In response to the Corona-Economy, the federal “CARES Act†authorizes payments up to $1,200 to eligible individuals and $2,400 for eligible couples, with an additional $500 for children under 17 years old. 4 million of those eligible to receive the stimulus money will receive it through pre-paid debt cards. The cards will arrive in a plain envelope from “Money Network […]
Corona-Economy Stimulus Money Coming on Debit Cards
Status of NY Debt Collection Courts
New York Court’s are continuing to open. This week, we were notified that the New York State Supreme Courts would be reopening to new cases. The courts of lower jurisdiction, where most debt collection cases are filed, remained close. We will be keeping a close eye on whether the debt collectors will unload their backlog of new cases in the […]
False Student Loan Credit Reporting Under the CARES Act
Under the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act†(CARES Act), qualifying federal student were automatically placed into “administrative forbearance.†Borrowers are not required to make payments through September 30, 2020. However, apparently some federal student loan servicers have been reporting borrowers in the administrative forbearance as delinquent to the credit reporting agencies. Federal law called the Fair Credit Reporting […]
HEROES Act and Milktoast Dems
House Democrats have water-downed a promising piece of Corona legislation. The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act) – a $3 trillion piece of proposed legislation to inject cash and other relief into the economy originally included: $10,000 in across-the-board student loan forgiveness for federal student loan borrowers. $10,000 in private student loan forgiveness. A last-minute amendment […]
Behind the Scenes (Law Office Adaptation in the Age of Corona)
These are strange days indeed. The Coronavirus has compelled us all to adapt our lives in ways we could not have imagined just a few months ago.
Student Loan Forgiveness as a Corona-Economy Stimulus Strategy
Forgiving federal student loans is a smart, moral and effective means of blunting the economic devastation of the Corona-Economy. Currently, 44 million Americans have student loans totaling $1.6 trillion. In 2010, student loan debt in the United States was roughly $833 billion. Ten years later, that number has exploded to more than $1.6 trillion. Relieving working Americans from this burden […]
Status Update on the New York Debt Collection Courts During the Corona Shutdown
Since the first days of the Corona shutdown in New York, debt collection defense lawyers have been concerned that the courthouse doors would be shut to consumers suffering under wage garnishments and restrained bank accounts. We were concerned that there was not avenue for relief for aggrieved debtors. As the courts begin to thaw, those worries are subsiding and we […]
Can Wages be Garnisheed During the Corona-Economy?
While sheltered in place and so many businesses closed, the Covid-19 pandemic is causing extraordinary economic distress for so many working families. As we all stockpile food and supplies, every penny we earn is precious and necessary to keep our families safe and comfortable during this crisis. Few of us can afford to give up 10% of our salary to […]
New York Wage Garnishments During the Corona-Economy
THE PROBLEM While sheltered in place and so many businesses closed, the Covid-19 pandemic is causing extraordinary economic distress for so many working families. As we all stockpile food and supplies, every penny we earn is precious and necessary to keep our families safe and comfortable during this crisis. Few of us can afford to give up 10% of our […]