A common question that people considering bankruptcy have, is what will happen if they don’t pay back their debt. There is a time frame limiting the ability of a creditor to pursue the collection of a debt. That time frame is in between the time of default and the expiration of the statute of limitations.

After plenty of phone calls and threatening letters, your creditor will have to go to court and obtain a judgment against you. A judgment is simply the official decision of a court at the completion of a lawsuit. If in favor of your creditor, it can be thought of as a court order to pay your debt.

The first step to obtaining a judgment is filing a lawsuit. If a creditor has filed a lawsuit, you will receive notice. It is a legal requirement that you are served with paperwork notifying you of the hearing time and location. This is commonly known as a “summons”.

In the hearing, the judge will decide if the creditor should be allowed to collect the debt. If the debtor fails to appear, the judge has no choice but to decide in favor of the creditor and a default judgment will be issued against you.

If the court rules in favor of the creditor, the creditor then has the right to pursue collection of the debt in question. At this point, the creditor will most likely attempt to collect the debt from you voluntarily. If you do not voluntarily pay back your debt, the creditor will proceed with collecting the debt through other means. This could include requesting a wage garnishment, a levy on the debtor’s bank accounts, and/or a lien on the debtor’s property.

One thing to remember is that this takes time. The time period from your initial summons to collection of debt, is normally several months. All current and future actions by creditors to collect debt will cease immediately once your bankruptcy petition is filed. While I do not recommend waiting until the very last minute to file, you have the time to make an educated decision about your current financial situation, and what you want your future situation to look like.

Many experts believe that we may be headed for another recession. Don’t enter a second recession with piles of debts. I can counsel you on your debts. I am sure that I can be of assistance to you, a family member or a friend as we all know someone experiencing trouble these days even if we are not experiencing our own financial troubles. Please do not hesitate to make contact with me. I emphasize courteous and discrete consultations packed with plenty of information. The life impact of meeting with me in person will be unforgettable. You will enjoy a new peace of mind and a fresh hope for the future with a new roadmap for financial success that we develop together. You can email my scheduler through our website for your free 30 minute consultation at www.washingtonbankruptcy.com or e-mail directly at [email protected]. To schedule immediately, we can be reached at 253-383-1001 M-Th 9am-5:45pm and Friday 9am – 12pm.

We’ve all heard clients complain about the pre-filing credit counseling requirement and ask why they have to jump through this hoop when they know they’re going to end up filing for bankruptcy anyway. In many cases, we may be inclined to agree: a client facing foreclosure or repossession is in a hurry, and we know that there aren’t any other realistic options on the table.

However, a new study released by the University of Illinois Department of Agriculture and Consumer Economics and MMI, suggests that the credit counseling requirement does benefit those bankruptcy debtors after the fact. The study sought to measure two general areas: change in knowledge and change in behavior.

The educational value, based on pre-test and post-test scores, seems clear: the average score jumped from 77.1% to 85.9%. And an overwhelming percentage of participants surveyed reported that they felt more knowledgeable about their options and more confident in their ability to make financial decisions after the credit counseling briefing.

The other conclusion drawn by researchers–that credit counseling impacts future behavior–is less clear. That conclusion rests on participant reactions to a list of financial behaviors pre- and post-counseling. However, the pre-briefing questions related to actual current behavior, whereas the post-briefing survey asked which behaviors participants plannedto implement. Good intentions being what they are, we’ll need to see some data on actual post-briefing behavior before drawing any firm conclusions on that point.

Many experts believe that we may be headed for another recession. Don’t enter a second recession with piles of debts. I can counsel you on your debts. I am sure that I can be of assistance to you, a family member or a friend as we all know someone experiencing trouble these days even if we are not experiencing our own financial troubles. Please do not hesitate to make contact with me. I emphasize courteous and discrete consultations packed with plenty of information. The life impact of meeting with me in person will be unforgettable. You will enjoy a new peace of mind and a fresh hope for the future with a new roadmap for financial success that we develop together. You can email my scheduler through our website for your free 30 minute consultation at www.washingtonbankruptcy.com or e-mail directly at [email protected]. To schedule immediately, we can be reached at 253-383-1001 M-Th 9am-5:45pm and Friday 9am – 12pm.

I am proud of my longstanding membership in NACBA. As most consumer bankruptcy attorneys are solo or small firm practitioners, NACBA forums and Members Only Workshops give us a location to learn new materials, trends and tactics, and give us a refuge and available community of like-minded, caring professionals. This is crucial to professional advancement, avoiding professional isolation and aids much in problem solving for our clients.

NACBA is crucial. Failing to join and participate in NACBA is foolish and short sighted, in my opinion.

So, it is with great pleasure that I announce…….the following…….!!!!!

BIG NEWS! I am off to Colorado Springs to attend the prestigious (and awesome!) Members Only Workshop of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys October 27-29th, 2011.

Last October 2010, I attended the same annual three day workshop in Puerto Rico and was humbled and energized by the quality of people I met there. NACBA (of which I am a proud member) is a group of attorneys; NACBA really care about the practice of bankruptcy. NACBA members have an overwhelming compassion for the suffering and hardships of individuals and families that find themselves in a bankruptcy situation.

The NACBA Members Only Workshop education is top-notch! Few other local lawyers calling themselves bankruptcy attorneys bother to join NACBA….and even fewer attend the Members Only Workshops. In 2010, only four attorneys from the entirety of Washington state bothered to travel to Puerto Rico for the incredible October 2010 Members Only Workshop educational opportunity. Failing to attend at least one Members Only Workshop per year is a huge mistake. NACBA schools lawyers on the present practice and the future trends in representing people in federal bankruptcy court. Those attorneys calling themselves bankruptcy attorneys who do not participate in NACBA Members Only Workshop education offer only dated and dangerous information and technology …. Practicing bankruptcy law without the guidance and assistance of NACBA Members Only Workshops may be like driving around at night, in the fog, without bothering to turn on the headlights. Just a bit dangerous, you think?

Demand the best….demand that your bankruptcy attorney be an active and current member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys NACBA and that he/she attend at least one NACBA Workshop event per year.

Upon my return from NACBA Colorado Springs, I will write you a compelling email newsletter and some blog posts (see www.washingtonbankruptcy.com or www.jameshmagee.info for blog access) introducing you to some of the exciting new technology and information that I learned at the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys’ – Members Only Annual Workshop. I can hardly wait to share these new developments with you! Chat with you in November!

Very truly yours, James H. MaGee, attorney

Many experts believe that we may be headed for another recession. Don’t enter a second recession with piles of debts. I can counsel you on your debts. I am sure that I can be of assistance to you, a family member or a friend as we all know someone experiencing trouble these days even if we are not experiencing our own financial troubles. Please do not hesitate to make contact with me. I emphasize courteous and discrete consultations packed with plenty of information. The life impact of meeting with me in person will be unforgettable. You will enjoy a new peace of mind and a fresh hope for the future with a new roadmap for financial success that we develop together. You can email my scheduler through our website for your free 30 minute consultation at www.washingtonbankruptcy.com or e-mail directly at [email protected]. To schedule immediately, we can be reached at 253-383-1001 M-Th 9am-5:45pm and Friday 9am – 12pm.

Retailers are meeting the challenge of "credit contraction" and consumer conservatism by reviving the lost art of consumer layaway.

What is causing the recent revival in layaway programs? How do layaway programs work and operate? Who is offering layaway programs? Should I use retail layaway programs? What other valuable lessons and benefits are offered by layaway programs?

The holiday hangover. Consumer aversion to the dreaded "holiday hangover" of large post-Christmas season credit card bills is one explanation offered by retail industry watchers for the explosive growth and revival of retail store layaway programs. For an anthology of collected media stories about the growth in layaway programs, visit www.layaway.com/company/media_relations.com.

Economic uncertainty. Another reason given is the uncertainty of employment and income perceived by many consumers. Shortly put, it is usually relatively painless to step out of a retail layaway commitment at the last minute….and purchase something more modest priced than the item originally placed on layaway.

Benefits of delayed purchase. Worried about the possibility of receiving a December layoff notice? Better to have that bigger ticket gift on layaway until the last possible minute – retreiving and paying for the item on December 23rd. If the layoff notice comes on December 22nd, then you can simply decline to complete the transaction….with little or no penalty.

Credit contraction. Were your credit card maximum allowable balances (credit limits) reduced so you no longer have "room" on your credit card balance to fit in the purchase? No problem…just place the item on layaway.

(Note: I do not recommend carrying a balance month to month on a credit card. I recommend timely payment of the full balance each and every month so as to avoid finance charges).

To my present knowledge, Sears, Walmart, Best Buy, Toys-R-Us, Marshalls, Burlington Coat Factory, T.J Maxx and KMart all offer layaway. Kohls offers a 3 day hold, but no layaway as of my latest internet inquiry. JC Penny may offer layaway at some locations. I don’t think Macy’s has a widespread layaway program, and I can’t find any indication that Nordstroms has a layaway program. (FYI, most of this information came from an online article, dated Sept. 28, 2011, at www.Bizmology.com.)

Interestingly, Walmart had scrapped its layaway program in 2006, yet revived it just a few years later, as reported October 13, 2011 in the NY Times, page B7 "Wal-Mart Sales Improve at its US Stores" by Andrew Martin.

So to answer the balance of questions about layaway:

Yes, I would recommend investigating layaway programs, but of course read the ayaway agreement fine print ahead of time to ensure there are no costs, fees or payment forfeitures for failing to complete the transaction.

No, I would not recommend layaway if the sole reason for doing so is to because you are already maxed out on other credit cards. Use layaway as a tool to minimize or avoid finance charges and do not use it as a desperate substitute for lack of available credit limit when other cards and accounts are maxed out.

Yes, I would teach your children about layaway. Financial literacy is a valuable lesson…almost as beneficial as the lesson in delayed gratification and financial discipline encouraged by the "save for it" nature of the venerable layaway program.

Happy shopping…and even if it is a bit early….Happy Holidays!

Many experts believe that we may be headed for another recession. Don’t enter a second recession with piles of debts. I can counsel you on your debts. I am sure that I can be of assistance to you, a family member or a friend as we all know someone experiencing trouble these days even if we are not experiencing our own financial troubles. Please do not hesitate to make contact with me. I emphasize courteous and discrete consultations packed with plenty of information. The life impact of meeting with me in person will be unforgettable. You will enjoy a new peace of mind and a fresh hope for the future with a new roadmap for financial success that we develop together. You can email my scheduler through our website for your free 30 minute consultation at www.washingtonbankruptcy.com or e-mail directly at [email protected]. To schedule immediately, we can be reached at 253-383-1001 M-Th 9am-5:45pm and Friday 9am – 12pm.

Last Week it was reported that 30-year mortgage rates decreased the lowest this rate has ever been. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is now at 3.94%, and could continue to drop now that the Federal Reserve plans to try and lower long-term rates. For those who qualify, now is the time to refinance or buy.

The week before last, the average rate for a 30-year mortgage had fallen to 4.01%, the previous record low. Rate have been hitting record lows for more than a year now, but have not helped in increasing overall home sales. Even with this downward trend, many people don’t have the money, or the equity, to buy or refinance, and the one’s that do, are reluctant to take the financial risks involved with buying a new home in this economy. That being said, many homeowners with good, stable jobs have refinanced over the past year, saving them money on mortgage payments, giving them more financial freedom.

It has been shown that a drop in mortgage rates can help boost a sinking economy, by increasing home sales and lowering interest payments, but this past year has been amongst the worst for home sales in the last 14 years. High unemployment, low wages, and heavy debt loads, have kept people from buying or refinancing. Don’t let this be you. Consider bankruptcy to minimize your debt, and give you more financial security.

Many experts believe that we may be headed for another recession. Don’t enter a second recession with piles of debts. I can counsel you on your debts. I am sure that I can be of assistance to you, a family member or a friend as we all know someone experiencing trouble these days even if we are not experiencing our own financial troubles. Please do not hesitate to make contact with me. I emphasize courteous and discrete consultations packed with plenty of information. The life impact of meeting with me in person will be unforgettable. You will enjoy a new peace of mind and a fresh hope for the future with a new roadmap for financial success that we develop together. You can email my scheduler through our website for your free 30 minute consultation at www.washingtonbankruptcy.com or e-mail directly at [email protected]. To schedule immediately, we can be reached at 253-383-1001 M-Th 9am-5:45pm and Friday 9am – 12pm.

Due to inflation, consumer prices have increased dramatically over the past 12 months. People are being forced to spend more money on everyday necessities. At the same time, increasingly more people have had their budgets limited due to pay cuts, or even unemployment.

Typically, inflation is healthy for an economy. It encourages consumer spending and investing, instead of people “sitting on their cash”. More spending means more money business revenue. This revenue allows for corporate growth, creating more jobs. However, inflationary pressures during a depressed job market, is actually hurting the economy that only started to barely grow during the first half of this year.

According to the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index, consumer prices rose .4 percent this past month. Core prices for basic necessities like food, clothing, and energy, have increased .2 percent. However, that is nothing compared to the 12-month view of the price index ending in August. Core consumer prices have increased an entire 2 percent, the biggest year-over-year increase in the past three years.

When prices rise due to inflation, consumers cut back on big expenditures. A decline in consumer demand forces businesses to scale back. This causes them to hire less and lay off more employees. In August, the economy added zero net jobs to the current market.

Currently, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits has reached the highest amount it has in three months. Applications have also increased in three out of the four past weeks, showing that this trend may only get worse.

The current national unemployment rate is 9.1 percent. It has been above 9 percent for all but two months since May of 2009. The four week average was 419,500 applications. The applications need to fall below 375,000, indicating a rise in hiring, in order to lower the unemployment rate.

To answer your question more directly, some experts don’t expect to see prices increase significantly further. This is due to the fact that businesses are not hiring or giving out big pay increases. That being said, spikes in consumer prices have cut into consumer’s disposable monthly income, limiting their spending ability. With consumers trying to cut costs everywhere they go, business revenue is being cut in turn.

If businesses can’t bring in money, more layoffs will take place, and more layoffs will mean even less consumer spending. Mark Zandi, from Moody’s Analytics, sums it up quite nicely by saying, “unless spirits improve soon, businesses will ramp up layoffs, consumers will pull back, and the economy will fall back into a recession.”

With prices potentially continuing to increase, consumers will have less money to spend on everyday items, while trying to juggle their debt loads at the same time.

Don’t enter a second recession with piles of debts. I can counsel you on your debts. I am sure that I can be of assistance to you, a family member or a friend as we all know someone experiencing trouble these days even if we are not experiencing our own financial troubles. Please do not hesitate to make contact with me. I emphasize courteous and discrete consultations packed with plenty of information. The life impact of meeting with me in person will be unforgettable. You will enjoy a new peace of mind and a fresh hope for the future with a new roadmap for financial success that we develop together. You can email my scheduler through our website for your free 30 minute consultation at www.washingtonbankruptcy.com or e-mail directly at [email protected]. To schedule immediately, we can be reached at 253-383-1001 M-Th 9am-5:45pm and Friday 9am – 12pm.

An article published in KOMO News, reported that the percentage of homeowners who have missed at least one mortgage payment has increased yet again. This is the second straight quarter in which this percentage has risen, as stated by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Officials at the trade group believe the sluggish economy may be to blame, as more and more people become increasingly distressed over financial obligations.

In a news release, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s chief economist, Jay Brinkmann, said, “It is clear that the downward trend we saw through most of 2010 has stopped.”

As of June 30, the second-quarter delinquency rate of homeowners missing at least one payment increased to 8.44 percent of all U.S. mortgages on one- to four-unit residential properties. That is up from 8.32 percent on March 31, 2011 and 8.25 percent on Dec 31, 2010.

Even though the delinquency rate has increased, long-term delinquencies – those with three or more missed payments – are declining. Additionally, the percentage of homes on which foreclosure proceedings began during the quarter was 0.96 percent, which is slightly down from the first quarter of this year.

To get back to your question, the answer is yes. There are many Americans out there that are struggling to make their mortgage payments. Banks and other lenders are beginning to respond to this by starting to make it somewhat easier to refinance or set up payment plans, but as I have reported in a previous posting, some homeowners will not be able to qualify for loan re-modifications. Instead, these homeowners will have to try and figure out other means to come up with their payment.

If you are having trouble with paying your mortgage, consider bankruptcy. Nothing is worse than losing your home to a foreclosure.

Many experts believe that we may be headed for another recession. Don’t enter a second recession with piles of debts. I can counsel you on your debts. I am sure that I can be of assistance to you, a family member or a friend as we all know someone experiencing trouble these days even if we are not experiencing our own financial troubles. Please do not hesitate to make contact with me. I emphasize courteous and discrete consultations packed with plenty of information. The life impact of meeting with me in person will be unforgettable. You will enjoy a new peace of mind and a fresh hope for the future with a new roadmap for financial success that we develop together. You can email my scheduler through our website for your free 30 minute consultation at www.washingtonbankruptcy.com or e-mail directly at [email protected]. To schedule immediately, we can be reached at 253-383-1001 M-Th 9am-5:45pm and Friday 9am – 12pm.

It is difficult to figure out who is the "best" from what information is available. But one point of comparison is to see who expends the most money and time on continuing education seminars and training. By this measure, I think that I, James H. MaGee, measure up better than other local competitors. I spend a lot of time educating myself for the benefit of my clients. Last year, I attended the two leading national level multi-day bankruptcy seminars given by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and also the American Bankruptcy Institute.

These seminars are E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E! I spent ALOT of money to go to Puerto Rico for NACBA and Scottsdale, Arizona for ABI. But I came back with a WHOLE NEW UNDERSTANDING of many important and cutting edge areas of the practice of bankruptcy law. Only one local Tacoma attorney bothered to attend the NACBA seminar, and there were NO local attorneys at the ABI seminar. The others just don’t seem to care about staying current with new developments and techniques in bankruptcy law practice.

Other less successful attorneys may try to save a buck and not attend these very important NACBA and ABI events, but I dig deep for my clients and spend my own hard earned dollars to refresh myself with the best in cutting edge bankruptcy law strategies and practice management information.

As I said before, nobody, and I mean NOBODY in this local area (except me) attended BOTH the 2010 NACBA and ABI conferences. In October 2011 I am attending the NACBA conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and I am working to clear my schedule for the December 2011 ABI conference in Indian Springs, California. So I will be doing "double headers" two years in a row…and in this regard I have no equal.

If taking the precious time and expending my hard earned funds to attend the best national level bankruptcy education seminars makes you feel more comfortable and safe in working with my office, then my substantial investment in this knowledge and education was well spent!

I look forward to serving your needs!

Many experts believe that we may be headed for another recession. Don’t enter a second recession with piles of debts. I can counsel you on your debts. I am sure that I can be of assistance to you, a family member or a friend as we all know someone experiencing trouble these days even if we are not experiencing our own financial troubles. Please do not hesitate to make contact with me. I emphasize courteous and discrete consultations packed with plenty of information. The life impact of meeting with me in person will be unforgettable. You will enjoy a new peace of mind and a fresh hope for the future with a new roadmap for financial success that we develop together. You can email my scheduler through our website for your free 30 minute consultation at www.washingtonbankruptcy.com or e-mail directly at [email protected]. To schedule immediately, we can be reached at 253-383-1001 M-Th 9am-5:45pm and Friday 9am – 12pm.

To date, a joint petition has been “reserved” only for a heterosexual married couple.

This following news tip I just received could radically change my practice. From time to time I have the privilege of being asked to help same gender couples with financial problems. It is interesting to see whether I will be able to file joint chapter 13 and chapter 7 petitions for a same gender couple household. I don’t yet know how it will work out in practice, but following the Obama administration’s announcement that it will no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, the Department of Justice announced it is dropping its opposition to joint bankruptcy petitions filed by same-sex couples. In a recent petition filed in California, the Bankruptcy Court held DOMA unconstitutional. Twenty of the district=s twenty-four judges signed off on the decision. This could be a mixed blessing for same-gender couples, though. In a same gender couple household where both people have a significant income, a joint petition might be disadvantageous and “disqualify” them from the otherwise advantageous position enjoyed when not allowed to file together as a couple. If one thing is for sure, it seems that I am always dealing with some new challenge or uncertainty in my bankruptcy practice. That is why I am a proud member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and also the American Bankruptcy Institute. This is where I enjoy the receipt of a lot of my “material” that I use to innovatively help people through a difficult economic period in life.

So, perhaps not right now, but yes, some day perhaps quite soon a same gender couple may file bankruptcy together. I am not sure I want to be the first guinea pig filling the first case in this district, but once there is something out there in the way of a roadmap, I am inclined to be an early filer of the first few joint petitions.

Many experts believe that we may be headed for another recession. Don’t enter a second recession with piles of debts. I can counsel you on your debts. I am sure that I can be of assistance to you, a family member or a friend as we all know someone experiencing trouble these days even if we are not experiencing our own financial troubles. Please do not hesitate to make contact with me. I emphasize courteous and discrete consultations packed with plenty of information. The life impact of meeting with me in person will be unforgettable. You will enjoy a new peace of mind and a fresh hope for the future with a new roadmap for financial success that we develop together. You can email my scheduler through our website for your free 30 minute consultation at www.washingtonbankruptcy.com or e-mail directly at [email protected]. To schedule immediately, we can be reached at 253-383-1001 M-Th 9am-5:45pm and Friday 9am – 12pm.

As we have seen, the recession along with social changes have made a "household" look much different than it did in the day of June and Ward Cleaver in the 1960s TV show "Leave it to Beaver". As a bankruptcy lawyer with sometimes 20 appointments in a day, I see it all: I have divorced couples reuniting in the same household in economic (nonromantic) relationships, friends residing together, "friends with benefits" residing together, roommates of economic necessity, committed same gender couples and even adult brother/sister combos living together. This is in addition to the living-at-home-with-mom individual and the mom-moving-in-with-child commonplace scenario. And of course there are the split/shared custody arrangements and the blended family arrangements all so common today! These "non-Cleavers" wonder if they can find protection from their debts under the bankruptcy code.

The bankruptcy forms qualify someone based upon "household size", so it is important for a lawyer to carefully figure out who resides in the household, and who does not. I spend much time figuring out how to best and most strategically organize a household to take full benefit of the difficulties, and benefits, posed by this standard of "household size". It is important that a lawyer like me not be sloppy about household size. About one in 250 bankruptcy cases is audited by the government for accuracy and completeness. Believe me, you do not want to get caught having reported a household size of six in your bankruptcy case when really only two or three people reside in the house. To date, there are not too many hard and fast rules in establishing "household size", but an experienced and appropriately conservative lawyer should be able to steer you clear of the more obvious mistakes and errors in helping you to determine your "household size", even in a "non-traditional" household wherein the people who live there do not exactly match the "Leave it to Beaver" nuclear family of mom, pop and two teenagers attending school full time.

In plain, no matter what your family dynamic is, I will be able to help you and your family, relieve and minimize your debt.

Many experts believe that we may be headed for another recession. Don’t enter a second recession with piles of debts. I can counsel you on your debts. I am sure that I can be of assistance to you, a family member or a friend as we all know someone experiencing trouble these days even if we are not experiencing our own financial troubles. Please do not hesitate to make contact with me. I emphasize courteous and discrete consultations packed with plenty of information. The life impact of meeting with me in person will be unforgettable. You will enjoy a new peace of mind and a fresh hope for the future with a new roadmap for financial success that we develop together. You can email my scheduler through our website for your free 30 minute consultation at www.washingtonbankruptcy.com or e-mail directly at [email protected]. To schedule immediately, we can be reached at 253-383-1001 M-Th 9am-5:45pm and Friday 9am – 12pm.