Alberto Hernandez Bankruptcy Attorney Miami, FL Blog
Tips to Improve Your Credit Score
We all know that our credit score is very important in the United States. One of the main concerns after filing for bankruptcy is reestablishing good credit again and improving your credit score. After years of failed payments and negative reports, your credit rating is at a less than stellar number than before. A FICO score of 800 is something most individuals strive to achieve. However, according to a 2012 FICO study, only about 18.4% of the population has achieved that kind of [...]
How To Find Your Hidden Savings
"In Miami-Dade, nearly 60 percent of families don't have the liquid assets – in bank, investment or retirement accounts – to sustain a financial emergency. In Broward, nearly 45 percent are liquid-asset poor, and in Palm Beach, it's nearly 39 percent, according to Family Assets Count, a project of the nonprofit Corporation for Enterprise Development." Daily, hundreds of Americans and South Floridians like yourselves find themselves struggling to make ends meet because of their bills and other expenses. You are tired of constantly being hounded by creditors and your [...]
Slightly Different Program | Mortgage Modification Mediation Program
Back in 2013, the Southern District of Florida Bankruptcy Courts introduced the Loan Modification Mediation Program (LMM for short) to South Florida individuals. This program was available to those who filed before April 1, 2013 for 5 months and to anyone who filed after April 1, 2013 and qualified. The program's introduction caused a huge spike in filings for Chapter 13 cases between April and October 2013. Based on the latest statistics filed in July 2014, over 4,600 individuals had taken advantage of [...]
Save More Money, Spending Less
According to a recent survey by TD Bank, almost half of the South Floridians who were asked are looking top save more and spend less in 2015. However, with looming credit card debt, high minimum payments and interest rates, it may prove to be more difficult that expected. Those individuals that are living from paycheck to paycheck cannot entertain the idea of saving more because it just is not a possibility at this time. Some ways you can spend less include making more [...]
Identity Theft and Your Tax Refund
"Identity thieves are stealing people's Social Security numbers and other key pieces of personal information in order to file a fraudulent tax return and claim a refund, the IRS warned Monday". Often times these thieves file the fraudulent tax return early on in the year in order to beat their victim to it. It takes about four months for the IRS to check and clear out the fraudulent filings if this happens to your account before you can claim your lost tax return. The IRS has stopped about 19 [...]
Florida Still Has the Highest Foreclosure Rates in the US
With the economy stabilizing, new foreclosure filings have been declining across the board. However, Florida still leads the country with the most foreclosure filings in 2014. In particular, four out of the five cities with the most filings in the US are also in Florida - Orlando, Space Coast, Tampa and of course, Miami. For those individuals currently facing foreclosure, it is still just as much of a delicate and time-consuming process as it was during the peak of foreclosure filings between 2008-2010. [...]
Famous Athletes and their Debt leading to Bankruptcy
In recent years, various well-known athletes from all sports have filed for bankruptcy, These problems arise, often times due to high divorcement rates, gambling addictions, poor business investments, (etc.). These high-profile names range from; basketball to hockey, soccer to baseball, and many other competitive activities. Some of the athletes listed below are considered to be the greatest in their sport (respectively). Despite high paying wages and glorious contracts, many of these athletes are unable to manage their monetary funds effectively due to little high-level education, Many of these athletes were unable [...]
How To Live Debt Free During Your Retirement Years
As Americans, we plan for retirement from the time we begin working. Every time we clock in, every time we file our taxes, every time we contribute to our 401k and IRA accounts – we are planning and creating a cushion for the golden years. However, something that most do not consider to work on is reducing their debt before hitting the retirement finish line. When we retire, our income changes considerably. Some individuals can go from making a comfortable living wage to making around $1200.00 a month. [...]
US Consumer Debt Increases At The End Of 2014
As the economy stabilizes and there is an increase in consumer confidence, there is a coinciding increase in consumer debt. In fact, the Federal Reserve released a statement earlier this month that showed that consumer borrowing increased by $14.1 billion in November and another $16 billion increase in October. The largest increase occurred within the areas of Student Loans and Vehicle Loans but the figures reported do not include the exact amounts spent on those two areas. It's easy to see that with lower [...]