Katrina victims needing help with debt/bankruptcy issues, I'm glad to help

[liberalhistorian]

A thread was just posted asking about the new bankruptcy laws and if Katrina victims would still be able to file under the old laws, since they've lost everything and now have nothing to pay any bills or debt with. Unfortunately, they only have until October 17 to file under the old laws which, given the circumstances, doesn't really give them much time at all.

Since the vulture collectrolls and creditors wait for no one, and don't give a damn if you've had your entire family murdered in front of you they still want your money, these people will likely start to be hounded before too long. A "decent" interval to collectrolls after something like this is maybe a week, two at the most.

I'm a paralegal who has experience with these issues and who knows the laws, including the Fair Debt Collection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the bankruptcy laws themselves, inside and out and who has worked with debtors previously. I feel tremendously helpless in the face of this overwhelming tragedy, since sending money and supplies just doesn't seem like enough. Since I cannot go to ground zero myself to help out, due to work and financial reasons, I am offering my assistance to any Katrina victims who may need it in regards to debt and bankruptcy issues, totally free.

So, please feel free to PM or email me if you need any help at all, and pass it on. You may not think creditors and collectrolls would be so heartless as to bother people right now, but these fuckers wait for no one.

[Horse with no Name]

1. Can you contact

SouthernDem2004?
He was inquiring yesterday.

[liberalhistorian]

2. Do you know how to get in touch with him?

The search function is turned off right now, so I can't do it at the moment. Or can you tell him to PM or email me, if you're in contact?

[charlie]

4. Here's his forum profile

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=user_profiles&u_id=160975

[liberalhistorian]

5. Thanks, I'll contact him

right away!

[JanMichael]

7. How much do you normally charge for this?

I will kick in to help pay for this if you need it; we don't have much, but can contribute some...

Please PM me if you need it-

Stephanie

[liberalhistorian]

8. Don't worry about any costs or

anything like that right now, I'm glad to do what I can for free as my way of contributing. The only expense that I'd probably need to worry about would be filing fees if someone does go ahead and file bankruptcy; the filing fees are usually between $100-400, depending on the court.

Hopefully, a lot of what I could do would involve contacting or writing to creditors on the person's behalf, and helping them deal with creditors. But I can also complete bankruptcy petitions as well.

[JanMichael]

11. That's extrememly decent of you

kick

[liberalhistorian]

3. DU lawyers-

how about setting up some kind of coordinated effort for these people? I am, after all, just a paralegal and not an attorney so I'm limited in what I can do, despite my knowledge and skills.

[JohnnyBoots]

6. kick

[liberalhistorian]

9. Kick

:kick:

[KCDoug]

10. Repeal or post pone the new law

why can Dem's in Congress attach some amendment to one of the emergency spending bill's coming up for the Vitim's to either suspend or repeal the new bankruptcy laws...Let the repugs vote THAT down...?

[liberalhistorian]

12. I think Feingold's trying to

do just that, as was mentioned above. Although I'm a bit disappointed that no other Dem has appeared to mention it so far. And believe me, the repigs would have NO problem voting it down, nothing seems to shame them anymore. And since the victims are largely black and poor, they'll be able to get away with it, unfortunately.

[KCDoug]

13. I WANT them to vote it down

I think that would greatly help us remove them in the '06 elections.. this could very well be the death of the republican party....

[liberalhistorian]

14. The problem if they do

vote it down, however, is that there wouldn't be enough Dem votes to override that and too many people would be screwed. As much as I want to see the entire GOP go down ASAP, I don't want it to happen on the backs of desperate people. They must come first right now.