Damon Duncan

Can I Collect Workers’ Compensation If I Get Injured In the Parking Lot Of My Employer?

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Generally speaking, it may be difficult to receive a workers’ compensation benefits if you are injured in your employer’s parking lot. However, there are some exceptions. There are several conditions that must be met for you to receive workers’ compensation benefits for an injury that occurred in your employer’s parking lot. If you are injured during the … Read more

Can I Collect Workers’ Compensation Benefits If I’m Injured On the Way To Or From Work?

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Generally, injuries sustained going to and from work are not compensable as a workers’ compensation injury.  However, there are a few exceptions to this general rule. The following is a list of injuries that may be compensable under workers’ compensation. First, if the injury occurred on the premises of the employer as the employee is … Read more

What Is Considered A Transfer For Bankruptcy Purposes?

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If you are filing bankruptcy then a portion of your bankruptcy petition called the Statement of Financial Affairs asks if you have made any transfers. Section 10 of the Statement of Financial Affairs requires you to, “list all other property, other than property transferred in the ordinary course of the business or financial affairs of … Read more

How Do I Know If There Is A Lawsuit Or Judgment Against Me?

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We get this question often!  The answer for the most part is quite simple.  If you have been sued, unless you have changed your address and have not updated it through the post office, you likely have received notices that were being sued.  To understand the process of a lawsuit better, check out the blog post we wrote about whether bankruptcy can help you if you have a judgment.

Young Family Sitting in Front of House

Should you be a person who has moved and slipped through the cracks, finding out if judgments are against you is still a quite simple matter.  You will need to go to the Clerk of Court for the county that you are (or in the case of moving, were in) and have them do a judgment search on you.  They can pull up the person/creditor who sued you, date it was entered into the court system, amount you owed at the time of the lawsuit, what the daily interest is and the amount you currently owe.  For example, if you lived in Union County, North Carolina for the past 9 years and you just now moved to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina,  your judgments are likely still registered in Union County. Therefore you will need to check there first. (But checking in your current county of residence isn’t going to hurt anything either!)

From that point, you will need to determine if the suit has attached to any real property you may own.  For example, let’s say for our purposes, you have lived in Mecklenburg County for the past 10 years and never moved, you own your home by yourself and there is a judgment against you.  Once that judgment is placed against you, it will automatically attach itself to your home.  If you have previously been sued , you will need to discuss that with your attorney to make sure the proper steps are taken to remove that judgment from your credit, especially if there is a lien involved.

If you have a lawsuit or judgment against you then you may want to contact a Charlotte bankruptcy lawyer, Greensboro bankruptcy attorney or Winston-Salem bankruptcy lawyer to learn more about your rights.

Must I Get the Court’s Permission To Settle A Workers’ Comp or Personal Injury Claim While In Bankruptcy?

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If you have filed or will be filing a workers’ compensation or personal injury claim, be sure to tell your bankruptcy attorney so your potential settlement can be listed and protected in the bankruptcy.  If it is not listed and protected in your bankruptcy, you could lose the money received in the settlement.

Workers' Compensation Doctor looking at x-ray

If you have lived in North Carolina for at least two consecutive years, North Carolina General Statutes allow the settlement, regardless of the dollar amount received, to be protected in bankruptcy.  If you are required to use exemptions from another state or federal exemptions because you have not met the residency requirement as outlined in the bankruptcy code, you may not be able to fully protect the settlement in bankruptcy.  The exemptions vary by state, therefore, it is very important to discuss the potential settlement with your bankruptcy attorney before filing bankruptcy.

If you are in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, it is necessary for you to work with your bankruptcy attorney to obtain the bankruptcy court’s permission to settle your workers’ compensation or personal injury case.  This is necessary even when you listed the potential settlement on your original bankruptcy filing.  By filing the motion and obtaining an order from the bankruptcy court to settle the claim, the total settlement is protected from the bankruptcy Trustee and your creditors assuming you are able to use North Carolina exemptions.  Therefore, the settlement is yours to assist you and your family with living expenses or to cover future medical expenses you may incur due to your injury.

If you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may or may not be required to file a motion to settle the injury claim.  If the settlement is offered while you are in an active Chapter 7, you should contact your bankruptcy attorney to determine if it will be necessary to file a motion with the court.  If the settlement occurs after your Chapter 7 bankruptcy is discharged and final decree is issued, it is not necessary to obtain the bankruptcy court’s permission to settle the claim.

As previously mentioned, it is extremely important to speak with your bankruptcy attorney about your potential workers’ compensation or personal injury settlement prior to filing your bankruptcy.  If the settlement is not protected correctly in the bankruptcy, you could lose your settlement.

How Did Bankruptcy Change With the New Laws in 2005?

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Before 2005 it used to be fairly easy and cheap to file bankruptcy. When the bankruptcy laws changed in 2005 the process for filing for bankruptcy became more complicated. Due to the complications of cases fees across the country for filing bankruptcy also went up.

Bankruptcy Questions

One of the main things that changed is the requirement to pass the “means test” in order to be able to qualify to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  Generally speaking, if your average monthly income is less than the states median income, then you will pass the means test. If your average monthly income is more than the states median income, then there are a few other things that are taken into account to determine if you will pass or not. In this case, the means test looks into your income, expenses and the total amount of debt you owe. If that determines you have enough income to pay a certain amount to those creditors each month, then you will fail the means test. This means that you will not qualify to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy but, instead, you can seek bankruptcy protection under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Another thing that the new laws now require is the debtors have to provide proof of income. This means that they must provide their tax returns for the previous year to the trustee. If the previous years’ taxes have not been filed, they must get filed before the bankruptcy filing can proceed. This goes for both Chapter 7 bankruptcies and Chapter 13 bankruptcies.

The new laws also now require people who file bankruptcy take a credit counseling course and a financial management course.  These must be through government-approved agencies, so make sure to check with your attorney to find out which ones are government-approved.  If these companies suggest a repayment plan or other options, you do not have to follow them. For bankruptcy purposes you only have to be able to show that you have taken the course. A lot of debtors feel that these courses help and give them good information.

These are a few of the main changes that accompanied the bankruptcy law changes in 2005.

What Is A Short-Sale?

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R3ToH3saqA&feature=youtu.be[/youtube] If you are behind on your house payments and have decided you no longer wish to keep the house, you may be looking at your options including a short-sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure and bankruptcy.  For this blog, we will specifically look at the short-sale.  A short-sale occurs when real property (house, land, … Read more

What Is A Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure?

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For homeowners that have fallen behind or “defaulted” on their mortgage loan and have decided they do not want to keep the home, a deed in lieu of foreclosure may be an option for them.  In the simplest of terms, the deed in lieu allows the homeowners to voluntarily transfer the property from the homeowners name to the mortgage company’s name without going through the prolonged and for the mortgage company costly foreclosure process.  This process also satisfies the debt the homeowner owes to the mortgage company on the loan.  Although the loan is satisfied through this process, the homeowners’ credit will still reflect that the loan was in default but satisfied by a deed in lieu.  In other words, there will be a negative impact on the homeowners’ credit from executing the deed in lieu of foreclosure, but it may not be as detrimental as a foreclosure.

House in ForeclosureThere are several things the mortgage company will consider before deciding whether they will agree to a deed in lieu of foreclosure on the property.  These include:

Are there any other mortgage loans (second, third, or Home Equity

Line of Credit (HELOC)) on the property?

Are there any homeowners’ association liens on the property?

Are there any judgment liens on the property?

Are there any other blemishes on the title?

If there are any of these issues, the mortgage company will most likely not agree to the deed in lieu of foreclosure and will proceed with the standard foreclosure process.  The mortgage company cannot eliminate the other liens on the property through the deed in lieu process.  As a result, if you have more than one mortgage loan or other liens on your property, you may want to consider other options including a short-sale of the property or filing bankruptcy.  Each of these options has their own risks and benefits and is discussed in other blogs.  Most deed in lieu of foreclosure paperwork is drafted by the mortgage company’s attorney, so it is recommended that the homeowners seek the advice of an attorney, usually someone practicing real estate law, before signing the deed in lieu documents.
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