by John Skiba, Esq. | Aug 7, 2012 | Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Five of my six kids are headed off to school in the next few days. It seems like the school years starts a little earlier each year. There are schools herein Arizona that start in July! And as focus returns to hitting the books the issue of student loans is on a...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Aug 3, 2012 | Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
33%. Lately I have been researching success rates of chapter 13 bankruptcy cases and while there is data all over the place from state-to-state and year-to-year, it seems that the national success rate of chapter 13 bankruptcy cases is about 33%. In some states it...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Aug 2, 2012 | Debt Settlement, Fair Debt Collection
If you ever hope to get out of debt you must have a debt strategy. Worry alone will not change your situation. But before you can even put a debt strategy together, you need to really understand what your debts are, what type of debt you have, and what approach you...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Aug 1, 2012 | Collection Law Suits
A new episode of the Consumer Warrior podcast is out that focuses on how to prepare for a debt collection trial. In this episode I go over all of the basics that will put you in the best possible position to win your debt collection lawsuit. You can access the...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Aug 1, 2012 | Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
I know you don’t want to file bankruptcy. There is a lot of baggage that comes along with this one particular legal procedure. Feelings of guilt, failure, and just simply not wanting to deal with the harsh realities of serious debt collection. But there comes a...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Jul 30, 2012 | Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
When times get difficult, the first people we turn to is our family. It is no different when we go through financial difficulties. You may have loaned money from a family member or taken a loan yourself. You may have given that 1992 Geo Metro to your 18 year-old as...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Jul 27, 2012 | Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Chapter 13 bankruptcy has a lot of powerful tools and advantages over a chapter 7 bankruptcy. It also has a few disadvantages – the main one being that you have to pay a monthly payment based upon a plan that you submit to the bankruptcy court. When meeting...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Jul 27, 2012 | Debt Collection Lawsuits, Podcasts
Trial. If you are like most attorneys, the thought of your trial makes you a little nervous. Essentially it is a debate with real world consequences. Except with this debate, it is full of procedures and rules that you likely aren’t even aware of. In this...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Jul 25, 2012 | Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Self-Help Legal Services
50 pages. The typical consumer bankruptcy has about 45 to 60 pages of information that is filed with the bankruptcy court. Income, debts, assets, transactions, expenses – they all must be disclosed in your bankruptcy documents. If you file for bankruptcy you...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Jul 24, 2012 | Debt Collection Lawsuits, Debt Settlement, Podcasts
Week in Review New to this episode of the Consumer Warrior Podcast is the “Week in Review”. Each week in the podcast I will go over a legal issue raised in one of my cases or brought up by a client. Hopefully my answers can help you as you deal with your...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Jul 23, 2012 | Debt Collection Lawsuits
Recently I had another trial against debt buyer Midland Funding. It was your typical Midland Funding trial – very little evidence and one Midland witness who would (of course) be permitted to appear over the telephone. Trials involving Midland Funding or any...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Jul 23, 2012 | Uncategorized
“Can I go to jail for not paying my debts?” I get this question all the time. And my answer has always been “no”. There are a lot of other terrible things than can happen but jail is typically not one of them…until now. I came across...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Jul 18, 2012 | Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
You are an adult. You are approaching your bankruptcy as an adult – making the hard decisions and living with the consequences. But you can admit it. Despite your ability to try and remove the emotion from this decision to file bankruptcy, there is a big...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Jul 16, 2012 | Debt Collection Lawsuits, Debt Settlement, Podcasts
What if you lose? You got sued. Did your research. Presented your case. And the judge said tough beans, you lose, time to pay the piper (or debt buyer). Now what you do? While I have said time and time again that almost none of the debt collection lawsuits filed by...
by John Skiba, Esq. | Jul 13, 2012 | Collection Law Suits, Debt Settlement
Did you know that most lawsuits settle well before they ever get to trial? In Arizona, the percentage of civil cases that actually go to trial is in the single digits. In fact, for attorneys that work as civil litigators it is becoming more and more difficult to get...
