Posted on January 30, 2024 in Bankruptcy

Like most Americans, you’ve been living paycheck to paycheck for a while now. When a major expense comes up, like a stove that suddenly goes on the fritz or your child shoots up two sizes a month after the start of school and needs all-new clothes, you can feel the financial pressures building.

Don’t worry: There’s definitely a store clerk somewhere who will be happy to help you apply for store credit. The offer will be attractive, too, because you usually get a sizable discount on whatever purchase you’re about to make after approval. Plus, store credit is easy to get: Even if you’re already over-extended on your existing credit cards and barely making the minimum payments, you’ll probably qualify.

That’s exactly the problem. Store credit cards are routinely issued without a clear consideration of someone’s ability to repay the debt. Correspondingly, you can expect to pay significant interest on any purchase you happen to make — to the tune of better than 20% (and probably closer to 30% than not). Miss a payment’s due date, and you can expect the interest to go even higher — along with late penalties and fees.

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 Posted on January 30, 2024 in Bankruptcy

There are multiple kinds of bankruptcy available for individuals, ranging from Chapter 12 bankruptcy for fishermen and farmers to Chapter 7 bankruptcy for those with low income and few assets.

If you have a good job or substantial personal wealth but still have a high level of debt, then Chapter 7 bankruptcy likely isn’t the best option for you. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is known as a wage earner’s bankruptcy for a reason. It is available to those with higher incomes and those with more significant assets. What are some of the benefits that come with Chapter 13 bankruptcy?

You still have the benefit of an automatic stay and a discharge

When you initially file for bankruptcy, creditors have to cease all collection activity. That could mean putting a halt to a pending lawsuit, stopping foreclosure and ending all of those intrusive collection calls to your home or place of work. If you successfully complete bankruptcy, the courts will discharge the remaining balance of specific, unsecured debts at the end of your proceedings.

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 Posted on January 30, 2024 in Bankruptcy

For those dealing with unsustainable levels of debt compounded by lower-than-average household income, Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be a critical source of financial relief. Chapter 7 proceedings allow people to discharge unsecured debts like medical debt and credit card balances without having to complete a repayment period first, as is necessary in Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Quite a few people who might qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Maryland may put off filing because they have heard stories about bankruptcy that make them worry about the impact it could have on their life. One of the more pervasive myths about Chapter 7 bankruptcy, also known as liquidation bankruptcy, is that those who filed don’t get to retain any of their personal property. That is not true.

While it is true that the courts can order you to liquidate some of your assets before you receive a discharge, they won’t require you to get rid of everything you own. You have the right to exempt certain property from liquidation or sale in order to repay your creditors. That includes some of the value you’ve accrued in your home. 

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 Posted on January 30, 2024 in DWI

The Fourth of July has always been a holiday focused around celebrating. For many people, that includes sharing some alcoholic beverages with friends and family members. Every year, that means that people get arrested on DUI charges, often as they try to drive home.

This year was no exception in Maryland. When only looking at accidents that were suspected to have links to intoxicated driving, reports claim that there were 19 crashes. A total of 18 people were arrested. Some of the accidents were single-car crashes, but 12 or more of them involved multiple cars.

The state police released this information in order to ask people not to drive under the influence. News reports also noted that this holiday, in particular, tends to lead to a spike in crashes every year.

That said, these statistics only concern themselves with traffic crashes. For everyone who gets into an accident, you have many more people who drive under the influence and do not crash. Out of those, you have a few people who get pulled over and arrested on similar charges. It’s important to remember that it does not take an accident to get arrested and put behind bars. The police just need to conduct a valid traffic stop and then determine that they think you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

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 Posted on January 30, 2024 in Motor vehicle accidents

Car accidents involving large vehicles often put those in smaller vehicles in far greater danger. Physics simply determines that smaller vehicles tend to suffer greater damage and that extends to those riding inside of them.

One of the most dangerous types of accidents is known as an underride accident. This occurs when a smaller vehicle strikes a larger one and goes under it partially or completely. This is extremely dangerous since the bottom of the larger vehicle, like a box truck, crushes the passenger compartment of the other car.

For instance, imagine that a convertible is traveling straight down a road, toward an intersection. It is a two-way stop and the convertible does not have a stop sign. A semi-truck driver at the intersection believes it is a four-way stop, however, and pulls through the intersection at the same time. The car strikes the side of the trailer between the wheels, and the convertible goes under the truck at a high rate of speed.

These accidents can happen at any time and for numerous reasons, but many of them happen at night. A lack of visibility can contribute to the confusion and make it so that drivers do not see each other until the last second. Often, that means it is far too late for either driver to take any action that would avoid the crash.

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 Posted on January 30, 2024 in DWI

Maryland separates intoxicated driving offenses into two categories: DUIs (driving under the influence) and DWIs (driving while impaired). A DUI charge occurs when a person has been driving under the influence of alcohol, with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher. DUI charges are more severe than DWI charges.

What are the Charges for Driving Under the Influence?

In Maryland, driving while intoxicated is a misdemeanor. If you drive drunk in Maryland, expect to be arrested, fined and or lose your license or a combination of all. Charges vary on the nature of the incident, and in some cases, offenders may face jail time.

Any person under the age of 21 who drives under the influence of alcohol breaks the law, regardless of BAC. If a minor is caught driving under the influence, they will be arrested and charged with a DUI.

First Time Offenders

A first-time DUI in Maryland can land offenders up to one year in jail and $1,000 in fines. If a minor was in the vehicle, the penalty could increase to two years in prison and $2,000 in fines. First-time offenders face a loss of driving privileges for 180 to 270 days.

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 Posted on January 30, 2024 in Business Law

During these uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic, small business owners are freaking out. They are stressed out, scared and unsure of how they are going to continue to operate and be successful.

Our business contract lawyer can be a lifeline to your small business helping you to navigate the maze of business closures, defaulted contracts and emergency modifications to federal and state laws due to the pandemic.

If businesses have closed leaving you without a supplier of essential goods or services or if one of your best customers decided to close or retire rather than reopen, our small business attorneys in Columbia, Maryland know how to negotiate contracts, strengthen your business and increase your bottom line.

Breached Contracts 

If you need to renegotiate your contract with suppliers, subcontractors, or customers because someone on your critical path defaulted on a contract, you may have to wait until debt collection is possible under pandemic related restrictions. If you have clients in other states, you have to comply with altered debt collection rules during the Covid-19 pandemic. Stimulus funds are for living expenses, and you may not take stimulus funds to cover client debt.  

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 Posted on January 30, 2024 in Motor vehicle accidents

Driving on the highway is an efficient way to get from point A to point B. However, there are also unique risks associated with it, all of which you need to protect against.

Here are some of the most overlooked risks of highway driving:

• Tire blowout: While this can happen on any road, there’s a greater chance on the highway when you’re traveling at a high rate of speed. This is particularly true if your tires are not in good condition.
• Road debris: Think about the last time you were driving on the highway. Did you see any road debris, such as shredded tires, trash and dead animals? Chances are that you did. All of these things are hazards, as they can cause you to make a split-second decision to avoid them.
• Animals: For example, deer are well known to dart into highway traffic without thinking twice. Sometimes, it happens so fast that you can’t avoid an accident. Other times, you’re able to swerve out of the way, but doing so puts you at risk of losing control of your vehicle or striking another car.

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 Posted on January 30, 2024 in Slip And Fall

People slip and fall frequently here in the Columbia area of Maryland. In most cases, the worst that happens is that you walk away unharmed but embarrassed.

What many people do not realize is that slip-and-fall accidents have the potential to result in serious injuries, even if you feel okay at first. Instead of dismissing the incident altogether and taking your bruised ego home to heal, consider seeing a doctor. This is your first and arguably most important step should you decide that your injures are worse than you originally thought.

By getting a medical opinion, you will have a formal record of the consequences of your slip-and-fall. Some slip-and-fall incidents can result in head injuries in which symptoms may be elusive or seem relatively minor. In such cases, having a medical record detailing the nature of the incident, your injuries and your prescribed medical treatment can help you build a winning case.

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 Posted on January 30, 2024 in DWI

If the police pull you over because they suspect that you are under the influence of alcohol, you could wind up arrested and charged with an offense. Both driving while impaired (DWI) charges and more serious driving under the influence (DUI) charges can result in fines, the loss of your license and a criminal record.

Many people believe that impaired driving charges like DUI offenses are open-and-shut cases because the state usually has chemical evidence. However, it is possible for those facing an impaired driving charge in Maryland to defend themselves and avoid a conviction. There are multiple ways for people to develop a DUI defense strategy.

Sometimes, there’s a medical explanation

There are numerous medical conditions that police officers might mistake for chemical impairment. If you have a speech impediment or a musculoskeletal condition that affects the smoothness of your gate, officers may have mistaken the way you spoke or walked for signs of impairment when really it was a symptom of a pre-existing medical condition.

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