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Low Fees - Payment Plans - Evening & Weekend Appointments Free Telephone Consultation 410-484-4900 24/7 Excellence In Legal Service - Serving The Entire State Of Maryland We have earned the trust of thousands of satisfied clients and have gained experience gained in thousands of successful Bankruptcy cases since 1973. There is no substitute for trust and experience.
" Your representation was outstanding in recovering thousands of dollars I paid out in a debt consolidation scam, properly representing me in a bankruptcy and getting all my debts eliminated at a low fee and less than one half of what I paid to them. What was most important to me was your integrity and clear answers to my questions." ~~D.G. " Thanks for taking over my chapter 13 case which enabled me to save my house. Your seemed much more knowledgeable than my past lawyer. If I didn't change lawyers, I would have lost my home" ~~ W.S. " Many thanks for a job well done in getting my tax debts and other claims eliminated and being available to answer all of my questions throughout my case." ~~B.W. " I appreciate your meeting with me on the weekends so I did not have to lose time from work."~~N.T.
Representing Debtors To Totally Eliminate Debts, Or To Reorganize Debts In Order To Protect Property And To Obtain A Fresh Financial Start Prompt, experienced and effective representation for all financial issues including, foreclosure, repossession, wage attachments, student loans, federal and state tax matters. In addition to bankruptcy, we provide effective representation for tax problems with the IRS, tax audits, tax liens, tax wage attachments, IRS offers in compromise, IRS installment plan arrangements, and IRS audits. Our debt relief agency will fully prepare all bankruptcy documents, both before and after your case is filed, go to court with you, and defend you against contested matters from the trustee, your creditors and their attorneys. We work with you with a workable payment plan and a low fee we invite you to compare. Call, you will see for yourself.
If you have been a victim of a credit counseling, debt management or home rescue scam, we can assist you getting your money back, damages or both.
If you are in, or have been in a Chapter 13 that failed, we have options that are far more effective.
"There is No Substitute For Experience."
JACK I. HYATT Bankruptcy Myths
Myth 1: Everyone will know you have filed for bankruptcy.
Many of the payment plans are unrealistic and unworkable. The payment plans also ruin credit. My clients wonder why a non-profit organization would advise them to attempt such an unrealistic program. Learn the facts before you accept a creditor counselor's assumption that bankruptcy is not a good option.
1. Consumer Credit Counseling works for your creditors, not for you. A former Assistant Attorney General for the state of Texas had this to say about Consumer Credit Counseling Services: "I think that consumer credit counseling service is intrinsically deceptive. They're funded or incorporated by the very people they are truly representing… not the consumer/debtor but the creditors trying to collect the money. I think they're a con; they pitch themselves as serving the consumer's best interest but they don't. Their promotions practices are deceptive and the consumers are being grossly misled. If they were lawyers, they'd get disbarred! Representing one-party and acting for the other? Come on! Think about it! If lawyers won't get involved in an enterprise like Consumer Credit Counseling, you know it must be bad." 2. Consumer Credit Counseling is paid by the credit industry to "help" you pay creditors. Your creditor counselor is being paid by the credit card companies. Interestingly enough, this is not a well kept secret. Information from the National Foundation for Credit Counselors reveals that up to 15 percent of each payment collected is paid to the Consumer Credit Counseling Services office. Although they describe this payment as a contribution from the creditor, in reality, it is a commission. The National Foundation for Credit Counselors materials state: "The majority of our funding comes from voluntary contributions from creditors who participate in our Debt Management Plans." Can you expect to get impartial advice about filing bankruptcy from a collection agency? 3. Consumer Credit Counseling's nonprofit status does not mean they are not making money at your expense. Consumer Credit Counseling Services makes a point of describing themselves as a nonprofit organization. Most consumers probably don't realize that nonprofit businesses operate to make a profit. Rather than distributing earnings to stockholders as dividends, the profits are paid out to the employees and officers as salary or bonuses. They make money, and a lot of it! For example, Consumer Credit Counseling Services in the Greater Dallas area reportedly collected $103 million dollars in one year alone. Most hospitals are nonprofit organizations also. A company's nonprofit status has nothing to do with whether or not they are motivated to make money. As reported in the Washington Post, of the Office of the Corporation Counsel said: "Consumers should not let down their guard just because a credit-counseling agency calls itself nonprofit. It is easy to set up a nonprofit counseling agency and use the counselors to sell the services of a related for-profit company." 4. Consumer Credit Counseling often cannot reduce interest charges on credit accounts. Many people are convinced that the organization also has the ability to have finance charges reduced or waived. Information from a Consumer Credit Counseling Service web site makes it clear that they cannot always do this. In fact, the majority of creditors will not waive finance charges.
5. Consumer Credit Counseling will ruin your credit. What about your credit? The credit industry wants you to know that filing a bankruptcy can adversely affect your credit. The fact is, participating in their program can be just as bad, or even worse, than filing bankruptcy in Arizona. An important overlooked fact is that you would not file a bankruptcy or participate in a Consumer Credit Counseling Services program unless you already had serious credit problems. Anyone who participates in a repayment plan through CCCS will have that fact reported on their credit. You can expect all of your credit accounts to be closed, and you can expect to have a very difficult time opening any new accounts. The result is pretty much the same as a bankruptcy, except a bankruptcy doesn't cost as much or last as long. Joining one of the CCCS repayment programs often results in lower credit scores than if you filed a bankruptcy. Here is what David Butler, in his article The Complete Guide to Understanding Credit Ratings & Credit Reports, says this about Consumer Credit Counseling: "If you ever want to get a mortgage again in the next 7 years, avoid turning your debts over to Consumer Credit Counseling Services or any other debt management service. There used to be a time when this program really made sense, and it still ought to - but now most lenders won't touch you until the Consumer Credit Counseling Services is off of your credit report. You're almost better off doing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, if you want to start getting credit reestablished anytime in the next 7 years." 6. Your credit rating is most likely BETTER 2 years after filing bankruptcy in Arizona than 3 years after entering a payment plan with Consumer Credit Counseling Services. The reason is simple. Immediately after an Arizona bankruptcy filing, which typically only takes a few months, you can start rebuilding your credit. When you are in a repayment plan with Consumer Credit Counseling Services you won't be able to do much of anything to reestablish your credit until the typical four to five year payment plan is completed. Even worse, the derogatory information that Consumer Credit Counseling Services will cause to your credit report will haunt you for seven years after you complete the Consumer Credit Counseling Services program. Consumer Credit Counseling Services likes to call filing bankruptcy the "10 year mistake." Maybe Consumer Credit Counseling Services should call their own program the "twelve year mistake."
7. Consumer Credit Counseling's stated goal is to help your creditors. The National Foundation for Credit Counselors, the organization that most Consumer Credit Counseling Services locations belong to makes their mission clear. Their literature states: "NFCC is committed to developing, promoting and maintaining successful relationships with creditors. At NFCC we work with creditors - one by one - to develop policies to make your customer plans successful. Our nonprofit network of more than 1,300 locations returns close to $5 billion to creditors every year. NFCC member agencies help your customers avoid bankruptcy." The bottom line is simple. The more you pay … the more Consumer Credit Counseling Services makes. Whose side do you think they are on?
You are entitled to be treated with courtesy and consideration at all times by your lawyer and the other lawyers and personnel in your lawyers office. You are entitled to an attorney capable of handling your legal matter competently and diligently, in accordance with the highest standards of the profession. You are entitled to your lawyer's independent professional judgment and undivided loyalty uncompromised by conflicts of interest. You are entitled to be charged a reasonable fee and to have your lawyer explain at the outset how the fee will be computed and the manner and frequency of billing. You are entitled to have your questions and concerns addressed in a prompt manner and to have your telephone called returned promptly. You are entitled to be kept informed as to the status of your matter. You are entitled to have your legitimate objectives respected by your attorney, including whether or not to settle your matter. You have the right to privacy in your dealings with your lawyer and to have your secrets and confidences preserved to the extent permitted by law. You may not be refused representation on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin or disability.
Is there a reason to be embarrassed? Because over a million people a year have filed for the past seven years, the process has changed so that there is no embarrassment.
Will I be able to get new credit? Some of our clients get cars a week after the case is closed and houses within a year.
Will Bankruptcy will destroy my life? It actually gives you a fresh start to a better life.
Will I lose control of my life? It gives back control over your life by ending the harassment, calls and payments you can't afford.
Is Bankruptcy expensive?. We offer low fees, payment plans in most cases and have evening and weekend appointments. Will I lose everything? In most bankruptcies, you keep all of your property.
Is a Bankruptcy published in a nespaper? Very few people, if any, will know about your case.
What will my future be like? In most cases, when you go through the bankruptcy process, it gives you a brighter future.
Will I lose my bank accounts? Bankruptcy will protect monies in your bank account.
What if my employer finds out? In a chapter 7, your employer will most likely not find out and even if so, you cannot lose your job.
What will I do if I have to start over? The fear should be: What would you do if you didn't have a chance to start over?
What if I don't qualify for bankruptcy? If we take your case, you will be given bankruptcy protection. We have qualified thousands of people for bankruptcy since 1973.
I don't understand anything about bankruptcy? At your first appointment, we will fully explain all of your options.
When will the harassing phone calls, garnishments, suits, letters stop? They all stop once the bankruptcy case is filed.
Will Bankruptcy will hurt my credit? Most people's credit is already bad or will be bad soon by the time they call a bankruptcy attorney. The bankruptcy gives you a fresh start. We have represented clients from literally all walks of life. Our clients include doctors, lawyers, school teachers, government employees, police officers, firemen, factory workers, salespeople, service industry employees, and even collection agents (ironically, for all the harassment they cause people with debt problems, collection agents often are paid so little that they cannot pay their own debts). Many of our clients are referred to us by other lawyers and clients because they know that the people they send us will be treated with dignity, compassion and professionalism. We believe strongly in the Bankruptcy System. In our opinion, it simply is not true that bankruptcy hurts the economy. In fact, we believe the opposite to be true. When people are just making minimum payments on their credit cards, they are doing nothing but putting interest payments in the hands of the shareholders who own the credit card companies. Basically, they are making the rich even richer. After filing bankruptcy, people have the money available to purchase items that truly drive economic growth, such as homes, automobiles, clothing, furniture, etc. In some cases, the need to file bankruptcy is caused directly or indirectly by a life altering event, such as job loss, illness or divorce. In other cases, there may indeed be some element of financial mismanagement, which is in large part caused by the lack of adequate financial education at the high school and college level. In our opinion, the accumulation of credit card debt is very much the fault of the credit card companies that have led the Nation to believe that people are financially solvent if they are able to make minimum payments on credit cards. The reality is that a person who can only afford minimum payments is probably no more than just a few paychecks away from bankruptcy. The statistics we have studied show that for every person who files bankruptcy, there are probably seven others who have significant financial problems. If this figure is accurate, it means that at any given point, there are as many as 10,000,000 people in the United States who are in financial trouble. Once debt is created, it either has to be paid or eliminated. It cannot simply be ignored. You cannot allow feelings of pride, ideology or morality to stop you from making practical decisions in your life. It is completely normal for you to have regret, sadness and embarrassment about decisions (financial or otherwise) you have made in the past. However, it is much more important that you learn from your mistakes than that you torment yourself for them. You are legally and morally entitled to be relieved of your debt when you cannot pay it. That is why the bankruptcy laws exist. Use the laws to help you move forward in your life.
Bankruptcy is a legal method of eliminating debt and providing a means for debt-oppressed people to obtain a "fresh start." In many cases, bankruptcy means the elimination of the debt that you owe to your creditors. They are two primary forms of bankruptcy, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Why is it legal to file bankruptcy? More so than in any other time in our country's history, our economy is based on consumer debt. In fact, in this age of multibillion dollar corporate bailouts, easy credit and relentless bombarding of seductive messages cajoling us to "charge, consume, buy" it is not surprising that so many people are drowning in debt. For many of us, this debt is insurmountable and is causing family problems and feelings of hopelessness and even suicide. With credit card interest rates of 18-27%, many feel like modern day indentured servants. Many times, the debt is occasioned by unforeseen events such as loss of a job or medical bills, but more often it is simply poor planning. Nevertheless, in instituting our bankruptcy laws, Congress recognized that responsible, well-intentioned people could from time to time run into financial problems. By allowing you to recover from your debt burden you will be able to start afresh, look to the future and become a more productive member of society. This is good for you and good for society as a whole.
maryland bankruptcy attorney
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