by Eric Olsen, attorney and Executive Director HELPS Nonprofit Law Firm I recently read a question on a website that helped persons with credit card debt. The answer given is typical of the deceptive, incomplete, and false answers many websites and their experts provide to seniors with financial problems. Here is the question posed from … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I have 25,000 in credit cards –I’m 85 years old–retired —my wife is still working she is 78—this is how I’m able to pay —she will not be working much longer–she does not know about the credit cards—I had no Int on all my credit cards for 12mos. In Feb of 2020 … Read more
By Eric Olsen Executive Director HELPS Nonprofit Law Firm A senior couple recently contacted me. They were served with legal papers for around $5000 for an old credit card they owed. They had never been sued before. They had heard that a judgment would become a “lien” on their home and worried about what that … Read more
This guest post by Eric Olsen is a great example that not all debt experts need to agree all the time. Eric presents a very valid point of view and mine is slightly different. Eric describes a situation where seniors may consider it unnecessary to file bankruptcy. In my experience, bankruptcy in similar situations can … Read more
By Eric Olsen Executive Director HELPS Nonprofit law firm, www.helpsishere.org You may have received a notice about a defaulted student loan and do not know what to do. There are many articles on the internet with incomplete information that scare seniors into thinking that they are going to lose their social security. This article will … Read more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a useful report a few days ago on student-loan indebtedness and older Americans. Here are some of the CFPB’s key findings: “The number of consumers age 60 and older with outstanding student loan debt quadrupled from 2005 to 2015, increasing from about 700,000 to 2.8 million.” During this ten-year … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, Father in-law needed help getting his house fixed(roof,plumbing and furnace). He asked my husband and I to take out a personal loan and fix his house and for us to pay the personal loan. We told him we were unable to do that due to a personal loan and our auto loan … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, Hi – I have a question – my mother is in a nursing home, Medicaid pays for the home – she must turn over her social security and small pension to them each month. She has no money – she has a credit card from Bank of America with $3500-$4000 on it … Read more
“Dear Steve, My mother is 77 years of age. Her memory is no longer the best for her finances and she gets confused as to who gets paid what and how much. the debts, even though she doesn’t even use the cards but one walmart for groceries the interest rates and payments have gone over … Read more
This story by NPR really struck home for me as my 82 year old father has been very frustrated and confused by some of the phone calls and mail he’s been getting that are health related. Some of the recent offers that have been hard to understand have actually come from AARP and AAA, both … Read more
“Dear Steve, My mother passed away Aug. 2012. My parents were married nearly 63 years. Their budget was based upon both their retirement incomes. After severely cutting monthly expenses we still find that keeping the house (along with utilities to live there) leaves him with absolutely nothing left over each month.We also have medical expenses … Read more
“Dear Steve, My mother is 78 year old and has accumulated a significant amount of credit card debt (14,000). This debt is spread across nine different credit cards with varying interest rates which she attempts to keep current paying minimum payments. She has used balance transfer options when possible to reduce interest rates. However, she … Read more
Oregon sues Legal Helpers Debt Resolution and Chicago law firm for financially abusing elderly Legal Helpers Debt Resolution collected at least $2.5 million in fees from Oregon consumers since 2009, promising to secure “financial workouts” for their unsecured debts, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. But the company never registered … Read more
“Dear Steve, I am trying to help my parents who are 76 and 80 years old. They have 30,000.00 in Credit Card Debt. Mother without my knowing signed up with a consolidation company and agreed to have 800.00 taken out of her Checking Account monthly, they do not have this money available. I now know … Read more
“Dear Steve, Husband medically retired I have very small income our total incone is approximately $40,000 after taxes. We have a primary mtg. Of $1800 a month,a second house of $1100 monthly where my mother in law rents for$ 740 a month. Both taxes & insurance are included. W can pay our monthly bills if … Read more