Olive Branch recently requested $7,500 in disaster relief for the spring storms that damaged much of the Mid-South. The funds would help cover the costs of tree and limb damage. Here in Memphis for some families $7,500 in repairs might not sound like much. The spring storms destroyed trailers, flooded homes and damaged cars and other equipment. Without flood insurance or other preparations in place, such setbacks can be crippling. If you’re finding that damage to your property is causing you to fall behind on your bills and you’d like a way out, don’t hesitate to talk with one of our attorneys for free about your options.
In this video, Memphis bankruptcy lawyer Darrell Castle discusses a recent case in which a man was losing his paycheck to debt when what he REALLY wanted to do was tithe, provide for his kids’ school supplies, and live a good life with his family. If you’re losing too much from your paycheck each week, contact us. We can help you get out of debt, so your paycheck goes to the things you really care about. httpv://youtu.be/g0YAtrE3dkw
The stress that comes with debt can literally kill you. Today’s world is full of addictions – drugs, alcohol, gambling, – you name it. All of these addictions are dangerous for your health, as well as your wallet, but one addiction that may be overlooked is spending. Some people just love to spend. Many times, they just want nice things. They may only make $30,000 a year, but they give off the impression of a millionaire. They have a nice house, nice cars, nice clothes and a lot of debt. Sometimes, these same people did start off rich. They were successful and comfortably had all of those nice things above with no debt. But then they lost their job and
The Latest Memphis Utility Bill Scam As a bankruptcy attorney Memphis TN has trusted for decades, I’ve seen many a utility bill scam. And if you’re in a situation where money is tight, you should be aware of how these things happen. As an example, Anthony Smith recently fell for a scam involving MLGW. Smith was raising a teenage son on his disability check. Someone in his neighborhood told him a relative employed by the Shelby County Community Services Agency could get his $254 MLGW bill paid off for only $125. With money tight, Smith paid attention. He was cautious and asked the relative to pay the bill first. She did, and MLGW confirmed the payment. Smith then met the woman in a
Tuition is increasing every year causing college to become more and more expensive, leaving a lot of students pondering whether a college education is worth the debt. Many students take out loans to help them pay for college, opting to pay the money back after graduation. Some graduates have a relatively easy time paying their loans back while some struggle. According to an article in April’s issue of Bottom Line Personal, some for-profit colleges are even tricking students into paying a lot of money for an education they won’t get much out of. There are an estimated 3,000 for-profit colleges across the US. They all possess convenient class hours and easy admission policies that attract working adults and laid-off workers.
By: Darrell Castle Around 7 million student loan borrowers are currently in default for a total of $99 billion. You “default” on your student loans when you don’t make a payment on them for at least 9 months. And this is happening at an alarming rate because of many different college affordability issues. And that’s something US Senator Lamar Alexander is preparing for this Fall in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. An idea Alexander is strongly considering is to make colleges and universities share some of the risk when their students default on their loans. “If colleges and universities have this incentive, it may not only help students make wiser decisions about borrowing, it could help reduce the
With students now back in school after Christmas Break, let’s talk about student loans. The Huffington Post referenced three potential student loans changes to keep an eye on in 2014. 1. PLUS loans In 2011, the Department of Education made changes to the PLUS Loans by declaring that no loans be charged off or sent to collections. This change resulted in thousands of PLUS loan borrowers being denied. “It left students scrambling in the middle of their academic careers, trying to find the funds to remain in school,” Rachel Fishman, a policy analyst for the New America Foundation, said. “That never should have happened.” Now there’s question as to whether or not the department had the right to make such changes and
By: Darrell Castle At some point, I personally think student loans will be dischargeable through bankruptcy. Video Transcript Will student loans ever be dischargeable in bankruptcy? Hi I’m Darrell Castle and I’m an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Tennessee and the answer to that question is MAYBE. Maybe they will. I personally think they will be dischargeable in bankruptcy at some point. There is now action in Congress and President Obama has expressed some support for it. I think it’s probably too soon to see it come during his administration. But as I said, there is movement in Congress to look at some discharge-ability in some form. Right now in Chapter 13, you can include a
One day you’re at the gas station at the corner of Poplar and Ridgeway, a very busy intersection in Memphis, filling your car up with fuel. You prop the handle up so the gas can pump while you relax and look around. As you’re looking towards the intersection, you become a witness to a violent, violent car accident. Shock overcomes you. Fast-forward to an hour later, you’re getting ready to finally leave. However, you can’t drive. You’re scared to really even get in your car, let alone start the engine and drive off. It seems like you’ve suffered some kind of psychological harm from the accident. This fear continues for a few days and really begins to affect your daily
When you’re struggling financially, finding a sufficient job is only half the battle. The other is being able to find sustainable transportation. Here in Memphis, MATA offers public transportation. However, as I’m sure we’re all aware, it leaves much to be desired. To the city’s credit though, they’re working on fixing issues and making it more efficient. For the majority of us though, having a car is ideal and falls a close second to shelter in order of payment importance. It’s great that companies like Conduit General are coming to Memphis and creating 1,000 jobs for the community. However, with Conduit General being in the suburbs and most of the poverty-stricken Mempians living in the city, it can be hard