During August 2018, one in every 1,456 homes in Ohio received a foreclosure filing, according to RealtyTrac.com. This was worse than the national average of 1 in every 1,882 homes, and placed Ohio just outside the top 10 states with the worst rates of foreclosure. Foreclosure in Ohio is a judicial process by which a… Read more »
Last updated April 21, 2018. In a recent lawsuit, Chase Bank was forced to pay out more than $160 million in penalties and $50 million in refunds to consumers for selling bad zombie debt to collection agencies. What is a zombie debt? Many people have had a debt that they could not pay or that… Read more »
Last updated April 21, 2018. We’ve all heard about student loan debt in the news. Lots of us have student loan debt ourselves. We hear a lot about how millennials won’t be able to buy their own homes or save for retirement. If so many are struggling to pay, what’s happening in the student loan… Read more »
Last updated March 29, 2018. When a family member dies, there are often many tasks that need to be performed to put all of the deceased’s affairs in order. There may be a will to file with a probate court; there may be property to dispose of, bank accounts and charitable donations to take care… Read more »
Last updated Oct. 30, 2017. It’s no secret — when you’ve fallen behind on a debt, the gloves come off. Creditors will go to great lengths trying to collect on past-due accounts. Collection phone calls to relatives and friends are not uncommon and only add to an already stressful situation. Especially if your parents are… Read more »
Last updated Aug. 31, 2017. Bankruptcy is designed to help you get back on sound financial footing. That can’t happen if you still have to worry about creditors garnishing your wages or foreclosing on your home. So, bankruptcy comes with some serious protection against creditors trying to collect. The automatic stay is the most important… Read more »
Last updated Sept. 26, 2017. First, let’s make a distinction between creditors and debt collectors, because they have to follow different rules under different laws. Your creditor is the person or party to whom you owe the debt. It’s most often a bank, a credit card company, or a medical service provider. When creditors can’t… Read more »
How Does the Automatic Stay Work in Bankruptcy? What is an Automatic Stay? If you are contemplating bankruptcy, then you probably have a lot of creditors after you. The constant pressure and hounding of creditors to collect can be troubling. However, the bankruptcy laws do provide some relief in the form of the “automatic stay.” Once… Read more »
Last updated July 31, 2018. It’s dinner time and the phone is ringing…again. You told the jerks to stop calling but it didn’t do a bit of good. Your phone is ringing off the hook. The kids want to know what’s up. Even your Mom is receiving calls. Stress levels are rising, and fast. Is… Read more »
Last updated Dec. 29, 2017. Say you’ve made some purchases on your credit card, and you owe a couple thousand dollars. Then something unexpected happens (maybe your roof starts leaking or your car needs new tires) and you find yourself a bit short one month. You plan to pay in full the next month, but… Read more »
Russ B. Cope is dedicated to legal standards that go far beyond filing cases — he is interested in your goals. Russ wants to be certain that each client is making an informed decision that will make their life better, and thrives on the interaction between lawyer and client.
