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Is There Health Insurance for Military Spouses Through the VA?

If you're the spouse of an active-duty member of the military, chances are good that you're curious about your healthcare options. After all, many private employers are reducing the scope of their group health insurance plans or doing away with them entirely. According to some studies, the number of employers that offer group health insurance benefits will drop by more than 50 percent during the coming decade. Unfortunately, this means that millions of American families will be forced to find coverage from other sources. Such coverage is liable to be expensive: Since 2000, health insurance costs have risen by at least 5 percent per year. It's likely that the single-coverage and private group health insurance plans that populate the open health insurance market will continue to become more expensive with each passing year. It's also likely that many of these plans will become less robust and levy higher out-of-pocket charges on their policyholders. Fortunately, millions of active-duty members of the Armed Forces don't have to worry about this problem. Through a comprehensive health insurance program known as TRICare, military members and their spouses enjoy solid healthcare coverage with minimal out-of-pocket costs. In most cases, active-duty military members' dependent children can receive coverage under TRICare as well. Once a service member leaves active duty, he or she is still entitled to healthcare under the auspices of the Office of Veterans' Affairs. Known as the "VA," this agency is responsible for administering the hospitals and clinics that have been built specifically for the needs of military veterans. At any given time, hundreds of thousands of former members of the military receive treatment at VA facilities. Additionally, thousands of wounded active-duty service members receive care through the VA system. Due to recent budget cuts and logistical constraints, the benefits that the VA provides have been circumscribed. In the past, most veterans received gold-plated healthcare coverage that required no out-of-pocket commitments. These days, veterans must meet certain key thresholds to be eligible for such care. Although the rules are subject to change, veterans who have not served in active combat zones often aren't able to receive "free" care through the VA. While the spouses of former members of the military are entitled to receive health insurance coverage through the VA system, these plans confer few special privileges. If you enroll in one of these plans as a military spouse, you'll need to shoulder market-rate premiums, co-pays and coinsurance costs.

If My Spouse Filed Our Taxes Jointly Without My Knowledge, What Can I Do?

Like many aspects of a long marriage, tax issues can cause serious disagreements. In some cases, they can even lead to divorce. If you believe that the tax-related problems that you’re having with your spouse are part of the deeper-seated issue that may ultimately threaten your marriage, you may wish to speak with a marriage counselor or therapist. While it’s important that you recover any refund to which you’re entitled, it’s equally important that you assess the condition of your marriage. By leaving such problems untreated, you may be inviting an even bigger dust-up in the near future. Generally speaking, an individual may not file a joint tax return without the consent of his or her marital partner. Although this problem occurs relatively infrequently, it technically constitutes a crime. Since filing joint taxes entitles a couple to a larger tax return, the IRS will automatically deem your non-consensual joint tax return to be fraudulent. If your spouse intentionally filed such a return, he or she may be subject to substantial financial penalties. Depending upon the circumstances of the situation, he or she could even face jail time. Happily-married couples rarely file non-consensual joint tax returns. As such, this situation usually arises in the course of a messy divorce. If this is the case, you may be able to seek recourse through the family court that’s handling your divorce. After all, your spouse will have to commit at least two crimes in order to obtain the joint refund to which you’re both entitled.  He or she will need to file a fraudulent joint tax return He or she will need to forge your signature on the refund check in order to cash or deposit it Since it will be easy to prove to your family court’s judgment that these crimes were committed, you’ll probably be able to recover your portion of the refund without much trouble. Your spouse’s actions might also affect his or her material standing in the divorce case. Although it would be mean-spirited to do so, you’d have every right to report your spouse’s actions to the IRS. You can do this by calling the IRS and directly reporting the fraudulent return. However, there’s no guarantee that the agency will take action on your complaint. Alternatively, you can file your own separate tax return and force the IRS to audit your finances. Once an agent has reviewed your tax documents, it will be obvious that your spouse committed fraud.

How Much Does Driver’s Ed Lower Insurance?

If you're like most American drivers, you're desperate to find a way to lower your car insurance costs. Although the problem of auto insurance inflation isn't as serious as the issue of health insurance inflation, it's a real concern that many drivers would like to see addressed in the near future. With many drivers seeing premium spikes of 50 percent or more after receiving just one or two tickets over the course of a five-year period, it's clear that something sustainable needs to be done. Of course, it's highly unlikely that such action will take place in the near future. In the meantime, drivers must resort to reducing their insurance costs with gimmicky discounts and safe driving practices. These days, most auto insurance companies offer a dizzying array of credits for a wide range of activities and achievements. For instance, family-focused auto insurance companies may offer discounts to married couples or stellar students. Value-oriented providers might focus on drivers who consistently avoid accidents and traffic citations. Still other providers might offer to slash premiums for drivers who consent to carry maneuver-monitoring devices in their vehicles' cabins. There are plenty of lesser-known insurance discounts as well. In fact, one of the industry's best-kept secrets is the so-called "driver's ed discount." While this discount isn't standardized across all providers and jurisdictions, it could end up saving you a substantial amount on your monthly premiums. Before you assume that you'll be able to claim this discount, you should make sure that your provider offers it. You may also need to check with your state's motor vehicle bureau to find a qualifying driver's education program. The exact value of your driver's education discount will depend upon the policies of your insurance carrier. As a rule, low-cost insurance providers issue driver's education discounts on the order of 5 to 10 percent. By contrast, full-service providers may offer credits of up to 20 percent for qualifying driver's education programs. It's also important to note that the timing of your driver's education course is crucial. In general, insurance companies offer deeper driver's education discounts to younger drivers who haven't had the time to form bad habits behind the wheel. If you've been driving for a long time, your discount may be negligible. If this is the case, you should ask your provider about its "defensive driving" discount. These days, many insurance companies reward adult drivers who enroll in approved defensive driving classes.

What Happens When You Can’t Pay a Rent-to-Own Place?

Rent-to-own businesses benefit millions of Americans who struggle with poor credit or limited income streams. In general, the industry prides itself on helping folks make steady payments on items that they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford. Used judiciously, this system can substantially raise the actual and perceived living standards of its participants and foster a healthy culture of ownership. Of course, the industry has a number of downsides as well. For starters, many rent-to-own businesses deal with sub-prime borrowers on a regular basis. The industry's best practices demand that rent-to-own business owners ask these borrowers to pay relatively high rates of interest on the products that they rent. It follows that this can substantially increase the typical rent-to-own product's cost of ownership and negatively impact the finances of habitual customers. Over time, this arrangement can have lasting effects on these customers' credit histories and debt-to-income ratios. Combined with other factors like working-hour cuts and job losses, it may push teetering rent-to-own customers into default. If you've become unable to pay your rent-to-own creditor, you have several options at your disposal. First, it's important to note that you're not necessarily at risk for legal action. While withholding payment from a rent-to-own business without returning the pertinent items technically constitutes theft, most businesses adopt a hands-off approach to filing criminal charges against delinquent borrowers. Unless you move the items to an undisclosed location or fail to communicate the circumstances of your delinquency to your creditor, you won't face criminal charges for your failure to pay. In fact, most rent-to-own delinquencies are resolved through repossession. As long as you keep the pertinent items in your home, your creditor is likely to repossess them at some point after the start of your delinquency period. The exact length of time that elapses between the expiration of your grace period and the initiation of the repossession process may depend upon the policies of your specific creditor and the circumstances of your delinquency. If your delinquency occurs near the start of your rent-to-own period, your items are likely to be repossessed within three weeks of your last payment. If your delinquency occurs just before your final payoff, you might have much more room to negotiate with your creditor. In the past, delinquent rent-to-own customers with a history of making timely payments on their loans have generally worked out refinancing plans with their creditors. If you're able to do this, you may be able to keep your rented items.

Is It Required to Give Your Social Security Number to a Car Insurance Company?

Whether you're in the market for a new car insurance provider or want to negotiate lower rates with your current carrier, you're probably getting frustrated by the back-and-forth nature of the process. If you're looking for new insurance, you must submit the same pieces of information to multiple car insurance companies and wait for them to provide you with a rate quote. If you're in the process of negotiating new rates on your current policy, you've probably spent a significant amount of time on the phone with your provider's customer-care department. In either case, you're liable to be exhausted. To make matters worse, you've probably revealed a great deal of personal information to the companies with which you've been dealing. In addition to your accident history and certain key pieces of demographic information, you've almost certainly provided each of these parties with your Social Security number. Unfortunately, this is a necessary part of the process of procuring car insurance. You might be surprised to learn that there's no law against withholding your Social Security number from businesses that request it. In fact, Social Security numbers are used as de facto identification numbers simply because they have national significance. It's relatively difficult and time-consuming for your insurance company to scan 50 different state databases to find your driver's license number. By contrast, there's only one national database for Social Security numbers. If you refuse to provide your auto insurance company with your Social Security number, you may be asked to give certain other forms of information in its stead. This is because your Social Security number is used to initiate a check of your credit history and criminal record. Although these reports can also be initiated using your address history and driver's license information, these less-reliable bits of data can promote processing delays and errors. It's important to note that your refusal to provide your Social Security number could have unforeseen consequences. For starters, your insurance company may interpret your reticence as proof that you wish to hide an incriminating activity or event that took place in the past. It might also mean that you wish to hide a previous identity or alias. In either case, this might cause your rates to increase by a substantial margin. What's more, your insurance company might report your refusal to one of the national credit bureaus. In turn, this might have a direct impact on your credit score.

If Someone Gets Hurt on My Property in New York, Can They Sue My Homeowner’s Insurance?

Homeowner's insurance covers many different problems that can arise on your property or in your home. In fact, the flexibility of this type of insurance is one of its major selling points. Most homeowner's insurance policies cover the costs associated with events that can be deemed to have occurred "suddenly" or "accidentally." In practice, these include weather events, random occurrences like out-of-control cars crashing through windows, and injuries sustained by guests on your property. Depending upon the type of policy that you carry, your homeowner's insurance company is liable to protect itself from expensive or dubious claims in several different ways. These might include loopholes that define certain activities as "negligent" as well as coverage exclusions that apply to specific events. For instance, few homeowner's insurance policies will pay out on claims related to water damage in the interior of a home. If your home is inundated with standing water due to a flood or water main break, your homeowner's insurance policy may refuse to cover your expenses. You'll need a flood insurance policy to cover such costs. Most homeowner's insurance policies contain provisions that may insulate you from liability in the event that a guest or intruder sustains an injury on your property. After all, slip-and-fall litigation is a lucrative sub-field within the broader domain of personal injury law. In the past, homeowners have been sued for five-figure sums by guests who sustained injuries in or around their homes. In the unfortunate event that a guest or worker is killed on your property, you could be held liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in incident-related expenses, future-earnings losses and punitive damages. In either case, you could also face criminal charges. Fortunately, your homeowner's insurance policy may cover the costs associated with such a lawsuit. However, your provider won't be happy about taking on this burden. In fact, the claims adjuster who reviews your case is liable to ask you some tough questions about the incident. Your provider may even retain a legal team of its own to sort through the facts of the case. Depending upon the laws in your state, the case's plaintiff may choose to sue your provider directly. If this is the case, you could be dropped from coverage in the event of an unfavorable outcome. This outcome may hinge on the steps that you took to secure your property. If there is any indication that your guest's injury was caused by negligence, you may be held liable for it.

Does Homeowner’s Insurance Cover the Cost of Car Damages That Occur in an Attached Garage?

When you purchased your homeowner's insurance policy, you probably didn't think about how it would affect your auto insurance coverage. In fact, homeowner's insurance and auto insurance occasionally intersect in certain specific circumstances. If you store your car in an attached garage, it's possible that you'll develop firsthand experience with this unusual intersection. Although your garage is a relatively safe place, it can sustain structural or cosmetic damage in numerous ways. Likewise, the contents of your garage are at risk for a wide range of unpleasant events. For instance, the presence of volatile solvents, gasoline and car batteries could create a significant fire hazard. If your garage catches on fire or sustains damage from a falling tree limb, it's likely that one of your insurance policies will cover the associated costs. The quality of this coverage and the manner in which it must be disbursed will depend upon the circumstances surrounding the incident as well as the specific provisions of your policies. If you have "comprehensive" insurance as part of your auto insurance policy, it will cover the costs of any damage that your car sustains in your attached garage. If you don't have this "comprehensive" coverage, it's unlikely that your auto insurer will agree to make any payments. Instead, your homeowner's insurance policy may step up to cover some of the associated costs. It's important to note that your homeowner's provider may prove reticent to cover the full cost of your car's damages. If your vehicle is totaled, it may offer a partial settlement that doesn't accurately reflect the vehicle's full value. After a particularly costly incident, you may need to take aggressive measures to ensure that you're fairly compensated. You might even need to hire a lawyer. However, most homeowner's insurance policies do explicitly cover the "contents" of the homes to which they're attached. In the past, this language has been interpreted to include the contents of a home's attached garage. Despite the fact that your car is covered by its own insurance policy, it counts as a home-bound item when garaged. Although the claims adjuster who reviews your case may try to tell you that your homeowner's insurance policy doesn't cover vehicle-related claims, you'll be able to refute this assertion by pointing to your policy's fine print. Again, you may need to retain a lawyer to back up your case. You'll also need to prove that the damage to your garage was accidental and non-negligent.

If My Student Loan Is in Default, Is There Any Way That I Can Get My Tax Refund This Year?

Every year, the credit scores of thousands of college graduates suffer at the hands of their defaulted student loans. Despite relatively low interest rates and numerous payment-protection safeguards, a significant proportion of each year's graduating class struggles with serious debt-related problems. The student loan crisis is even worse for non-graduating students. Those who drop out of college before completing a course of study tend to default on their obligations at far higher rates than the general student population. This problem has the potential to put a damper on economic growth and may ultimately hurt many student lenders' bottom lines. To make matters worse for struggling college dropouts and graduates, the process of recovering from a student loan default is not easy. Unlike other "unsecured" loans like credit cards and medical bills, student loans can't be discharged during the course of a standard bankruptcy reorganization process. Unfortunately, student loans are subject to strict repayment and refinancing terms. If you've defaulted on one of these loans and want to get your finances back on track, you'll have to adhere to these rules. You'll also have to perform a number of tasks to the satisfaction of your lender. If you are unable or unwilling to do this, you could lose up to 25 percent of your wages and the full value of your tax refund to garnishment. With the blessing of a judge, your lender can continue to garnish your wages and tax refunds until your debts have been satisfied. Depending upon the size of your defaulted loan, this could take years. In order to prevent the seizure of your wages and tax returns, you'll need to contact your lender and draw up a repayment plan. Under normal circumstances, this plan will require you to make several on-time loan payments. If you've recently lost your job or taken on new financial responsibilities, this could be difficult. However, it represents your only realistic chance of avoiding garnishment. Although you can file for bankruptcy and declare yourself subject to an unavoidable "economic hardship," this is difficult to do. Student loan debtors who file "hardship" claims must meet a strict burden of proof. Otherwise, they must adhere to the terms of their repayment plans. Once you've successfully made several payments on your defaulted loan, you'll be restored to "good standing" with your lender. This will lift the threat of garnishment for the time being. However, you'll need to continue to make on-time payments for the remainder of your loan's term.

Does My Auto Insurance Cover Me in a Rental Car?

Whether you're taking a vacation or using a loaner vehicle from your regular car's repair shop, you'll need to procure some form of car insurance for your rental car. Unfortunately, your auto insurance provider may not provide much direction on this matter. In general, American auto insurers provide surprisingly little rental-related guidance to their policyholders. For folks who regularly use rental cars, this can be downright frustrating. Before you go on a trip or agree to accept a rental car from an auto-repair shop, be sure to talk to your insurance company about your coverage options. If you regularly travel on business, it's likely that your employer will pick up the tab for your rental car. If this is the case, you'll need to procure vehicle insurance through your rental car company. Unless the company for which you work is particularly generous with its business travelers, it probably won't pay to insure your rental vehicle. Unfortunately, few personal auto insurance policies provide coverage for vehicles that their policyholders don't rent on their own. As such, the fact that your employer is paying for your rental car may make it difficult for you to obtain full coverage on it. While you'll still be protected against injury-related lawsuits and property damage claims through your rental car company's own insurer, you'll be held personally liable for any damage that you cause to the vehicle. This loophole has caught many business travelers by surprise. In order to circumvent it, you'll need to purchase supplemental vehicle insurance from your rental car company. This could add a significant premium to the total cost of your rental. If you're traveling for pleasure or renting a car in another capacity, this consideration will be irrelevant. However, you may still need to purchase supplemental insurance from your rental car company. Although there's no hard-and-fast way to determine whether your auto insurance policy covers you in the event of a rental-car accident, you should still read your policy closely. It may explicitly state that it covers rented or "non-owned" cars. If this is the case, you should feel free to file an insurance claim for your rental car. On the other hand, your policy might not say anything about "non-owned" vehicles. If this is the case, you should assume that your rented vehicles aren't covered by your policy. If you get into an accident while driving a rental car, you may need to pay for its repair costs out of your own pocket.

Where Can I Get a Student Loan with Bad Credit?

The process of procuring a student loan can be time-consuming and complicated. Before you can apply for one of these loans, you’ll need to fill out the Federal Application for Student Aid. Known as “FAFSA,” this document will help your educational institution determine the exact amount of financial aid for which you’re eligible. The means by which you’ll procure this aid will depend upon your school’s policies. In most cases, you’ll receive certain awards or tuition reductions directly from your school. After these have been applied to your account, you’ll be responsible for covering your outstanding tuition costs. Most students use a number of different sources of funding to accomplish this imperative. These include federal Stafford loans, Parent PLUS loans and private student loans. Each type of loan comes with its own unique conditions. These may include strict credit-score thresholds and parental income requirements. If you have poor credit, you won’t be unable to find affordable funding for your educational endeavors. However, you may find that you’re unable to take advantage of certain options that might be available to students with excellent credit. Your eligibility for a given type of loan will be considered on a case-by-case basis. For starters, your credit score will have little bearing on your ability to procure a Stafford loan. Since the Stafford program was specifically created to increase students’ borrowing power, participating lenders are barred from using credit during the loan-application process. In fact, such a consideration would be superfluous. Since the federal government effectively acts as the cosigner of every Stafford borrower, these loans come with no danger of default. As such, they carry extremely low interest rates that never fluctuate in response to credit-score changes. Of course, becoming delinquent on a Stafford loan may hurt your personal credit score. On the other hand, borrowers’ credit scores can affect the availability and cost of Parent PLUS loans and “unsecured” private student loans. What’s more, the cost of these types of loans can vary even in the absence of credit-score fluctuations. If you’re planning on using either of these types of loans, you’ll need to spend some time looking for attractive interest rates. In order to reduce the total cost of your Parent PLUS and private loans, you may wish to find a cosigner. Your parents can cosign for any private loan that you obtain. Since they’ll be the primary borrowers on your Parent PLUS loans, they may also need to find a third-party cosigner like a well-heeled relative.

When You Apply for Food Stamps, Do You Need to Account for Expenses Like Life Insurance and Phone Bills?

Welfare benefits like food stamps, housing assistance and supplemental income are generally calculated on the basis of income. In other words, your benefits application will need to include a detailed accounting of your monthly wages or salary. It will also need to demonstrate that you have limited "resources" like cash savings, investments and property. In most cases, a life insurance policy doesn't count as an "asset." Likewise, the value of the car that you own probably won't be applied towards your resource limit. However, the value of your home may be counted as a separate resource. In most cases, applicants for food stamps can't have access to more than $1,000 in cash savings. Although asset-value limits for real estate holdings vary from state to state, applicants who own valuable homes probably won't qualify for these benefits. Since state welfare agencies conduct thorough means tests and subject applicants to a barrage of finance-related questions, it's unwise to attempt to misrepresent your assets, savings or income on your application. The penalties for doing so can be harsh and may include hefty fines. If you meet your state's limited-resource requirements, your ultimate eligibility for food stamps will probably be assessed on the basis of your income. In other words, your state's welfare agency won't take your ongoing expenses into account. Depending upon the size and flexibility of your budget, this may result in the denial of your application for benefits. If you have a heavy burden of household expenses despite a seemingly robust income, it's unlikely that you'll qualify for food stamps. Your state's welfare agency will probably distinguish between "essential" and "non-essential" expenses. While it's likely to consider the former when determining whether to approve your application, it's not likely to look at the latter at all. "Essential" expenses might include ongoing outlays that are required by social convention and physical necessity. Most welfare agencies deem rent payments, utility bills and transportation expenses to be "essential" living costs. By contrast, cable bills, car payments, entertainment costs and other "frivolous" expenses won't fall into this category. Your "essential" expenses may act to offset some of your income. Depending upon the policies of your state's welfare agency, these expenses may be subject to certain caps. For instance, you may not be permitted to claim a rent allowance that amounts to more than 30 percent of your monthly income. Likewise, your transportation costs may need to remain below a certain threshold. For more information, check with the appropriate authorities in your jurisdiction.

How Much Tax Money Comes Out of Each Paycheck?

The size of your tax refund is determined by a breathtaking number of factors. It’s important to remember that you’re not necessarily entitled to a tax refund. While most workers who earn hourly wages or salaries receive ample tax refunds once they’ve filed their taxes for the year, some receive virtually nothing. Some workers may even end up owing the IRS additional funds after accounting for additional earnings. The withholding process is the principal cause of this uncertainty. When you receive your paycheck for a given pay period, you’ll notice a sizable difference between your “gross earnings” and “net pay” for the period. Your gross earnings figure represents the raw dollar value of the hours that you worked whereas your net pay figure represents the amount left over after your employer’s withholding calculations. These withholding calculations are done for convenience. Rather than ask you to save the funds to pay your taxes in a lump-sum payment at the end of each tax year, the IRS permits your employer to withhold these funds on a gradual basis. This is a win-win situation: It reduces the amount of money that you’ll have to save over the course of the year and reduces the number of delinquent taxpayers with whom the IRS has to deal. The funds withheld from your paycheck satisfy several discrete forms of tax. Several of these are intended for the federal government’s use. These include federal income taxes, Medicare taxes and Social Security or FICA taxes. Other withholding streams may be earmarked for your state or local governments. Many states and even some municipalities levy their own separate income taxes. If you live in one state and work in another, you may need to pay taxes in both places. If you live in a city that does not charge income taxes but work in one that does, you’ll probably have to cover those costs as well. For budgeting purposes, you may wish to get a ballpark estimate of the size of your refund before you actually file your taxes. You can find a free online “tax calculator” on the landing page of your local nonprofit community-finance organization. Most for-profit tax services also offer these free tools. Try to calculate your estimated taxes a month or two before filing. If you owe additional funds to the IRS or your state’s revenue authority, this will give you time to begin saving.

How Hard Is the Texas Life Insurance Exam?

The life insurance business is booming. According to recently-released statistics, the aggregate value of the United States’s outstanding life insurance policies totals nearly $20 million and continues to rise with each passing year. As the country’s population ages, more and more middle-class consumers are discovering the value of term life insurance. This has led to tremendous recruiting drives at the nation’s major life insurers and contributed to the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs over the past decade. Although certain older, independently wealthy consumers don’t need life insurance, it’s doubtful that everyone who needs life insurance coverage currently has a policy. By some estimates, just half of the country’s families are protected by this type of safety net. In light of the central role that life insurance plays in the American financial industry, it should be no surprise that every state requires insurance agents to become licensed. The licensing exams that control the issuance of these credentials are drawn up and administered without any guidance from the federal government. As such, these tests can vary dramatically from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. What Is the Measurement Used for THC on a Typical Life Insurance Medical Exam? Whereas some states’ life insurance exams are considered to be routine, other exams have first-time “pass rates” of less than 50 percent. Although these difficult tests serve to discourage plenty of prospective life insurance agents, they also ensure that those who pass will be well-prepared to work in the increasingly competitive life insurance industry. Difficult tests also ensure that newly-minted agents are competent and fully cognizant of the implications of their work. If you’re hoping to obtain a license to sell life insurance in Texas, you’ll need to prepare for the state’s exam by purchasing study materials and taking a preparatory course. While the Texas Insurance Exam isn’t regarded as the nation’s most difficult, it’s a comprehensive assessment that can punish unprepared test-takers. It also covers a wide range of issues that aren’t directly related to life insurance. Before you take the exam, you’ll need to know the ins and outs of: If you concentrate only on the life insurance portion of the exam, it’s unlikely that you’ll pass. If you’re worried about receiving a passing grade on the test, take a practice exam several weeks beforehand. A practice-exam score of 90 percent or higher generally indicates mastery of the subject material. If your score is lower than 90 percent, you’ll need to assess your weaknesses and continue to study.

Does Using My Parents’ Health Insurance Make Me a Dependent?

Despite a raft of new regulations that are designed to make health insurance more affordable and prevalent, finding adequate, inexpensive coverage is still a challenge. Even as the cost of single-coverage health insurance premiums rise, fewer and fewer companies are offering health insurance coverage as an employee benefit. The companies that still offer such benefits are asking their employees to shoulder burdens like reduced preventive-care coverage, higher co-pays and more expensive premiums. Even if you have access to an employer-sponsored health insurance plan, it might not be a very good deal. If you're relatively young, you may have another option. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, American health insurance companies are now compelled to insure certain minor and adult children on their parents' policies. Although such coverage can be denied by any children or parents who don't need it, insurance companies no longer have any say in the matter. For the first 25 years of a person's life, he or she may procure health insurance in this way. Once a person turns 26, insurance companies can drop him or her from this "family plan" without providing an explanation. Crucially, the new law makes no distinction between minor and adult children. In other words, "children" who are over the age of 18 and earn enough money to support themselves may still receive health insurance coverage from their parents. This has no bearing on their tax status. In order to secure this benefit, parents aren't required to claim such children as dependents on their tax returns. Likewise, these children aren't required to forgo the "personal tax deduction" that non-dependents are entitled to claim. This is important: Since there are tremendous financial benefits to being a non-dependent, the so-called "health insurance provision" is a valuable tool. Depending upon the circumstances, the ability of a non-dependent child to procure health insurance under a parental plan can be viewed as a major informal tax deduction. It may also be a financial blessing for parents who wish to carry their kids on their health insurance policies. In order to claim someone as a dependent on your tax return, you must provide him or her with significant financial support. If you account for less than 65 percent of his or her total earnings, it's unlikely that you'll be able to claim an adult child as a dependent. This rule doesn't apply to minor children. Since they're legally bound to their parents, minor children may be claimed as dependents in most situations. This arrangement may only be changed through the legal emancipation process.

Can I Reimburse Myself for Health Insurance Costs Through My Company?

If you own your own business, your health insurance considerations are liable to be different than those of the typical salaried worker. For starters, the IRS permits business owners to claim their own health insurance costs as a “business deduction.” This is one of the biggest incentives for American companies to provide health insurance for their workers. It’s doubtful that so many companies would still provide this benefit in the absence of such a tax break. Like many business decisions, providing health insurance simply makes good financial sense. If your business is relatively small, your health insurance considerations could be downright confusing. The tax implications of your personal health insurance plan may be confusing as well. Sole proprietors, partnerships, “S-corps” and small-business LLCs must abide by certain rules during the deduction-claiming process. Chief among these is the requirement that they provide health insurance for their employees on a pre-tax basis. If your business provides health insurance on a post-tax basis or fails to meet this standard in any other way, it may be ineligible for the health insurance tax deduction that its peer organizations enjoy. To learn more about the difference between pre-tax and post-tax health insurance benefits, you can browse the IRS’s website for publications on the matter. Many small business owners don’t even provide health insurance. If your business has just a handful of employees, the financial burden of providing health insurance might not be worthwhile. While some sole proprietors establish businesses for the sole purpose of providing themselves with affordable health insurance coverage, many others simply can’t afford to do so. If this describes your situation, you probably have other means of purchasing health insurance. For starters, you could turn to your spouse. If your spouse enjoys health insurance coverage through his or her employer, you might prefer to sign on to that policy. Unfortunately, this will cut off a potentially valuable benefit: your health insurance deduction. Even though you’re in business for yourself, you can’t legally claim the health insurance premiums that you pay to your spouse’s provider as a business expense. Such a move would constitute fraud and could be punishable by fines and imprisonment. Unless your spouse’s premiums are paid out of his or her post-tax earnings, you also won’t be able to claim his or her premium costs. In fact, you probably won’t be able to use the health insurance deduction at all. If you want to be able to deduct your health insurance premiums as a business expense, you’ll need to set up your own plan. If you’re like most American taxpayers, your health insurance premiums represent an enormous “overhead” expense. For many years, the cost of healthcare and health insurance has risen faster than the overall rate of inflation. Meanwhile, the recent passage of the Affordable Care Act has added a new layer of uncertainty to the healthcare market. Many insurers are taking advantage of this new climate of confusion by raising some of their policies’ premiums by 10 percent or more per year. If you receive health insurance through your employer, you probably won’t qualify for a healthcare-related tax deduction. This is because most employers shoulder the majority of their employees’ health insurance costs. On the other hand, you may qualify for a tax deduction in the event that you experience an expensive medical emergency or round of treatment during the tax year. In order to determine your eligibility for specific tax deductions, you’ll need to check with your accountant or tax professional. In general, you should qualify for a tax deduction on any healthcare costs that exceed 7.5 percent of your gross income. If you made $100,000 during the tax year and paid $15,000 in healthcare-related costs, you’ll be eligible to deduct $7,500 from your top-line income figure. Although high-income earners may face certain restrictions, most regular workers are eligible to claim virtually all of their healthcare costs beyond the 7.5 percent threshold. The specifics of this deduction are spelled out in IRS Publication 502. In order to be eligible for this tax offset, you must choose to itemize your deductions. If your standard personal deduction exceeds the value of your potential itemized deductions, it may not make sense for you to use this healthcare-related tax-reduction tool. Although it fluctuates from year to year, the personal tax deduction is capable of offsetting thousands of dollars in gross income. Unless you own a house or make charitable donations on an ongoing basis, the total value of your potential itemized deductions may not exceed that of your guaranteed personal deduction. If you’re self-employed, this healthcare deduction could be particularly useful. As a self-employed worker, you’ll be responsible for covering 100 percent of your health insurance costs out of your own pocket. As such, your insurance premiums are liable to exceed 7.5 percent of your income by a significant margin. In addition, you’ll be eligible for other key tax offsets, including the home-office deduction.

Can I Extend My Health Insurance to Cover My Parents and Siblings?

The cost of health insurance increases with each passing year. If you're lucky enough to have a robust health insurance policy through your employer, union or educational institution, you're probably happy with your current arrangement. However, your loved ones might be jealous of the security net in which you're enveloped. If you're the only person in your family with health insurance coverage, you may be able to use your policy to obtain coverage for some of your relatives. Unfortunately, current laws limit the means by which you can do this. In addition, adding new people to a health insurance plan can be surprisingly expensive. Before you agree to add family members to your policy, take the time to get a good sense of their healthcare needs. Even if they appear to be healthy, they may have pre-existing conditions or injuries that require ongoing medical treatment. Such conditions could dramatically raise your total insurance costs. For instance, a family member with well-controlled diabetes could raise your premiums by 50 to 100 percent. A family member with a chronic condition like multiple sclerosis or lupus could raise your premiums by even more. In order to determine the cost of insuring additional family members, you'll need to talk to your group insurance provider. If you receive insurance through your employer, you'll have no choice but to secure additional coverage from this company. Most group health insurance providers frown upon clients who take out supplemental policies. In fact, such a move could be grounds for your removal from the policy. If you have single-coverage health insurance, you're free to solicit quotes from other providers as well as your current insurer. Be prepared to devote a significant amount of time to the research process. Finally, you'll need to determine the eligibility of each of your relatives. In most cases, you'll only be able to add your spouse and "qualifying" dependents to your plan. You probably won't be able to add your parents or adult siblings. However, it's important to note that most insurance companies don't impose age restrictions on these guidelines. If you can claim your parents and siblings as dependents, you may be able to add them to your policy. In order for this to work, you'll need to demonstrate that your parents and siblings are reliant on you for financial and social support. Since this requires a relatively high burden of proof, you might have difficulty doing so.

Can I Cash an Auto Insurance Check Written Out to My Lien-Holder and Myself?

If you recently received a settlement for a financed vehicle, you may have been surprised to find that your auto insurer’s check wasn’t made out to you. Since another party has an interest in the vehicle, your insurer was legally obligated to include that party’s name on the check. Unfortunately, this means that you can’t use the money that you’ve received without taking certain key steps. If you fail to take these steps, you could suffer some serious financial consequences. In certain circumstances, you might even face criminal penalties. Before you do anything with the check that you’ve received, take a moment to assess the situation. You have several distinct options. First, you could try to take the check to the auto repair shop that’s working on your car. Somebody shops have the ability to cash checks made out to third parties. Since the staff members at the shop are legally obligated to forward the unused proceeds to your vehicle’s lien-holder, your insurance company probably won’t object to your decision to do this. If the body shop mishandles or misplaces the check, it will be liable for your repair costs. Somebody shops prefer not to accept third-party checks. Given the amount of risk that the practice involves, this is understandable. If your body shop won’t take the check that your insurance company issued, you can send it back to your insurance company with the body shop’s repair estimate. At the same time, you should instruct your insurance company to send you a check that’s made out to the body shop. The company’s claims department should have no problem with this. However, you should understand that you won’t see any of the unused funds. Once your insurance provider cuts a check to your body shop, it will send the unused portion of the settlement to your vehicle’s lien-holder. On the bright side, this means that you won’t have to make a car payment for a decent amount of time. What Does Comprehensive Coverage on Auto Insurance Mean? If you would prefer not to pay for your car’s repairs at all, you’ll need to send your entire check to your lien-holder. Once the lien-holder receives the check, it will cash it and use the proceeds to reduce the balance on your auto loan. Depending upon the size of the check, this could significantly improve your financial outlook. As long as you’re comfortable with driving a damaged vehicle, this may be the most prudent course of action.

How Do I Know If My Health Insurance Premiums are Considered Pre-Tax or Post-Tax Earnings?

If you earn health insurance benefits through your employer, you’re a member of a lucky cadre of American workers. Many employers have stopped providing such benefits to their employees. Others require the employees who sign up for their employer-sponsored group plans to cover the full cost of their premiums. Although group plans tend to cost somewhat less than single-coverage plans, this still represents a tremendous surcharge for most workers. In fact, many employers that have stopped providing health benefits have effectively given their workers across-the-board pay cuts. As a fortunate worker who continues to draw health insurance benefits through your employer, you’ll need to be aware of the tax implications of your employer-sponsored premium payments. Since you’re eligible to claim a sizable tax deduction on your post-tax health insurance contributions, it’s important that you determine the tax status of your specific employer-sponsored plan. Most employer-sponsored health insurance plans adhere to an IRS regulation known as “Section 125.” In popular terminology, plans that adhere to Section 125 are known as “cafeteria plans.” This colloquialism can be traced back to the formative years of the Section 125 statute. Since this particular regulation was designed to cover the employer-led issuance of health insurance benefits as well as several other types of insurance, it was referred to as an “all-you-can-eat” plan. Over time, the phrase morphed into the somewhat more refined “cafeteria plan” designation that remains in use today. If you have a “cafeteria plan,” your health insurance benefits are almost certainly taken out of your pre-tax pay. In other words, they come directly out of your gross income. Once these premiums have been subtracted from your weekly pay and forwarded to your health insurance provider, your employer will withhold your regular federal income taxes from the remaining balance. You’ll only be required to pay federal and state withholding taxes on your “post-insurance” income. Unfortunately, this means that you can’t claim your “cafeteria plan” health insurance premiums as a tax deduction. After all, you never paid taxes on that portion of your income. Am I Able to Write Off Health Insurance Premiums for Tax Purposes at the End of the Year? In order to confirm that your health insurance premiums were deducted from your gross pay, look at the “FICA” and “Medicare” sections of your pay stub. If the value of your FICA-eligible income is higher than the value of your withholding income, your premiums are “pre-tax.” If your FICA-eligible income is identical to your withholding income, your premiums are “post-tax.” In the second instance, you’ll be able to claim them as a deduction.

I Filed My Taxes Online and Entered the Wrong Direct Deposit Routing Number. What Should I Do?

These days, millions of Americans file their taxes online and receive their federal and state tax refunds via direct deposit. With the advent of broadband technology and affordable electronic financial transfers, this has become a matter of routine. After all, it's often cheaper and faster to process tax payments through the Internet. Waiting for an appointment with a registered tax preparation specialist can take time and produce plenty of inconveniences. Unfortunately, the newly-automated tax-filing system is not without its drawbacks. Chief among these is the potential for a single transcription error to cause major problems. It's bad enough to enter the wrong income on your tax form: If you discover that you've made such a mistake, you'll need to refile your taxes using the IRS's Form-1040X. Otherwise, you'll risk tax "clawbacks" and potential criminal prosecution. It may be even worse to provide the IRS with the wrong routing number for the bank account into which you'd like your tax refund to be deposited. When you file your taxes online, you'll need to provide the IRS with your exact bank account and routing number. If either of these numbers is entered incorrectly, you could face a host of problems. Sadly, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to recover financially from such a mistake. If your refund is routed into the wrong bank account without your knowledge, the individual to whom the account belongs may choose to spend it in short order. This could dramatically complicate the situation and necessitate the involvement of law enforcement authorities. If you realize that you've made this mistake, there are several different ways in which your case could unfold. First, your refund deposit could simply be rejected. If the routing number that you specified doesn't belong to a specific bank, the deposit will fail and the IRS will be forced to mail you a paper check. Although this can take up to two months from the date of the failed deposit, it's likely that you'll see the full amount of your refund. If the routing number that you provided belongs to a specific bank, it's possible that the bank has successfully received the deposit. If this is the case, you'll need to figure out the name of the bank that has your money. It's likely that the refund will be sitting in an unused or "surplus" account. In this case, the bank should simply return the funds to you via check. If the account is owned by another person, you may need to reason with them directly.

Should I Get a Lawyer for a Drunk in Public Charge?

If you've recently been arrested on a public intoxication charge, you may be weighing your legal options. Before you opt to spend hundreds of dollars to hire a lawyer and fight your charge, you'll need to consider the circumstances surrounding your arrest. In most jurisdictions, public intoxication charges are regarded as either petty or simple misdemeanors. If your case is charged as a petty misdemeanor, you'll be issued a citation that carries roughly the same weight as a traffic ticket. As a condition of your citation, you'll need to pay a fine of between $150 and $500. You'll also be sentenced to "time served." Since you were probably forced to spend the day or night of your arrest in jail, you won't need to serve any further prison time. Even if you were released on your own recognizance after your arrest, you probably won't be required to return to prison. If your case is charged as a simple or "Class D" misdemeanor, you'll be hit with a somewhat larger fine of between $300 and $1,000. You may also be sentenced to a term of unsupervised probation. Finally, you may be required to perform a few dozen hours of community service. It's unlikely that you'll be required to go to prison on such a charge. However, it's important to remember that pleading guilty to a simple misdemeanor doesn't absolve you of wrongdoing. Your conviction will become part of the so-called public record and may show up on a criminal background check for a lengthy period of time. If you're looking for a job or wish to obtain a security clearance, this could interfere with your plans. In other words, you'll need to determine whether you can live with the consequences of a public intoxication conviction. For most people, this would not be a life-changing event. Then again, others have jobs, families and reputations to protect. If you're one of those people, you should consider hiring a lawyer to fight your charge. Retaining a competent legal professional to fight your public intoxication charge will substantially increase your chances of securing a dismissal or acquittal. However, such an outcome is far from guaranteed. If you were clearly in violation of the law, your lawyer may be unable to convince a judge that you're not guilty of the crime. If this is the case, your trial will end in disappointment. To make matters worse, you'll be hundreds or thousands of dollars poorer.

Can You Represent Someone in Court If You Aren’t a Lawyer?

These days, hiring an experienced lawyer to represent an individual who has been accused of a crime can be ruinously expensive. Even junior associates at second-tier law firms are permitted to bill their clients upwards of $150 per hour. Senior associates and partners can bill several times that amount. In fact, many seasoned trial lawyers who conduct product-liability lawsuits and other lucrative legal operations make upwards of $1 million per year. Defendants who lack deep financial reserves can quickly find themselves overwhelmed by legal bills. If you know someone who has been accused of a crime, you might be wondering whether you're legally permitted to represent him or her in court. Depending upon your familiarity with basic legal principles, you might be able to appear competent and confident in front of a judge. You might even impress your non-lawyer peers with your grasp of basic legal concepts and precedents. Unfortunately, there are no circumstances under which you'll be able to represent your accused acquaintance without first passing the bar exam in your state. In fact, individuals who have not been admitted to a state bar are explicitly banned from practicing law within that jurisdiction. This prohibition extends to laypeople as well as bar-certified lawyers from other areas. Despite his or her obvious legal experience, there is no guarantee that a seasoned lawyer who has been cleared to practice law in Oregon will be permitted to represent a client who stands trial in Texas. Although many states have "reciprocal" arrangements that permit lawyers with "outside experience" to practice law within their borders, this occurs on a case-by-case basis. Further, non-lawyers are not permitted to take advantage of such arrangements. In fact, practicing law without a bar license is a crime. If you attempt to represent an acquaintance without a license, you'll probably find yourself in one of two unpleasant situations. In the first scenario, you'll make it clear to the judge who presides over your case that you're not qualified or licensed to practice law. Your honesty will probably pay dividends: In this case, the judge will simply prohibit you from representing your "client" and order him or her to seek alternate counsel. In the second scenario, you'll misrepresent yourself as a trained, licensed lawyer. This is blatantly illegal. Once you're determined to be an unlicensed practitioner of the law, you'll be thrown off the case and charged with a crime. Should you be convicted, you'll face hefty fines and a possible prison sentence.

Can a Mortgage Company Add an Escrow Account to My Mortgage Without My Consent?

If you're like most American homeowners, your mortgage is the single largest obligation that you'll ever carry. Unless you purchase a private plane or yacht, it's unlikely that you'll ever own something as expensive as a piece of residential property. Of course, you could own a more expensive home after choosing to expand into a larger space. Nevertheless, you may never own a physical asset that's worth as much as a house. This fact might give you pause. After all, home ownership is expensive. If you're worried that you'll become unable to afford your property taxes or mortgage payments at some point in the future, you may wish to stick to renting for the time being. On the other hand, the historically-weak housing market presents excellent opportunities for buyers who are willing and able to shoulder the risk associated with owning a home. Once you've purchased your home and settled into your new life as a homeowner, you might be pleasantly surprised by the hidden perks of domestic living. Then again, your worst fears about your ability to handle your mortgage and property-tax obligations might be realized. If you begin to struggle to pay either of these recurring obligations, you might soon come into conflict with your mortgage lender. Your mortgage lender has the legal right to set up and administrate an escrow account to satisfy your mortgage debts. Your mortgage-related escrow account can also be used to satisfy your annual or semi-annual property-tax obligations. In order to utilize this tool, you'll make periodic deposits into this account. When your monthly mortgage payments come due, your lender will withdraw the proper amount from this account and update your bill to reflect the payment. Likewise, your lender will use the same procedure to satisfy your property-tax debt. When you take out your mortgage, you can opt out of this arrangement by requesting a "no-escrow" mortgage. This prevents your lender from setting up an escrow account that automatically pays your mortgage and property-tax obligations at regular intervals. Such an arrangement is perfectly legal and increasingly popular. Unfortunately, your "no-escrow" lender remains legally obligated to set up an escrow account to satisfy any delinquencies that may arise during the life of your mortgage. If you've fallen behind on your property taxes, your mortgage lender will pay the taxes on your behalf. It will then use this newly-created escrow account to demand repayment for its generosity. If you ignore this request, your lender could initiate foreclosure proceedings.

Why Would You Be Denied Life Insurance During a Mouth Swab Test?

When you sign up for a life insurance policy, you'll need to fill out a comprehensive application that satisfies a number of legal and medical requirements. Among other things, your prospective insurer will take steps to ensure that you're healthy and competent. In order to prove that this is the case, you'll need to submit to a range of medical tests. In addition to the written application and questionnaire that you'll be asked to fill out at your initial consultation, you'll also need to meet with a medical professional. This individual is typically a trained doctor and may be employed or retained by the insurance company that's issuing your policy. He or she will subject you to a three-part medical exam that should take no more than 90 minutes. The exam's three parts include a round of in-person questioning about your health habits and diet, a series of simple blood and oral-swab tests, and a cursory physical examination that may require you to engage in some light exercise. During the course of this exam, you'll be expected to follow your doctor's instructions and answer all of his or her questions in a truthful manner. In most cases, prospective life insurance customers find it easy to comply with these expectations. For exam-takers who might be reticent to cooperate in full, most insurance companies take steps to safeguard their testing procedures. The battery of chemical tests that comprises the second part of a life insurance medical exam is one of these safeguards. Although a mouth-swab test is regarded as somewhat less accurate than a blood or urine test, it's adequate for the purposes of the typical life insurance exam. Mouth-swab tests are painless and non-invasive. Crucially, they can test for a wide range of potential health issues. The results of your mouth-swab probably won't cause your insurer to deny your application for insurance. However, the information that the test reveals may cause your premiums to rise by a substantial amount. In particular, the presence of nicotine or other drug metabolites in your saliva can indicate that you habitually use tobacco or illegal drugs. This revelation could easily double the cost of your insurance policy. In addition, your prospective insurer is likely to compare the results of your mouth-swab test with the answers that you provided on your written health questionnaire. If the results of the test conflict with your answers, your insurer could impose an additional financial penalty or deny your application outright.

How Do I Withdraw Money from My Bank Account in Another Country?

These days, the business doesn’t stop at national borders. In fact, it doesn’t even stop at continental edges. Today, trade is a global phenomenon that involves the international exchange of hundreds of billions of dollars per day. From the foreign exchange markets to the global shipping industry, many millions of the world’s citizens make their livings by sending money and goods around the world. So, how can you withdraw money from your Bank Account in Another Country? Personal finance and consumption have “gone global” as well. For one reason or another, untold millions of people live outside of their home countries. In the industrialized world, this has led to the creation of multicultural societies in which people from a range of backgrounds live and work with one another. It has also led to the development of financial networks designed to facilitate the smooth flow of currency between industrialized and developing countries. For instance, people send billions of dollars from the United States to Mexico each year thanks to the efforts of companies like: Although these services can be useful, they’re often not ideal for orchestrating quick international money transfers. For so-called remittances to be transmitted successfully, the sender must specify a set destination and arrange for a willing recipient to pick up the money upon its arrival there. There may be certain other security-related obstacles to overcome as well. If you’re trying to send money across international borders quickly and safely, you might want to consider using a traditional bank transfer. In order to execute such a transfer, all you need are two bank accounts. You can successfully execute an international bank transfer in several ways. The easiest of these is known as a “wire transfer.” Most major banks have the capacity to send money via an electronic transfer to virtually anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, wire transfers are often quite expensive. Depending upon where you wish to send your funds, your wire transfer could cost $20 or more. If you’re only trying to transfer or withdraw a small amount of money, this fee might be unacceptable. If you’re traveling abroad, you can “transfer” money from your home bank account to an account in your current country without paying these fees. Alternatively, you can simply use money from your home account to purchase items in your current location. In both cases, you’ll simply need to visit a local bank branch or ATM and use your home bank’s debit card to withdraw cash from your overseas account. You can either deposit this money in a local bank or spend it freely.

How Can I Find Out If My Landlord Has Been Paying the Mortgage On My House?

For individual homeowners, the foreclosure process can be jarring and traumatic. Once the bank seizes an owner-occupied property and puts it up for auction, its owner must move out and find another place to live. In most cases, this is extremely disruptive for everyone who lives in the house. For renters, the foreclosure process can be even more emotionally draining. Unfortunately, landlords are under no legal obligation to inform their tenants of the status of their property's mortgage. In some cases, tenants are unaware that their landlord has stopped paying his or her mortgage until the foreclosure process has already begun. These unfortunate tenants might come home one day to find an eviction or foreclosure notice taped to their door. Meanwhile, their landlord may have fled the area or chosen to stop responding to contact attempts. If you find yourself in this situation, you may be furious with your landlord. Unfortunately, landlords who subject their tenants to such abuse may not be in violation of the law. Although a landlord is morally and contractually obligated to continue making payments on his or her mortgage, he or she may not face criminal penalties for not doing so. After all, the foreclosure process constitutes a fairly severe punishment: Landlords whose properties fall into foreclosure stand to lose a significant source of income. Worse, landlords who find themselves in this situation may suffer a dramatic hit to their credit scores. Such a financial wound may take years to repair. During that period, it may be difficult or impossible for the affected landlord to secure another mortgage. In other words, landlords who find themselves in foreclosure may be in a heap of financial trouble. Nevertheless, you'd probably prefer to avoid such a situation altogether. If you suspect that your landlord has fallen behind on his or her mortgage, you have every right to inquire directly about his or her financial health. If you don't receive a satisfactory answer, you'll need to take matters into your own hands. First, check with the tax clerk who oversees the collection of property taxes in your city or county. If your landlord has failed to pay his or her property taxes, he or she may also be delinquent on the mortgage. Since property-tax records reside in the public domain, you'll be able to obtain this information without difficulty. Likewise, get in the habit of opening every piece of mail that comes to your house. If your landlord is behind on his or her mortgage, there will be an official paper trail.

Is It Legal to Charge Employees Different Amounts for Their Health Insurance Based Strictly on Their Income?

If you obtain your health insurance through an employer-sponsored plan, you're among a shrinking majority of Americans who enjoy such coverage. More and more businesses are choosing to curtail or eliminate their health insurance plans in the face of rising costs and increasingly complex regulatory frameworks. Although the recent passage of the Affordable Care Act ensures that most Americans will have access to health insurance coverage in the years to come, it's not yet clear where millions of folks will obtain this coverage. It looks all but certain that single-coverage and "a la carte" family plans will be central to the health insurance mix. Another recent insurance-related development concerns the way in which policyholders are asked to shoulder their premium costs. In order to tamp down on the ruinous financial effects of health insurance inflation, many employers are assessing employee insurance-plan contributions on an income-based sliding scale. In the past, many employers simply charged each of their employees for health insurance on the same flat scale. Executives and cubicle-dwellers alike both paid the same amount of money for identical types of coverage. In fact, many executives' compensation packages included "gold-plated" health insurance plans that were supported by the premium contributions of rank-and-file workers. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2009, this practice is increasingly rare. The reason for this abrupt change is simple: The new law sets an "affordability" threshold for employer-sponsored health insurance plans. According to the new threshold, an employee's direct premium contribution for a given plan should not exceed 9.5 percent of his or her gross income. Although employers are free to ask their employees to contribute more than this amount, employees are not obligated to agree. Under the provisions of the law, "over-contributing" employees become eligible for a certain type of tax credit after reaching the 9.5 percent threshold. This tax credit is designed to offset the cost of obtaining single-coverage health insurance plans on the open market. Workers who earn less than 400 percent of the federal poverty wage are eligible for this credit. As it becomes more widely publicized, many thousands of individuals are expected to begin to take advantage of it. In order to increase the buying power of their group health insurance plans, many employers are expected to begin charging their employees for health insurance on income-based sliding scales. After all, the practice makes sense from a financial, legal and ethical standpoint.

Do I Need a Lawyer for a Suspended License Misdemeanor?

Depending upon your past experiences, you're likely to find the ordeal of being arrested and booked for a crime to be nerve-wracking and humiliating. Regardless of whether you're guilty of the crime with which you've been charged, you could easily be made to feel violated and dehumanized during the course of your arrest. If you're forced to spend a night in jail before being released on bail, you might feel even worse. Depending upon the seriousness of the crime with which you've been charged, you might have to spend the entirety of your pre-arraignment period in jail. In this case, you'll have to face a number of serious and potentially terrifying hassles. If you've been arrested for driving with a suspended license, you'll be charged with a misdemeanor. Fortunately, the bail for such an offense is not typically set at outrageous levels. You may be able to afford to post bail out of your own pocket. Alternatively, one of your friends or relatives might be able to cover this cost. Depending upon the exact dollar amount at which your bail is set, you might not even be able to find a willing bail bondsman. Although driving with a suspended license typically has serious ramifications, individuals who are convicted of this crime usually aren't given prison sentences. Instead, the penalties for this type of crime involve fines, probation and ongoing license restrictions. In addition to the fact that you'll have a misdemeanor crime on your record, the most serious consequence of your suspended-license conviction is liable to be your continued inability to operate a motor vehicle in a legal fashion. Depending upon the circumstances surrounding your arrest, you might be able to secure a reduction in your charges. In the past, courts in certain jurisdictions have reduced suspended-licensed convictions to petty misdemeanors or dismissed them completely. In other cases, these charges have been reduced to simple traffic infractions like speeding or failure to signal. If you have a clean criminal history and driving record, the judge who presides over your case may be more likely to exhibit leniency. If you hire a lawyer, you'll have a far greater likelihood of securing a dismissal or reduction of your charges. In the end, you'll need to decide whether such an outcome is worth the cost of retaining a legal professional. Even for a relatively simple case, your lawyer is likely to cost $1,000 or more.

Would I Need a Motorcycle License and Insurance to Drive a Vespa?

Also known as "mopeds," motorized scooters are becoming increasingly popular in the United States. In addition to being fun to drive and affordable to purchase, these vehicles are extremely fuel-efficient. Depending upon the model that you purchase, your new moped might be able to travel 75 miles on a single tank of fuel. Some newer models are even more efficient: It's not uncommon for state-of-the-art scooters to achieve fuel-efficiency ratings of 100 miles per gallon or more. Meanwhile, certain manufacturers have begun to issue electric scooters that lack an internal combustion engine and derive their power from a safe, efficient battery pack. Regardless of the type of scooter that you ultimately choose to purchase, you'll need to take steps to ensure that it's "street legal" to operate. In addition, you'll need to ensure that you have the proper documentation to operate it on your own. The exact requirements that you'll need to meet may vary from state to state. Likewise, the procedures that you'll be expected to follow may depend upon the size, engine type and brand of the moped that you purchase. If you're in the market for a Vespa, you'll need to pay careful attention to its engine size. In most states, mopeds that feature engines with fuel capacities of 50 cubic centimeters or more are treated as motorcycles. If your Vespa's engine has a capacity of more than 50 cubic centimeters, you'll need to obtain a motorcycle license from your motor vehicle bureau. If you already have a driver's license, you'll need to obtain a motorcycle endorsement on it. In order to do this, you'll need to receive a temporary motorcycle permit and submit to a probationary period. Once this period has ended, you'll need to take a riding exam at your local motor vehicle bureau. If you pass this exam, you'll be free to ride your moped without restriction. If you own a moped that requires a motorcycle license, you'll also need to obtain motorcycle insurance from a reputable provider. Fortunately, such coverage is relatively affordable. Many of the moped manufacturers that do business in the United States take steps to ensure that their customers don't need to obtain licenses and insurance policies. These corner-cutting manufacturers tend to build scooters whose engines are just small enough to evade the licensing requirement. If you don't want to go through the trouble of obtaining documentation for your vehicle, simply purchase a moped that features a 49 cubic-centimeter engine.

Do Life Insurance Companies Check Your Medical Records After You Die?

For many middle-class Americans, life insurance is an essential form of financial protection. There are two basic types of life insurance: term and whole. Within these broad categories, there are several different policy types that may be customized to fit a wide range of needs. For the purposes of this explanation, it’s unnecessary to get into the details of each and every type of life insurance. However, it’s important to make a key distinction between the term and whole life insurance. Whereas whole life insurance is generally regarded as a quasi-investment vehicle that can help protect against financial shocks like job loss or permanent disability, term life insurance exists solely to cover the costs associated with the policyholder’s untimely death. What Is the Best Life Insurance Company to Work for with Great Commission? If you take out a term life insurance policy, you must be aware that it won’t accumulate any cash value. It will only produce income for your descendants in the event that you die before its expiration date. Term life insurance policies typically remain effective for between: Once their initial terms have expired, they may be renewed for additional lengths of time. These renewed policies almost always cost more than the policies that they replace. If you die during the effective period of your term life insurance policy, your policy’s beneficiaries stand to receive the policy’s so-called death benefits. In most cases, your policy’s underwriter will be prepared to pay out these benefits within two to three weeks of your death. Unless your beneficiary opts to receive the benefits in a single lump-sum payment, your underwriter will make annual “annuity” payments over the course of 15 to 30 years. Before it agrees to make the first annuity payment, it may take steps to confirm that your death occurred naturally. If you died in an unusual or suspicious situation, it may withhold benefits in lieu of a full investigation. Depending upon the policies of the life insurance company in question, this may take weeks or months. In most cases, life insurers will refuse to make payouts on suspicious death claims until police and medical officials have made the results of their official investigations available to the public. Your policy’s underwriter may actively participate in these investigations. If this is the case, you may be granted access to your official medical records. However, this may prove expensive and time-consuming for your insurer. If there’s no investigation into your death, it’s unlikely that your life insurance provider will care to review these records.

Does Homeowner’s Insurance Cover Injuries Sustained by the Homeowner Themselves?

As a homeowner, you've probably heard a great deal about your potential liability for any injuries that your guests or workers sustain on your property. If you have a big yard, a long walkway or a blind driveway, you might be especially worried about these issues. After all, hundreds of American homeowners are found to be liable for such injuries each year. To make matters worse, the average homeowner has only a limited ability to "accident-proof" his or her property. The most common types of private-property personal injuries occur as a result of slips or falls. These incidents are especially common during the winter: Unsuspecting guests or workers who walk on icy, untreated walkways or driveways often slip and seriously injure their hands, arms, legs and heads. Falls are also fairly common during the summer. These summertime injuries are often sustained by contractors or laborers working in elevated positions around the exterior of the house. A wobbly ladder that rests on an unstable surface or a loose rooftop shingle could be enough to cause one of these individuals to lose his or her balance and tumble to the ground. Such injuries can be extremely serious and may result in medical bills that total $50,000 or more. Fortunately, many homeowner's insurance companies cover these types of costs. If you have a new house that requires a gold-plated homeowner's insurance policy, you're almost guaranteed to have some form of liability coverage. While the injured worker or guest could still choose to bring a lawsuit against you in the event that your insurer denies his or her claim, such coverage would significantly reduce your risk of paying out of pocket for the incident. On the other hand, few homeowner's insurance policies cover medical expenses associated with injuries to individual policyholders. In other words, you can't hold your insurance company liable for an injury that you sustain on your own property. If you fall off of the roof of your house while performing routine repair work, you'll need to pay for your own medical bills. Of course, your health insurance company will probably pay for a portion of these expenses. You may be able to recover your remaining out-of-pocket expenses by other means. If you've recently had work done on your roof, you may be able to hold the contractor or roofing-materials manufacturer liable for your injury. This will require you to compile enough evidence to file a formal lawsuit. Although such a course of action involves tremendous risk, you may deem it to be worthwhile.

Do I Get My Money Back When Cancelling a Gerber Life Insurance Policy?

Like some other providers of whole life insurance, the Gerber Life Insurance Company offers a novel form of insurance that's tailored to the needs of small children. These products are marketed as savings plans for young children. When you purchase a Gerber Life policy, you begin making monthly contributions known as "premiums." Initially, you'll be able to recover these premiums only under certain circumstances. Unfortunately, these circumstances typically involve the accidental or natural death of your child. Over time, your policy will slowly accumulate a "cash value" that can be used for various purposes. In most cases, policyholders simply allow their policies' cash values to grow over many years. However, policyholders who find themselves in desperate need of cash and lack adequate savings reserves may tap their policies' cash values for loan funds. In most cases, the entirety of a given policy's cash value is available for use as a loan. Since they accrue interest at an annual rate of at least 8 percent, these loans are best used as short-term credit facilities. If you take out such a loan, be sure to pay it back as soon as possible. The cash value of a given Gerber Life policy is equal to its "surrender value." If you become unable to afford your policy's premiums and wish to cancel it, you'll be entitled to receive its full surrender value upon cancellation. To determine the current surrender value of your policy, look at your most recent statement. This figure will be noted near the bottom of the document. To determine the rate at which your policy's surrender value is growing, look at your past six statements and calculate the rate of increase. In most cases, this should be expressed as a percentage of your total monthly premiums. Unfortunately, Gerber Life imposes strict conditions on policyholders who wish to cancel their policies. If you scan your policy's documents, you'll notice some "fine print" that discusses the rate at which your policy accumulates its surrender value. You'll probably be disappointed to learn that your surrender value will be nonexistent for the first several years during which your policy is effective. After this initial probationary period, it will grow at an accelerating rate. Once your policy has been in effect for 25 years, it will be equal to the total value of the premiums that you've paid over the policy's life. In other words, you'll lose money by canceling your child's policy before his or her 25th birthday.

When You Get Rear-Ended By a Car, Does Your Insurance Rate Go Up?

Being involved in a serious car accident can be stressful. Even if you don’t believe that you’re at fault for the accident, you’ll probably be asked by the police and various insurance agencies to provide a great deal of information about the circumstances surrounding the incident. If you were injured in the crash, you would probably prefer not to deal with such matters. Even if you feel fine, you might be emotionally “shaken up” or worried about the cost of repairing your damaged vehicle. In either case, you might be understandably reticent to engage in lengthy “on the record” conversations with certain authority figures. Unfortunately, such conversations are a necessary aspect of post-accident investigations. Although rear-end crashes are among the most common and clear-cut types of automobile accidents, they still must be investigated to the fullest possible extent. If you’ve recently been rear-ended by another driver, you’ll need to remember a few key points. Crucially, you’re unlikely to be held liable for being rear-ended. In most jurisdictions, fault is assigned to the “second” driver in a rear-end accident. The driver who sustained damage to the rear end of his or her car is virtually never deemed to be at fault for a rear-end accident. There are some occasional exceptions to these general guidelines. If you were engaging in an illegal maneuver at the moment of impact, you may be held fully or partially liable for the accident. This is particularly common in freeway “slow lanes.” If you’re stopped in a traffic lane or traveling slower than the posted minimum speed without mitigating factors like traffic jams or disabled vehicles ahead, you’re technically in violation of the law. If you’re rear-ended while engaged in such an activity, you’ll be issued a traffic citation for your actions and held liable for the accident. Once you file an insurance claim for this accident, your rates will almost certainly rise. Likewise, your insurance rates could go up for matters unrelated to the rear-end accident. After the accident, the officer charged with investigating the matter could choose to issue a secondary citation that has no bearing on his or her determination of fault. This could come in the form of a speeding ticket, “failure to signal” citation or other moving violation. Even if your insurer doesn’t hold you responsible for the actual crash, it might nevertheless raise your rates as a result of this ticket.

How Do I Remove Someone’s Name Off of a Joint Bank Account?

Joint bank accounts can be useful in many different situations. For small business partnerships, they can provide the principals of a given business with access to a portion of the entity's liquid finances. Since joint business bank accounts can typically be accessed by multiple parties at once, such arrangements may permit trusted stakeholders to tap into the business's cash reserves without seeking the formal approval of their partners. Likewise, joint bank accounts are an excellent means by which parents may teach their children about financial matters. Once their children reach an appropriate age, many parents choose to open joint bank accounts for them. Although parents have nominal control over these joint "custodial" bank accounts until their children reach the age of majority, these financial tools may serve as an important teaching tool. Minor children can still deposit and withdraw funds from the joint bank accounts to which they're attached. Once they turn 18, they may be permitted to open and close new bank accounts at will. Joint bank accounts are also useful for married couples. For simplicity's sake, many couples choose to merge their finances. Unlike parent-child financial relationships, these arrangements are generally equitable: Each spouse may draw upon the account and make decisions related to its administration. In the event of a separation or divorce, these accounts may serve as sources of vitriolic disagreements between warring ex-spouses. There are many situations in which it might make sense to remove someone's name from a joint bank account. If you're considering doing so, you'll need to take several steps. However, you shouldn't over-think the process. In most cases, it can be done within a few minutes. If you're assigned as the "primary" account-holder on a joint or custodial account, it may be even easier to remove your fellow account-holders. To take a minor child off of a custodial account, you can simply call your bank and request that they be removed from the account. It's also easy to remove a willing participant from a joint bank account. Individuals who have no desire to remain attached to the account in question can typically be neutralized during the course of a brief bank-branch meeting. You'll need to appear with the appropriate individual at a branch of your bank. You'll both require two forms of legal identification. Finally, you'll both need to sign a piece of paper that makes the move official. The entire process should take a matter of minutes.

How Do You Fire Your Lawyer and Get Your Money Back?

When you hire a lawyer, you're not exactly entering into an employer-employee relationship. Your lawyer isn't obligated to shortchange his or her other clients in order to take on responsibilities that fall outside of the scope of your case. However, your lawyer is nevertheless obligated to fulfill the task that you've set before him or her. If he or she proves to be unwilling or unable to do so, you have the legal right to sever your relationship. While your lawyer will probably still be employed by his or her law firm, he or she will have no further relationship with you or your case. If you choose to sever your relationship with your attorney before your case reaches a conclusion, you must be prepared to take several important steps within a relatively short period of time. First, you'll need to initiate the firing process using the proper channels. In order to avoid any potential financial backlash from your decision, you should fire your attorney using a notarized letter that you've sent to him or her via certified mail. This letter must outline the reasons that you've chosen to fire him or her and demand the repayment of any unused portion of your retainer. Since your lawyer is legally obligated to keep your retainer in an escrow account and can't access the money without sending a formal bill to you, he or she will probably repay it without delay. If your lawyer fails to return these funds within 30 days, you may take several steps to ensure that you aren't cheated. First, you should send another letter that reiterates your decision to take your lawyer off the case and demands prompt repayment of your retainer. In this letter, spell out the consequences of inaction. These can include reporting your former lawyer's practice to the Better Business Bureau and reporting the individual lawyer to your state's bar association. In most cases, your lawyer will not risk such dramatic repercussions. However, it's important to note that your lawyer may still bill you for the work that he or she performed immediately before the firing. Under the terms of your pre-existing agreement, you're obligated to pay this bill in full. Once you've fired your attorney, you must find a replacement for him or her before your next court date. If you don't find another professional to take your case, it may be dismissed. If this happens, you'll need to refile it. Needless to say, this process can take months or years.

Does It Matter If I Lie About My Grades to Get a Good Student Discount with My Auto Insurance?

These days, auto insurance companies offer dozens of enticing discounts for prospective policyholders. In the hyper-competitive market for insurance coverage, these discounts are designed to attract policyholders to agents and direct-sales representatives. Every year, millions of new insurance customers sign up for "discounted" policies thanks to these slick marketing tools. Of course, it's not entirely clear that these so-called discounts actually save money for the drivers who take advantage of them. In many cases, these discounts may simply serve as a reduction mechanism for already-inflated premiums. When you solicit a rate quote from an auto insurance provider, you'll have to provide certain pertinent demographic and historical information. Once you've done this, you'll be notified about your eligibility for various discounts. Depending upon the answers that you've provided to the questions that you've already been asked, these discounts may vary widely. If you're under a certain age and currently attend school, you may be eligible for a student discount. If your driving record is pristine, you may qualify for a "good driver" discount. Since the insurance business is highly competitive, most insurance companies prefer to issue policies on the spot. In other words, you can simultaneously solicit a rate quote and receive a policy based on the information that you've provided. If you sign up for your policy online, you can immediately print your insurance documents for safekeeping in your vehicle. Once you've paid, you can move on to your next task for the day. Of course, your insurance company will double-check all of the information that you've provided in your application. This investigation tends to be very thorough: Your provider will take the time to check on your enrollment status with the educational institution that you claimed to be attending and may run a comprehensive license check with the motor vehicle bureau of each of the states in which you've lived. Even if you've already paid for your policy, your provider's official acceptance of your coverage terms and premium rates will depend upon the outcome of this investigation. If your provider's investigation turns up any inconsistencies in your self-reported answers, you may face serious consequences. If you've misrepresented your driving history, it's likely that your provider will upwardly adjust your policy's rate and ask you to pay the difference. If you've misrepresented your educational history, your provider will wipe out your student discount and may cancel your policy. In either case, any claim that you file is likely to be denied.

I Used H&R Block Online Tax Last Year. Is There Any Way to Look Up My AGI for Last Year’s Taxes?

These days, filing a U.S. income tax return is relatively convenient. In the past, filers had to deal with mountains of paper, mailing fees, and potential processing delays. The process was often held hostage by the whims of postal or filing-service employees. Even simple tax situations often required the assistance of a professional tax preparation specialist. Such specialists typically charged hefty fees and kept significant proportions of their clients’ tax refunds. Overall, the tax filing system has improved markedly with the rise of Internet-based filing systems. Of course, online tax preparation and filing still produces plenty of headaches. Many of the same organizations that helped Americans file their taxes during the second half of the 20th century remain actively engaged in the tax-preparation business today. Online tax-filing giants like: Now account for a sizable proportion of the total tax-return volume that passes through the IRS each year. As with any massive undertaking, complications arise with some regularity. One of the most troublesome of these complications is the requirement that tax filers use their “adjusted gross income” figure from the previous tax year as a password to log onto their current “e-filing” service. Virtually all of the tax preparation services that use the e-filing interface require their clients to take this step. Known as “AGI” figures, filers’ adjusted gross incomes are not necessarily unique. After all, hundreds of millions of U.S. tax returns are produced every year. However, these numbers are distinctive enough to be deemed effective for use as de facto passwords. Best Way to get a Copy of Last Year’s Tax Return If you’re worried that you won’t be able to find or remember your AGI figure from the previous year, you can circumvent your e-filing service’s AGI requirement in one of several ways. For starters, you might have created a different password during a previous filing session. If you’re returning to the same tax-filing service, you might be able to use its “lost password” feature to look up the unique password that you created the year before. Alternatively, you may be able to use the PIN that you received from the IRS when you filed your taxes. Although this may not be entirely sufficient to log you into your tax-filing interface, it should be adequate when used in conjunction with your old password. If your tax situation is straightforward, you may be able to find your AGI simply by looking at the “gross income” field on the W-2 form from your employer.

Will I Go to Jail for a Misdemeanor?

If you've been arrested and charged with a misdemeanor crime, you may be worried about spending a significant amount of time in prison. Chances are good that you've already been exposed to the penal area of the police station that processed you in the aftermath of your arrest. Depending upon the jurisdiction in which you were arrested and the time of day in which the arrest occurred, you may have been jammed into a cramped jail cell or given a semi-private room of your own. If you've already spent time with other accused criminals in a secure environment, you may be dreading the thought of returning to such a place after your conviction. The rules that govern misdemeanor crimes vary widely by jurisdiction and classification. For starters, there are several different "classes" of misdemeanor crimes. These range from lightly-punished petty misdemeanors to relatively serious Class A misdemeanors. Depending upon the state in which you're arrested, these classes may designated numerically or alphabetically. In either case, they're functionally similar. If you're charged with a petty misdemeanor, there's virtually no chance that you'll be sent to prison. Most petty misdemeanors are punishable by a relatively small fine of $300 or less. Examples of petty misdemeanors include petty theft and personal possession of certain controlled substances. If you're charged with a low-level misdemeanor that's deemed to be more serious than a petty misdemeanor, you'll probably face a significant fine and may be required to participate in a community-service program. However, it's unlikely that you'll be incarcerated for such a crime. Low-level misdemeanors include vandalism, disorderly conduct and "disturbing the peace." Meanwhile, more serious misdemeanors like burglary and grand theft might be punishable by some jail time. In most cases, misdemeanor jail sentences can't exceed two years in length. The likelihood that you'll be incarcerated for a misdemeanor may also depend upon the state of the prison system in your jurisdiction. In many states, municipal and state-run jails are overflowing with inmates. For instance, California's prison population exceeds the rated capacity of its prison system by a factor of two. Given the obvious space constraints that this systemic overcrowding can produce, many judges are inclined to be lenient with repentant offenders. In other words, any prison sentence that you would have received for your crime could be reduced to a "time served" sentence that involves significant amounts of community-service work. If you show remorse for your actions, such an outcome will be more likely.

What Percentage of Lawsuits Settle Before Trial? What Are Some Statistics on Personal Injury Settlements?

If you’re on either side of a pending lawsuit, you may be nervous about the prospect of going to trial. If you’re like most Americans, you’ve probably never been directly involved in the trial process. Although it’s likely that you’ve seen stylized media portrayals of sleazy trial lawyers, forceful judges and rigid courtroom protocols, you may not know what to expect once you actually step through the double doors and enter your trial court. In fact, you might not even be aware that most modern courtrooms lack double doors. Unless you’re involved in a complex case with no clear-cut “winner” or “loser,” your nervousness may be misplaced. Prior to the commencement of the trial process, the vast majority of personal injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits are settled out of court. Although reliable median settlement figures are not available due to a lack of clear reporting standards, it’s likely that most pre-trial settlement amounts are comparable to the reported “value” of the corresponding lawsuit. In a financial sense, settlements tend to favor plaintiffs over defendants. Of course, settling a case out of court may protect the reputation and dignity of a defendant. In this regard, it can be said that both plaintiffs and defendants benefit from pre-trial settlements. According to the most recently-available statistics, about 95 percent of pending lawsuits end in a pre-trial settlement. This means that just one in 20 personal injury cases is resolved in a court of law by a judge or jury. It also means that planning for a pre-trial settlement is a crucial component of any sound legal strategy. In fact, many seasoned personal injury plaintiffs use the bulk of the pre-trial preparation period to build a case that entices their opponents into settling for a favorable sum. If you would prefer to settle your case before trial, be sure to let your attorney know of your desire in a timely fashion. It appears that personal injury trials favor the plaintiff: According to recent statistics, over 90 percent of cases that go to trial end in victory for the individual who brought the suit. This suggests that pre-trial settlements may be in the best interest of defendants who lack strong evidence to defend themselves against the charges that they face. In straightforward personal injury cases, the outcome of a trial can hinge on the testimony of a single key witness or the examination of certain pertinent records.

How Do I Transfer Money from Mexico to My Bank Account in the USA?

Most of the money transfers between the United States and Mexico are made by Mexican expatriates who live and work in the United States. However, many Americans who live and work in Mexico require a stable means of sending money from their adopted country to their relatives north of the border. Alternatively, many Americans who live in Mexico on a temporary basis may continue to operate bank and retirement accounts in their home country. If these individuals earn substantial amounts of money during their time away from the United States, they may choose to repatriate a portion of their earnings to take advantage of certain taxation treaties between the two countries. Under certain circumstances, Americans who live in Mexico can avoid paying income taxes to the Mexican government. There are several easy ways to send money across the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The most common means by which regular people send such funds involves a money transfer service like: For a relatively modest fee, these outfits can safely and efficiently process cash transfers on a same-day basis. If you’re planning on executing such a transfer, you should make several arrangements. First, you’ll need to choose a physical destination for your funds. You’ll probably need to specify the exact city, state, and terminal to which you’d like to send your money. For instance, you may choose a specific Walmart outlet in Austin, Texas as your destination. Some payment services may not require you to specify a particular location. If this is the case, you’ll be able to send your funds to any of the service’s terminals. It’s important to note that some states restrict the amount of money that an individual can send or receive on a daily basis. For instance, Arizona limits the size of incoming and outgoing transfers to $500 per day. How Do I Withdraw Money from My Bank Account in Another Country? You’ll also need to confirm that you have a willing recipient for your funds. This person will need to arrive at the specified terminal and recover the cash that you sent. If you choose, this person can subsequently make a bank account deposit on your behalf. Alternatively, you can use an electronic service to send funds directly to your bank account. You may be able to use PayPal, Xoom, or your Mexico-based brokerage account for this purpose. If you choose to send money in this manner, make sure that it’s denominated in the proper currency.

How Much Money Does a Government Lawyer Make?

In the past, lawyers belonged to an elite socioeconomic class and enjoyed tremendous job security. "Corporate" lawyers who worked for well-funded private companies or secured partnership-level positions at reputable law firms earned salaries comparable to those commanded by medical specialists and surgeons. Law firm principals, malpractice lawyers, liability lawyers and certain trial attorneys might have earned even more than those medical professionals. In other words, the law was a coveted field that attracted the best and brightest graduates of the nation's elite undergraduate institutions. While the law still attracts promising and ambitious young people, the earning power of the average lawyer has declined significantly since the 1980s. There are fewer lucrative opportunities available to newly-minted lawyers who lack years of practical experience. Most of these are reserved for graduates of top-tier law schools like Northwestern, Harvard and Yale. Most new lawyers find themselves relegated to "second-class" jobs that offer decent but unspectacular pay packages. Since many private law schools charge upwards of $200,000 for a three-year JD program, many new lawyers feel pressured to earn at least $100,000 immediately after graduation in order to remain financially comfortable. After all, the vast majority of law students finance their law school educations with high-interest student loans. If you're going to be graduating from law school in the near future, you may struggle to repay your loans without access to a coveted corporate-law job. Then again, you may be dead-set against working in such an environment. Many new lawyers choose to gain experience in the public sector before "graduating" to higher-paying private-sector jobs. In most cases, so-called "government lawyer" jobs pay substantially less than private-practice jobs. It's important to note that many modestly-paid government lawyers are expected to work just as hard as their private-practice peers. In fact, there's little correlation between "hours worked" metrics and compensation figures. Many government lawyers must work for 70 to 80 hours per week on a regular basis. In the public sector, lawyers' pay scales vary tremendously across jurisdictional lines. Local lawyers who work for rural county or city governments generally receive smaller compensation packages than specialized lawyers who work for the federal government in the Washington, D.C. area. Lawyers who work for state governments and far-flung branches of federal agencies tend to earn middling salaries. In general, living costs and agency budgets play a substantial role in determining compensation rates for government lawyers. Whereas rural government lawyers might earn $50,000 to $75,000 per year, high-powered federal lawyers might command $100,000 to $120,000 per year.

If You Can’t Afford Health Insurance, Are You Required to Buy It?

Since the late 2000s, health insurance has been a hot topic of conversation. Even as the insurance industry has been subjected to a rigorous examination from every possible angle, the legislative fight to reform the provision of this type of insurance has become a political "lightning rod" for politically-savvy citizens. Meanwhile, many politicians' careers have been launched or reshaped by their stances on so-called healthcare reform. The political healthcare reform movement culminated with the 2009 passage of the Affordable Care Act. Prior to the act's passage, between 40 and 50 million Americans lacked any form of health insurance coverage. Most of these individuals were low-income workers who couldn't procure insurance coverage through their employers. Many earned too much money to qualify for Medicaid coverage and failed to meet certain eligibility requirements for Medicare. Likewise, millions of folks who could afford to purchase health insurance coverage through their employers or on the open market found themselves in dire financial straits before the act's passage. In 2012, average out-of-pocket health insurance costs for individual policyholders exceeded $4,000 per year. For the typical family of four, these costs exceeded $15,000 per year. While it's too early to assess the effects of the Affordable Care Act on health insurance premiums, one of the law's signature features is now set in stone: Beginning in 2014, individuals who previously lacked health insurance may purchase it at a reduced rate. Through a tool known as the "individual mandate," the government may now compel its citizens to purchase health insurance coverage. In addition, most businesses with more than 50 full-time employees will be required to provide group coverage to these full-timers. If businesses or individuals choose not to purchase health insurance coverage, they may be subject to an annual fine. The individual mandate contains provisions that may help low-income policyholders afford their premium payments. Individual earners with incomes below 400 percent of the federally-set "poverty level" may be eligible for tax credits that can offset the cost of their annual insurance premiums. Families with combined incomes of below 400 percent of the poverty level will also be eligible for subsidies under this plan. In a related provision, the Affordable Care Act caps out-of-pocket healthcare-related expenses for most policyholders at about $3,000. Although this figure may rise in response to cost-of-living adjustments, it is likely to remain significantly lower than the pre-reform out-of-pocket cost of health coverage.

If I Have an Investment Property That Will Go into Foreclosure, Can the Bank Take My Primary Residence?

Although the foreclosure crisis that swept the nation during the late 2000s has begun to abate, millions of homeowners remain unable to afford the payments on their mortgages. These hard-working individuals must either refinance their home loans or accept the possibility that their lenders will initiate foreclosure proceedings against them. Since there are currently hundreds of thousands of homes in foreclosure across the United States, there is a considerable backlog of "pending foreclosures" in certain areas. These distressed properties are especially common in states that were hit hard by the housing crisis, including Florida and Arizona. As such, there may be a lag of six months to two years between a delinquent homeowner's last mortgage payment and the date of the foreclosure auction. The foreclosure rules that govern investment properties are similar to those that govern primary residences. However, banks tend to expedite foreclosure proceedings on high-value multi-unit residential structures. If you own a rental property with multiple units, your foreclosure may proceed at a faster pace than you expect. This could make it difficult for you to catch up on your delinquent mortgage payments or secure another source of financing for your loan. Fortunately, your mortgage lender probably won't be able to seize your primary residence for the purposes of satisfying your delinquent mortgage. Although there are several exceptions to this general rule, mortgage lenders typically may only seize the property to which the delinquent mortgage is tied. If the proceeds from the pending foreclosure sale won't be enough to satisfy the mortgage debt in full, lenders may also seize any collateral put up by the delinquent homeowner. If the loan on your rental property was particularly large, it's possible that your mortgage lender asked you to provide some collateral as a condition of its issuance. Such collateral typically takes the form of cars, artwork, jewelry and other homes. If you chose to use it as collateral for your rental property's mortgage loan, you may lose your primary residence to foreclosure. For this reason, most financial professionals recommend insulating your commercial real estate holdings from your private holdings. In order to do this more effectively, you may wish to create a taxable business entity like an LLC or S-corporation. If you become unable to shoulder the burdens of your commercial mortgages, you can shield your personal finances using these business entities. However, you may still be forced to take a tax write-down that could significantly impact your tax liability for the year in which the foreclosure occurred.

How Do I Become an Assassin for the Government?

Since the advent of radio and television, assassins have enjoyed numerous media portrayals. Most of these have been favorable. In fact, a great number have been downright glamorous. If you’ve watched action-packed television shows or movies within the past 50 years, you’ve probably concluded that assassins have fun, rewarding jobs. Of course, this characterization misses several important points about the nature of working as an assassin. For starters, there are relatively few assassins in the world. Most of the government operatives who may be tasked with neutralizing “high-value” individuals also perform other duties as well. Although there are plenty of highly-trained individuals who may be qualified to kill or kidnap certain targets in a discrete fashion, there are few agents who resemble James Bond or Jason Bourne. Most specialized field operatives focus on collecting and synthesizing intelligence data rather than killing those who appear unwilling to provide it. However, these media portrayals have raised the profile of the assassination business and increased the interest that modern young people show in the profession. If you’re serious about becoming an assassin, you’ll need to choose which sub-branch of the field you’d prefer to practice. Most de facto assassins are snipers who serve in the Army or Marines. Certain members of the Special Forces who are well-trained in close-combat techniques may be qualified to practice a greater variety of assassinations. Most Armed Forces assassins operate in recognized combat zones or countries in which the United States has certain high-value strategic interests. The assassins who most closely resemble “secret agents” like Jason Bourne are generally CIA operatives with top-level security clearances. These individuals can be trained as: They may also have significant experience with unconventional methods of inflicting harm upon others, including familiarity with poisons and explosives. Operatives who work for the CIA and other intelligence-gathering agencies may conduct clandestine operations outside of designated combat zones. As such, their activities are generally kept secret and might not even be recorded. To become a government operative who might potentially engage in assassination-related activities, you’ll need to join a branch of the Armed Forces and score well on certain aptitude tests. Once you’ve risen above the rank of private, you can apply for a sniper position with the Army or Marines. After you’ve been trained as a sniper, you can continue working within the military or apply for a job with a private defense contractor like Academi. For more information on the government, you can also check out What Is A Government Shutdown & Who Does It Affect?

Do I Have to Pay the Mortgage While My Wife and I Are Separated?

Unless you purchase a business, boat or other big-ticket item during the course of your life, your mortgage will be the largest discrete obligation for which you're likely to be responsible. As such, it's important that you treat it with the respect that it deserves. Failure to make your mortgage payments in a timely fashion can seriously disrupt your credit rating and may deal a substantial setback to your financial profile. In the worst-case scenario, your failure to pay your mortgage on time could result in a foreclosure that forces your home's current occupants to find alternate lodging. Until your divorce has been set in stone, you should continue to pay your mortgage. Once you and your spouse are legally divorced, one of you will assume possession of the house. At that point, the ex-spouse who still owns the house will be responsible for shouldering the full cost of its mortgage. If this represents an undue financial burden, this person will need to sell the house and find another place to live. If you're the only borrower listed in the official mortgage documents, you'll have no choice but to continue making payments on it. If you miss two or three consecutive payments, your lender is likely to foreclose on your house. When this happens, you'll receive a significant blemish on your credit rating and may be unable to procure a new mortgage loan for several years. In the meantime, your depressed credit rating may prevent you from finding a suitable place to live on a temporary basis. To avoid this unpleasant outcome, you'll need to expedite your divorce proceedings or come to an arrangement with your spouse. If you're living apart without being legally separated, you should secure this designation from a family court before proceeding. A legal separation designation is likely to make it easier for you to enter into binding financial agreements with your estranged spouse. Once you're officially divorced, these agreements will become permanent. If you and your spouse are both listed on the mortgage, you'll need to ensure that she continues to make her portion of the payments on it. If she fails to do so, you'll need to compensate by paying more than your agreed-upon share. Without such an adjustment, your lender will foreclose on the house. In order to enter into any binding payment agreements, you'll need to convince a judge to sign off on your written proposal at an official hearing.

Can an Employer Legally Decrease Your Salary If It Is Stated in Your Contract?

The rules that govern employment law may exhibit tremendous variation between jurisdictions. Although there are multiple federal agencies that administer various employment-related regulations, many of the laws that relate to the day-to-day decisions of employees and employers are enacted and enforced on the state level. Relative to states with strong traditions of labor union membership, the laws are substantially different in "right-to-work" states that provide fewer protections for unions and their members. Although the "right-to-work" movement has been gaining steam in recent years, many aspects of the legal framework remain unsettled. In fact, several states remain mired in legal fights over the terms and implications of these policies. Of course, employment law isn't completely dominated by fights between union members and their employers. If you don't belong to a union, any right-to-work laws in your state probably won't affect your employment choices or outlook. Rather, your direct interactions with your employer will prove decisive in this regard. If you work in a high-demand industry or have special qualifications that suit you to a particular role within your organization, you may be required to agree to the terms of a fixed-term employment contract. If this is the case, your employment contract will determine the outcome of most of the disputes that arise between you and your employer. In most cases, your employment contract will spell out the length of time that you'll be required to work as well as the compensation that you'll receive for your work. Typical employment contracts last for one to three years. Longer-term contracts may come with built-in pay raises that reflect living-cost increases or performance incentives. Unless you violate the conditions of your contract, your employment is generally guaranteed for the length of its term. In many cases, employment contracts are renewed on an ongoing basis. However, "permanent" employment contracts or tenured positions are rare outside of the education industry. This increases the leverage of employers and ensures that workers maintain their initial level of performance. If your employer is bound by an employment contract, it's unlikely that you'll be demoted or subjected to a salary reduction without "just cause." However, your contract may include a provision that provides for "emergency" salary reductions due to restructuring activities. In many cases, employers will choose to issue company-wide salary reductions in place of layoffs. This is perfectly legal and occurs with some frequency. If you're not working on a contractual basis, your employer can reduce your salary with or without cause at any time.

What Happens to Your Home Mortgage When You Die?

Since most people purchase their homes when they're in their 20s and 30s, it should be no surprise that the majority of mortgage holders are relatively young and healthy. After all, most mortgages are designed to be paid off within 15 to 30 years of their issuance. Nevertheless, each passing year sees many thousands of American homeowners die with outstanding balances on their mortgages. If you're worried about suffering this fate or inheriting a mortgage from a recently-deceased relative, you should keep a few things in mind. Assuming that you die with a portion of your mortgage's balance outstanding, it's unlikely that any of your family members will be obligated to make any direct payments on it. However, the responsibility for paying the remaining balance of the loan may devolve to the person who cosigned the loan with you. In most cases, this will be your surviving spouse. Since he or she will presumably continue to live in the house, this may not represent a serious burden. If you have a life insurance policy that pays out upon your death, your spouse may well use the proceeds to remain current on the mortgage or pay it off entirely. Likewise, your spouse may choose to sell the house in order to satisfy the outstanding debt. If you're the sole signer of your mortgage, your mortgage lender may decide the fate of your home. While it's possible to ensure that the home remains in your family by bequeathing it to a willing heir in your will, many homeowners don't have heirs with the resources to continue making mortgage payments. However, your home may remain in your family under certain circumstances. If your estate contains lots of liquid assets, your mortgage lender may "call due" your mortgage debt and use these assets to satisfy the balance on your loan. While this will significantly reduce the amount of money that your surviving spouse or heirs may keep, it will also ensure that your home remains out of the possession of the bank that issued your mortgage. If your estate is too small to satisfy your mortgage debt, your home is liable to be foreclosed upon by your mortgage lender. The executor of your estate can stop this process at any time by finding a willing heir to step forward and make payments on your mortgage. If this doesn't happen, your home will probably be sold by your lender through a sheriff's auction.

How Much Is a Life Insurance Payment for a 70-Year-Old Man?

Life insurance is a useful tool for young and middle-aged individuals with a high burden of day-to-day expenses. There are two basic forms of this kind of insurance: term life and whole life. Whole life insurance is far more expensive than term life insurance and typically isn't suited to the needs of an older person. Meanwhile, term life insurance is quite affordable for individuals between the ages of 30 and 50. Once a policyholder turns 50, his or her premiums will inevitably increase. The exact rate of this increase will depend upon several factors, including the policyholder's tobacco habits and pre-existing health conditions. A 60-year-old man in good health might still be able to procure an affordable term life insurance policy with a 10-year payout window. His eligibility for such a policy will hinge on his performance on a standard medical exam. Unfortunately, a healthy 70-year-old man will have trouble finding an excellent life insurance policy with premiums of less than $100 per month. Although most life insurance companies issue 10-year term life insurance policies for males and females between the ages of 70 and 80, these policies typically come with death benefits worth less than $50,000. Such policies may also come with mandatory probationary periods during which beneficiaries aren't entitled to receive death benefits. These periods may last up to three years. In essence, these "10-year" policies may only pay out during a seven-year window. In many cases, the premium payments on these policies may end up exceeding the total values of their death benefits. If you're looking for a life insurance policy for someone who's over the age of 70, you'll need to talk to an insurance agent who specializes in selling high-risk policies. He or she may be able to identify relatively affordable policies that come with short probationary periods. Although the ever-changing life insurance industry offers few guarantees, it may be worthwhile to sit down with such an agent to discuss your options. There aren't too many reasons to invest in a life insurance policy after turning 60. Once you've paid for your house and your kids' college tuition bills, you may have few major "overhead" obligations left on your financial plate. Although term life insurance policies typically produce high rates of return for younger policyholders, your expensive policy may produce sub-par returns relative to the stock or bond markets. Before opting to purchase a term life policy, consider whether your money could earn a better rate of return in another investment vehicle.

Can My Criminal Record Transfer to Another State?

When you’re arrested and charged with a crime, a record of the event is entered into the database that local and state law enforcement agencies use to monitor the criminal records of various members of the public. These databases can be accessed by virtually any American law enforcement agency that chooses to subscribe to them. These days, most major law enforcement agencies communicate freely with one another using these databases as well as other tools and resources. When you’re convicted of a crime, a record of your conviction will be entered into the database that’s used by the jurisdiction in which you were tried. This will be a matter of permanent record and may show up on background checks conducted by prospective employers, security-clearance issuers, landlords, mortgage lenders, and many other parties. Unless your criminal record is expunged by a judge, you’ll live with this blemish on file for an extended period of time. Certain serious crimes like aggravated assault, rape, and murder may remain on your criminal record on a permanent basis. Less-serious misdemeanors may drop off of your record after five, seven, or 10 years. These reporting windows vary according to the policies of the jurisdiction in which you were tried and convicted. It’s very difficult to “outrun” your criminal history. Before law enforcement databases were widespread, it may have been possible to avoid full responsibility for past transgressions. Convicted criminals who moved across state lines could often avoid accounting for their crimes for years at a time. As recently as the 1970s, background checks were far less thorough and often produced glaring inconsistencies and information gaps. Convicted criminals felt little obligation to report their convictions on the:   How Do I Get a Copy of My Criminal Record? Inter-agency information-sharing protocols simply weren’t highly developed and couldn’t keep up with an increasingly mobile population. This has changed decisively. If you have a criminal record, it’s now impossible to outrun it for any sustained period of time. Once you take up residency in a new state, your local motor vehicle bureau will be able to see all of the vehicular infractions in which you’ve been involved during the past several years. Once you apply for a job in your new home, the customary background check to which your employer will subject you is liable to turn up any record of past arrests or criminal convictions. Finally, you’ll be at risk for arrest on any outstanding warrants that you may be carrying. These arrests typically happen during routine traffic stops.

Can You Put Someone on Your Health Insurance Who Is Not a Family Member?

As healthcare costs continue to rise, health insurance is more important than ever. Unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly complicated: New regulations threaten to upend the status quo and inject new layers of uncertainty into an already chaotic insurance picture. If you've recently purchased a health insurance policy or have become eligible to do so through a new employer, school or trade association, you'll need to set aside a significant amount of time to read through your policy's literature and get a grip on your options. Most public and private insurance providers will permit you to add certain qualifying family members to your policy. For instance, most employer-sponsored group health plans willingly accept the spouses of covered members at a significant discount to the cost of individual coverage. Most employer-sponsored insurers also offer "family plans" that cover minor and adult children as well as spouses. These plans are often far more generous than individual plans and may offer low-cost prenatal, primary and preventative care. In many cases, your insurance provider will permit you to carry virtually any family member that you can claim as a dependent. Such family members might include your elderly parents, adult children and disabled relatives. You'll need to check with the insurance regulator in your home state to determine who might qualify for inclusion on your policy. Unfortunately, the law is less clear on your ability to carry individuals to whom you're not related by blood or marriage. If you live in a state in which common-law marriage is legal, you may be able to include your common-law spouse on your health insurance plan without much difficulty. Although cutoff dates for common-law eligibility can vary, it's likely that you'll be able to carry an opposite-sex domestic partner with whom you've been living for more than 10 consecutive years. If common-law marriage is not legal in your state, you may not be able to carry an opposite-sex partner unless some form of recognized domestic partnership exists in your jurisdiction. Under most domestic partnership laws, members of the opposite sex can apply for domestic-partnership rights without officially agreeing to marry. If you wish to carry a same-sex domestic partner on your health insurance, you'll need to make sure that your state confers equal domestic partnership benefits on same-sex couples. Likewise, you'll need to check with the proper authorities to ensure that your state recognizes same-sex common law marriages. If this is the case, your insurance company will consider your partner to be your blood relative for the purposes of your policy.

Why Did Geico Increase My Auto Insurance Rate for No Reason?

As a Geico customer, you're probably used to paying a fairly attractive annual premium in exchange for your auto insurance coverage. Unlike some full-service auto insurance companies, Geico is known for charging below-market rates for its policies. Unlike many bargain-basement auto insurance companies, Geico is also known for providing responsive claims service and dispensing prompt payouts to drivers who deserve them. As such, it's often said to occupy a "sweet spot" niche between discount and full-service providers. In addition, it enjoys excellent customer satisfaction rankings and experiences relatively low turnover rates. However, Geico has some key drawbacks. While it's an attractive insurer for mature drivers with stellar driving records, it's not an ideal carrier for younger drivers with blemished driving histories. It's known for raising accident-prone drivers' premiums by more than many other insurance companies. As such, it has developed a reputation as a "trap" company that charges new customers low premiums to earn their business and then jacks up its rates at the first sign of trouble. Unlike full-service providers like Allstate and State Farm, Geico doesn't offer a blanket "accident forgiveness" discount. While it does reserve the right to overlook a single speeding ticket or at-fault accident during a five-year period, its standards for doing so are far stricter than those of its peer companies. Despite this fact, Geico specifically targets young drivers with affordable policies and clever advertising. If you believe that Geico has unfairly increased the premiums on your policy, you'll need to speak with one of the company's customer service representatives. It's unusual for an insurance company to raise its premiums without cause. In fact, most insurance companies reduce the premiums that they charge their loyal customers over time to increase customer retention rates. If you're unable to get a straight answer from your representative, you may wish to check with your state's insurance regulator. Most states permit insurance companies to raise their premiums once or twice within a given calendar year. Unless they're made on individual policyholders in response to specific incidents, these increases must be approved by the proper regulatory authorities. To justify these rate hikes, insurance companies point to a variety of factors. These might include higher general operating costs or an uptick in the number of accidents in a particular state due to unusually bad weather conditions. Fortunately, you can fight back against such an "unfair" rate increase by shopping around for a new insurance provider.

Can I Claim My Mortgage and My Parents’ Mortgage on My Tax Return?

As a homeowner, you're probably aware that you can deduct a healthy portion of the interest that you pay on your mortgage from your total taxable income. In order to claim this deduction, you can't fall in one of the top two tax brackets and must file your taxes as either a "single" or "married" filer. You can't choose the "married filing separately" option that many taxpayers utilize to save money on certain business expenses. You must also refrain from deducting any of the principal that you paid on your mortgage. If you fail to adhere to any of these basic requirements, you may be at risk for an IRS audit. There are some circumstances in which you may be able to deduct the interest on your parents' mortgage from your own taxable income. If you pay the mortgage on your parents' house, you can't simply claim the applicable interest payments as a deduction. The IRS assumes that any funds used in this manner are intended for use as "gifts." Unfortunately, gifts are neither taxable nor tax-deductible under current federal law. In other words, your parents won't be liable for paying taxes on the mortgage payments that you make on their behalf. However, you won't be able to claim these payments as tax-deductible expenses. This general rule contains several key loopholes. If you can define your parents' house as your "second home," you may be able to deduct the interest that you pay on its mortgage from your taxable income. You'll need to ensure that the deed to the house is in your name before attempting to make this deduction. If your parents compensate you for the time that they spend in "their" house, you'll also need to spend at least 36 nights per year at the house. This is because the IRS requires homeowners who rent out their second homes to use them as their primary residences for at least part of the year. Otherwise, such a maneuver would constitute an abuse of the federal laws that govern rental properties. If your parents live in the house on a rent-free basis, you're not required to spend any time there. For the IRS's purposes, the house might as well be sitting vacant. It's important to note that you can't deduct any mortgage interest on a mortgage that's worth more than the house that secures it. In most cases, you'll need to provide the IRS with two Form 1098s as proof of your mortgage debts.

How Much Will My Car Insurance rate Go Up for Three Points on My License?

Your auto insurance costs are dependent upon several factors. In addition to your age, physical location and vehicle make, your annual premiums are also governed by various demographic factors and life decisions. If you’re a student, you may qualify for a “good student” discount as long as you can keep your GPA above a pre-determined level. Likewise, you may qualify for significant rate reductions on your total insurance costs provided that you “bundle” your auto insurance policy together with your homeowner’s and life insurance policies. Most insurance companies offer these bundles to qualifying homeowners. Despite all of these new bells and whistles, your auto insurance premiums are still certain to be affected by the most important factor of all: your driving history. American auto insurers use a relatively straightforward “points” system to determine how much their customers ought to pay for insurance. These “points” are identical to those used by the various state motor vehicle bureaus. In fact, most auto insurance companies calculate their customers’ auto insurance premiums using annual reports from the motor vehicle bureaus in their home states. Since most of these departments communicate freely with one another, insurance companies are able to obtain information about “out-of-state” vehicular crimes and accidents in which their customers are involved. In other words, you’ll be held accountable for the mistakes that you make behind the wheel no matter where you are when they occur. Depending upon the laws in the state in which they’re issued, most minor moving violations account for one or two “points” on your license. Such violations could include low-level speeding tickets and basic transgressions like “failure to signal.” More serious moving violations might include serious speeding tickets, red-light violations and reckless driving. If you’re pulled over for exceeding the posted speed limit by more than 20 miles per hour or swerving through multiple lanes of traffic, you can expect to receive three points on your license. The precise effect of a three-point violation on your annual insurance premiums will depend upon the policies of your insurance provider. In general, you can expect such a violation to boost your premiums by between 50 and 100 percent. If you’ve been cited for additional moving violations within the past three to five years, you should expect your premiums to rise by 100 percent or more. If your driving record is otherwise clean, your premiums might rise by far less than this amount.

How Do I File a Homeowner’s Insurance Claim for Theft with No Receipts for the Stolen Goods?

If you sustain significant property damage or loss during the course of a burglary or home invasion, some or all of the associated costs may be covered by your homeowner's insurance policy. Most such policies contain robust protections for robbery-related expenses. In fact, even the most basic homeowner's insurance policies are liable to pay out for such events. Provided that they aren't arranged at your behest, robberies and burglaries fit the classic definition of "sudden and accidental" to which most insurance policies adhere. Unlike the persistent water leaks that most homeowner's insurance policies won't cover, robberies and burglaries can't reasonably be foreseen. To ensure that you'll receive a quick payout on any claim that you make following a robbery or burglary, get in the habit of keeping purchase receipts for all of the items of value in your home. Such items might include jewelry, electronic equipment, furniture, appliances and kitchenware. Be sure to ask your insurance provider whether your policy covers the full cost of replacing all common household items. Many discount homeowner's insurance policies don't cover such valuable items as diamond necklaces, gold rings and rare art pieces. If these items are stolen during the course of a robbery, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise when you try to file a claim for them. In most cases, your homeowner's insurance provider will require you to take out supplemental insurance policies on each item that's worth more than a pre-determined amount. Alternatively, you could pay an additional premium to take out a "rider" on your current insurance policy. The cost of each option may vary according to the policies of your insurer and total value of the items involved. Since relatively few homeowners keep detailed records of the purchases that they make, most insurance companies will approve claims for stolen goods without requiring claimants to produce purchase receipts for each individual item. However, most insurance companies do require their policyholders to file police reports immediately after learning of the robbery. If your home is robbed, be sure to make an official police report. During the course of the investigation, you'll need to answer some basic questions about the circumstances surrounding the robbery. You'll also need to account for each stolen item. Once an official report has been filed, ask your local police department for a copy. You'll need to provide this to the claims adjuster who reviews your case.

How Long After Leaving a Job Does Your Health Insurance Become Void?

If you’re like most Americans, you’ve watched your health insurance costs jump significantly during the past decade. Since 2000, the average American’s health insurance costs have risen by more than double the rate of inflation. This has caused many major companies to scale back or eliminate the health insurance coverage that they’ve traditionally provided for their employees. If your employer still provides you with an attractive health insurance benefit plan, you should consider yourself lucky. In most cases, workers are paying a growing share of their own health insurance costs. Of course, you’ll almost certainly be on the hook for the cost of your health insurance policy after you leave your current job. Unless you’re able to negotiate ongoing benefits as part of your severance package, you won’t be able to rely on your employer to continue to pay for your health insurance coverage once you’re no longer employed. You probably won’t be able to negotiate such ongoing coverage unless you worked for your employer for decades or held a position of relative importance within the company. Once you quit your job, you’ll probably have health insurance coverage until the end of the month in which your last day of employment falls. Can I Reimburse Myself for Health Insurance Costs Through My Company? Fortunately, you have several options to ensure that you remain eligible for ongoing coverage. The most common of these is COBRA coverage. Enacted in 1986, COBRA is a complex law that requires employers to make group health insurance benefits available to:   These benefits are available for at least 18 months from their termination date. Once you leave your job, you can wait up to 60 days before electing to receive COBRA benefits. If you miss this deadline, you’ll lose your opportunity to do so. It’s important to note that you’ll be responsible for paying the full cost of your COBRA coverage. If you leave your job temporarily, you may be able to continue receiving health insurance benefits until you return. If you’re on maternity or disability leave, your employer is required to continue to provide coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act. You’ll continue receiving these benefits until a doctor clears you to return to work. However, you’ll become ineligible for continuing benefits after choosing not to return to work once you’re able to do so. Depending upon your employer’s policies, you may actually be on the hook for the health insurance premiums that your employer paid during your leave of absence.

Will Homeowner’s Insurance Cover Damage to My Attic Caused by Snow?

If you're like most homeowners, your homeowner's insurance policy is paid for with an escrow account administered by your mortgage lender. While you have complete control over your policy and are free to speak with a representative from you provider at any time, you may go weeks or months without even thinking about your homeowner's insurance coverage. Of course, you probably sleep easier with the knowledge that you won't have to pay out of your own pocket for certain damages to your home. There are three basic types of homeowner's insurance policy. Unless you live in a disaster-prone area or own a new, expensive home for which your mortgage lender insists that you provide top-of-the-line coverage, you probably have a "broad form" policy that covers some or all of the costs associated with a wide range of potential problems. Most "broad form" homeowner's insurance policies cover the cost of cleaning up and repairing damages associated with sudden weather events, car-striking-house accidents, vandalism, theft, neighborhood explosions, riots and malfunctioning appliances. In general, this type of insurance policy covers most events that can reasonably be considered "sudden" or "accidental." Fortunately, rooftop snow and ice buildup generally meets this definition. Despite the fact that winter precipitation can build up on your roof over the course of many weeks and may only cause problems when it begins to melt or becomes particularly heavy in late winter, most homeowner's insurance providers will pay for structural damage or water-related issues that arise as a result. You'll be able to file a successful claim for problems ranging from a partially-collapsed roof to an electrical shortage caused by a persistent leak from your roof into your attic. However, you shouldn't automatically assume that your homeowner's insurance policy will cover the cost of cleaning up or repairing damage associated with excessive snow and ice buildup on your roof without first contacting your provider. Some providers consider such buildups to be preventable and may only pay for a small portion of the associated costs. Others specifically exclude homeowners who live in certain regions. If you live in a snow-prone region that sees massive snows followed by sudden springtime melts, you may wish to check the fine print of your policy to determine whether you're covered. Common "snow-prone" locations that may be excluded from coverage include high terrain in the Sierra Nevada, snow belts near the Great Lakes, and arctic or subarctic locations in Alaska and northern Canada.

Can an Employer Cancel Your Health Insurance while You Are Out on a Disability?

The provision of health insurance is governed by a dizzying array of factors. If you have health insurance through your employer, there are pages upon pages of documents with which you must familiarize yourself in order to deal with unexpected situations. Health insurance is ruinously expensive to procure on the open market and counts as a significant operating expense for most American businesses. As such, you must recognize that your personal need for coverage is circumscribed by the simple fact that your employer is locked in a constant struggle to reduce the financial burden of providing insurance for its employees. So can an employer cancel your health insurance while you are out on a disability? If a sudden or chronic injury renders you temporarily unable to perform your job duties, you may qualify for temporary disability protection under the Family and Medical Leave Act. This federal law permits you to remain home from work or significantly reduce your job duties for a fixed period of time without jeopardizing your employment status. Under the terms of the FMLA, you won’t be terminated for sustaining an injury on or off the job. Further, you’ll be permitted to return to work in your former position once you’re healthy enough to work. Your leave will be controlled and supervised by a medical professional. In other words, you’ll qualify for FMLA leave only if your doctor judges that your injury renders you unable to perform your job duties. You’ll be able to return only if your doctor clears you to resume your former duties. While you’re on medical leave, you’re protected by several important federal regulations. Under most circumstances, the Family and Medical Leave Act will protect your health insurance benefits until you’re ready to return to work. Under the terms of your leave, your employer may not terminate your health insurance benefits simply because you’re unable to perform your job duties. Likewise, your employer can’t terminate your benefits simply because they’ve become a financial burden. Events that qualify for continuing benefits under the FMLA include: In addition, the Affordable Care Act prohibits your employer’s insurance provider from dropping you from its plan simply because you’ve developed a disability. Under the terms of the law, insurance companies can no longer drop their policyholders from coverage due to “pre-existing” conditions. However, you must return to work once you’ve been cleared to do so in order to continue receiving health insurance benefits. Otherwise, you’ll need to enroll in the federal COBRA program.

Where Does a 1098-T Go on My Taxes If I Do Them Online?

If you’re a student committed to financing your education out of your own pocket, the IRS’s Form 1098-T is a crucial component of your annual tax return. Before you can properly file your taxes, you’ll need to obtain your 1098-T and ensure that it’s included with the package that you send to the IRS. If you’re filing your taxes manually, this is easy. Your higher education institution is required to send you a Form 1098-T by the end of each February. Once you receive it, you’ll use it to fill out your tax return and retain the document for your records. Although it’s used by millions of hardworking American college students on an annual basis, Form 1098-T is often overlooked by tax preparation specialists. Most of the tax filers who use the form have relatively few assets and don’t often utilize in-person tax filing services. The form is simple enough to understand. It contains a written accounting of the exact value of the tuition payments that you’ve made to your school over the course of the past year. If you attended multiple higher education institutions over the course of the tax year, you’ll receive a Form 1098-T from each of them. The form also contains an account of all of the information that you’ve received from your college or university, Like: While these payouts don’t directly offset the tuition payments that you made to the institution, they’re important because they may have tax implications of their own. In certain situations, you may be required to claim these payouts as taxable income. Any scholarships or grants not specifically earmarked for education expenses like tuition fees and school supplies will almost certainly count towards your total taxable income for the year. Now that online tax filing is prevalent, the protocols for Form 1098-T have changed slightly. The IRS still requires your school to send you the form by the end of each February. However, you may elect to receive the form electronically. If you choose to do so, you’ll want to print a copy for your records. If you file your taxes online, you’ll need to copy the information contained on your Form 1098-T into the appropriate box on your online tax return. You must make sure to transcribe the “debts” and “gains” figures onto your tax return accurately. If you make an erroneous transcription, you may face an IRS audit.

What Happens to a Mortgage When Its Holder Dies?

The value of a modern mortgage can be staggering. Depending upon the cost of the property for which the loan was obtained, the value of an individual mortgage can easily exceed $100,000. The value of some "jumbo" mortgages can approach $1 million. When a mortgage holder dies with a portion of his or her loan outstanding, the bank that underwrote the credit facility must ensure that it's repaid in a timely fashion or risk taking an enormous financial hit. If you're worried about becoming financially responsible for a loved one's mortgage payments, you'll want to keep a few things in mind. It's important to note that this situation occurs relatively infrequently. This is because most mortgages come with 30-year repayment terms. While three decades sounds like a long time, remember that most mortgage holders take out their loans when they're relatively young. A 30-year-old who takes out a 30-year mortgage will have the obligation paid off by his or her 60th birthday. According to recently-compiled life expectancy statistics, this is at least 20 years shy of the age at which a healthy American homeowner becomes likely to pass away. Of course, not every home buyer is only 30 years old. However, older home buyers tend to have greater reserves of savings with which to finance their purchases. A 50-year-old house hunter at the height of his or her career is far more likely to be able to afford a home than a 30-year-old at the bottom of the corporate food chain. As a result of this simple but powerful dynamic, it's relatively rare for a homeowner to die with a significant portion of his or her mortgage outstanding. When a homeowner dies with a balance remaining on his or her mortgage, the mortgage becomes a liability on his or her estate. If the homeowner carried a valid life insurance policy, the policy's death benefits may be sufficient to offset the remaining mortgage balance and pay off its underwriter. In fact, many supplemental life insurance policies contain specific provisions that provide guaranteed mortgage payoffs regardless of the amount of money required to settle the debt. In the absence of a life insurance policy capable of offsetting the mortgage's outstanding balance, it's likely that the mortgage lender will foreclose on the property. Once this has been done, the lender will sell the house and use the proceeds to settle the loan's balance for good.

My Car Slid on a Patch of Ice and Crashed into a Guardrail. Will My Insurance Rates Go Up?

The cost of car insurance depends upon dozens of factors. Your age, state of residence, previous driving history and many other data points will determine the exact amount that you'll be required to pay your insurer each month. In some cases, even the method with which you pay your premiums can affect your policy's cost: Many insurers offer discounts for customers who make single payments for multiple months of coverage. If you can afford to do so, consider paying for your coverage in six-month or one-year blocks. Unfortunately, most single-car accidents have an inflationary effect on insurance premiums. If you report such an accident to your insurance company, a record of the incident will be added to your file and will be incorporated into the company's annual reassessment of your policy. If it's the only accident in which you've been involved for several years, you may earn a reprieve from higher premiums. On the other hand, your insurer may deem the incident to be indicative of a pattern of reckless or negligent driving. This is especially likely if you've been involved in other accidents in the recent past. In this case, your premiums will almost certainly rise. Before you report the accident to your insurance company, you'll need to make an important judgment. The claims adjuster assigned to your case might argue that the accident was caused by your negligence. The poor weather conditions that contributed to the crash may actually encourage him or her to deny your claim outright. To support this judgment, he or she is likely to assert that you were "driving too fast for conditions." Even if the ice on which you slid wasn't visible before you struck it, your adjuster may argue that you should have assumed that ice would form in sub-freezing temperatures and adjusted your driving behaviors accordingly. This could have serious financial consequences. In addition to being forced to pay out-of-pocket for any repairs to your vehicle, your premiums will almost certainly increase as a result of your perceived negligence. As such, you may not wish to notify your insurance provider of a minor single-car accident that causes no personal injury or serious damage to your vehicle. However, you must report the incident to the police in the event that your vehicle damaged the guardrail. If you do so, you'll also have to make a report to your insurance provider and face the possibility of higher rates.

Do I Have to Pay Income Taxes on a Life Insurance Payout?

The U.S. Income Tax Code is complex and confusing. In most cases, the income that you earn is taxed according to your total annual earnings. In theory, the country’s tax laws are set up to favor workers with relatively low incomes over workers with relatively high incomes. Depending upon your annual earnings, your income will be taxed at one of several “marginal rates” each year. These rates can be changed by Congress and fluctuate on an occasional basis. Current tax rates for the top category of wage-earners are about 40 percent of total taxable income. For earners in the bottom bracket, this figure is about 10 percent. Certain types of “unearned income” are not considered taxable. When you receive unearned income, you must claim it as part of your gross income on your tax return. However, it won’t factor into the final calculation of your taxable income. In effect, the total amount of your unearned income will function as a deduction that may be applied to your gross income. Like a regular tax deduction, it will shrink the portion of your income that the federal government considers to be taxable. “Unearned income” may include unemployment benefits and court settlements. In most cases, life insurance proceeds also fall into this category of income. You generally don’t need to claim the income that you receive from a life insurance policy on which you’re named as a beneficiary. There is a notable exception to this general rule. A portion of the benefits that you receive through an employer-sponsored life insurance plan may be taxable under federal law. If you receive benefits from an employer-sponsored policy, you’ll be able to claim at least $50,000 of these as unearned income. Beyond that amount, you’ll have to pay taxes on any benefits that you receive. For instance, you’ll need to pay taxes on 87.5 percent of the proceeds that you receive from an employer-sponsored plan that carries a death benefit of $500,000. Before you assume that your life insurance benefits are not taxable, consult with your tax attorney or a tax preparation specialist. You should also check with your state’s revenue service. In certain areas of the country, there may be state-level exceptions to the “unearned income” rule that governs life insurance proceeds. For instance, your earnings may be subject to your state’s estate or inheritance taxes. The rates on these types of taxes can be quite high. If you’re like most life insurance policyholders, you’re committed to ensuring that your family remains comfortable and solvent after your death. Whether your life insurance policy is structured as a temporary “term” plan or a permanent “whole” plan, chances are good that you’ve purchased enough coverage to support your family for many years to come. Unfortunately, your premium payments might be acting as a drag on your short-term budget. Depending upon the size of your policy, your life insurance payments could add up to several hundred dollars per month. In order to reduce this burden, you might be thinking about claiming these payments as a tax deduction or business write-off. According to the IRS, private taxpayers and business owners are not permitted to claim their life insurance premiums as a tax deduction. This is due to the fact that life insurance benefits generally aren’t subject to regular taxation. Since the vast majority of life insurance beneficiaries aren’t required to pay taxes on the benefits that they receive, it would be redundant for the IRS to provide policyholders with a tax break. In effect, life insurance policies function like Roth IRA plans: Whereas their premium contributions can’t be subtracted from the policyholder’s taxable income, their benefits accrue on a tax-free basis. There are certain situations in which life insurance benefits may be taxable. For instance, a business that purchases an individual’s life insurance policy for investment purposes might be required to pay taxes on its eventual proceeds. In this special circumstance, the business’s principal might be able to claim the policy’s ongoing premiums as a business expense. If the policy results in a payout, its proceeds would remain taxable at regular capital gains rates. If the policy expires without issuing a payout, the principal might be required to pay back the entire taxable value of the deducted premiums. This is a rare, complicated tax situation. If you find yourself grappling with such a scenario, you should talk to a licensed tax professional to determine your exact tax liability. For private taxpayers, the benefits that accrue on unusually large employer-sponsored group term life insurance plans may also be taxable. If you hold such a policy, you may have to pay taxes on some of the contributions that you make on it. Likewise, the policy’s beneficiary will have to pay taxes on any death benefits that exceed the IRS’s $50,000 payout limit. If your policy pays out a benefit of $150,000, your beneficiary will have a tax liability of $100,000.

How Do I Deposit Money Into My PNC Account when the Bank Is Closed?

PNC is one of the nation’s largest and most prosperous retail banks. It operates thousands of branches across the country and maintains a robust network of loan officers and bank tellers. If you have a PNC deposit account and you wish to know how to perform certain account-maintenance tasks, the company also provides a toll-free hotline staffed with trained representatives. Unlike some smaller institutions, its call center is a dedicated facility that deals exclusively with PNC customers. It’s located in the United States and remains open late into the night. Unfortunately, PNC’s call-center representatives can’t remotely process an after-hours deposit. To add funds to your PNC account after your branch has closed, you’ll need to use one of the institution’s remote-banking services. Most PNC customers who wish to make after-hours deposits visit one of the bank’s dedicated ATMs. There’s a dedicated ATM located in the vestibule of every PNC branch in the country. If you’re not near a branch, you may be able to find an ATM with a prominently-displayed PNC logo at a convenience store or in a popular public area like a student union or the lobby of a major commercial building. In most cases, these ATMs are located in secure, high-visibility locations and are brightly lit after dark. You can use PNC ATMs to make: You’ll need your debit card to complete the transaction. Once you insert your card into the machine, you’ll need to enter your PIN and follow the prompts until you’re asked to insert your deposit. Since you may need to encase your deposit in a sealed envelope, be sure that this machine can dispense envelopes before proceeding with your deposit. Be sure to endorse your checks and correctly tally your total deposit amount on the envelope. If you don’t have access to a PNC ATM or can’t use one because you’re unable to locate your debit card, you may still be able to make your deposit. All PNC branches sport night-deposit boxes for businesses and individuals who wish to make after-hours deposits. This is your only option for depositing cash into your account without the aid of an ATM. However, you’ll need to place your deposit into a deposit bag that includes a deposit slip with your account number on it. If you can’t procure either of these items, you won’t be able to make your deposit using a night-deposit box.

Does Your Car Insurance and Registration Have to Be Under the Same Name?

In most cases, the owner of a vehicle will insure it in his or her name. This is a practical and logical arrangement. It guarantees that the person who has a financial interest in the vehicle’s continued existence also enjoys the benefits of its insurance policy. However, there are a few circumstances in which the owner of a vehicle may not wish to insure it in his or her name. This often occurs when the vehicle’s owner is not its primary driver and does not wish to pay for insurance coverage on it. In most jurisdictions, it’s perfectly legal for an individual to insure a vehicle in his or her name without actually owning the car. However, some individual insurance companies may refuse to underwrite a policy on a given vehicle without the explicit consent of the vehicle’s owner. Some companies may even require that the name on the car’s title matches the name on its insurance policy. This is to minimize the possibility that the vehicle will be used in a manner that violates the terms of its coverage. For instance, a parent might permit his or her college-age daughter to use a family vehicle under the condition that she insure it in her name and pay the policy’s monthly premiums. This policy is likely to be initiated in the state in which the car is registered. However, the girl might travel a significant distance from home to work or attend college without re-insuring the vehicle in her new location. As such, she might implicitly violate the terms of her insurance policy. Rather than deal with this headache, some insurers prefer simply to deny coverage in this situation. Insurers that do choose to initiate coverage in such a situation are likely to charge higher premiums to offset their perceived risk. It’s important to remember that anyone who drives a given vehicle on a regular basis must be listed as a driver on its insurance policy. This is true regardless of the identity of the vehicle’s owner. A driver who lives in a household with multiple other licensed adults must be sure to list all of his housemates as active drivers on his vehicle’s insurance policy. In certain situations, auto insurance providers might be more lenient. For instance, insurers often permit business owners to obtain personal insurance policies for vehicles titled to their LLCs or S-corporations without levying penalty premiums. To learn more about car insurance, you can also check out What does comprehensive coverage on auto insurance mean?

How Many Americans Really Do Not Have Health Insurance?

Healthcare provision is a contentious issue with numerous ramifications for public policy on both the state and federal levels. Recent legislative battles over the American healthcare system culminated in the passage of the Affordable Care Act. This sprawling new law was intended to make health insurance more affordable and widely available. While it did not establish a "single-payer" healthcare system modeled on the nationalized insurance providers found in some other developed countries, the Affordable Care Act did create a "mandate" intended to compel private citizens to obtain health insurance. Under the Act, most Americans will continue to secure health insurance through their employers or fraternal organizations. Others will continue to purchase single plans on the open market. However, Americans who don't currently carry health insurance will be required by law to obtain it in some form. The federal government reserves the right to fine certain private citizens who choose not to buy health insurance. While it's difficult to gauge the exact number of Americans without health insurance at any given moment, most credible sources place this figure at between 40 and 45 million. In other words, one American in seven lacks even basic health insurance coverage. Many consumers who do carry health insurance may do so through discount policies that don't provide adequate coverage in certain situations. These policies may have high co-pays for basic services or medicines. They many not cover emergency-room visits or cover most of the cost of "catastrophic" illnesses that require lengthy hospital stays. They may have a patchy network of primary-care physicians and medical specialists. According to some estimates, nearly 40 million Americans have "inadequate" health insurance. Due to the complexity of the nation's healthcare system, the effects of the widespread lack of adequate health insurance coverage are difficult to quantify. Some groups claim that nearly as many Americans are killed by poor health insurance coverage as by incidents of medical malpractice. By more sober estimates, over 20,000 people die each year as a direct result of inadequate insurance. Historically, "charity" or public hospitals have shouldered the burden of providing essential medical care for Americans who lack health insurance. However, many of these hospitals are being purchased by private medical systems or closing down due to age or inadequate streams of funding. As more Americans use the Affordable Care Act to procure health insurance, this trend may accelerate. Medical care for the remaining population of uninsured Americans could become even more elusive.

Should I Use TurboTax Freedom Edition?

These days, most American taxpayers choose to file their taxes online or with the help of professionally-designed computer software products. There are dozens of tax-filing programs that exist both in the cloud and in "hard" form. These programs can be purchased on their issuers' websites or in stores that sell common software products. They tend to be less expensive and potentially less time-consuming than most tax preparation specialists. However, they may not be ideal for high-income filers. Taxpayers who earn the bulk of their income from investment vehicles that bear interest or produce capital gains prefer to hire tax specialists to ensure that their filings comply with IRS regulations. Some even choose to hire tax attorneys to tease out the tax implications of certain activities. These professionals specialize in minimizing their clients' overall tax liabilities. Nevertheless, cloud-based tax filing software is sufficient for most middle-income filers. If you're looking for a filing program that fits your needs, you may wish to consider TurboTax Freedom Edition. Don't confuse Freedom Edition with TurboTax's similarly-named "Free Edition." These products are clearly distinct from one another. As its name suggests, TurboTax Free Edition provides free federal tax filing services for users with relatively simple tax burdens. If you're a single-income earner with few credits or deductions to claim and little in the way of investments or property, Free Edition might be adequate for your purposes. The program allows you to file IRS Form 1040-EZ quickly and immediately calculates your estimated refund or liability. If you're entitled to a refund, it sets up a direct-deposit arrangement with the IRS and notifies you when your refund is on its way. Unfortunately, Free Edition doesn't provide free state tax filing services. TurboTax charges $25 to $30 for every state tax return filed using this program. Free Edition also isn't equipped to handle tax situations that can't be described using Form 1040-EZ. If you own your own home or maintain a sizable investment portfolio, you should use Freedom Edition. In most cases, this product costs less than $50 per use and offers many of the services that an in-person tax specialist typically provides. However, it does have some drawbacks. If you're a returning TurboTax customer, Freedom Edition won't allow you to "import" the income and tax information that you entered in prior years. It may also be inadequate for complex tax circumstances. If you own your own business, you should consult an experienced tax professional.

What Is the Best Life Insurance Company to Work for with Great Commission?

The American life insurance industry is comprised of nearly 1,000 individual companies. Collectively, these outfits are responsible for a national portfolio of outstanding life insurance policies worth over $18 trillion. Of course, most of this floating portfolio is comprised of term life policies that will expire worthlessly. Much of the rest is made up of whole or universal life insurance policies that produce interest and dividend income for their issuers. Many whole life insurance company issuers earn tidy sums from these policies. The country’s life insurance industry directly employs tens of thousands of people and is responsible for hundreds of thousands of other jobs. Since many major life insurance issuers also sell other forms of insurance, it’s difficult to quantify the exact number of “life insurance” agents working at any given time. These major employers are responsible for many of the cushiest entry-level positions in the industry. Some publicly-traded providers offer generous compensation packages that include solid health and retirement benefits. After a typical probationary period, direct-selling agents may earn handsome commissions on the policies that they originate. Most of the companies that offer such benefits are mature, established firms with recognizable names. Allstate, State Farm, and Northwestern Mutual are reputable insurance providers that pay competitive salaries and commissions. As larger concerns, these companies have well-defined corporate hierarchies and tend to promote from within. Competent agents tend to earn regular promotions and may eventually occupy positions of relative importance. In addition, these companies’ reputations may help smooth the way for agents who wish to change providers or careers. Across the industry, managers and executives generally respect Allstate, State Farm, Northwestern Mutual, and other similar companies. Former agents from these companies may transition easily into high-ranking positions at smaller or younger life insurance providers. Are Life Insurance Benefits Taxable? Other life insurance providers offer: However, these outfits tend to make up for these shortcomings by paying competitive commissions and offering generous “overrides” for management-level employees. The corporate culture at these companies tends to be competitive and individualistic. While some experienced agents who transfer from other companies may thrive in cutthroat environments like these, most find such competition distasteful. Successful life insurance providers that operate in this niche often hire young agents willing to work long hours for low starting salaries. Primerica Financial is well-known for taking this approach. To boost employee morale and retain talent, this company offers generous override packages to its “team leaders.”

How Do I Find a List of Doctors Who Take Amerigroup Health Insurance?

As the cost of medical care continues to rise and millions of new high-risk patients enter the insurance market, it's becoming increasingly difficult for healthy individuals to find low-cost health insurance. If you're lucky enough to have access to an affordable Amerigroup health insurance plan, you have a range of primary-care providers and specialist doctors at your disposal. However, you'll still need to spend time researching each of these providers to ensure that they accept your particular plan without restriction. If you live in a densely-populated area, you stand an excellent chance of finding a local doctor who will do so. You can find your doctor in one of several ways. First, you can call Amerigroup using the contact number in your plan documents. If you've been provided with a local phone number in addition to the company's national hotline, call the local number first. You're likely to be connected to a representative who's familiar with your local medical community and can give you off-the-cuff directions and tips. If you haven't been provided with a local number, call the national hotline. Depending upon the time of day at which you call, you may have to wait on hold for a few moments. To avoid competing with other customers for the attention of the company's call center representatives, try to make your call in the middle of the morning or afternoon. Avoid calling during the lunch hour or early evening. Alternatively, you can mail a request for a list of providers in your area to the contact address printed on your plan documents. Of course, the list may take several days to appear in your mailbox. You can also conduct an Internet search for a nearby provider through Amerigroup's proprietary website. Amerigroup allows you to search for in-network doctors by geographical area, medical specialty and Medicare or Medicaid eligibility. If you're looking for a general practitioner, it may be best to search by area. If you're willing to travel a significant distance to meet with a well-regarded specialist, search by specialty instead. If you require the services of a doctor who can bill you through Medicare or you currently participate in a state Medicaid program, you'll need to conduct your search according to those criteria. In any event, you'll receive the contact information and office location for each in-network doctor that your search uncovers. Use this information as the basis for further research.

If My Employer Reimburses My Tuition and then Issues Me a 1099, How Do I Reflect This on My Tax Return?

Many employers offer tuition reimbursements for under-educated employees interested in qualifying for better-paying jobs or learning more about specific job-related skills or techniques. Unfortunately, relatively few employees take advantage of these benefits. This is partially the fault of employers. While most American businesses receive generous subsidies and tax breaks to provide tuition assistance for certain employees, many companies simply don’t publicize these educational opportunities. In other cases, the fault may lie with employees who prefer not to “work” over time to learn new skills. Workers with grueling jobs often have little appetite for demanding night classes that can meet three or four times per week. If you’ve taken advantage of your employer’s tuition reimbursement program and received a Form-1099 to account for this extra “income,” you’ll need to keep a few things in mind. First, the reimbursements that you received through your employer’s program count as “unearned income” for tax purposes. “Unearned income” is reported on line 21 of your Form 1040. In addition, you can add the full value of each credit that you took under your employer’s plan to the “Lifetime Learning Credit” to which each taxpayer is entitled. This is a tax credit designed to offset tuition payments associated with stand-alone higher-education classes taken outside of the purview of a traditional degree program. However, this credit may also be used to offset the cost of credits taken within certain “continuing-education” degree programs as well. If you’re over a certain age, it’s likely that you’ll be able to claim all of your education costs under this credit. In certain circumstances, you may be exempt from paying any reimbursement-related taxes. Depending upon the amount of educational assistance that you received from your employer, the IRS may consider this unearned income to be completely tax-free. The federal limit for such a tax-free reimbursement designation fluctuates from year to year. As of the most recent tax year, this limit was set at about $5,500. If your employer designates the tuition reimbursement as an “employee benefit” of your position, it may also be exempt from taxation. Such a benefit might be included in your employment contract or in the “employee handbook” that you received at your post-hiring orientation session. In order for the IRS to accept this “employee benefit” designation, you and your employer will have to prove that the instruction that you received either maintained or enhanced your job-related skills base.

If I File Independent on My Taxes, Can My Parents Still Provide Me with Health Insurance?

One of the biggest changes wrought by the new Affordable Care Act is the newfound ability of parents to include their adult children in their healthcare plans. While most consumers are aware of this new rule, it remains shrouded in uncertainty. Many folks are unsure whether the rule applies to all individuals under the age of 26 or merely financially dependent adult children who are still being claimed as such on their parents’ tax returns. In fact, many financially independent adult children without access to affordable health care of their own are waiving their right to coverage because they assume that the new law does not apply to them. This course of action is not advisable. In most circumstances, the new federal law requires health insurance providers to provide coverage for any child under the age of 26 provided that a parent attaches him or her to an existing health insurance plan. This is true for: After 2014, insurance companies will be required to provide coverage under this rule to virtually any young adult who requests it. They will no longer be able to deny coverage to children with pre-existing health conditions. This new rule is not designed to provide young adults with a “free ride” on their health insurance coverage: These dependent children must pay the full cost of coverage on their parents’ plans. If they can’t afford to do so, their parents must pick up the cost of coverage. A “grandfather” clause in the Affordable Care Act creates a notable exception to this rule. Group insurance plans that existed before March of 2010 and have not been updated to reflect the Affordable Care Act’s changes may be exempt from the law’s new dependent-child coverage rule. Parents who have belonged to one of these group plans for years may not be able to use them to cover their adult children. Can I Be a Non-Dependent and Still Remain on My Parents’ Health Insurance? However, insurance companies may claim this exemption only when the dependent child in question demonstrates an ability to find group health insurance elsewhere. In other words, he or she must be able to secure insurance through his or her employer or educational institution. If the child lacks access to other forms of group insurance and would be forced to purchase expensive single-coverage insurance, the grandfathered plan must agree to cover him or her. Failure to do so would represent a breach of law on the part of the grandfathered insurer.

Student Loan Payment Question: Will My Taxes Be Taken?

The cost of tuition at the country's private universities is increasing by 5 to 8 percent each year. Public universities have the same problem: At some state universities' flagship campuses, tuition has more than doubled since 1990. The cost of so-called "room and board" has risen in similar fashion as well. The vast majority of American college students now require some form of financial support to cover their higher education expenses. It's true that some especially promising students are able to pay their way through school using "merit-based" grants that cover their education costs in the hopes that they'll pursue post-graduate academic careers. Meanwhile, the cost of tuition can be waived entirely for student athletes at institutions that belong to the Division I and Division II athletic conferences. It's important to remember that neither of these situations is especially common. In the majority of cases, students receive financial aid in the form of state, federal or private loans that must be repaid after graduation. If you attended college within the past two decades, it's likely that you have at least one student loan to your name. If these loans are adversely affecting your financial health and hampering your ability to provide for your family, you might be thinking about taking drastic measures to get your finances in order. Before you choose to stop making payments on your student loans, think about the consequences of this course of action. While they're not technically "secured" by a tangible asset like a piece of real property or a motor vehicle, student loans can't be discharged in bankruptcy. Federal law permits student lenders to recoup their losses on delinquent loans using a variety of harsh tactics. If you owe significant balances on your outstanding student loans, you may have to field angry calls from your lenders' collection-agency partners or respond to threatening letters or e-mails on a daily basis. You may also have to deal with wage and tax-refund garnishments. Unfortunately, these activities are perfectly legal. If you're seriously delinquent on your student loans and your lender determines that you'll be unable to repay your current balances in a timely fashion, your tax refunds may be seized on an annual basis. This may continue until your debts have been satisfied or until a judge demands that the seizures cease. You may be able to secure a temporary reprieve from these collection activities by declaring bankruptcy.

How Do I File Taxes When I Am Paid Cash?

Whether you’re paid by payroll check, direct-deposit transfer, or cash, you’re legally obligated to pay federal and state income taxes. While some business owners choose to pay their employees in cash to avoid paying some of their payroll taxes each year, this is a risky practice with serious financial consequences. Likewise, many employees who earn tips or receive a portion of their wages in cash may under-report their earnings. Some even fail to report their earnings altogether. This illegal practice also has serious consequences. So, how do I file taxes when I am paid cash? If you own your own business and receive most of your revenue as cash, you’ll need to hire an accountant to help you set up an appropriate tax arrangement. Depending upon the size of your business and the scope of its dealings, you’ll need to incorporate as an: There are benefits and drawbacks to each course of action. If you’re a “tipped” employee and earn the bulk of your wages in cash, you’ll need to ask your employer how best to report your taxes. Most restaurants have a computerized system that will allow you to enter the number of cash tips that you wish to “claim” as taxable. You’ll repeat this operation before the end of each of your shifts. If you earn tips as a valet parking attendant or golf caddie and have no facility for claiming your tips electronically, keep track of your cash earnings over the course of the year and write the total amount on your Form 1040 when you file your taxes for the year. Do You Have to Pay State or Federal Taxes on Money Received from a Life Insurance Policy? If you earn all of your wages in cash and don’t receive a W-2 form from your employer, you’ll need to request a 1099-MISC form from your employer or contract provider at the end of the tax year. You’ll use this 1099-MISC to claim income that you received as an independent contractor or earned as interest or dividends. Your employer or contract provider must keep track of the amount that they pay you over the course of the year. The IRS levies harsh penalties on businesses that fail to report 1099-eligible payouts of more than $600 to individual employees. If you don’t receive a 1099-MISC from your employer by the middle of February following the end of the tax year in question, contact the company and ask for one. You may need to remind your superiors of the consequences of not filing taxes.

Can I Claim My Parents as Dependents for Health Insurance and Tax Purposes?

The cost of health insurance increases with each passing year. If you're lucky enough to have a robust health insurance policy through your employer, union or educational institution, you're probably happy with your current arrangement. However, your loved ones might be jealous of the security net in which you're enveloped. If you're the only person in your family with health insurance coverage, you may be able to use your policy to obtain coverage for some of your relatives. Unfortunately, current laws limit the means by which you can do this. In addition, adding new people to a health insurance plan can be surprisingly expensive. Before you agree to add family members to your policy, take the time to get a good sense of their healthcare needs. Even if they appear to be healthy, they may have pre-existing conditions or injuries that require ongoing medical treatment. Such conditions could dramatically raise your total insurance costs. For instance, a family member with well-controlled diabetes could raise your premiums by 50 to 100 percent. A family member with a chronic condition like multiple sclerosis or lupus could raise your premiums by even more. In order to determine the cost of insuring additional family members, you'll need to talk to your group insurance provider. If you receive insurance through your employer, you'll have no choice but to secure additional coverage from this company. Most group health insurance providers frown upon clients who take out supplemental policies. In fact, such a move could be grounds for your removal from the policy. If you have single-coverage health insurance, you're free to solicit quotes from other providers as well as your current insurer. Be prepared to devote a significant amount of time to the research process. Finally, you'll need to determine the eligibility of each of your relatives. In most cases, you'll only be able to add your spouse and "qualifying" dependents to your plan. You probably won't be able to add your parents or adult siblings. However, it's important to note that most insurance companies don't impose age restrictions on these guidelines. If you can claim your parents and siblings as dependents, you may be able to add them to your policy. In order for this to work, you'll need to demonstrate that your parents and siblings are reliant on you for financial and social support. Since this requires a relatively high burden of proof, you might have difficulty doing so.

Do I Have to File Taxes If I Made Less Than $10,000?

The United States has a complicated tax code that uses an income-based sliding scale to determine a taxpayer’s effective tax rate. While there are hundreds of factors that go into a standard calculation of tax due, it is generally the case that tax rates increase in proportion to income. Therefore, would I have to file taxes if I made less than $10,000?  A series of “tax brackets” defines the exact tax rates on “regular income,” which includes salary and wage payments, for individuals at varying levels of the income scale. Married taxpayers in the highest bracket must earn a minimum of $195,000 while single filers must earn about $389,000. The tax rate for individuals who qualify for inclusion in the top bracket has ranged between 35 percent and 40 percent of income in the recent past. Conversely, married individuals in the lowest tax bracket must earn no more than $17,500 while single taxpayers must earn less than about $8,500. The tax rate for individuals in the lowest bracket is currently 10 percent of income. These “marginal rates” provide a baseline for income tax calculations. In practice, most taxpayers end up paying far less than what they’d owe according to their marginal rates. There are hundreds of deductions and credits that savvy taxpayers can use to lessen their tax burdens by significant amounts. Many of these tools favor affluent taxpayers. For instance, anyone who owns a home can use the “mortgage interest deduction” to write off the accrual of interest on their home’s mortgage. Likewise, deductions and credits related to charitable giving can be used to offset thousands of dollars of income. How Far Back Can You File Taxes? Extremely wealthy individuals may use foreign “tax havens” or “shelters” to shield significant portions of their assets from tax collectors. These countries have favorable tax codes that permit non-citizens to own property, bank accounts, or other assets there without paying taxes to their home governments. Low-income individuals and families may have certain deductions and credits available to them as well. The most popular of these is the Earned-Income Tax Credit. Designed to help working parents write off a portion of their income to help cover the cost of: This credit typically applies to individuals in the lowest two tax brackets. If you earn less than $10,000 per year, you don’t have to file a tax return. However, you won’t receive an Earned-Income Tax Credit refund unless you do file.

How Do I Put the Funds from a Verizon Visa Rebate Card into My Bank Account (Online)?

Rebate debit cards are a growing source of funds for cash-strapped cellphone users. They’re also a major new source of revenue for cellphone providers. Unlike the old-fashioned rebate checks that customers could cash or deposit into their general discretionary-spending funds, these high-tech devices enable big businesses to re-capture some of their rebates outlays. Consumers who receive rebate cards from their wireless providers are more likely to return to the provider’s retail outlet or website to shop for: Some rebate cards may even come with gift catalogs or buying guides. Wireless providers count on re-earning a significant proportion of the rebates that they issue. How Do I Remove Someone’s Name Off of a Joint Bank Account? Most wireless providers, including Verizon, send rebate cards via standard mail. Since these products are backed by Visa’s electronic payment system, they can be used at virtually any business that accepts Visa products. This is a significant advantage of these rebate cards: They are nearly as flexible as actual cash. Unfortunately, Verizon’s Visa rebate debit cards come with some drawbacks as well. First, they can’t be used for any part of a transaction worth more than the balance remaining on the card. In other words, a Verizon rebate card with a $30 remaining balance can’t be used to subtract $30 from a $40 sale bill. To complete such a purchase, you’ll need to use a different method of payment. In practice, this means that you can’t maximize your card’s value by using it solely as a form of payment. Unless you’re extremely meticulous, your card will have a balance remaining on it when you cast it aside. These cards may carry monthly maintenance fees. To avoid being charged for the right to use your rebate device, you’ll need to drain it within a month of receiving it. You also may be unable to split a restaurant bill with a prepaid card. Finally, your rebate card may carry transaction authorization fees that further hinder its spending power. For all of these reasons, you’ll want to transfer your rebate card’s balance into your bank account soon after receiving it. Although they won’t be happy about it, Verizon’s customer service team can walk you through the process of depositing your rebate into your bank account. You’ll need the PIN number on your card to complete this process. Alternatively, you can request a rebate check from Verizon’s rebate department before receiving your card in the mail.

My Wages Are Being Garnished for a Federal Student Loan. Will They Take My Tax Refund Also?

Although they're not secured by a home, vehicle or other valuable asset, student loans are governed by a different set of rules relative to other forms of unsecured debt. Whereas credit card debts can be forgiven during the bankruptcy process, student loans must be paid in full almost without exception. As a former student suffering through a temporary financial rough patch, you may be able to negotiate an installment plan for the repayment of the remainder of your student loan balances. However, your lender is under no obligation to grant such a request. To work out such a plan, you'll need to prove that your income stream has been interrupted or severely curtailed. After years of underemployment, your crushing burden of student debt may push you into bankruptcy. The bankruptcy process may provide you with some financial breathing room by forgiving the bulk of your unsecured debts, including any outstanding medical bills, personal loans and credit card bills. In theory, this should free up sufficient capital for you to resume paying back your student lenders in a timely fashion. You'll only be able to secure the discharge of your student loans in bankruptcy by claiming an "undue hardship." In legal terms, this signifies that you have become unable to make your monthly student debt payments and anticipate being unable to do so for the foreseeable future. This is generally due to reduced work capabilities caused by a permanent physical disability or mental health issue. Your bankruptcy judge may also grant an "undue hardship" designation after determining that you have reached your "lifetime earnings ceiling." In other words, your judge must determine that you have reached an age at which you can't reasonably expect to earn more from your current occupation and may be unable to switch to a more lucrative career. If you're unable to continue making timely student loan payments but aren't willing or able to declare bankruptcy, your lenders may choose to garnish your wages on a weekly basis. In certain circumstances, they may also be able to appropriate your annual tax refunds. If your loan was underwritten by your state's government, its issuer may seize the full amount of each successive state tax refund to which you're entitled until the loan has been paid in full. Likewise, lenders of federally-underwritten loans may seize your federal tax refund. Your lenders must notify you of the appropriation in writing.

How Much Does It Cost to See a Gynecologist Without Health Insurance?

Like most other medical professionals, gynecologists earn hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and may employ handfuls of workers in support positions. For a typical gynecologist’s office, the expenses associated with testing supplies, technical equipment, and fixed overhead costs can be significant. Since the services that gynecologists provide are essential to the health of one-half of the world’s population, these professionals are also in extremely high demand. Many overworked gynecologists have already stopped accepting new patients while many other established professionals report months-long appointment backlogs. As both the quality and coverage of prenatal care and basic gynecological services continue to improve, demand for gynecological services will only increase. Unless the professional makeup of each successive class of new doctors changes radically, the ratio of practicing gynecologists to patients may fall even further. While gynecologists earn comfortable salaries, other medical specialties are even more lucrative. These days, most graduating medical students vie for coveted positions in highly-specialized fields like: Depending upon where they practice, some neurosurgeons may earn annual salaries north of $1,000,000. As such, it’s difficult to find an affordable private gynecologist. If you lack health insurance or carry a budget plan that doesn’t fully cover gynecological exams, you should expect to pay at least $125 for a basic office visit that includes a pap smear and pelvic exam. If you require additional services or tests, this fee will increase accordingly. While you won’t have to pay upfront for your service and may enjoy a billing grace period of up to two months, you’ll eventually be held accountable for the cost. After your grace period has expired, your balance will begin to accrue interest. As medical debts are a major cause of financial problems for young people who lack insurance, you’ll need to pay promptly in order to avoid unpleasant consequences in the future. How Much Is a Visit to the Dermatologist without Health Insurance? If you expect this debt to cause financial hardship, talk to your gynecologist’s billing office before receiving your bill. Depending upon your circumstances, they may be willing to work out a payment plan. If your gynecologist is a member of a larger healthcare company or works in a large practice that uses a centralized billing service, you’ll almost certainly be able to pay in installments. You can avoid private-practice prices altogether by sourcing reduced-cost gynecological services from Planned Parenthood. These may cost under $75 per visit and can be paid in installments.

Can You File Your Taxes Online Using Your Last Pay Stub from December?

Although you won't have to present them to a tax preparation specialist in person, you're still required to retain certain essential income-related documents when you file your taxes online. Chief among these is the W-2 form that your employer must mail to you at the end of each tax year. This form contains important information about your total annual earnings and the amount of tax that your employer has already withheld for the year. Without these figures, you won't be able to complete your tax return properly. Your employer is required by law to mail out your W-2 form for the previous year by January 31st. To allow for postal hang-ups, the IRS observes a "grace period" of 15 days during which an employer can't be held accountable for missing W-2 forms. This means that you're eligible to file a complaint with the IRS and take corrective action against your employer on or after February 15th. In practice, you may not need to wait until the second month of the year to seek out your missing W-2 form. You're entitled to check with your employer's home office to determine the status of your W-2 form. If you live nearby, you can simply travel to the office to make an inquiry in person. By making your impatience apparent, you may be able to secure a copy of your W-2 early. If logistical hurdles prevent you from obtaining your W-2 form in person, you may be able to file your taxes using your final pay stub from the applicable tax year. Since this stub has cumulative income and withholding figures, you'll be able to provide your online tax preparation guide with these relevant pieces of information. However, you'll need to obtain your employer's unique Employer Identification Number. Since this isn't typically printed on your pay stubs, you'll need to request it directly from your employer or conduct an online search to find it. If you provide the IRS with an incomplete or incorrect Employer Identification Number, your return's processing period may be lengthened and your chances of being audited may increase. Once you have this information, you can fill out your tax return. Be sure to include the exact figures for your Medicare and FICA withholding taxes as well. You'll also need to submit several additional forms to the IRS. These include the agency's Substitute for Form W-2 and IRS Form 4852.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for an Arrest Warrant for DUI in Iowa?

While most DUI arrests occur at the scene of the accident or traffic stop that involved the impaired party, some occur long after this inciting incident. In many cases, impaired drivers are successfully able to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. For instance, impaired-driving accidents that occur in rural areas late at night may not attract the attention of law enforcement officials for hours or days. While there might be ample evidence to identify the driver of a car involved in a single-vehicle late-night accident that appeared to involve alcohol, this time lag may provide the suspect with an opportunity to avoid contact with law enforcement. In these cases, an arrest warrant may be issued for the offending driver once he or she has been positively identified. Most of these warrants are executed promptly as car-less suspects tend to remain at home for days following alcohol-related vehicular crimes. However, it's not uncommon for suspects to flee the jurisdiction in which the incident occurs and never return. Since DUI convictions can have serious legal and personal consequences, many suspects choose to live as fugitives rather than fight losing court battles over these charges. In rare cases, DUI suspects may escape the attention of local law enforcement agents for years without ever leaving the area in which the incident occurred. These suspects may even be unaware that there's an active warrant out for their arrest. Whether they don't recall the impaired-driving accident or assume that their identity was never positively determined, they may go about their daily routine with no reservations. It is rarely prudent to become a fugitive from the law. Most outstanding arrest warrants are eventually executed. Once a fugitive has been captured and charged in person with the crime for which the warrant was issued, they'll have to face some other charges related to their flight. These can be quite serious and carry stiff additional penalties. Worse, former fugitives are typically considered flight risks. They may be denied bail for the duration of their criminal proceedings. If they're convicted, they typically face longer sentences and harsher restrictions on their movements. In Iowa, there is no statute of limitations for a DUI arrest warrant. As long as a record of the warrant exists in the statewide criminal database that the Iowa State Police and some local law enforcement agencies use, fugitives in active DUI cases may be arrested at will.

What Happens If a Police Officer Does Not Show Up for a DWI Hearing?

When you elect to fight a traffic citation in court, you’ll be given a firm hearing date on which you’ll be able to stand before a judge and argue your case. Your hearing will have certain adversarial qualities. Pitting your testimony against that of the officer who wrote your citation, you’ll attempt to convince the judge that the officer erred in issuing your ticket. The officer in question will present his or her justification for issuing that ticket. In the end, the presiding judge will determine who is in the right. If you make a convincing case for why you should not have received your citation, you’ll likely be absolved from any wrongdoing and the fine will be waived. If you fail to sway the judge, nothing will change. Can I Start DUI Classes Before My Court Date? You carry a major trump card as you go into this process. If the officer who issued your citation fails to appear at your hearing, the presiding judge will dismiss your case. In many jurisdictions, citing officers habitually miss these hearings. For instance, a recent study found that citing officers appear at fewer than one in five traffic hearings in the city of Atlanta. Unfortunately, DUI cases are held to higher standards than run-of-the-mill traffic violation cases. While the details of your case may vary according to the laws in your jurisdiction, you can expect certain events to occur during the course of your DUI case. If your arresting officer misses your initial hearing, your case won’t be dismissed out of hand. Instead, the presiding judge will subpoena your arresting officer on an “on-call” basis. In other words, he or she will be required to appear at your hearing when it occurs. Many states require DUI hearings to occur within a 10-day “trailing window” that works within the constraints of the officer’s schedule. If the officer can’t appear during this pre-determined time frame, your case’s prosecuting attorney may request a “good faith” continuance that delays the hearing until the officer can appear. While such a continuance may be issued for any number of reasons, it’s most often granted after the arresting officer has been injured in the line of duty or placed on paid administrative leave. After he or she returns to active duty, your hearing will continue as previously scheduled. Unless your case’s prosecuting attorney fails to file for the continuance, it’s unlikely that your charges will be dismissed.

Should I Get a Public Defender for My First DUI?

Regardless of where you live, you need to take your DUI charge seriously. If you're convicted of a DUI, you're likely to lose your license for a period of up to a year and face a slew of fines and fees that may end up costing you thousands of dollars. Although your prison sentence is likely to be suspended, you'll still need to serve a term of unsupervised probation that may last as long as five years. You'll have to take driver-retraining classes and may even need to enroll in an alcohol treatment program. Once your conviction is a matter of public record, the cost of your car insurance will skyrocket and remain elevated for as long as the charge remains on your driving record. In most states, this means that you'll be paying through the nose for insurance for at least three years. Since a DUI is a criminal offense as well as a civil infraction, your conviction will appear on your "permanent record" unless it's expunged by a judge. Law enforcement agencies, government bodies, creditors and potential employers that conduct background screenings on your name will learn of the incident. This could have serious implications for your ability to obtain a mortgage, purchase a firearm, and get certain kinds of jobs. In other words, even a first-offense DUI conviction can cause serious long-term headaches. While some DUI defendants choose to save on legal costs by self-representing or using a public defender, this course of action often produces sub-optimal results. Public defenders tend to be overworked. The public defender with whom you're provided may be working on several cases at once and may seem harried during your one-on-one meetings. Worse, he or she may not appear interested in the specifics of your case. This ambivalence is a natural consequence of the fact that public defenders must defend large numbers of clients who can't afford private representation. Your public defender may be more interested in moving your case along than in securing a favorable outcome. On the other hand, a private attorney is likely to be fully invested in your case. You'll be paying them a significant premium over the typical public defender's salary. Depending upon where you live, the total cost of a top-notch lawyer in a typical DUI case may range from $1,000 to $3,000. If you can beat the charges entirely, this may be worthwhile.

I Have a Second Mortgage That Has Been Charged Off But They Won’t Release the Lien on the House

Second mortgages introduce a major wrinkle into the bankruptcy process. Since they are secured loans, the lenders who issue them are entitled to a claim on the underlying piece of real property. This can bring second-mortgage lenders into direct conflict with primary mortgage lenders. In theory, both primary and secondary mortgage lenders can be satisfied by the bankruptcy process. Borrowers typically take out a second mortgage when they're struggling to keep up with their current portfolio of debt obligations. These credit products are often used to pay down part of a primary mortgage or to zero out the balances of existing high-interest unsecured debts. Although both loans are secured by the underlying piece of property, second mortgages are subordinate to primary mortgages. A home is said to be "underwater" when its value decreases until it's worth less than the balance that remains on the primary mortgage. Even though it won't be able to recoup its losses in full, an underwater home's primary mortgage lender may still seize the home to cover a portion of its investment. By contrast, the subordinate second lender has no physical claim to the property. Since it stands little chance of recovering a significant portion of the investment, it may "charge off" the loan. It will appear in the lender's financial records as a total loss. Unfortunately, the lender's decision to charge off the loan doesn't alter its status as a secured creditor of the bankrupt party. While it can't physically seize the underlying property unless the primary mortgage lender chooses not to, the second mortgage lender still retains a lien on the property. In theory, this entitles it to compensation by other means. If you're confronted by a second-mortgage lender that refuses to release the lien on your underwater home, you have two distinct options. Since your second mortgage is a secured obligation, it won't be discharged in bankruptcy. As such, you won't escape from the bankruptcy process without compensating your second mortgage lender in some form. You may wish to continue making regular payments on your loan until your bankruptcy proceedings conclude. Secured lenders rarely initiate legal action against bankrupt borrowers who continue to make timely payments. If you still owe a great deal on your second mortgage, you may wish to pursue a settlement with your lender. In some circumstances, it may be willing to accept just 50 percent of your outstanding balance.

Does Your Name Go in the Local Paper when You Become Bankrupt?

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your bankruptcy filing, you may be unable to keep the news of your insolvency from spreading. In many communities, the stigma surrounding bankruptcy is powerful and may linger for years. The social stain of bankruptcy may last longer than its practical effects, which can include limited access to credit and high interest rates on credit cards and personal loans. If you're thinking about filing for bankruptcy and worry about its potential to harm your reputation, you'll need to keep a few things in mind. First, bankruptcies nearly always become part of the "public record." As time goes on, your bankruptcy's legal file will grow to include pertinent financial records, copies of sworn testimony, court records, and other information that pertains to your case. Once your debts have been discharged and your bankruptcy proceedings are dissolved, law enforcement personnel and potential employers may view these records. In addition, a record of your bankruptcy will appear on your credit report for 5 to 10 years after your filing. Your creditors have a vested interest in your bankruptcy proceedings. Accordingly, they'll each receive a written notice of your filing and will be invited to participate in the proceedings. In certain circumstances, this might cause word of your filing to spread among your neighbors. For instance, you might have defaulted on a loan issued by the community bank at which several of your acquaintances work. Once they become aware of your situation, it's unlikely that they'll be able to keep it a secret. In addition to the verbal rumor mill, news of your bankruptcy may spread through print media sources. If you own your own business or your filing involves valuable assets, information about your filing may be printed in the trade reports that bankers receive regularly. These can be distributed nationally and may contribute to the continued spread of rumors surrounding your bankruptcy. However, it's unlikely that your name will be printed in your local retail newspaper. As most bankruptcies involve relatively small pools of cash and assets, media outlets don't treat them as newsworthy. The chances of your financial misfortune becoming an official news item will increase if you live in a small, tight-knit town or occupy a prominent position in your local business community. Even so, you'll be far more likely to see your name in your local paper after you're arrested on an impaired-driving charge.

How Would Marrying Someone Who Has Filed for Bankruptcy Affect Their Credit?

Millions of marriages have been ended by financial disagreements. Millions more have been ended by poor financial decision-making. While marrying someone who has recently declared bankruptcy won't immediately damage your credit score or render you unable to secure certain loans, it may complicate your financial health as time goes on. You shouldn't feel shy about sharing the details of your financial health with your future spouse. In fact, most financial experts encourage couples to obtain up-to-date credit reports before tying the knot to forestall any surprises or misunderstandings after their nuptials. While your partner's bankruptcy isn't an adequate reason for you to back out of the upcoming marriage, it should serve as a warning sign that he or she may be a poor money manager. Although marrying someone who filed for bankruptcy in the recent past won't initially affect your credit, you'll need to maintain separate bank accounts and credit facilities to ensure that this remains the case. Even if your credit is excellent, any joint accounts that you open with your new spouse may reflect their poor credit. While your solid credit score may grant your partner access to credit facilities that they otherwise wouldn't be able to use, these products might carry low borrowing limits and high interest rates. If you're looking for cheap credit, you might wish to keep your spouse's name off of your loan applications. If you choose to leverage your sterling credit history to obtain loans or credit cards for your spouse, be sure to work out a written repayment plan in advance. For the sake of simplicity, this schedule should mirror the actual loan's installment calendar. You'll also want to keep ample reserves of cash on hand in case your spouse becomes unable or unwilling to cover the loan's installments. In some states, you may be unable to avoid opening joint credit facilities with your spouse. If you're planning on purchasing a home together, your home state's laws may require you to obtain a joint mortgage. If possible, purchase the home on your own before your marriage becomes official to ensure that you're given the best possible interest rate. If you live in a state that adheres to "community property" laws, you may be held liable for any debts that your spouse accrues during the course of your marriage. Be sure to have a frank discussion with your spouse about these statutes' implications.

Can You Collect a Judgment After the Company Files for Bankruptcy?

When you win a lawsuit and receive a judgment in your favor, you become an "unsecured" creditor of the losing party. Although you're entitled to receive the funds or property outlined in the terms of the judgment, the resulting debt is subordinated to certain other forms of debt. These types of debt, known broadly as "secured" or "senior" debts, may included real estate or vehicle loans and lines of credit tied to physical pieces of property or equipment. On the other hand, your "junior" debt is backed by nothing more than the terms of the judgment against your debtor. The U.S. Bankruptcy Code dictates that a bankrupt business must satisfy its secured creditors before settling any of its unsecured debts. This is true regardless of whether the business files under Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. In the former case, the judge overseeing the bankruptcy will divide up the business's cash and assets among its secured creditors. If there is anything of value left over after all of the secured creditors have been compensated in full, the business's unsecured creditors may receive a proportional slice of these remaining assets. Once all of the business's assets have been distributed among its various creditors, it will cease to exist. If the business files for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the presiding judge will broker a "reorganization" plan that discharges many of the business's unsecured debts. With most of its unsecured creditors out of the way, the business may be able to remain current on its secured-debt payments. In either case, you're unlikely to receive compensation once the debt has been discharged. In fact, you probably won't even remain on record as a creditor to the business once the bankruptcy process has terminated. If the business filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you have virtually no chance of collecting on your debt as an unsecured creditor. However, you may be able to become a secured creditor. Before the business files for bankruptcy, you'll need to file an "abstract of judgment" form in each of the jurisdictions in which it owns real property. Depending upon the laws in your state, this form may entitle you to a portion of the business's property in the event that it files for bankruptcy. Once you've filed the abstract, you'll need to attend the post-bankruptcy "meeting of creditors" to stake your claim.

What Is a Typical Sentence for 5th Offense DUI in WI?

The penalties for impaired driving in Wisconsin are fairly serious. While most first-time drunk drivers are able to escape serious jail time, the consequences for repeat offenders can be severe. Habitual drunk drivers, defined by the state as individuals who commit at least three drunk-driving offenses within a five-year period or at least four during a 10-year period, typically face lengthy prison sentences and severe driving restrictions after subsequent convictions. After your third drunk-driving conviction, you'll be required to install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle. Your license will be suspended for a minimum of two years with no provision for work-related early reinstatement. Depending upon the circumstances of your case, your presiding judge may order you to forfeit your vehicle and remain car-less for the length of your license suspension. If you were involved in an accident that damaged property or injured another driver, this outcome will be all but assured. Moreover, the likelihood of vehicle forfeiture will increase with each subsequent conviction. After your fifth conviction, you'll have little chance of holding on to your vehicle during your suspension period. You'll also need to attend driver-retraining and alcohol-education classes. As a habitual offender, you won't be allowed to take the abbreviated or accelerated courses offered to first-time convicts. Your alcohol-education classes may meet once per week for a year or more. Depending upon your level of intoxication at the time of your arrest, your judge may also order you to attend an inpatient rehabilitation program. Alcohol-related prior convictions will increase the likelihood of this outcome. After your third offense, the burden of proof required to convict you will become lighter. Whereas the "legal limit" for regular drivers is .08, the "legal limit" for habitual offenders is .02. In practice, you won't be able to drive after consuming any alcohol. Despite the relative severity of Wisconsin's DUI laws, few of the state's habitual drunk drivers serve lengthy prison terms. In recent years, Wisconsin's prisons have become seriously overcrowded. State judges routinely commute sentences related to non-violent offenses like drug possession and fraud, shifting the burden onto the shoulders of its probation officers and local police departments. While you won't be able to avoid serving at least several months in prison after your fifth DUI conviction, you likely won't have to serve the maximum sentence. After your release, you'll need to serve a lengthy term of supervised probation.

What Legal Action Happens When You Can’t Pay a Rent to Own Place?

"Rent-to-own" stores are a novel feature of the American urban landscape. While vendors have sold durable goods on credit for thousands of years, the scale of the typical rent-to-own operation is staggering. The individual outlets of national rent-to-own chains like Rent-a-Center and Aaron's occupy prominent lots in many outdoor shopping centers. Meanwhile, their corporate parents bask in multi-million dollar revenue streams and mount relentless expansions across the country. Unfortunately, these businesses have earned their success by taking a hard line with their customers. Typical rent-to-own customers have poor or nonexistent credit and can't rely on traditional means of financing to make large purchases. Many lack checking accounts and meaningful stores of savings. With some notable exceptions, they tend to carry significant amounts of debt and may habitually use revolving credit facilities like payday loans to make ends meet. As such, rent-to-own businesses keep close tabs on their customers. While each company is different, well-run national brands usually begin making attempts to contact late-paying customers within two weeks of the missed payment's due date. These initial attempts take the form of once-daily phone calls. After three weeks, these calls may become more insistent. Some companies may supplement them with official-looking letters or e-mails. In spite of their hard-nosed approach to lending, rent-to-own businesses tend to empathize with customers who fall on hard times. If you've ceased making payments on your rent-to-own purchases, don't avoid further interaction with your vendor. If you ignore their attempts to contact you, you'll increase their suspicion that you're willfully avoiding them. In short order, they'll begin taking steps to repossess your purchases. You won't be able to reason with the third-party repossession specialist who shows up on your doorstep to take your refrigerator. Instead, keep your rent-to-own vendor abreast of any changes in your financial circumstances. If you've seen your working hours cut or received an unexpectedly large hospital bill, talk to their financing department about extending your repayment period or deferring payment until you're back on your feet. In some cases, they may be unable or unwilling to help. In others, they may exhibit surprising flexibility. If you continue to avoid contact with your vendor, they'll take action to repossess your equipment. If you choose to delay the inevitable by changing your address or hiding your purchases with a complicit relative, you may open yourself to a lawsuit that further damages your credit rating.

If a Company Files for Bankruptcy, Do They Have to Pay Vacation Time Accrued by Employees?

Personal bankruptcy is relatively straightforward. Individual bankruptcy filers typically declare themselves to be insolvent when their debts become unmanageable. Once their case is in process, a bankruptcy judge divides their assets among their creditors on the basis of “debt seniority.” Secured debts like mortgages and car loans are settled first. If the filer has assets or funds left over once these major obligations have been put to bed, their unsecured creditors may receive a portion of what they’re owed. In most personal bankruptcy cases, filers lack sufficient assets to reimburse all of their unsecured creditors in full. Let’s see what happens if a company files for bankruptcy, do they have to pay vacation time accrued by employees? Are the fees I paid my bankruptcy lawyer and trustee tax deductible? Business bankruptcies can be more complex. In addition to traditional creditors like banks, credit card companies, and real estate lenders, multiple other parties may have financial or material interests in a given business’s continued solvency. These may include: Businesses routinely receive stock on credit and accept payment for goods to be delivered in the future, creating a complicated web of obligations that may take years to unravel in court. In most states, bankruptcy courts treat the employees of an insolvent business as members of its class of secured creditors. This practice is called “prioritization” and has been upheld in court. Provided that the business has sufficient cash or assets at the time of its bankruptcy filing, prioritization entitles the employees of a bankrupt business to full reimbursement of back wages. In this case, “back wages” typically include accrued vacation pay. If your employer shuttered its doors without warning, you’ll probably receive cash compensation for your vacation days once their case has officially gone to court. However, your state’s labor laws may be unusual. Before making any plans with money that you haven’t yet received, research your state’s labor laws and confirm that you’ll be reimbursed. Likewise, there are still a few state bankruptcy courts that don’t practice prioritization and may not treat the employees of a bankrupt business as secured creditors. If you have time, research state-specific legal precedents for your situation to determine your likelihood of receiving full compensation. The path that your business takes through bankruptcy may have some bearing on whether you’re paid for your vacation days. Businesses that file for bankruptcy under U.S. Bankruptcy Code Chapter 11 must work out a repayment plan that satisfies their secured creditors. It’s highly likely that you’ll be reimbursed during the course of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

I Just Got a Misdemeanor Hit and Run on a Parked Car, What Should I Expect?

Hit-and-run incidents result in arrests more often than you might expect. While it might seem tempting to leave the scene of an accident between your vehicle and a parked car, the prevalence of security cameras and “nosy neighbors” may dramatically increase the risks associated with this behavior. Thanks to an increase in the number of storefronts and businesses that use motion-sensing floodlights, you may even be called to account for a hit-and-run accident that occurs at night. If you choose to flee the scene, you must be prepared to face some consequences. Hit-and-run accidents are usually charged as misdemeanors. In most states, a first offense is punishable by a jail term that lasts between one and three months and a fine that may range between $500 and $1,000. The perennial overcrowding problems that most state prison systems currently face make it relatively unlikely that your sentence will involve any jail time. In most situations, you’ll receive a suspended sentence that may require some combination of: For subsequent offenses, this may not be the case. Of course, you may have to spend some time in jail while you’re awaiting your arraignment or trial. How To Write An Accident Report Like DUIs and other vehicular crimes, hit-and-run offenses are also considered traffic violations in most states. Hit-and-run and “leaving the scene” charges may add as many as six points to your license, which may be enough to disqualify you from consideration for any job that involves the operation of a motor vehicle. These charges are also likely to increase your monthly insurance premiums. While you won’t have to obtain an SR-22 from your insurance company after your hit-and-run conviction, you can expect your premiums to increase by 50 percent or more as soon as your insurer learns what happened. After you’re charged with a hit-and-run, you should contact a lawyer who may be able to inject some uncertainty into your case. Your lawyer may argue that the incident in question occurred without your knowledge or that the victim misplaced the contact and insurance information that you left on his or her car. Judges who are receptive to these kinds of circumstantial arguments may reduce or eliminate the charges altogether. In certain states, your lawyer may also be able to broker a “civil compromise” that absolves you of criminal liability for your actions provided that you reimburse your victim.

How Do I Get My License Unrestricted After a California DUI?

You can expect several things to happen after you're convicted of a DUI in California. While serious, the penalties for your first offense will be relatively lenient compared to what you'd face after a subsequent conviction. They're also less serious than first-offense DUI penalties in many other states. First, the license suspension period that unofficially began in the immediate aftermath of your arrest will become official. Next, you'll be asked to pay a raft of fines and fees. You'll also need to attend regular alcohol-education and driver-retraining classes, each of which may meet several times per week for months on end. Finally, you'll need to submit to a term of unsupervised probation in lieu of actual prison time. Depending upon the circumstances of your case, this term of probation may last between three and five years. While the fines, classes and occasional inquiries from your probation officer may be annoying, you're likely to find your one-year license suspension and subsequent restriction period downright inconvenient. Unless you take swift action in the days that follow your DUI arrest, your license may be revoked for between four months and one year. To forestall the DMV's seizure of your driver's license, you'll need to make an appointment for a "suspension hearing" within 10 days of your arrest. If you wait until after this 10-day period to try to make your appointment, the DMV will refuse your request. Since California's DMV has a perennial backlog of DUI cases, your appointment may not take place until several weeks after your arrest. As such, you'll be granted a 30-day restriction waiver that will permit you to drive to and from work and school during the interim period. If the waiver expires before your hearing, you can reapply for another one. At your suspension hearing, be prepared to show that driving is an essential part of your daily routine. If you live or work in an area that lacks adequate public transportation, this will be far easier for you to prove. Once the DMV grants your request for a "work restriction," you'll need to obtain an SR-22 form from your insurance company and enroll in driver-education classes. To get your license unrestricted, you'll need to complete your probation successfully and fulfill all of the other requirements of your sentence. As a rule, you can't obtain an unrestricted license before you finish your driver-retraining and alcohol-education classes.

Does Reckless Driving Show Up on a Background Check?

Reckless driving is a serious crime that typically requires offenders to pay hefty fines and attend driver-retraining courses. In some states, these fines can be excessive: Alaska’s state statutes provide for first-offense reckless driving penalties of up to $1,000 while Florida may levy even higher fines for subsequent offenses. Depending upon your past driving record and criminal history, your reckless driving conviction may also result in the revocation of your driving privileges and require you to spend some time in prison. Like habitual drunk drivers, serial reckless-driving offenders are increasingly viewed as menaces to public safety. Many jurisdictions now treat reckless driving as a serious criminal offense. Most states have strengthened their laws against the practice and now provide for mandatory prison sentences for third-time offenders.   In some places, maneuvers that may not seem “reckless” may be interpreted as reckless driving. In Virginia, you can be booked for reckless driving after: In other words, you can be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor for traveling 81 miles per hour on a smooth 65 mile-per-hour Virginia highway. You can be charged with reckless driving for many other reasons as well. If you’re arrested on suspicion of impaired driving and refuse to submit to a breath test, you’ll almost certainly be charged with reckless driving and may face the maximum penalties for your offense. How Does A Fingerprint Background Check Work? Likewise, difficult-to-prove drunk driving charges are often “commuted” or changed to reckless driving charges, which typically require a lighter burden of proof. Even if your DUI case seems fairly straightforward, a good lawyer may be able to introduce enough doubt into your case to encourage the presiding judge to drop the more serious charge in favor of the lesser offense. Regardless of the genesis of your reckless driving charge, it will show up on your background check provided that it was charged as a misdemeanor. This is the case in most states: The few jurisdictions that continue to treat reckless driving as a minor traffic infraction are moving away from this practice. Going forward, you should assume that your jurisdiction will treat reckless driving as a crime. Unfortunately, your criminal reckless driving charge will become a permanent fixture on your criminal record. If your record is expunged, you may be able to “hide” the conviction.

Filing Bankruptcy Before Enlisting in the Military?

Shoddy finances shouldn't prevent you from fulfilling your civic duty and enlisting in the military. After all, the enemy doesn't care about the state of your personal finances. As a rule, a past bankruptcy filing won't disqualify you from joining the military. Recruiters for most branches of the Armed Forces care more about your criminal past, your physical fitness and your aptitude test scores. While multiple DUIs, violent felonies or financial crimes may prevent you from exercising your right to bear arms, a civil case like bankruptcy has no bearing on your ability to serve. However, your bankruptcy filing may have an impact on your ability to advance within your chosen military branch. To get a highly-paid specialized job with the Air Force, Marines and Navy, you may need to obtain a basic security clearance. Likewise, many career-level rankings require such clearances. Unfortunately, your past bankruptcy filing may prevent you from securing even an entry-level clearance. What's worse, your bankruptcy filing may remain on your credit report for five to 10 years. During this time, you'll be unable to apply for a security clearance and may have difficulty purchasing a home on or near your base. Although any "official" record of your filing will drop off of your credit report after the 10-year window has passed, your bankruptcy may still show up on thorough background checks conducted by future lenders, employers and government agencies. As such, it may be to your advantage to explore other debt relief options before plunging into bankruptcy. If your credit remains solid and you have ample collateral or a cosigner, you may be able to qualify for a debt consolidation loan. This product can bundle your existing debts into a single low-interest loan that may save you thousands of dollars per year. Likewise, you could get in touch with a non-profit credit counseling service that specializes in negotiating lower interest rates with your creditors. If you can't avoid filing for bankruptcy before enlisting in the military, do your best to portray your financial hardship in a positive light. You may be able to explain to your employers, commanding officers, and the folks responsible for issuing your security clearance that your filing was caused by circumstances beyond your control. These could include a ruinous divorce, crushing student loan debt, or a temporary medical problem that left you unable to work for an extended period of time.

I Have Three DUIs, How Long Will I lose My License and Can I Get a Work Permit?

While drunk driving is considered a serious crime in virtually every American legal jurisdiction, most courts go relatively easy on first-time impaired-driving convicts. Your first-offense DUI sentence may involve three to five years of unsupervised probation, a several-month course of regular alcohol-awareness and driver-retraining classes, and a temporary suspension of your driver’s license that typically lasts for less than 18 months. After you successfully complete these steps and pay a slew of fines and court fees, you’ll be able to get on with your life as before. After your second and third DUI offenses, you may not be so lucky. Most third-offense DUI convictions come with mandatory prison sentences either between: In most states, this jail time can’t be converted to a term of unsupervised probation. To make matters worse, you’ll lose your driver’s license for at least five years and may not be able to apply for a work permit. In other words, you’ll have to rely on friends, family members, or public transportation to get to and from work. Do DUIs Carry Over Into Different States? Depending upon the length of time separating your first, second, and third offenses, the severity of the penalties that you’ll face for your third DUI conviction may vary considerably. In most jurisdictions, you’ll be labeled a “habitual offender” after receiving your third DUI conviction in less than five years. You may lose your license for 10 years or more and face your state’s maximum prison sentence for DUI offenses. If 10 years separate your three DUI convictions, you’ll still face some serious penalties. You’ll be on the hook for up to $5,000 in fines and be required to attend an intensive alcohol treatment program. While your license will be suspended for at least five years, you may be able to regain some driving privileges by agreeing to install an ignition interlock device in your vehicle. This arrangement, which prevents you from operating your vehicle after consuming any alcohol at all, may become permanent. If you wish to retain your ability to drive yourself to work, you’ll have no choice but to accept it. Without an interlock device, you may be unable to secure a work permit. However, most states refuse to grant work permits to “habitual offenders” who garner three or more DUI convictions in less than a half-decade. After your third DUI conviction, you may lack mobility for a long time.

Can AES Loans Be Charged Off in Bankruptcy?

American Education Services, a major student lender, provides federal loans from the Stafford and Perkins loan programs as well as a variety of private loan products. If you attended a pricey four-year college during the past decade, it's possible that you secured some of your financial aid through AES. These days, many recent graduates find themselves struggling to handle their student loan debts. While most AES products carry reasonable interest rates of between 3 and 7 percent, the tepid job market has made it difficult for many folks to stay current on their payments. If your outstanding AES loans are single-handedly darkening your financial future, you may be considering taking drastic action to ensure that you remain solvent. Unfortunately, recent changes to the United States Bankruptcy Code make it exceedingly difficult to discharge AES loans during the course of a typical bankruptcy. With few exceptions, bankruptcy judges treat student loans as secured credit facilities that can't be wiped out by the bankruptcy process. When you file for bankruptcy, you'll need to repay any student loans on which you currently owe a balance. While your attorney may be able to work out a repayment plan with your lenders during the normal course of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, it's unlikely that you'll see a meaningful reduction in your principal balances. In fact, any repayment plan that spreads out your payments over a longer period of time may end up costing you more thanks to the relentless accrual of interest charges. Your prospects won't be much better under the terms of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. The court-appointed trustee responsible for seizing and distributing your assets among your creditors will be sure to set aside resources sufficient to repay your student loans. In other words, your Chapter 7 liquidation plan will prioritize these credit facilities over unsecured loans like outstanding credit card bills and medical bills. In certain exceptional cases, it may be possible to discharge or reduce your student loan debts. If you can prove to your presiding judge that you are permanently unable to repay your student loans, they may forgive some or all of them. This is known as a condition of "undue hardship" and can arise for several reasons. If you've been permanently injured and receive disability payments from the government or are nearing retirement and have dim future job prospects, you may be able to claim undue hardship.

If I Get Pulled Over for DUI, Should I Refusee to Take a Breathalyzer?

Unless you have a portable breathalyzer handy, you're unlikely to be able to judge your blood alcohol content with any degree of accuracy. This can be a problem after a night of steady drinking. While you might feel up to the task of driving yourself home after knocking back a few drinks over the course of several hours, you can't confirm that you'll be able to do so without running afoul of the law. Once you're on the road, you're liable to be arrested on suspicion of impaired driving as long as your blood alcohol content remains above your state's legal limit. If you're pulled over while you're in a state of questionable sobriety, your first impulse may be to confound the officer on the scene by refusing to submit to an initial roadside breathalyzer test. There are plenty of compelling reasons for doing so. In most states, the results of these tests aren't admissible in court. Portable breathalyzers aren't nearly as accurate as the larger stationary machines that most police precincts keep on hand. Like the field sobriety tests that officers typically ask drunk-driving suspects to perform, portable breathalyzers are merely used to prove probable cause for an impaired driving arrest. In most jurisdictions, there are no legal penalties for refusing to take a breathalyzer test in the field. If you refuse to take the test, the officer on the scene will probably take you into custody under the assumption that the mandatory in-station breathalyzer test will show that your blood alcohol content is above the legal limit. If you choose to take the test and it shows that your blood alcohol content is below the legal limit, the officer may still choose to arrest you on the grounds that you failed other elements of your field sobriety test. While it's far harder to prove a DUI charge against a driver who "blows" below the legal limit, it can be done. For instance, the state may argue that the effects of the modest amount of alcohol that you consumed were magnified by the presence of prescription or illegal drugs in your system. If you're found to be carrying quantities of such drugs, this may make their case easier. Once you've been booked, you may still refuse to take the in-station breathalyzer test. This will likely result in the automatic revocation of your license for a year or more.

How Soon After a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Is Dismissed Will Creditors Begin Calling?

Some attempts to file bankruptcy end unsuccessfully. In fact, bankruptcy judges routinely dismiss Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions for several common reasons. To avoid a costly and time-consuming mistake, familiarize yourself with these reasons for dismissal before you commit to hiring a bankruptcy attorney. If you've misrepresented your income or the value of your assets, the judge assigned to your case may dismiss your bankruptcy petition outright. In addition, you likely won't be allowed to file until you've completed your application and sent in all required documentation with it. Once your petition has been accepted and you've begun making payments under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan, your presiding judge may nullify the existing agreement between you and your creditors after several months of non-payment. Once this happens, your creditors will be able to pursue you for the remaining balances on your outstanding debts. Unless your lawyer can convince the judge overseeing your case to freeze this collection activity by granting you a moratorium on your payment plan, your creditors may begin calling or e-mailing right away. To preserve your Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan with a payment moratorium, your lawyer will need to prove that you're truly unable to make your payments for a prolonged period of time. Whether your hardship is caused by a sudden job loss, unforeseen medical bills, or other big unavoidable expenses, you'll need to show that you're not misleading or deceiving the court about your financial health. Alternatively, you may be able to change the terms of your bankruptcy. Under certain circumstances, your presiding judge may nullify your Chapter 13 payment plan and initiate new bankruptcy proceedings under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Once this conversion has taken place, the bulk of your remaining assets will devolve to a court-appointed trustee charged with dividing them up among your creditors. While you'll lose a significant amount of your wealth to the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process, your state's laws may permit you to shield some of your cash and property from seizure. Unfortunately, even the best-laid plans can go awry. If you're unable to continue making your bankruptcy payments and can't secure a payment moratorium or Chapter 7 conversion, your case may be completely dismissed. Once this happens, you'll need to recover from your initial shock and prepare yourself for an immediate onslaught of calls, e-mails and visits from your creditors and their collection-agency henchmen.

I Have an Arrest Warrant in Colorado for a DUI Probation Violation. What Should I Do?

When you're put on probation following a DUI conviction, you'll be expected to pay any fines and penalties required by statute. You'll also be expected to complete alcohol-education and driver-retraining classes. Finally, you'll need to observe a mandatory license suspension period. If you're able to do all of these things, you'll likely avoid jail time and should be able to resume normal living once your probation period has ended. In most jurisdictions, violating any of the terms of probation is a serious crime. If you currently live in the state in which you committed the original offense, you'll be subject to arrest on your outstanding warrant. While it's unlikely that the local authorities will initiate a manhunt to bring you to justice for a DUI-related probation violation, they may come looking for you at your last known residence or place of employment. It's more likely that you'll eventually slip up and commit a minor vehicular infraction that draws the attention of the police. After all, outstanding arrest warrants are readily available in the computerized filing system that traffic cops use to check for prior moving violations. Once you're back in custody, you'll be required to complete any unfulfilled or suspended elements of your original DUI conviction. This may mean that you'll have to spend some time in jail and pay some additional fines. If you miss a court appearance related to your probation violation and evade the authorities thereafter, you may open yourself to a "failure to appear" charge that typically carries its own set of fines as well as a short but mandatory prison sentence. If you're currently living outside of the state in which you committed your original crime, the local authorities are unlikely to execute the arrest warrant for your probation violation. This doesn't mean that you can hide from the law forever: Since outstanding arrest warrants can be accessed through a national law enforcement database, you'll be subject to extradition proceedings after a local traffic stop or minor-crime arrest. You may eventually face stiff penalties in your former home state. To reduce the severity of these consequences, turn yourself in to the local authorities as soon as you learn of the warrant and contact a local lawyer. In some cases, you may be able to escape a reinstated prison sentence by paying a hefty series of fines to the authorities back home.

How to Apply for LIHEAP (Low Income Heat Assistance Program) in Louisiana

It should not come as any great surprise to the reader that this program is open only to the legal residents of the sovereign State of Louisiana.  It should also not come as any great surprise to anyone curious about this program that the state of Louisiana has some rather specific expectations and criteria to qualify a household or group for assistance with heating costs.  To qualify the Louisiana resident must be elderly, and or disabled, and or a family with children, and or have a very high energy consumption rate and cost.  To qualify the resident or residence income criteria is:             The annual income of a household with a single individual must not exceed $17,455 before taxes;             The annual income of a household with two individuals must not exceed $22,826 before taxes;             The annual income of a household with three individuals must not exceed $28,196 before taxes;             The annual income of a household with four individuals must not exceed $33,567 before taxes;             The annual income of a household with five individuals must not exceed $38,938 before taxes;             The annual income of a household with six individuals must not exceed $44,308 before taxes; It is unclear as to what happens if a household exceeds six members.  The amount goes up about $5,400 as another individual is added to the household. If one has a computer then there are a number of websites from which an application can be taken.  The form cannot be submitted electronically so an interested person must have a printer to be able to print out the application form.  As with anything government, fill out the application very carefully and very truthfully.  If there are any questions or concerns, contact the aid agency by phone and obtain whatever clarification is necessary to successfully and complete fill out the application form.  State governments, just like the federal government, greatly dislike the liar.  The states will typically pursue the liar for fraud and provide jail time if at all possible.  States, like the feds, have very little humor.  After filling out the form, mail it in to the contact address in the directions and then just be patient.  Experienced people stated that one or two weeks will go by before the aid agency gets in contact with the household.  The contact will tell the head of the household if the household qualifies and if it does qualify, what steps are next in the process. A goodly number of source and information websites were specifically pointed out by the experts and given support by site users.  For the readers’ convenience these URLs are listed as follows: http://www.lhfa.state.la.us/programs/energy_assistance/low_income_energy.php http://www.lhfa.state.la.us/downloads/energy/en-LiheapAppAssistance-03Dec04.pdf http://www.lhfa.state.la.us/downloads/lihtc/liheap-2006-state-plan-02aug05.pdf http://www.lhfa.state.la.us/downloads/energy/ea-incomeeligibility-19dec03.pdf http://www.lhfa.state.la.us/downloads/energy/ea-Introduction-07apr05.pdf The aid agencies are very good about providing what the household needs, knowing that it is simply keeping those who need it as warm and comfortable as possible.  Several people indicated that at first the need for assistance was in a strong struggle with one’s ego and embarrassment.  It is a nice aspect of the states to recognize those who do need assistance and provide what they can to assist.

ILLIQUIDITY

When the supply is too short for the demand on a product, funds, or market. Other terms that may be helpful are endogenous liquidity, exogenous liquidity, liquidity, and liquidity risk.

ILLIQUID

Having insufficient means to meet demand. Refer to liquid, liquid assets, liquidity, and illiquidity.

Home Mortgage Not Reaffirmed During Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

If you have to surrender your home in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, the mortgage lender will provide you with a 1099-C. When you file a Chapter 7, the tradeoff is that the mortgage debt is completely dischargeable but you cannot keep your home. Another tradeoff is that when the mortgage debt is forgiven, the IRS views the forgiven amount as income. So, homeowners do not have to pay the remainder of the mortgage but the amount forgiven is taxable income. When a debt is forgiven, the IRS requires that the lender provide the borrower with a 1099-C form. The borrower is then required to file the 1099-C with the IRS. The 1099-C represents income from the cancellation of a debt. One way to explain the form is that a 1099 is used to report income earned from a job. Form 1099-C reports income made from the cancellation of a debt. When the loan is made, the borrower makes a promise to pay and the lender receives a secured interest in the property. At the time the loan is made, the money is not considered income because the borrower promises to pay the money back to the lender. When that promise to pay is discharged, the IRS views the forgiven amount as taxable income. You may be wondering how you will pay the taxes on this income if you have filed bankruptcy. You filed because you do not have enough money to pay your bills. Where are you supposed to get the money to pay the taxes on this income? The good news is that in 2007, The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 was passed. As a result of this Act, taxpayers can have up to $2 million of mortgage loans forgiven before being taxed. According to the IRS website, this Act will be in place through the end of 2013. It is important to realize that this Act only covers debt forgiven for a mortgage. If you have debt forgiven from another type of loan, you will receive a 1099-C for that loan and you will be responsible to pay the applicable taxes. If you do not understand your 1099-C or believe there is an error, start with contacting the lender. Other options are to contact the IRS or speak with your bankruptcy attorney.   Every expert says the same thing. A “charge off” is the same as a “write off” and is merely an accounting term used in financial processes. The term is used when a financial institution takes an account from a ledger and posts it to that financial company’s “unable to collect” ledger. The lien from the mortgage still exists on the property owner / debtor’s credit report. The monies owed at the time of the “charge off” are still owed. The financial company is simply waiting to decide its next move. It is simply not going to continue trying to collect on a loan that the debtor is unwilling or unable to pay. The fallacy believed by too many debtors is that they no longer owe anything on this “charged off” mortgage. On the contrary, that mortgage company is just standing still, waiting low. The company knows the financial conditions of the debtor and the primary mortgage. The company does not want to foreclose because, as is likely, the primary will get all of the monies from the sale, leaving nothing for this company. So, again, they do not want to force foreclosure. If they get tired of holding this uncollectable debt, they may sell it off to a collection agency. At that point, this original financial institution no longer cares. By law, they have to remove their lien within sixty days or face being sued by the debtor. If in ignorance and mistaken belief the debtor files for bankruptcy, Chapter 7 will exempt secured loans, which is what mortgages are, from discharge. That means that the debtor will still owe the mortgaged amounts, no relief, unless the debtor abandons the property. State laws can add to Federal bankruptcy law, but cannot supersede it, and, as we all know, state laws differ from state to state. So, a good, knowledgeable lawyer is essential. Some people “reaffirm” a mortgage loan in Chapter 7. Usually, this has no bearing. Secured loans are exempt from discharge, as stated above. Experts and lawyers direct debtors in this situation into Chapter 13, where the court assigned trustee can negotiate and restructure the debt into something that is likely grudgingly acceptable by debtor and creditors alike. In Chapter 13, secured debt such as mortgage loans are subject to the negotiations to restructure the debt. Such negotiations will likely get the second mortgage lending company something more than what they would have gotten at a foreclosure, but maybe not as much as selling it to a collection agency. It does not matter to the debtor who is trusting to get a result that relieves the burden into something manageable. One activity that debtors seem to not try is to personally try to reach an agreeable settlement with this second mortgage company. Nothing ventured is nothing gained, as the saying goes. Experts agree to start somewhat low, say at 10 percent of what is owed. If, and when, an agreement is reached, get it in writing. You may want to have a lawyer review the agreement before you sign. Reaching an agreement leaves all bridges intact, in the (unlikely) event that you engage this same company later on.

What Happens When You Get a DUI in California?

No matter where you live, driving under the influence is a serious offense with lasting consequences. In most states, a DUI is both a serious traffic violation and a criminal offense. If you cause major property damage or seriously injure a third party while you're driving drunk, you may be charged with a felony that carries a mandatory prison sentence. Although they're not to be taken lightly, California's DUI penalties are actually not as harsh as some other states'. For your first offense, you'll be assessed total fines and fees of between $1,500 and $2,000 and required to spend two days in jail. In practice, this jail-time requirement is often commuted to a community-service sentence or negated by the time that you've already served in detention. You'll also be required to attend an alcohol-awareness course that may take several months to complete. Once your case has been processed, you'll be sentenced to between three and five years of probation. For relatively "minor" first offenses, courts typically recommend an "informal" term of probation that doesn't require regular visits with a probation officer. While you'll still meet with your caseworker on occasion, you'll correspond largely by phone or mail. Of course, you'll need to inform the authorities of any planned out-of-state trips or changes of address. In addition, your probation officer will reserve the right to make an unannounced visit to your home or place of employment. If they can't find you, you may find yourself in a heap of trouble: In California, individuals who violate their probation often wind up in jail. As a "binary offense," your DUI case will require you to deal with two separate legal entities. In addition to facing criminal charges in your local county court, you'll need to appear before the state's Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days of your arrest to request the reinstatement of your driving privileges until you've been formally convicted. If it's only your first or second offense, the DMV will probably grant your request. Your DUI conviction will continue to haunt you even after your license has been reinstated. The cost of your car insurance may double or even triple: After just one DUI conviction, the average Californian sees their premiums increase by an average of $2,500 per year. Even worse, your crime will show up on employer-conducted background checks for 10 years or longer.