By Harvey J. Spinowitz, P.A., Bankruptcy and Family Law Attorney An item of interest just passed across my desk and I think it is worthy of comment and advice. A married couple in their sixties wanted to give their home to their two children. So, they “Quit-Claimed” the home to the children while reserving a [...]

ConsumerAffairs.com The credit card marketplace is constantly changing, especially in the wake of Congress’s recent credit card reform legislation, that has forced lenders to be more creative to make up lost revenue. This can be a problem for many consumers, who admit to having little financial knowledge to begin with. The National Foundation for Credit [...]

Florida lawmakers and Governor Scott just gave big business permission to gouge consumers with Senate Bill 408 allowing huge increases for homeowners  insurance. A homeowner can expect to see a 15 percent increase in the price of their policy. The new law also stipulates homeowners will have to come out of pocket with more money [...]

By ConsumerAffairs.com Second lien-holder has all the power The latest report on foreclosures shows that foreclosure filings have dropped in recent months. But it’s not because things have suddenly gotten better. Many homeowners, like Paul, of Jersey City, N.J., are still struggling to hang on, but aren’t finding much help. His story is a revealing [...]

By Vince Robertiello HOUSTON — Recently, ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva announced that his company would discontinue its involvement in a controversial oil drilling project in a remote area of the northern Peruvian Amazon. According to Care 2, a California-based activist organization Care 2, the oil company had been under fire from environmental and human rights [...]

By Vince Robertiello More than 70 percent of U.S. coal-plant capacity are already more than 30 years old — the operating lifetime for which coal plants were typically designed. In an article for California activist Care 2’s publication Carole Buczynski notes, Instead of withdrawing subsidies from this dying industry and using it to hasten the [...]

by Harvey J. Spinowitz, P.A. Bankruptcy and Family Law Attorney As promised, the following is a (short) explanation of how it is decided which bankruptcy to file, a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13. Simply put, if you have too much income or too many assets, you may have to file a Chapter 13. The [...]

ConsumerAffairs.com The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has a suggestion for the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB): set some rules to help consumers deal with debt protection and credit insurance products. The GAO said after a study that, although there are few consumer complaints about the products, they nevertheless carry a substantial cost and [...]

As we age, various problems begin to raise their heads. The years that follow retirement are not an easy time. Many of these adjustments have to take place at the psychological level. For instance, the senior citizen has to get used to his new-found status as he is no longer going to be an earning [...]

By William Stone As the economy continues to flatline banks are finding new ways to take your money by increasing fees and lowering credit limits. Consumers are reacting by taking the credit card companies to court. As the financial crunch takes its toll across the country with record numbers of foreclosures and bankruptcies, citizens are [...]