Title: April 11, 2007
Q. My mother lives with us. She has a touch of Alzheimer’s, but she is still active and still takes care of her financial obligations. My daughter, who is 16 years old, somehow got a hold of my mother’s credit card and charged a variety of items, such as jewelry, makeup and clothing on it. I don’t know what to do. Please advise.
A. First, I would make sure that your daughter gives the credit card back to its owner, advise your mother of the situation and that she needs to keep her credit card(s) away from your daughter. Second, you need to have a serious talk with your daughter. She needs to realize that she stole not only money from her grandmother, but also her identity and needs to make up for it. You can take away her weekly or monthly allowance until all the charges she put on the credit card are paid for. Or she needs to get a part-time job and earn some money to pay her grandmother back. To call the police and get her charged with identity theft may be counterproductive, Your daughter committed a crime that could have grave consequences for your daughter’s future if she was to repeat her actions.
Q. I believe my cats suffer from kidney failure because I have been feeding them canned food made by the company that sold poisoned pet food. I really don’t have the money to take them to the veterinarian and I am devastated and scared to lose my beloved pets. They have both been vomiting, they refuse to eat, they sleep most of the time, they drink a lot of water and urinate more than usual. What do you advise I do?
A. Ask the veterinarian to give you credit until you can pay for the care of your pets, or borrow the money, otherwise you may very well lose your pets. Menu Foods, the Canadian company that sold the poisoned food will be sued through a class action soon. It bought wheat from China, where the use of rat poison is not forbidden like it is in the USA to kill rats in their wheat fields. The wheat gluten, a source of protein, is added to canned pet food to thicken the sauce. Many pets have died or have suffered from kidney failure. I myself have fed some of the poisoned food to my dogs, noticed their loss of appetite for a few days, saw my female vomit a couple of times, but fortunately the dogs recovered quickly. Your cats need urgent medical treatment. Menu Foods will pay for the care of your cats, however you will more than likely have to give up your right to take part in the class action should you use their help in caring for your animals.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 14 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-8880
Showing posts with label financial obligations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label financial obligations. Show all posts
Monday, March 23, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Legal Eaze #3 Divorce Reorganization of Debts
Originally Printed: July 23, 2004
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 12 years of experience. She moved to Tehachapi in June 2003 and resides in Alpine Forest. She operates her law practice from her home office and also has a satellite office in Lancaster. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities.
Q. Last year, I represented myself in a divorce action and I had to sell the house and other items in order to pay my wife her half of the community assets. I seems I was stuck with all the community debts. Now I am broke and cannot meet my financial obligations. What can I do?
A. It appears you did not get a fair deal in family law court. It may have been to your advantage if you had hired a lawyer to represent you. At this point, you may be forced to file for bankruptcy. If you are employed and get a regular paycheck, you may be able to file a Chapter 13, which is also known as “a reorganization of debts”. A trustee will oversee your estate and distribute portion of your income to all of your creditors. In such a case, you may keep all of your assets, or what is left of them and pay your creditors over a period of time, but not more than 60 months. Depending on the amount to be distributed, your creditors may or may not be fully paid. All of your secured creditors, i.e. those who hold collateral sufficient to support the debt, will be fully paid or at least to the extent of the value of the collateral. If you are making monthly payments on your car (often the car is worth less than the balance owed) you may be able to discharge the amount that is not secured, but if you want to keep the car, you must pay the “secured” balance. The unsecured creditors are those you may suffer. If you do not have a regular paycheck, the better alternative is to file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, or “straight (liquidation)” bankruptcy. A trustee will be appointed to review your assets, and if he/she finds some assets that are not exempt, these assets will be liquidated and the proceeds will be divided among your creditors. Everyone is entitled to exemptions when it comes to personal assets, such as furniture and furnishings, clothing, kitchen appliances, etc. These assets are exempt in different amounts, depending on which system of exemptions one uses, i.e. California Code of Procedure Sections 703 or 704. CCP Section 704 system is preferable to the 703 system if one has a house to protect. A single person owning a residence is entitled to keeping up to $50,000 in equity, a married couple is entitled to $75,000 in equity and a person over the age of 65 years old, $125,000. In order words, if you do not have this kind of equity in your home, you can keep it through the bankruptcy, as long as you keep making your mortgage payments. The same holds for your car. You are entitled to a certain amount of exemption, again depending on which system you use. Bankruptcy is meant to allow you a fresh new start and does not carry the stigma it once carried. Millions of people have taken advantage of bankruptcy laws, especially through difficult financial times experienced by the entire country.
Forward your questions by e-mail to maxinedev@msn.com or drop questions at the Tehachapi News, 411 N. Mill St., Tehachapi, or send them by mail to P.O. Box 1840, Tehachapi, CA 93581
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 12 years of experience. She moved to Tehachapi in June 2003 and resides in Alpine Forest. She operates her law practice from her home office and also has a satellite office in Lancaster. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities.
Q. Last year, I represented myself in a divorce action and I had to sell the house and other items in order to pay my wife her half of the community assets. I seems I was stuck with all the community debts. Now I am broke and cannot meet my financial obligations. What can I do?
A. It appears you did not get a fair deal in family law court. It may have been to your advantage if you had hired a lawyer to represent you. At this point, you may be forced to file for bankruptcy. If you are employed and get a regular paycheck, you may be able to file a Chapter 13, which is also known as “a reorganization of debts”. A trustee will oversee your estate and distribute portion of your income to all of your creditors. In such a case, you may keep all of your assets, or what is left of them and pay your creditors over a period of time, but not more than 60 months. Depending on the amount to be distributed, your creditors may or may not be fully paid. All of your secured creditors, i.e. those who hold collateral sufficient to support the debt, will be fully paid or at least to the extent of the value of the collateral. If you are making monthly payments on your car (often the car is worth less than the balance owed) you may be able to discharge the amount that is not secured, but if you want to keep the car, you must pay the “secured” balance. The unsecured creditors are those you may suffer. If you do not have a regular paycheck, the better alternative is to file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, or “straight (liquidation)” bankruptcy. A trustee will be appointed to review your assets, and if he/she finds some assets that are not exempt, these assets will be liquidated and the proceeds will be divided among your creditors. Everyone is entitled to exemptions when it comes to personal assets, such as furniture and furnishings, clothing, kitchen appliances, etc. These assets are exempt in different amounts, depending on which system of exemptions one uses, i.e. California Code of Procedure Sections 703 or 704. CCP Section 704 system is preferable to the 703 system if one has a house to protect. A single person owning a residence is entitled to keeping up to $50,000 in equity, a married couple is entitled to $75,000 in equity and a person over the age of 65 years old, $125,000. In order words, if you do not have this kind of equity in your home, you can keep it through the bankruptcy, as long as you keep making your mortgage payments. The same holds for your car. You are entitled to a certain amount of exemption, again depending on which system you use. Bankruptcy is meant to allow you a fresh new start and does not carry the stigma it once carried. Millions of people have taken advantage of bankruptcy laws, especially through difficult financial times experienced by the entire country.
Forward your questions by e-mail to maxinedev@msn.com or drop questions at the Tehachapi News, 411 N. Mill St., Tehachapi, or send them by mail to P.O. Box 1840, Tehachapi, CA 93581
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