Michael J. Shavel's Answers

What are the proceudres for filing bankruptcy in PA state

You can certainly file for protection under the bankruptcy code. A consigner on a loan or account is as liable for the obligations as the account owner. Depending on the amount due and the willingness of the companies to compromise the debt, you could either file for bankruptcy or seek credit counselling from a not for profit credit councilling service.

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Can I keep my house but still file bankruptcy?

Generally, in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, you will be able to keep your house. You will need to pay the arrears under the mortgage over a 60 month terms and the regular payments as you go.

Are there bank accounts that have protection against a levy

Generally accounts are leviable in New Jersey. The name on the account and the judgment must match for the levy to be succesful, Certain ERISA accounts, IRA, etc are protected against levy as a matter of federal law. However, in New Jersey most other accounts can be levied upon.

Bad Payroll checks cashed at a Check Cashing store.

Under a strict reading of the law, you are liable as the endorser of the check (you signed the back) to the check cashing store. You have a claim against the Company for not honoring is check. You may also have a defense if the check cashing store waited too long to notify you of the bad check. This is a very unforunate occurrence, but you probably can get some free advise from the NJ Dept. of Labor as you have not been paid for work performed.

My attorney never billed me monthly even tho I asked many times. I just found he was on ineligible list to practice too. Now ?

I am very sorry you are having so many difficutlies with your attorney. Attorney fees in New Jersey are subject to mandatory fee arbitration. You are in Middlesex County, here is a link for more information on fee arbitration http://www.mcbalaw.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=25. WIth respect to your attorney continuing to practice while on the ineligible list you should contact the Office of Attorney Ethics in Trenton for further advise.

Old Employer withholding back pay

There is a simple answer to this question - NO. By statute in New Jersey, th employer must pay you for all time worked and may not hold your check. Your best option is to file a complaint with the Department of Labor for non-payment of salary. Its cheap and fast.

Arbitration,debt collection

A failure to validate the debt is a violation of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and would entitled yout to statutory recovery together with an award of legal fees. However all that is required to validate the debt is to evidence the original account holder and the amount due. Arbitration awards are generally enforceable except in the case of fraud of failure to follow due process. If the arbitrator did not consider your answer of defense under the FDCPA, you may have grounds to...

File Bankruptcy

Yes in a chapter 13 you can receive a discharge for all or part of your unsecured debt while keeping your house. You will need to pay all the arrears on the house over a sixty month period and remain current on the mortgage.

Husband depositing IRS checks into his own account without 2 signatures required

If the check was payable to both you and your husband, and both parties did not endorse the check then I would notify the IRS and the payor that the check was wrongfully endorsed. If a new check is issued then both of you are required to endorse. The Bank is only liable to the IRS for paying over a fraudlent endorsement. The IRS is liable to you as they have not paid you if the check was fraudlently endorsed.