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The CFPB stated today “[w]e are at really an unusual point in history.  I don’t think anybody has ever before seen this many mortgages in forbearance at one time that are expected to exit forbearance all at one time.”

No kidding.  This may be the calm before the storm type of thing if mortgage servicers don’t get it right when all these forbearances end.

Living in Florida sometimes it seems like the pandemic is firmly in our rearview. While we are still working from home, it’s mostly because we want to be part of the solution, and can get our work done with our cloud server.  But people are out and about pretty regularly now.

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Free course available on April 7, 2021 at 4:00 EST by Student Loan Attorney Christie Arkovich.

Everyone is asking what they can expect from a Biden administration’s student loan relief. In this course, you will learn about the CARES Act and its extensions, including COVID-19 forbearance; interest waiver for direct loans; rules for ongoing collections; and other nuances of these new federal laws protecting borrowers during COVID-19. We will also discuss the tax forgiveness waiver for all student loans provided by the stimulus bill and anticipated forgiveness in future bills. Traps for the unwary will be identified, and solutions will be provided by a nationally known student loan attorney.

Learning Objectives:
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For our CPA and financial planner friends, tomorrow I’m giving a FREE crash course in Covid-19 Student Loan Relief — what’s already happened, what can be expected from the Biden Administration.

You can sign up for Wed. April 7 at 4:00 EST.  You can watch it later also and 1.0 CPE credit is available for this.  Here’s the sign up page:  https://www.cpaacademy.org/webinars/a0D2S00000puV4rUAE

Hope to see you there!

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TBBBA-logoTomorrow’s TBBBA lunch Zoom 4/6/21 at 12:00 EST is by popular request due to inadvertent atty-client disclosures on Zoom hearings!
My Attorney Client Privilege: What is it? Who has it? And When is it Waived?
Judge Delano will present a refresher on the attorney-client privilege and maintaining client confidentiality.  Avoid the “my client told me” and “I told my client” inadvertent disclosures.
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Here is an advertisement that a client sent me today from a loan she took out when she was 19 years old and didn’t know any better.  She regrets it now when the balance has ballooned for her private loans to 100k and she only makes 35k after being out of school for many years now.  We won’t discuss the additional 350k of federal loans, but at least there are income driven plans to fall back on for those.

There is no safety net for private loans and many lenders took advantage.

forgot-to-use-brain
Looks like an exhibit to me… and what about this one:

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https://www.tampabankruptcylawyerblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/07/christie_d._arkovich_p.a_1_small.jpgWe recently filed a dispute for one of our clients for student loans that were not accurately reported on her credit reports following our settlement.  What a difference it made — 595 to 749!

I’ve received a letter today from Equifax stating that the 4 disputed XXXX accounts have been “Deleted from the credit file”. I checked my Equifax report through credit karma and they are indeed gone making my score jump from 595 to 749!

One giant leap for studentkind!  Over 150 points in one fell swoop.  If you need help addressing your student debt or debt that is incorrectly being reported on your credit reports, please reach out to us.

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TBBBA-logoDon’t forget next Tues March 2 at noon on zoom (wow, I just realized that rhymes), the TBBBA has Judge Colton presenting:
Charting the “fair ground of doubt” regarding violations of the Discharge Injunction after Taggert v. Lorenzen: Firm Footing or Rocky Terrain?
This presentation will explore the law regarding violations of the discharge injunction with emphasis on the Supreme Court’s recent “no fair ground of doubt” standard first articulated in Taggert v. Lorenzen, ___ U.S. ___, 139 St. Ct. 1795 (2019), and remedies and recoveries available to Debtors who suffer sanctionable violations. As a case study, Judge Colton will discuss her recent decision in In re Musto, Case No. 8:19-bk-03452-RCT, 2021 WL 99343 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. Jan. 6, 2021).
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One of our attorneys, Ha Dao, presented a webinar for CPA Academy recently on the Financial Impacts of Long-Term Care and Cognitive Decline.

It was very enlightening what financial advisors saw regularly in their practice:

Being taken advantage of by a family member was the most reported problem seen by these financial advisors.  More so than scams re: extended warranties or long lost relatives from Nigeria!

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Today, President Joe Biden is extending a moratorium on home foreclosures for federally backed mortgages until June 30, after previously setting the expiration date at the end of March. Biden also announced the expansion of a mortgage relief program, pushing the window to request mortgage forbearance until the end of June.

You can check our resources page under “Foreclosure Related” to see if your mortgage is federally backed here.  Just type in your property address under Freddie, Fannie or MERS to discover who owns your mortgage.

For those who have private loans, there is no mandated federal moratorium.  You may be covered under a local or state moratorium though.

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Inflation and interest rates are the two primary culprits.

Bankruptcy can actually be a fix to this problem and is something that everyone should evaluate NOW.  Does it make sense to clear the deck and start fresh?  Especially when that deck is stacked against most Americans who are not otherwise wealthy.  Especially, for anyone who has private student loans, the decision is pretty much a no brainer — bankruptcy can result in a full discharge of many private student loans or a very low payment plan, with very low interest.  Basically, a way out.

High credit card balances, underwater vehicle loans, unpaid rent — bankruptcy can easily fix this.

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