RETIREMENT FUNDS ARE NOT EXEMPT WHEN FILING A CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY-AT LEAST UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES

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1 CONSUMER e-alert (June 16, 2014) Please add to your address book. This will ensure delivery into your inbox and not your junk, spam or bulk e mail box RETIREMENT FUNDS ARE NOT EXEMPT WHEN FILING A CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY-AT LEAST UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES FACTS Petitioners filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. They sought to exclude roughly $300,000 in an inherited individual retirement account (IRA) from the bankruptcy estate using the "retirement funds" exemption. See 11 U. S. C. 522(b)(3)(C). The Bankruptcy Court concluded that an inherited IRA does not share the same characteristics as a traditional IRA and disallowed the exemption. The District Court reversed, explaining that the exemption covers any account in which the funds were originally accumulated for retirement purposes. The Seventh Circuit disagreed and reversed the District Court. Funds held in inherited IRAs are not "retirement funds" within the meaning of 522(b)(3)(C). and are therefore not exempt and can be used to pay your creditors. (clark et ux. v. rameker, trustee, et al. certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the seventh circuit no june 12, 2014) MORAL It would have been better to take the funds and disburse them into other exemptions such as a homestead on your residence of buy a residence and equity can be a homestead subject to limits. If you would like to know more about what you can keep in a bankruptcy telephone our bankruptcy attorney Jozef Magyar (888) for a free telephone consultation if you reside in California. CALIFORNIA SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE RULES TEACHER TENURE LAWS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL FACTS On June 10, 2014 the Superior Court of California of Los Angeles County through Judge Rolf M. Treu in Case No. BC (Vergara etc., vs. State of California, etc.) ruled that California's laws on teacher tenure, layoffs and dismissals deprive students of their constitutional right to an education. The ruling overturns several California laws that govern the way teachers are hired and fired. The 6-page decision may be red on line at Page 1 of 7

2 Unconstitutional-Shock-the-Conscience-CA-Judge-Rules and has the tendency to set off a series of other legal fights in California and other states over the same issues. The opinion states "There is... no dispute that there are a significant number of grossly ineffective teachers currently active in California classrooms," Judge Rolf M. Treu wrote at page 8 of the opinion. Substantial evidence presented makes it clear to this court that the challenged statutes disproportionately affect poor and/or minority students. The evidence is compelling. Indeed, it shocks the conscience. However, the enforcement of this ruling will be delayed pending an appeal by the lawsuit's defendants, the state and California's two major teachers unions. MORAL Although this may sound like a good ruling for parents of children in schools, it is this attorneys opinion the case will go on for at least another five years with appeals potentially running all the way to the United States Supreme Court. So you pick your sides and support whom you like on your beliefs. ONE RING ON YOUR CELL PHONE CAN COST YOU A LOT OF MONEY FACTS One Ring Cell Phone Scam CAN RUN UP YOUR CELL PHONE BILL WITH UNWANTED CHARGES. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) sends this alert to cell phone users about the One Ring cell phone scam. The BBB has indicated scammers are making thousands of automated calls to random cell phone numbers that ring once and disconnect. Some callers are curious enough to call the number back. However, if you call back you could be incurring huge cell phone charges when you return the "One Ring" call, which is how the fraudsters turn a profit. The BBB offers theses three tips to avoid becoming a "One Ring" victim: 1. Ignore calls from unknown international numbers. Do not pick up calls from international numbers you don't recognize. Most importantly, don't call those numbers back. The calls typically come from Caribbean Islands including Grenada, Antigua, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and the British Virgin Islands, reports Baltimore's WBAL-TV. 2. Beware calls from numbers with a 473 area code. IF YOU SEE A 473 PREFIX ON YOUR CELL PHONE'S CALLER ID, BE CAREFUL, reports Minneapolis-St. Paul's KMSP-TV. While it may look like a local area code, it's actually the prefix for Grenada. Calling the international number back can lead to hefty international charges. 3. Carefully check your cell phone bills. "One Ring" victims typically discover the fraud by spotting charges on their phone bills. When cell phone owners return a "One Ring" call they are charged $19.95 for the international call fee. After that, there is a $9.00 per minute charge. The charges won't show up until the following month's statement arrives. The charges will often show up as a "premium service" for $ Page 2 of 7

3 If you are a victim to telemarketing fraud like the "One Ring" scam, report it immediately to the carrier and keep an eye on future cell phone bills. Document the date, time, and number received, along with the date and time the call was returned. MORAL If you do not recognize the telephone number, do not answer and do not call back. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR TAX ADVICE. THE AUTHOR MAKES NO CLAIMS ABOUT ITS ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR UP-TO-DATE CHARACTER AND THAT APPLIES TO ANY SITE LINKED TO THIS DOCUMENT AS WELL. NO AUTHOR OR OWNER OF THIS DOCUMENT AND ITS WEBSITE IS ACTING AS YOUR ATTORNEY. LEGAL RULES AND TAX RULES CHANGE FREQUENTLY, THEREFORE, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN OR ON A WEBSITE IS ACCURATE OR UP TO DATE. DO YOU HAVE A CONSUMER QUESTION? WOULD YOU LIKE AN ANSWER? SUBMIT IT TO US BY REPLY TO THIS E MAIL AND WE WILL ENDEAVOR TO PROVIDE YOU WITH AN ANSWER OR EXPLAIN WHY WE CANNOT DO SO. CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING THE SALE OR PURCHASE OF REAL PROPERTY WE MAY BE ABLE TO REPRESENT YOUR LEGAL INTERESTS AT NO CHARGE. CALL HERMAN THORDSEN FOR A FREE CONSULTATION AT TO SEE HOW THIS CAN BE DONE. PERSONAL INJURY Were you injured in an accident? Do you know your medical providers have an automatic lien against any recovery you might receive even if you have insurance? Do you know these liens can be negotiated? Just a word to let you know even though you have medical insurance, the insurance carrier has a lien as well. You can read it in your insurance contract under Third Party Liability. If you were injured in California please call us for a free consultation. HAVE A NICE SUMMER. Page 3 of 7

4 SPEAKERS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS DATE: JULY 15, 2014 TIME: 11: a.m. 1:00 p.m. LOCATION: WEST SAHARA LIBRARY WEST SAHARA AVE., LAS VEGAS, NV TOPIC: HOW TO DEVELOP BUSINESS FROM REAL ESTATE BROKERS WITHOUT VIOLATING RESPA SPONSORED NEVADA ASSOCIATION OF MORTGAGE PROFESSIONALS BY: SPEAKERS: HERMAN THORDSEN, ATTORNEY AT LAW COST: $15 MEMBERS. $30 FUTURE MEMBERS For over 40 years the attorneys at the Thordsen Law Firm have represented clients in many areas of law including personal injury, trusts and wills, short sales and foreclosure issues, criminal white collar defense, administrative actions, copyright and trademark protection, bankruptcy, civil lawsuits, as well as well as general real estate matters. Among others we are counsel to lenders, realtors, mortgage brokers in California and nationally. We are counsel to state trade associations in California, Nevada and Arizona. 151 Kalmus Drive, Suite B250 Costa Mesa, CA (888) Herman Thordsen, Esq. * Jozef G. Magyar, Esq. * Sean Thordsen, Esq. ** * Licensed in California State and Federal Courts ** Licensed in California and Nevada State and Federal Courts Page 4 of 7

5 REASONS YOU MAY WANT TO CONSULT ABOUT A CAR ACCIDENT If it is a minor fender bender, hiring a lawyer may be unnecessary. However, if the case is more serious and a lawsuit is probable you may need a car accident attorney. The cost to consult is free. Attorneys can help you recover money for your damaged property, medical bills, and personal injuries suffered by you and gather the evidence that presents your case favorably. Here are the five signs you may need a car accident lawyer. If there is serious injury or death. Car accidents in which serious injuries or deaths occur are not only traumatic but they usually result in complex litigation due to the seriousness of the harm. Not only are there multiple legal issues as to liability involved but the damages suffered can be very high. You will need an attorney to help you calculate the damages; guide you through the various legal claims and the liens that may be placed by medical care providers. Where there are multiple parties involved in the accident as for example, unsecured cargo may fly off of one car and cause another car to swerve and hit a third vehicle or pedestrian. These create issues as to who is at fault but to what degree. One or more parties are uninsured. If so a review of your policy for uninsured motorist coverage and if not enough the uninsured or underinsured driver can be checked for assets to determine if a civil suit should be filed against the driver and/or owner if the driver does not own the vehicle. Collecting evidence. A court order to obtain some car crash evidence may be necessary and a lawyer can help you obtain it if the case is going to mediation, arbitration and/or trail. For example, most new vehicles come equipped with a "black box" that records a few seconds of information during a crash. The information may be able to tell you how fast the car was going at the time of the collision or if the driver was wearing a seatbelt. The consultation is free and the lawyer is only paid if the trial is one or a settlement is entered into with your consent and then only paid if collected. Settlement agreements can be entered into before trial and save you time, anxiety and let you move on by the savings in litigation costs. Settlement talks are all about negotiation, which is something an experienced car accident lawyer is very good at. Bottom line: If at any time after a car accident you're unclear about the law or how to proceed with a personal injury case, it never hurts to contact an attorney, verify there is no cost to find out about your rights. Our trial lawyer for our personal injury cases is Alan Brown a member of the National Trial Lawyers Association and past president of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association. The National Trial Lawyers of America is by invitation only to the 100 top trial lawyers in each state. We are quite proud of Alan s accomplishment and the fact that we may serve those of you that have been injured so that you receive just compensation for your injuries. Recently he has settled two or our cases for the policy limits. Perhaps we can assist you. Alan Brown is a member of the National Trial Lawyers Association. It is by invitation only to the 100 top trial lawyers in each state. He obtains excellent results. Page 5 of 7

6 TOO MANY CREDITORS BOTHERING YOU? Bankruptcy can potentially stop a fraud judgment from being entered against you thus reducing the risk of a non dischargeable judgment being entered against you and the risk of losing a professional license. If a foreclosure occurred the lenders on the junior mortgages have the right to sue when it is a non purchase money mortgage but there are certain exceptions. The lenders can sue on the junior mortgages as unsecured promissory notes and they are doing just that. The bankruptcy can prevent or stop this lawsuit. Bankruptcy is a form of asset protection believe it or not. It can in certain circumstances protect OVER $175,000 and more. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be able to remove that second and even third mortgage by stripping it down as an unsecured lien and paying a percentage of the amount potentially allowing you to save the home. Past due Income Taxes under certain circumstances can be discharged in bankruptcy. Under certain circumstances you may be able to legally keep one or more of your credit cards after the bankruptcy so you have something to reestablish credit and to use when traveling. DISCLOSURE The services or benefits with respect to bankruptcy relief are under Title 11 of the United States Code. In doing this: We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code within the meaning of Title 11 United States Code Section 528. Page 6 of 7

7 IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE CONSUMER E-ALERT AT NO COST PLEASE SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION to FAX TO or contact us at NAME: ADDRESS: CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE: TELEPHONE: If you do not desire to receive any further e mails from our firm please reply with the word UNSUBSCRIBE and you will be deleted from our e mail for all purposes. Page 7 of 7