Category: Uncategorized

There are over 30,000 deaths on U.S. highways each year.   According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, almost 4,000 people die each year from crashes with large trucks.   Many other people are seriously hurt as a result of these accidents. 

The new Department of Transportation Rules are supposed to reduce the average maximum number of hours a driver can work from 82 hours to 70 hours.   However there are several problems with the new Rule. 

The hours driven only include work hours.   In many cases, a driver will go home to eat, clean up, and sleep.   A driver may have to drive a half hour or more, to reach his or her house.   And if additional time is taken to eat and clean up, a driver may not have enough time for a good night’s sleep prior to returning to work. 

Although the rule may be in place, there will continue to be cases where drivers work more than the maximum hours allowed by the law.  

Truckers need places to park their truck, in order to get some shut eye.   Many large tractor trailers have cabins in which a trucker can sleep.   However, if there is no place for a trucker to park, to get some sleep, the trucker in unable to get the necessary rest to drive safely.   Unfortunately, there are areas of the U.S. in which there is a truck parking storage.  

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is designed to protect consumer

debtors against harassment from debt collectors.

 

The Act applies to debt collectors, not to a party who is directly owed the

debt.

 

Furthermore, the act defines consumer debt as related to personal, family

and household transactions.   Therefore, the act does not apply to business

debt.   (Sometimes, it is not clear if a debt is a consumer debt or a business

debt, as in the case of the purchase of a computer).

 

There are common violations of the Act

1. Calling at inappropriate times- between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.
2. Using abusive or profane language
3. Attempting to collect amounts which are not due – excess principal balance, excessive interest charges, excessive fees
4. Debt collectors failing to send debtors an appropriate written notice of the debt, which should legally include the official name of the creditor, the amount of debt owed and a notification that the debtor has the right to dispute the debt in question.
5. Threatening to start a lawsuit when there is no right or no intention to start a lawsuit.   

The collection agency must cease communication upon request:

communicating with consumers in any way (other than litigation) after

receiving written notice that the consumer wishes no further

communication or refuses to pay the alleged debt, with certain exceptions,

including advising that collection efforts are being terminated or that the

collector intends to file a lawsuit or pursue other remedies where

permitted.

In many situations, the collection agency or collection attorney will

stop all collection activity, since it is not economically worthwhile to

proceed with a lawsuit.

In some situations, the creditor will decide to start suit, as this is

the only viable option to collect on a debt.

 

If a consumer is represented by an attorney, and the agency is aware of

the attorney, the collection agency must deal directly with the attorney.

 

A consumer can dispute all or any part of a debt at any time, but only after

a written request sent (by the consumer to the collector)  within thirty

days of receipt of the first written  notice of the debt.   The collector must

then mail the consumer “verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment,

or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such

verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor.”

 

Please feel free to contact Attorney Singer, with any questions.

Attorney Robert M. Singer

2572 Whitney Avenue

Hamden, CT  06518

203-248-8278

rsingerct@yahoo.com

 

COMMUNITY PROPERTY STATE

In community property states, such as California, both parties can be responsible for each other’s debts, even if one party did not open an account with his or her spouse.

Example – a husband opens a credit card debt, and uses the money for household expenses.  The wife may be held liable for the husband’s debt.

NECESSITIES DOCTRINE

In Connecticut, and possibly all states, a spouse is responsible to provide for the necessities of the other spouse, and family   The concept is that each spouse should be assisting and be responsible for the expenses of having a household.

I have seen this doctrine used in Connecticut in situations in which there is an outstanding medical bill.  One spouse signs a form with a hospital agreeing to be responsible for the medical bills related to the care of a child.  The hospital sues both spouses because the medical care was necessary for the care of the minor child, and both spouses should be responsible to pay for the care.

MORTGAGE DEBT

There are three items related to property

1. The deed – which relates to ownership of the property
2. The Promissory Note – which indicates that a person is individually liable for a debt
3. The Mortgage – which provides that a property can be foreclosed in the event that payment is not made as required by the Promissory Note

Each party who signs a Promissory Note is personally liable for the debt associated with a mortgage.

In many cases, as part of a divorce, one spouse transfers over the marital residence to the other spouse (the transferee).   The person giving up the property (the transferor) may mistakenly believe that after the transfer, he or she is no longer responsible for the mortgage payments.   This is a big mistake.   The divorce does not affect the relationship between the borrower and the lender.

Divorce agreements often provide that the transferee (new sole owner of the property) will hold the transferor harmless with regard to the mortgage debt.   The hold harmless clause does not always work well, as the transferee may lose a job or otherwise be unable to pay the mortgage.

Please feel free to contact Attorney Singer, with any questions.

Attorney Robert M. Singer

2572 Whitney Avenue

Hamden, CT  06518

203-248-8278

rsingerct@yahoo.com

In most  cases, Chapter 13 is filed to save a home.   Chapter 13 is used to allow a homeowner to catch up on past due mortgage payments.

Chapter 13 allows for a repayment plan.  The repayment plan provides for the following

1. Payment of the past due mortgage amounts, in a period up to 60 months
2. Regular current payment of the mortgage
3. Payment to the trustee
4. Payment on other debts (this can be from 0% to 100% of the other debt, depending on the type of debt, and disposable income)

Often, the mortgage becomes late (delinquent) because a person loses income, such as from a period of unemployment.

To complete a Chapter 13 plan, a debtor needs to afford to make all regular payments on its normal monthly bills (including a mortgage payment) as well as a Chapter 13 plan payment.

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy can allow a debtor to stop a foreclosure, to allow a debtor to attempt to catch up on mortgage payments.

If you have any questions about Chapter 13 bankruptcy, please feel free to contact Attorney Singer.

Attorney Robert M. Singer

2572 Whitney Avenue

Hamden, CT  06518

203-248-8278

rsingerct@yahoo.com

 

In 2014, Connecticut law was changed to permit a “foreclosure by market sale.” 

Several things to note, the law only applies to

1.         A first mortgage

2.       The mortgage must be on a residential real property for a loan made primarily for personal, family, or household purposes (not made primarily as a commercial loan).

3.       The motion to the court must be made by the mortgagee, who is the owner or the servicer of the loan

4.       The motion is made with the consent of the mortgagor, who is the owner occupant of the property – who must be the owner of the residence located in this state

5.         First mortgage loans in which the amount due, plus liens which are prior in right to the first mortgage (such as real estate taxes) must be greater than the appraised value of the property. 

 

     Not surprisingly, I have never seen this statute used.   In many cases the law will not apply because the value of property is less than the amount of the first mortgage and real estate tax liens. 

In addition, the mortgagor and mortgagee need to agree to the foreclosure by market sale.    Many borrowers do not want to agree to a sale of their home, through the foreclosure process.    Borrowers have the right to sell their home during the foreclosure process, without the need to get approval by the court.  

If you are having problem paying your mortgage, please feel free to contact Attorney Singer at 203-248-8278, or rsingerct@yahoo.com

Attorney Robert M. Singer

Law Offices of Robert M. Singer, LLC

2572 Whitney Avenue

Hamden, CT  06518

203-248-8278

rsingerct@yahoo.com

          Best Buy has a great name.  You can get a best buy on your favorite home appliances and electronics, at an economical price. 

            Buying for the best price alone is a part of binge shopping.  Stores like Best Buy depend on consumers to buy the “latest and greatest” items.  Never forget- there is a cost for having the latest trend.

            There are some rules for buying large consumer items.  First, never buy on a store credit card.  You cannot afford the convenience, due to the high interest rate on the card.  I have looked at the rates on my credit cards, and the store cards are almost always 18% or more, per year. 

            Watch out for “teaser rates” on store credit cards.  The teaser rate is a low rate on a card, which expires after a period of time.  For example, a store allowed customers to purchase goods on a store credit, with 0% interest for one year.  After one year, the rate went up to approximately 18%.   Not only that, if you failed to pay off the credit card balance within the teaser rate period, one year, you were charged the interest from the date of the purchase.  So if you bought an item for $2,000 on January 1 and failed to pay the bill completely before the end of the year, you had to pay interest from January 1 to December 31 for past due interest.  Don’t get caught in the “teaser rate trap.”    

            Watch out for buying the largest item in the store.  I remember the trend to buy large screen flat panel televisions, which cost $5,000 per TV.  If you buy on credit at 20% a year, the interest charges alone are $1,000 per year.  This is a fast purchase toward bankruptcy. 

            All appliances and electronics should be purchased for cash.  The bigger the item, the more important it is to pay cash.  For most household appliances, under $1,000, you need to have a cash reserve to pay for the item.  Only use store credit in an absolute emergency, such as when your refrigerator must be replaced, and you have no cash or other source of credit.

            With electronics and appliances – separate the necessities from the conveniences.   A convenience such a large screen TV does not need to be  bought immediately on credit.   If the refrigerator breaks, you may have no choice  but to use a store credit card.     

            SHOPPING TIP – EXCEPT IN EMERGENCIES, SET A LIMIT ON THE AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU WILL SPEND PRIOR TO ENTERING A STORE.  TYPICALLY THE AMOUNT IS $50 TO $100.   GO LOOK FOR THE ITEM YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE.   REVIEW YOUR CHOICES.   THEN LEAVE THE STORE AND WAIT 7 DAYS.  IF YOU STILL WANT THE ITEM, YOU CAN GO BACK AND PURCHASE IT, WITHOUT BINGE SHOPPING.

If you have too much debt on your credit cards, please feel free to contact Attorney Singer.

 

Attorney Robert M. Singer

Law Offices of Robert M. Singer, LLC

2572 Whitney Avenue

Hamden, CT  06518

203-248-8278

rsingerct@yahoo.com

The statistics for people involved  in accidents who are texting while driving are frightening. 

Approximately 23% of accidents occurred while people were using a cell phone. 

Text messaging can increase the risk of an accident by 22 times. 

Texting causes approximately 1,600,000 accidents per year.

Texting causes approximately 300,000 accidents with injuries.

Texting is the major cause of accidents by teenagers.

Other interesting statistics

     Dialing a cell phone increases the risk of an accident by 280%

    Talking or listening increases the risk of an accident by 130%

     Reaching for a phone increases the risk of an accident by 140%

 

Stay safe and stay off your cell phone or mobile device while driving.   You lose some level of concentration just by talking on the phone while driving, because you are concentrating on the conversation rather than  the road.

If you need to make a phone call, be safe.  Go to the side of the road, and stop to make the call

Attorney Singer would be happy be help you if you have been involved in a motor vehicle

accident with a distracted driver.

 

He can be reached at

Attorney Robert M. Singer

Law Offices of Robert M. Singer, LLC

2572 Whitney Avenue

Hamden, CT  06518

203-248-8278

rsingerct@yahoo.com

 

TFRP is a penalty against any person required to collect, account for, and paver over taxes who willfully fails to perform any of these activities.  See Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) 8.25.1.2.   The penalty is imposed for either wilfull failure to collect tax, or willful failure to account for and pay tax or willful attempt to evade or defeat tax or payment.  ID

            The most common situation encountered for Federal Taxes relates to withholding for employment tax returns for withheld income tax, or social security tax, of employees of a corporation.   IRM  8.25.1.3.1.  

                        Example – Ababa Corporation withholds $100,000 from employees pay, for income and social security taxes.  The President, Joe Ababa, decides to uses the tax money to pay the general bills of Ababa Corporation.   (Note, the trust fund only applies to the money collected, and held in trust for the IRS – the portion of Social Security tax due from the employer is not part of the trust fund).

                        The idea is the following – the Ababa Corporation is withholding its employees money, for social security and employment taxes .  The tax money is really the money of the employees.  The tax money is being held by Ababa Corporation as a trust fund for payment to the Internal Revenue Service.   Joe is improperly taking the employees money, which is due to the Internal Revenue Service.   Joe is a trustee of the trust money.   

            Normally, the corporation is primarily responsible for the taxes.  However, the TFRP allows the IRS to seek collection out of other parties, typically officers and employees of the corporation, who are not primarily liable for the trust fund taxes. 

            The TFRP is assessed against a “responsible person”   in addition to the corporation.   A responsible person is one who “has the duty to perform or the power to direct the act of collecting, accounting for, and paying over the trust fund taxes.”   IRM 8.25.1.4.1.  The most common  persons are officers of a corporations.   However, the IRS may seek to collect from someone who is not an officer – commonly one who handle the books and records, and/or controls the checkbook.  

            Even if a person is responsible, there must be “willfulness, which is “intentional, deliberate, voluntary, and knowing,” with a person who with free will or choice intentionally disregards the law or is plainly indifferent to tis requirements.”   IRM 8.25.1.4.2.   Typically, the IRS is looking for someone who is writing checks, or has the ability to pay the corporate bills, and fails to the pay the trust fund taxes.     

            As the IRS Manual indicates, factors to consider include:

                        Whether the person had knowledge of noncompliance when delinquencies were accruing

                        Whether the person had received prior IRS notices indicating employment taxes had not been paid

                        Whether fraud or deception was used to conceal nonpayment of taxes. 

            The author has seen situations in which a person was held to be a responsible party who willfully failed to pay taxes, where the person had  responsibility for the books and records, was aware of the tax issues, and ignored the tax issues to pay other bills.   

                       

Because of the risk associated with personal liability from the trust fund recovery penalty, anybody associated with a company which fails to pay over taxes to the IRS (or state), should resign immediately.  This is particularly important for someone who has any authority to direct or pay the corporate bills. 

Attorney Robert M. Singer

Law Offices of Robert M. Singer, LLC

2572 Whitney Avenue

Hamden, CT  06518

203-248-8278

rsingerct@yahoo.com

Everyone seems to be getting a call from scammers – claiming that you can get a reduced interest rate on your credit card.

Generally, the calls are coming from India. It has become much cheaper to call overseas, with voice over internet protocol (calls over the internet).

Several things for which to watch:

1.  the call is from an unknown number.  A lot of times the scammers are using a fake number, to make it appear that the phone call is from a local party.
2. the caller has a foreign accent.
3. the caller demands that you provide your credit card information over the phone.

In these situations, it is best to immediately hand up the phone.

I have asked the scammers to provide me with a local phone number and I was provided someone else’s phone number.  I have asked for an address to mail information and the scammer refused to provide an address but continued to demand my credit card information.  I have told the scammer that he has an Indian accent and he hung up.

Further information can be found on the Federal Trade Commission Website @

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0131-credit-card-interest-rate-reduction-scams

If you are having problems with debt, and I can be of further assistance, please feel free to call Attorney Singer.

Attorney Robert M. Singer

Law Offices of Robert M. Singer, LLC

2572 Whitney Avenue

Hamden, CT  06518

203-248-8278

rsingerct@yahoo.com

There has been a lot of news about reverse mortgages.   Some of the news has not been very good.

A reverse mortgage allows a homeowner over the age of 62 to get a loan, against the equity in a house.   The mortgage does not need to be paid off until a borrower sells the house, or dies. 

The advantage of the reverse mortgage is that you get some of the equity out of the house, in the form of cash.   

Unfortunately, there are many disadvantages to a reverse mortgage.   The loan has to be paid back with interest at a later date.  Therefore, if you want to sell your house, you may be surprised at the amount of the loan payoff. 

The loan will require you to continue to pay the taxes, and any other charges which can become a lien on the property, such as water and sewer.    Borrowers have lost their home because they failed to pay the real estate taxes and this was considered a default on the reverse mortgage. 

Unlike a sale in which you get 100% of the sales price after closing costs, with a reverse mortgage you will get far less money.  The lender wants to protect its investment in the reverse mortgage.   Therefore, you may only receive 50% of the value of your residence as proceeds from a reverse mortgage. 

If you later die, the remaining amount of equity in your home may be used to pay off the reverse mortgage interest, which you didn’t pay during your life. 

                        Example – you take out a reverse mortgage at age 65, and receive $100,000

                        If you die at age 82, the mortgage amount due with interest will increase to over $200,000, with a 4.5% interest rate

                       The house will then be sold to pay off the reverse mortgage, with little money left for your children or other close relatives and friends.

 

Many times, it is better to sell property and use the proceeds for living expenses.    Keeping property is expensive, even without a mortgage payment.  And the reverse mortgage may not give someone enough money to keep a property for the rest of his or her life. 

If you are having problems with a reverse mortgage, please feel free to contact Attorney Singer.

Attorney Robert M. Singer

Law Offices of Robert M. Singer, LLC

2572 Whitney Avenue

Hamden, CT  06518

203-248-8278

rsingerct@yahoo.com