Bankruptcy Relief
As a Boise Bankruptcy Attorney I know that for most people who file for bankruptcy, the initial moment of relief is when the creditors stop calling and harassing them for payments on past due accounts. During my initial consultation, individuals often want to know when creditors have to stop calling and what can be done if they don't.
When Will Collection Efforts Stop?
As soon as they are notified of your bankruptcy, creditors must stop all collection efforts. The bankruptcy court will send out a notice to all the creditors you have listed on your petition (one more reason you want to make certain you have listed everyone). Although the right to have creditors stop harassing you begins immediately upon your filing bankruptcy, it can actually take a couple of weeks for those notices to reach and go through all the proper channels. In the meantime, if you get a call from a creditor you can inform them that you have filed bankruptcy. It is important to notify them of the case number so they know that your claim is legitimate. While it isn't always necessary sometimes it might take a telephone call from your Boise Bankruptcy Lawyer to get them to stop before they have received the actual notice from the Federal Bankruptcy Court.
One important word of caution. If you have been sued and have a pending collections case against you, you should have your Boise Bankruptcy Attorney give the attorney for the creditor a call. This will prevent any action against you from being taken before they receive the notice from the Bankruptcy Court.
What Happens if the Creditor Won't Stop Calling?
If you have filed your bankruptcy petition, notified your creditors and/or your creditors have receive notice of your bankruptcy from the Court, and a creditor is still harassing you, you have legal recourse against them. Your bankruptcy lawyer can file a complaint against them with the bankruptcy court. The malicious creditor can have sanctions placed against them and they may be required to pay your attorneys' fees.
Whether you need to file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and you want to speak to a Boise Bankruptcy Attorney, give us a call, (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Child Support Attorneys Boise (208) 472-2383 Divorce, Family Law, Custody
Child Support FAQs
As a Boise Family Law Attorney I deal with child support very frequently. Although child support is fairly straight forward, there are many questions people have in regard to their rights and obligations. In today's blog I am going to focus on some frequently asked questions in regard to child support.
Where Do You Pay Child Support and How Much Does it Cost?
All child support must be paid through the Department of Health and Welfare. The Department keeps a thorough record of all payments made, amounts owing and arrears. In 2005 Congress passed the Federal Budget Deficit Reduction Act. As part of that Act, Congress ordered every state to pay a $25 fee on every active child support case over $500. In 2007 Child Support Services began passing on that fee to parents owing child support.
Child Support Services sends out a monthly bill which can be used to send your payment in. If you do not wish to receive a bill, you can opt out by calling the Department.
What Happens if I Don't Pay My Child Support?
Child support is established by a court order. Either you were ordered to pay support pursuant to a divorce or a custody proceeding. Your divorce attorney or custody lawyer, or the attorneys on the other side would have filled out a child support worksheet and calculated your obligation based upon the Idaho Child Support Guidelines. Once you have a child support order it is sent to Child Support Services. As noted above, this department keeps a thorough record of your payments. If you fail to pay and are behind $2,000 or the equivalent of three months of child support, Child Support Services can take action.
The first thing they will do is to suspend your driver's license, any Fish and Game licenses you hold as well as any occupational license you have. This can wreck havoc on you and your ability to drive, to work and to recreate and that is exactly why this law is in effect. In order to get your licenses in good standing, you must contact Child Support Services and make financial arrangements to pay the outstanding child support. Once you have committed to a monthly repayment plan you can get your licenses back. If, at any time during the repayment, you fail to make your payments, the department will once again begin the process of suspending your licenses.
The next thing that can be done to you for failing to pay child support is that the department will put a lien on any real property you own in Idaho. This will be done when you are $2,000 or the equivalent of three months of child support behind. Liens are only removed when you have paid your outstanding arrears in full.
What Happens When One Child Turns 18 (or 19) and You Still Owe Support for Younger Children?
If your child support order specifies what is to be done, the department will simply follow the order. However, there are times you may have to notify the department or even have your Boise Divorce Attorney go in and modify the original order.
In Idaho, Child Support can continue until a child is 19 if that child is still in school. Child Support Services will not know that child support should continue if they are not notified that the child is still in school. Likewise, if your child support order does not give a dollar amount to which child support should be reduced once one child is over 18 (or 19) and most likely it won't, you will have to ask the court to modify the original order so that the proper amount is being paid for the children remaining. Your divorce attorney or custody lawyer will know the exact procedure to follow to have the order modified.
If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney or a Boise Child Support Attorney about child support, custody, modification or any other family law issue, give us a call (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you.
As a Boise Family Law Attorney I deal with child support very frequently. Although child support is fairly straight forward, there are many questions people have in regard to their rights and obligations. In today's blog I am going to focus on some frequently asked questions in regard to child support.
Where Do You Pay Child Support and How Much Does it Cost?
All child support must be paid through the Department of Health and Welfare. The Department keeps a thorough record of all payments made, amounts owing and arrears. In 2005 Congress passed the Federal Budget Deficit Reduction Act. As part of that Act, Congress ordered every state to pay a $25 fee on every active child support case over $500. In 2007 Child Support Services began passing on that fee to parents owing child support.
Child Support Services sends out a monthly bill which can be used to send your payment in. If you do not wish to receive a bill, you can opt out by calling the Department.
What Happens if I Don't Pay My Child Support?
Child support is established by a court order. Either you were ordered to pay support pursuant to a divorce or a custody proceeding. Your divorce attorney or custody lawyer, or the attorneys on the other side would have filled out a child support worksheet and calculated your obligation based upon the Idaho Child Support Guidelines. Once you have a child support order it is sent to Child Support Services. As noted above, this department keeps a thorough record of your payments. If you fail to pay and are behind $2,000 or the equivalent of three months of child support, Child Support Services can take action.
The first thing they will do is to suspend your driver's license, any Fish and Game licenses you hold as well as any occupational license you have. This can wreck havoc on you and your ability to drive, to work and to recreate and that is exactly why this law is in effect. In order to get your licenses in good standing, you must contact Child Support Services and make financial arrangements to pay the outstanding child support. Once you have committed to a monthly repayment plan you can get your licenses back. If, at any time during the repayment, you fail to make your payments, the department will once again begin the process of suspending your licenses.
The next thing that can be done to you for failing to pay child support is that the department will put a lien on any real property you own in Idaho. This will be done when you are $2,000 or the equivalent of three months of child support behind. Liens are only removed when you have paid your outstanding arrears in full.
What Happens When One Child Turns 18 (or 19) and You Still Owe Support for Younger Children?
If your child support order specifies what is to be done, the department will simply follow the order. However, there are times you may have to notify the department or even have your Boise Divorce Attorney go in and modify the original order.
In Idaho, Child Support can continue until a child is 19 if that child is still in school. Child Support Services will not know that child support should continue if they are not notified that the child is still in school. Likewise, if your child support order does not give a dollar amount to which child support should be reduced once one child is over 18 (or 19) and most likely it won't, you will have to ask the court to modify the original order so that the proper amount is being paid for the children remaining. Your divorce attorney or custody lawyer will know the exact procedure to follow to have the order modified.
If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney or a Boise Child Support Attorney about child support, custody, modification or any other family law issue, give us a call (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Boise Criminal Defense Attorney (208) 472-2383 Idaho Criminal Lawyers
DWP and Notice of License Suspension
I mentioned in last week's blog that as a Boise Criminal Defense Attorney one of the most common questions I get has to do with DWP and license suspension. In today's legal analysis I will discuss how you get notice of your suspended license and what happens if you don't get it or you disregard it.
Very frequently people will call my office and say that they were pulled over for some reason or another only to find out that they were driving without privileges and they had no idea that their license was suspended. The usual question to criminal attorneys is, "Can I be guilty if I never had notice of the suspension?" The answer to this is yes.
Upon hearing this answer from a Boise Criminal Attorney, people often cry, "Unfair!" We have all heard that ignorance of the law is no excuse and that is applicable here. The Idaho Code says that you are presumed to have notice of a suspended license if, you have actual knowledge, you have received oral or written notice by qualified personnel, if the notice was mailed to your home or a reasonable person would have knowledge that their license is suspended.
Actual Notice
The two situations I want to discuss here are the last two. Recently, I had an individual call my office. She was very unhappy because she had been pulled over for a traffic infraction. It was then that she discovered that she was driving without privileges. She said that she had moved and had forwarded her mail. For all intents and purposes, she appears to have done everything right, right? Wrong.
When the Idaho Code talks about notice going to your home, it means the address on file at the Department of Motor Vehicles. If you move and forward your mail without changing your address at the DMV you are potentially setting yourself up, not only to be cited with a criminal charge, but you are taking the chance that you will get a DWP because you didn't get actual notice of the underlying suspension. In fact, in Idaho, you have 30 days to notify the DMV of your new address and if you don't you can be cited for failing to do so.
The individual I spoke of felt she was justified because she had notified the US Postal Service of her change of address. Even if she didn't notify the DMV the notice should have been forwarded to her and she never got it. You can forward your mail for up to 1 year. However, after 6 months, you have to request a continuance. But all this is an academic point because she never notified the DMV of her change of address.
Is there anyway to get passed the "I didn't receive notice"? Most likely not. The fourth presumption of notice I mentioned above says that a reasonable person would have known their license was suspended. This is a legal catch all. Unless you can show that your notice was not actually mailed to your accurate address on file with the DMV and that there was no way that you had or should have had knowledge of the suspension, you will be presumed to have notice. This leads you to have to deal with the underlying suspension and avoiding that slippery slope of DWP that criminal attorneys are always talking about.
If you have been charged with a DWP, DUI or any other crime in Idaho and you need to speak to a Boise Criminal Lawyer, give us a call, (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you. You will be glad you did.
I mentioned in last week's blog that as a Boise Criminal Defense Attorney one of the most common questions I get has to do with DWP and license suspension. In today's legal analysis I will discuss how you get notice of your suspended license and what happens if you don't get it or you disregard it.
Very frequently people will call my office and say that they were pulled over for some reason or another only to find out that they were driving without privileges and they had no idea that their license was suspended. The usual question to criminal attorneys is, "Can I be guilty if I never had notice of the suspension?" The answer to this is yes.
Upon hearing this answer from a Boise Criminal Attorney, people often cry, "Unfair!" We have all heard that ignorance of the law is no excuse and that is applicable here. The Idaho Code says that you are presumed to have notice of a suspended license if, you have actual knowledge, you have received oral or written notice by qualified personnel, if the notice was mailed to your home or a reasonable person would have knowledge that their license is suspended.
Actual Notice
The two situations I want to discuss here are the last two. Recently, I had an individual call my office. She was very unhappy because she had been pulled over for a traffic infraction. It was then that she discovered that she was driving without privileges. She said that she had moved and had forwarded her mail. For all intents and purposes, she appears to have done everything right, right? Wrong.
When the Idaho Code talks about notice going to your home, it means the address on file at the Department of Motor Vehicles. If you move and forward your mail without changing your address at the DMV you are potentially setting yourself up, not only to be cited with a criminal charge, but you are taking the chance that you will get a DWP because you didn't get actual notice of the underlying suspension. In fact, in Idaho, you have 30 days to notify the DMV of your new address and if you don't you can be cited for failing to do so.
The individual I spoke of felt she was justified because she had notified the US Postal Service of her change of address. Even if she didn't notify the DMV the notice should have been forwarded to her and she never got it. You can forward your mail for up to 1 year. However, after 6 months, you have to request a continuance. But all this is an academic point because she never notified the DMV of her change of address.
Is there anyway to get passed the "I didn't receive notice"? Most likely not. The fourth presumption of notice I mentioned above says that a reasonable person would have known their license was suspended. This is a legal catch all. Unless you can show that your notice was not actually mailed to your accurate address on file with the DMV and that there was no way that you had or should have had knowledge of the suspension, you will be presumed to have notice. This leads you to have to deal with the underlying suspension and avoiding that slippery slope of DWP that criminal attorneys are always talking about.
If you have been charged with a DWP, DUI or any other crime in Idaho and you need to speak to a Boise Criminal Lawyer, give us a call, (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you. You will be glad you did.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Boise Criminal Defense Attorneys - DUI Lawyers 208-472-2383
License Suspension
As a Boise Criminal Defense Attorney I deal a lot with the Idaho Transportation Department. The reason I have so much contact has to do with license suspensions.
DUI License Suspension
Many people are aware that there is a mandatory license suspension when you are convicted of a DUI. This is a requirement established by Idaho Statute and the length of which will be determined by how many times you have been convicted of driving under the influence. The license suspension applies to driving under the influence of alcohol as well as drugs including illegal drugs such as marijuana, meth or over the counter or prescription drugs.
DWP License Suspension
All criminal lawyers will tell you that DWP is a slippery slope and it's true. If you already have a suspended license because of something like a DUI and you get pulled over, you are going to get an additional license suspension on top of the one that you already have. It won't start running until the current one expires.
License Suspension for Minors
There are special rules that apply to suspensions for juveniles. A minor can be be cited with a DUI for any amount of alcohol in the blood stream. Whereas a license suspension for an adult on a first time DUI would be for 30 days absolute and then between 60-150 days where you can ask for a restricted license, the law is much tougher with minors. A minor DUI carries a 1 year suspension with a 90 day absolute.
There are other ways that minors can get there license suspended as well. If a minor, under the age of 17 is convicted of a traffic offense, there are automatically given notice that if they receive another conviction they will have their license suspended for 30 days. A third conviction would carry a 60 day suspension. This continues until the minor reaches 17. If a minor receives a suspension a day before their 17th birthday, the suspension will run its course, regardless of the age of the minor.
If you need to speak to a Boise Criminal Lawyer about a DUI, DWP or any other crime in Idaho, give us a call (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you. You will be glad you did.
As a Boise Criminal Defense Attorney I deal a lot with the Idaho Transportation Department. The reason I have so much contact has to do with license suspensions.
DUI License Suspension
Many people are aware that there is a mandatory license suspension when you are convicted of a DUI. This is a requirement established by Idaho Statute and the length of which will be determined by how many times you have been convicted of driving under the influence. The license suspension applies to driving under the influence of alcohol as well as drugs including illegal drugs such as marijuana, meth or over the counter or prescription drugs.
DWP License Suspension
All criminal lawyers will tell you that DWP is a slippery slope and it's true. If you already have a suspended license because of something like a DUI and you get pulled over, you are going to get an additional license suspension on top of the one that you already have. It won't start running until the current one expires.
License Suspension for Minors
There are special rules that apply to suspensions for juveniles. A minor can be be cited with a DUI for any amount of alcohol in the blood stream. Whereas a license suspension for an adult on a first time DUI would be for 30 days absolute and then between 60-150 days where you can ask for a restricted license, the law is much tougher with minors. A minor DUI carries a 1 year suspension with a 90 day absolute.
There are other ways that minors can get there license suspended as well. If a minor, under the age of 17 is convicted of a traffic offense, there are automatically given notice that if they receive another conviction they will have their license suspended for 30 days. A third conviction would carry a 60 day suspension. This continues until the minor reaches 17. If a minor receives a suspension a day before their 17th birthday, the suspension will run its course, regardless of the age of the minor.
If you need to speak to a Boise Criminal Lawyer about a DUI, DWP or any other crime in Idaho, give us a call (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you. You will be glad you did.
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