over to save for your children’s education, a home, and your retirement.
But this is not an ideal world. North Carolina, like the rest of the country, is facing the worst economic conditions since the 1930s.
Government figures put unemployment at 10 percent, and underemployment nearly at 10 percent. That translates into nearly 1 in 5 American adults who can’t find enough work to pay bills, let alone save for the future.
Many in Raleigh, Cary, Apex and the Research Triangle are suffering from this economic calamity. All of us have been touched. My wife’s employer went bankrupt in 2008. My mother-in-law’s company recently went through a round of layoffs.
To add insult to injury, credit card companies are raising interest rates to unprecedented levels, making it nearly impossible to pay back large credit card debt. In the past, Americans could work their way out of such a financial jam by refinancing high interest credit card debt through a new mortgage or home equity loan.
But a quarter to a third of American homeowners are “under water” on their mortgages, owing more on the home loan than the home is worth. Refinancing high interest credit card debt by borrowing against equity in your home is virtually impossible these days.
Even for those lucky few who have equity in their homes, banks have tightened lending requirements to such an extent that it is extremely difficult to qualify for a loan.
You never thought you’d be in this situation, where your debt has outpaced your ability to pay it. You’re embarrassed, scared, depressed. To be perfectly honest, virtually no one predicted the meltdown of the financial markets in 2007, leaving you and millions of other Americans in dire straits.
There is help. We represent clients like you, people who borrowed money with the best of intentions to pay it back, but have found that circumstances have changed for the worse. People suffering from sleepless nights, strained marriages, and deep, troubling fears about the future.
Our practice is focused around counseling you about the legal options, including Bankruptcy, available to you to help consolidate your debt, make payments affordable, and get your financial and personal lives back on track.
In addition, we will fully explore other legal avenues available to you. Did you know that debt collectors may be liable to you for damages? The same people calling you at all hours of the day, sending threatening letters may be liable for thousands of dollars in damages, payable to you, for violations of several state and federal laws.
Debt collection agencies pay pennies on the dollar to purchase your debt. In many cases they people like you into paying them.
These companies, however, frequently violate the law by engaging in abusive and harassing practices, and by threatening you, or calling you at work.
In addition, in some cases debt collection agencies have no legitimate claim to the money they claim you owe them. In some cases, they did not legitimately buy the debt they claim they are collecting. In other cases, their record keeping is so bad that they may lack the proof that you owe the debt.
When they do, we document those abuses, and we use them to litigate claims against debt collectors on your behalf.
In addition, we require that creditors and debt collectors prove that they own the debt, and that you owe the debt. Their failure to respond to our demands may stop their legal claims against you in their tracks.
In addition, we use the powerful tools available to you as part of the Bankruptcy process to stop abusive practices, stop the relentless calls, stop the harassment, and get your life back in order.
If you are considering filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, or wonder about debt consolidation options, or are being harassed or bullied by debt collectors, call us for a free consultation at (919) 410-2826 anytime, day or night. You will talk directly to a lawyer about your case, and we will arrange a free consultation at your convenience.
