Why would you pay a debt consolidation company a 15% administration fee to help settle your debts? If you’re wise, the answer would be that you wouldn’t. Firstly, the debt consolidation company has no real legal authority to bind creditors to accept less than what is owed. The cases are strictly voluntary and many creditors do not play ball. Secondly, the services being provided by debt consolidators is something that you could, in fact, handle yourself. Lastly, you have little control when you sign the debt consolidator’s limited power of attorney. If you need a Philadelphia lawyer to read and understand the contract, it cannot be written to favor the debtor.

With regard to fees, if your placed debt is over $23,500.00, you are paying a higher total fee than if you filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Word to the wise, debt consolidation is often a mistake, eventually leading to either a Chapter 7 of Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Take my simple, yet profound advice: Meet with an experienced bankruptcy attorney prior to entering into a debt consolidation program with an unknown, out-of-state entity. You may be able to save yourself from lost wages, heartache, lawsuits, garnishments, repossessions and foreclosures. There is a reason why 41 state attorney’s general are lobbying Congress to toughen the laws related to debt consolidation companies. If it sounds too good to be true, it most certainly is too good to be true.

1) You are only making the minimum payments on your credit cards. You think that you’re ok because you are managing your debt. However, consider this fact:

On a 5k debt at 18.99% interest, the minimum payment is $200.00 per month.
If you continue to pay the minimum payment, you will eventually pay off the debt in 12 years and 10 months. You will have paid over $3,155.00 on a 5k debt. And that’s assuming you don’t make any future charges on the card. The credit card companies would love for you to just make the minimum payments.

So, if you are just making the minimum payments, you are in trouble.

2) You’ve been turned down for credit or you’ve seen your credit line decrease.

In making credit decisions, creditors utilize information obtained from the three credit bureaus. They view your credit worthiness based upon your FICO score. If you’ve been declined or if you’ve seen your credit limit decrease, creditors are screaming out that you are a credit risk and that you are already over-extended. Take heed to their warnings.

3) You’ve exhausted your savings and you’re taking cash advances to pay your monthly bills.

You are flat-out, over-spending when you need to take cash advances to pay bills. It’s bad enough that you’ve depleted your savings. Now you’re taking cash advances which come at a premium, including high interest. You must gain control of what you bring in and what you pay out.

4) You are living pay check to pay check.

If you are relying on your upcoming pay check to pay your current monthly obligations, then you are just one payday away from a crisis. What if you miss time due to an illness or worse, lose your job. Unemployment doesn’t kick-in immediately and the benefit amount will certainly be less than your current pay. Living pay check to pay check is a sure-fire, debt warning sign.

5) Creditors are calling you.

You’re getting endless calls from bill collectors, computerized, automated calls at all hours of the day, at home and at work. Ducking these calls will not make the problem go away. Ignoring the creditor can lead to lawsuits, court appearances, wage garnishments and even bank account seizures. Creditor calls are the most obvious financial reality check and complete the top 5 countdown.

The purpose of Chapter 7 bankruptcy is to provide debtors with a new, fresh start. That means discharging most, if not all, of the unsecured debt, including credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, and others. In addition, Chapter 7 allows debtors to keep some of the property that is secured by debt, including cars, motorcycles, and homes, provided the debtor continues to make timely payments. However, there is something else that Chapter 7 bankruptcy provides, and that is a peace of mind. It affords the debtor another chance to plan and implement a successful financial future without having the stress of unpaid bills, collectors’ phone calls, and threatening letters. In order for the bankruptcy to provide debtors with such peace of mind, it is necessary for all of the creditors to get notice of the bankruptcy proceeding. Even though your attorney can pull up your credit report to find almost all of your creditors, it is important for you to find creditors that might not show up on your credit report. These might be medical bills, personal loans, or other loans that wouldn’t ordinarily show up on credit report. This way the creditor is notified regarding the bankruptcy proceeding and of the debt being discharged. This ensures that the creditor will leave you in peace after bankruptcy and will not attempt to collect.

Even if a court meets jurisdictional criteria, it may decline to exercise its jurisdiction, and it must in some cases if it finds that it is an inconvenient forum for making such determinations under the circumstances of the case and that a court of another state is a more appropriate forum.  Klumpner v. Klumpner.

This Act requires that the trial court decline jurisdiction once it is aware that it may be an inconvenient forum, and that the court of another state is more appropriate.  In re Pavelcik.

Even where the requirements of 750 ILCS 35/4 are met and the court has jurisdiction to make a child custody determination, it may decline to exercise it if it finds that court to be an inconvenient forum for the determination under the circumstances of the case, and that a court of another state is a more appropriate forum.  Noga v. Noga.   

This Act involves a process in which the court must first resolve whether it has jurisdiction under 750 ILCS 35/4, and after such a finding, it must determine under this section and 750 ILCS 35/7 whether it should decline to exercise jurisdiction.  In re Levy.

                                                Atty. No. 
 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS
 MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT - SECOND DISTRICT

                                                      
Z AN ILLINOIS                  

CORPORATION,                      
               Plaintiff,       v.                               

 No.  2002 
TAMMY   

Defendant.       

 AFFIDAVIT REGARDING ATTORNEY’S FEES
I, Attorney of Record, being duly sworn on oath, having personal knowledge of the relevant herein, and if called as a witness would competently testify as follows:

1. That Affiants are attorneys, licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois since 1988, and 1990 respectively, and that they is paid $100.00 per hour for office time and $125.00 per hour for court time.

2. That Affiants have rendered the usual and customary services as the attorneys for the Plaintiff in regards to the above action and other relief.

3. That the attached itemized statement, marked Exhibit “A”, attached hereto and incorporated herein, as to the services rendered regarding this case is correct to the best of our knowledge.
FURTHER AFFIANTS SAYETH NOT.              

                                                                
                                         Attorney

STATE OF ILLINOIS  )
                              )  SS
COUNTY OF C O O K )

Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Section 1-109 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, the undersigned certifies that the statements set forth in this instrument are true and correct, except as to matters therein stated to be on information and belief as to such matters the undersigned certifies as aforesaid that he verily believes the same to be true.
                                                                         Attorney
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Gift
 The circuit court’s conclusion that the bracelet given to petitioner by respondent’s mother, who carried insurance on it, belonged to the petitioner was contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence; therefore, bracelet was not included in marital property.  In re Simmons
 The trial court erred in awarding gold cross to petitioner wife as her separate non-marital property where the evidence established that it was given to husband by his uncle many years prior to the marriage and there was no affirmative proof of an intention to make a gift to the wife.  In re Uluhogian
Improvement
 The stores owned by a husband prior to the marriage remained non-marital despite their absorption of some marital resources because it was permissible for one spouse to improve the other spouse’s non-marital property without making that property marital.  In re Kennedy
Individual Retirement Account
 Where an Individual Retirement Account was treated as the exclusive property of husband since he used the account as an adjustment to income on his separate tax return, this was property acquired solely by husband during the marriage and fell within the exclusion of the prenuptial agreement.  In re Burgess
Investment
 The interest earned during the marriage on one spouse’s investment account was her non-marital property, as an increase in the value of property acquired before marriage remained non-marital property.  In re Deem
Legislative Intent
 The intent of this section as a whole was designed to eliminate disparity between the marriage partners; however, the exceptions (1) through (6) of subsection 9a) of this section manifest the legislative purpose to preserve the character of non-marital property in those situations where the actions of the parties have not created ambiguity.  In re Smith
Test
 Where property was acquired before marriage, title is a relevant indicator to determine at the time of dissolution whether the property has remained non-marital.  In re Drennan

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Custodial parent who removed children from Illinois to Louisiana and obtained a Louisiana court order that prohibited visitation by the other parent the day prior to a scheduled visitation was properly found in contempt of the Illinois visitation order because the Louisiana order did not excuse the custodial parent’s noncompliance where it was intentionally procured as a way not to follow the order with which the custodial parent disagreed and because the Illinois court retained exclusive jurisdiction over the matter regardless of where the children were taken.  In re Marriage of Kneitz.

STATE OF ILLINOIS    ) 
                                ) SS
COUNTY OF C O O K   )

 AFFIDAVIT OF LMD IN SUPPORT OF PETITION TO VACATE JUDGMENT

LMD, being duly sworn on oath, and having personal knowledge of the relevant facts presented herein, states as follows:  
1. Affiant, LMD, the Defendant in the above-entitled action, makes this Affidavit in support of the Petition to vacate the judgment entered therein on November 8, 1991, in favor of Plaintiff and against Affiant in the amount of $741.06, and costs.

2.   That said judgment should not have been entered and should not be allowed to stand because I nor my automobile was involved in the accident that is the basis of the underlying lawsuit.

3.   That said judgment was entered aforesaid without any fault or negligence of Affiant.

4. That upon receipt of the summons and complaint I immediately telephoned the Plaintiff’s attorney and was informed by the Plaintiff’s attorney that if I sent a letter stating I nor my automobile was involved in the accident he would dismiss the case. 

5.   That further, my automobile was Beige and not blue.

6.   That further, my license plate number for my automobile at the time of the accident was PM2631 and not PM.

7.   That at all times herein material Affiant has exercised due care and diligence in that I contacted Plaintiff’s attorney and was assured that the mistake would be corrected thus the
lawsuit would be dismissed.

8.  Promptly on learning of entry of said judgment, Affiant
immediately said Petition to vacate said judgment.

9.  Affiant has on the merits, a valid defense to Plaintiff’s purported cause of action therein, in that my automobile was not involved in the accident that is the underlying justification and  cause of this lawsuit herein.

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Application and Construction
 In order to preserve a property’s non-marital status one must prove that the entire property was acquired exclusively by one of the methods listed in subsection (a), and that its character was not subsequently altered by action of the owner; the interpretation of the effect of subsection (b) upon subsection (a) of this section is consistent with the Act’s expressed preference for the classification of property as marital and the shifting of the burden of proof to the party seeking control of the property.  In re Smith
Evidence
 Where wife testified she told husband prior to the marriage that she wanted to continue paying the mortgage, insurance premiums and real estate taxes, she expressed an intention to maintain the residence as her separate property, and placed in trust the title to the residence with her daughters as beneficiaries, testimony rebutted the presumption of marital property raised.  In re Holman
Federal Employer’s Liability Action
 The cause of action set forth in count II of the husband’s Federal Employer’s Liability Action complaint was a separate property right and non-marital in nature where it arose following the entry of the judgment of dissolution; it could not properly have been considered part of the property settlement agreement.  In re Waeckerle
Future Acquisition of Assets
 The court must consider non-marital property, even where the non-marital property will be received in the future, when it determines the relevant economic circumstances of each spouse and the amount and sources of income of the parties, as well as the reasonable opportunity of each spouse for future acquisition of capital assets and income.  In re Smith
Future Earning Capacity
 Future earning capacity flowing from an education was not considered a marital asset and, thus, not divided by the court in a dissolution of marriage proceeding.  In re Goldstein

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