Family Law

• Divorce
• Child Support
  We submit a Chapter 13 “plan” to repay all or part or of your debts in monthly installments over a three to five year time period. The calculation of your plan payments is complicated since it involves many variables, but generally, the plan is not usually based on what you owe, but rather, is based on your ability to repay creditors, along with other factors, such as the types of debt you have. You can make certain decisions about whether to keep certain secured debt, for instance, but must pay certain tax debts and child support arrears in full. Typically for most unsecured dischargeable debt, such as credit card and medical debt, you only pay as much as you can afford, even if that means the plan only pays pennies on the dollar. Since the calculation is based on your income and expenses, generally speaking, what you have left at the end of the month goes into the plan, as detailed in the monthly budget we draw up for you and file with the court. We have your plan approved by the court, and then it becomes effective. Creditors are prohibited from collecting their claims directly from you after the bankruptcy filings as long as your case is active with the court and you are current with your payments.

Criminal Law

• Traffic Violations
  Make sure you pay your bills on time. No excuses. Even paying one day late can have an impact on your score and interest rate. When you mail payments, make sure it is in the mail 7 days before the due date. If you have any debt that was not discharged in bankruptcy, focus on paying that off. Did you spend several months in a payment plan working on your bankruptcy fees? Now that you are used to setting aside a little money, keep it up until your non-discharged debt, such as your parking tickets or student loans, are paid off. Municipalities report parking ticket and traffic violation debt to all three credit bureaus. After 6-9 months of nonpayment the debt can turn over to a collection agency that can then tack on additional fees and interest. After you have paid your non-discharged debt off, keep putting those funds aside. Now you should put those funds in a savings account set aside for emergencies. If you are only able to put aside $50 a month, it will build a good foundation and add up to a significant amount of money quickly.

Property Law

• Real Estate Transactions
  A short sale is a real estate transaction in which the proceeds from the sale of a property are less than the amount owed on the mortgage, and the mortgage lender accepts the amount offered when releasing its lien and foregoing foreclosure. The seller turns over the proceeds of the sale to the lender, and the debt may be fully satisfied. The homeowner must negotiate with the bank’s loss mitigation or workout department prior to the sale to accept the amount offered, to see if the lender is willing to release its lien on the home for less than the outstanding balance including interest and penalties.

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
  The attorneys at Spalding Law Center LLC have been involved in thousands of bankruptcy matters. We are experienced to give you quality representation in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy matter, short sales, creditor harassment, credit repair, and other consumer protection issues.
• Foreclosure
  The global economic downturn has made it a tough few years. The jobless rate and foreclosures are still rising and credit is almost impossible to come by. Most people considering bankruptcy are average hardworking Americans who either fell on bad luck or have been hit by the financial crisis through the loss of a job or lower wages. Are you one of these people?
• Tax Law
• Debt Collection
  Debt collectors know that it can be embarrassing to owe money. There are plenty of good collectors out there that do not take advantage of this fact, and treat debtors with respect while operating above board. There are a few bad apples though, that give the debt collection industry a poor image. These collectors lack respect and will pursue whatever means they can to embarrass debtors into paying. They take advantage of the fact that it can be even more embarrassing to be accused of not paying one’s debt. They often decide that it makes better business sense for them to practice abusive behavior if it will lead to their desired result of payment, and to suffer any penalties as a cost of doing business. Debt collectors position themselves so that they wield the power. It is important that consumer debtors understand their rights under federal law, so that instead of being victims, they can play a part in stopping the culprits.