I don't know if anyone has ever written a blog on this subject before, but when I woke up at about 3 am this morning, the thought came to me out of the blue that I should write a blog called The Psychology of Bankruptcy. And when I thought about it, I started thinking that far too many people hav...
Often times the secret to success is keeping things simple. Many attorneys will tell you that Chapter 13 is very complex and complicated. I tell my clients, yes, maybe Chapter 13 can be complicated, but guess what, I am usually able to distill the process into a few simple steps, so that their Ch...
7 STEPS TO SUCCESS - MAKING CHAPTER 7 AS EASY AS POSSIBLE The process of filing for bankruptcy can definitely be challenging and complicated. My goal is to simplify the complicated and to make hard stuff easy. So what I am doing here is giving my clients a simple roadmap they can follow to a ...
In my previous blog, I gave you a very short history of how I was experiencing a lot of negative emotional states on a daily basis when I was in my 20's, and how those feelings impacted upon my life. I wrote that blog to let my readers know that I just might have a pretty good idea of how they ar...
Chances are that if you are facing financial challenges, you're not exactly the happiest that you have ever been in your life. To the contrary, the odds are that you are under pretty serious stress, and that you are worried and anxious about your future. In these challenging times, well, welcome ...
I'm Seymour Wasserstrum, New Jersey consumer protection attorney, advocate for the underdogs. I'm creating my YouTube Channel because I've seen far too many people struggling and suffering during these difficult and challenging financial times. People who can't pay their mortgage, their rent, the...
I've been a lawyer since 1973, and although many things have changed over the last 48 years, one thing has remained consistent, it seems that I've always been helping the Underdogs. I wish that back in 1973 I would have started keeping a list of the names of all of the people that I was represent...
I recently had a new client who wanted to wipe out about $50,000 in credit card debt. I told him the best way to do it would be to file a Chapter 7. He doesn't own a house (it's in his wife's name), and he is a gig worker and only makes about $10,000 a year. I figured he had an easy chapter 7 cas...
Lots of people pay lots of money to debt settlement companies. Some people are happy with the services provided by their debt settlement company, while others are unhappy, especially after they do all the math and find out how much of their money has gone to high fees charged by their debt settle...
We've previously discussed the stategy of filing an answer when you are being sued by a debt collector. Once you have filed an answer, you have avoided the possibility of having a default judgment entered against you, and that's a good thing. But sooner or later, unless you are able to settle the...
SEVEN GREAT WAYS TO STOP, AVOID, OR DELAY A FORECLOSURE Here are seven examples of how people can save their property from foreclosure and sheriff's sale. 1) You can get a loan modification from your mortgage company. Here's an example. Let's say your mortgage payment is $2,000 a month, you m...
Millions of people can't pay their mortgages, their car payments, their credit cards, and all kinds of other bills. They fear foreclosure and are scared to death about being sued by the bill collectors. My intention is to transform people's mindsets about their debts. Thank God we live in a coun...
This blog is based on the laws in the State of New Jersey. A wage garnishment occurs when a creditor that you owe money to has obtained the right to get their debt paid by taking money out of your paycheck. Before this happens, the creditor has to have permission from the court to start the garni...
There are lots of misconceptions about bankruptcy, and many people have many false and incorrect beliefs as to what you can do and what you can't do after you file for bankruptcy. Some people think they won't be able to get credit for 7 years. Some people think they will never be able to finance...
Most homeowners who file for bankruptcy want to continue paying their mortgage payments and continue living securely in their home.They will typically tell us that they want to keep their home out of bankruptcy. When they tell me this, I tell them that its really simple. "When you file your bank...
When I first started practicing bankruptcy law, I figured that people were not permitted to wipe out their old income taxes by filing for bankrutpcy. I soon learned that my assumption was quite incorrect, and I'm glad I was wrong, because over my 47 years of practicing law I have helped a whole l...
DID YOU BORROW MONEY FROM RELATIVES OR FRIENDS? If you have borrowed money from friends or family members before you file for bankruptcy, here is one thing you definitely should not do. There are a number of technical rules that control this situation, and I will make this as simple as I can for...
It's not unusual for creditors to require a cosigner when they give credit to someone who doesn't have a great credit history. For example, if young adults are applying for student loans, the lenders will often require the parents to sign as a cosigner on the debt before they agree to issue a su...
Keep in mind that one of the major goals of bankruptcy is to give people a fresh financial start and give them the ability to approach the future with a more positive outlook on their lives. There is an old saying that the past is history, the future is a mystery, and right now is a gift. That's ...
Many of our clients are married, and they often wonder, "Do we both have to file for bankruptcy together, or can just one of us file for bankruptcy and protect the credit rating of the person that is not filing for bankruptcy?" The good news is that married people have several choices: 1) They ...
Getting sued can be pretty scary. But if you learn how to defend yourself, you might be able to fight the case without paying for an attorney, and you might even win. In this blog, I'm going t
When we file a chapter 7 bankruptcy petition for our clients, our usual goal is for the client to obtain a discharge. This means that if the case is successfully completed our client will have all or virtually all of their debts wiped out, and they will keep whatever property they own. That's the...
How would you like to get some cash from your mortgage company? That's right, instead of you paying your mortgage company, you might be able to get your mortgage company to pay you. We have had mortgage companies pay our clients a nice sum of money by using a program that is sometimes referred to...
Unfortunately, your home was just sold at a New Jersey sheriff's sale, and you are still living in the property. Do you have to get out right away or can you stay a little while longer until they force you to leave?
Motor vehicle surcharges aren't any fun. They are imposed by the MVC (Motor Vehicle Commission - many people still call the MVC the DMV. The DMV stands for the Division of Motor Vehicles - but they officially changed their name to the MVC quite a while ago). Surcharges are in addition to court fi...
Seymour Wasserstrum helps people who are facing financial challenges throughout the state of New Jersey. We have five offices conveniently located to serve our clients.
We help people wipe out their bills, save their homes from foreclosure, stop vehicle repossessions, and get a fresh financial start.