Our Legal Blog

Equifax has been in the news quite a bit as of late, but

In the view of some people, estate planning is easy — have an attorney draw up a will, leave what you want to whom you want, and hope for the best. However, there is far more to it than that. Through estate planning, you can achieve many goals. You can give to charity, make arrangements for your care if you become unable to make decisions for yourself, and, perhaps most importantly, make it easier for your loved ones to carry out your wishes after you have passed away.  Here’s how… Power of Attorney One of […]

While there are several reasons for personal bankruptcy, one stands firmly on top of the list: medical bills. A Harvard study in 2007 showed that medical debt was responsible for more than 62 percent of all personal bankruptcies, despite the fact that 78 percent of those who filed had some type of insurance. Health Care Debt The overall number of bankruptcy filings, however, is on a downward trend. According to Yahoo Finance, personal bankruptcy filings dropped from 1,536,799 in 2010 to 770,846 in 2016, a downward turn of nearly 50 percent. One reason is the […]

According to Wells Fargo Investment Institute, earn 20 percent less than the Baby Boomers did at a similar stage in life. Lower incomes are certainly a contributing factor, but there are other possible reasons for the lack of saving behavior among Millennials. Why aren’t Millennials saving? Debt is one major reason for the drop in saving among Millennials. Debt in general, and student loan debt in particular, is a serious drain on Millennial finances. With almost 34 percent of Millennials having at least some student loan debt (and a median balance of $20,000), many members […]

Those annoying automated phone calls that always seems to ring as the food is placed on the dinner table may finally be worth the trouble. According to an article in August run by the Miami Herald, a class-action lawsuit against the marketing firm responsible for those calls has been settled, resulting in a cash settlement for each call. The calls, from Resort Marketing Group, which represents Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, who are also named as defendants in the suit, violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) from July 2009 to March 2014. […]

Many of those who file for bankruptcy protection in Kentucky had warning signs that they were going in the wrong direction financially. They may not have accepted their situation; or they may have hoped that somehow things would turn around. If you’re deep in debt, there’s no harm in having hope as long as you understand the reality of your situation. Getting bankruptcy protection sooner rather than later can shorten the financial trauma you’re living in and give you an opportunity to start over. What are some of the signposts on the road to bankruptcy? […]

In most businesses, whether they be small or large, success can often be attributed to innovative and original ideas and practices. Of necessity, when new employees come on board, they are taught these innovative methods in order to make sure that they can implement them and push forward the best interests of the company. However, while teaching employees these methods is necessary and has its advantages, there is also the potential for a very negative flashback. Purpose of the Contracts If things don’t work out with Company A, there is very little to stop a […]

For small business owners, more often than not their business is their life. Through hard work they have developed a concept and put the effort into making an idea a reality. They have given hours of their time, their efforts and their work. For the businesses that have survived, it is generally because of the efforts of a small group of people determined not to fail. Because of this, they often offer advantages larger corporations cannot: specifically, with personalized customer service and care for their product. Unlike their brethren in larger corporations, small business owners […]

Nearly every person has a love/hate relationship with money — earning it, spending it, having enough of it, etc. Among the most common problems is the sensitive issue of taxes, which is a well-placed resentment because it turns out that taxes are the largest financial burden faced by the public. In fact, Americans will spend more on taxes in 2017 than they will on food, housing, and clothing combined. That means $3.5 trillion will go to federal taxes and $1.6 trillion will go to state and local taxes, which adds up to 31% of the […]

Consumers with liens or civil judgments without proper identifying records got some relief July 1, when the three major credit bureaus — TransUnion, Experian and Equifax – purged their records of that information if it was incompletely filed or had not been updated in the last 90 days. Newer material that doesn’t meet the updated criteria for information will not be added to the report. What this means is that for those with bad marks on their credit scores, their scores may move higher. Everything not Removed This move from the reporting agencies does not […]