Mississippi Consumer Help Blog

Can you buy a new or used vehicle while you are in a chapter 13 bankruptcy?

Published on: December 16, 2017 | Frank Coxwell

Yes! First of all, you can buy anything for cash, no permission is needed – but – you need written permission from the court to get a new loan or new credit while you are in a chapter 13 bankruptcy. The court wants to make sure you are not doing something that will jeopardize your ability to complete your chapter 13 Plan.

1. Find a dealer or car lot that is willing to sell you a vehicle and can get you financed.

Before anything is finalized, I will need the details of the sale; the year, make, and model of the vehicle, the selling price, the amount of the monthly payment, the interest rate, and the total cost. You (or the dealership) can email or fax this information to me.

What do you do if you are in a chapter 13 bankruptcy and your vehicle is not worth keeping?

Published on: December 15, 2017 | Frank Coxwell

If you are in a chapter 13 bankruptcy and are paying for an older vehicle, sometimes the vehicle (or one of them) that you are paying for just isn’t worth keeping anymore. It may have completely stopped running or require repairs to continue running that are more expensive than the vehicle is even worth. You have options. You may be able to drop it from your bankruptcy case, lower your bankruptcy payment, and walk away from the vehicle that is no longer worth keeping.

1. Send me an email or fax telling me you want to surrender the vehicle and drop it from the chapter 13 plan, and tell me which vehicle.

2. I will file a motion with the court to modify your plan and to remove the vehicle from your plan and reduce the monthly payment. This will take thirty days (30) from the date the motion is filed.

What do you do if you are in a Ch13 and involved in a car accident?

Published on: December 14, 2017 | Frank Coxwell

If you are in a bankruptcy chapter 13 case and are involved in a car accident, it is so important for you to follow the proper steps required by the Bankruptcy Court. It doesn’t matter if your vehicle was totaled or not, there are steps we must take to handle things properly.

Let the insurance company know you are in a chapter 13 bankruptcy and tell them any settlement for the damage to the vehicle must be paid to the chapter 13 trustee. Do not cash or deposit any settlement money or checks you receive. All money must be paid to the chapter 13 trustee.

If you hire an attorney to represent you for injuries you received in the accident, the attorney must be approved by the bankruptcy court. If you need a lawyer to represent you, call my office, I can refer you to an attorney.

Avoid having too much or too little income tax withheld.

Published on: September 5, 2017 | Frank Coxwell

If you get an income tax refund, money is being taken from your paycheck that you could use right now. If you get an income tax refund, you are letting the government hold and use your money for a year without paying you interest. If you get an income tax refund, you are letting the government hold money that can be seized by other government agencies and some creditors.

Check your tax withholding so you are even at the end of the year. You don’t want to get a refund and you don’t want to owe additional taxes.

Review the amount of taxes withheld being withheld from your pay check. Everyone’s situation changes. A yearly review can help you avoid having too much or too little federal income tax taken from your paychecks. You want to have the correct amount taken out so you can be at a zero balance at the end of the year. The ideal situation is, no taxes owed and no refund due.

Are you getting your Tax Credit for Mortgage Interest paid in your Chapter 13?

Published on: August 31, 2017 | Frank Coxwell

Is your Chapter 13 plan paying mortgage payments that were delinquent when you filed bankruptcy? Is your Chapter 13 plan paying the current mortgage payments through the bankruptcy? If so, you are missing out on your mortgage interest tax deduction.

Your mortgage company often won’t send the IRS or the trustee the Mortgage Interest statement each year for what you paid through the plan.

So you don’t have any proof that mortgage interest was paid, and neither does the IRS.

Here is how you can claim the credit for mortgage interest: Continue Reading ›

3 Reasons To Move Your Checking Account Before Filing Bankruptcy

Published on: June 19, 2017 | Frank Coxwell

Banks do unexpected things when one of their customers files bankruptcy. Nothing they do is to help you. Even if you think your bank is the greatest, there may be reasons to change banks before you file your bankruptcy case.

They May Take the Money in Your Account.

Your bank owes you the money that is in your account. But if you owe them money on a personal loan or a car loan, they have the right to take the money in your account to pay themselves what you owe them. This is called a set off, or an offset. While your bank can do this at any time, based upon the loan documents, the notice of bankruptcy is what will set this off. All of a sudden, you can’t get to the money in your account. Your money is the bank’s money.

I got a letter from the IRS. What should I do?

Published on: June 15, 2017 | Frank Coxwell

Millions of letters are mailed by the IRS each year to taxpayers for many different reasons. If you get a letter from the IRS here are a few suggestions on what to do.

Open the letter right away and don’t panic. Most IRS letters will be about your federal tax return. Each letter will deal with a specific issue. Each letter will give you specific instructions on what to do. It is important you read the letter carefully. Read it two or three times, if necessary, to fully understand what is being said.

An IRS letter could be about changes to your account, taxes you owe, or a request for payment. It could be a request for more information about your tax return.

Did you save a copy of your tax return?

Published on: June 14, 2017 | Frank Coxwell

I’m speaking of your actual tax return – the 1040 Form with all schedules and attachments. Make sure you get an electronic copy or a paper copy of your tax return if you’ve filed electronically. Starting with 2017 tax returns, the IRS may ask you for the amount of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from the last return you filed in order to verify your identity.

The Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is the amount at the bottom of the first page of your tax return. So, if you file your own tax return, print a copy or save it to your computer before you log out. If you use a tax preparation service, make sure you get a printed or emailed copy from them when the tax return is filed. Trying to track down the person that prepared your taxes six months or more later to get a copy can be a frustrating process.

There are also many other reasons to always maintain a copy of your tax returns. For example, you may be asked to provide a copy of your tax return for your child when they apply for college and/or financial aid. If you are considering filing bankruptcy, you will need to provide a copy of your last two years of tax returns to the Trustee. Whenever you wish to buy a home, you will be asked to provide copies of tax returns by whomever you are applying with for a mortgage loan.

IRS Phone Scams

Published on: June 13, 2017 | Frank Coxwell

Criminals are impersonating IRS agents and making aggressive and threatening phone calls to taxpayers.

During filing season, the IRS sees a surge in scam phone calls that threaten police arrest, deportation, license revocation and other things. Be on guard against these con games that happen throughout the year, especially during tax season.

“Don’t be fooled by phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents with threats or promises of a big refund if you provide them with your private information,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “If you’re surprised to get a call from the IRS, it almost certainly isn’t the real IRS. We generally initially contact taxpayers by mail.”

“Everyone can share the word about scam phone calls– just hang up and don’t engage these people,” Koskinen said. “Despite recent successes against phone scam artists, these scams constantly evolve and people need to remain vigilant. We’d like to thank law-enforcement, tax professionals, consumer advocates, the states, other government agencies, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and many others for helping us continue this fight and protect taxpayers.”

How do the scams work?

If you wait too long to file a Chapter 7, you might lose your eligibility to do so.

Published on: November 16, 2016 | Frank Coxwell

I’m speaking mainly to those who know that they need to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. If you wait until you are back to work for several months and everything is going well again (except for what is now the older debt), you run the risk of becoming ineligible to file a Chapter 7 case. Eligibility is not based on how much debt you have – it’s based on your household income for the past six months and whether or not you have any “disposable” income that could go toward paying some or all of your unsecured debt. The court looks at the past 6 months of your income, compares it to certain qualified expenses, and determines what is left over (your disposable income) that could go toward paying your other debt. This process is called the Means Test.

For example, today I met with a newly married couple and they both were out of work for several months. When things were bad, they did some research online about bankruptcy, talked to some friends, and pretty much knew that a Chapter 7 would be their best bet to pull out of this bad situation. Their credit card bills, medical bills, and various other unsecured debts were all past due, but they had managed to keep their house and car payments current. In this instance a Chapter 7 would be their best option. They did well in their research and friends had pointed them in the right direction, to my office. They both got hired at really good paying jobs. However…..they waited and put off contacting me. They didn’t have any idea how important the timing of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing would be. The hardest job I have is convincing people to come and see me early, sooner rather than later. Many times we just talk and make plans to file later on. But at least they would have the information and knowledge about what they need to do and when to do it.