Overpayments of Social Security benefits are unsecured debts just like credit cards and medical bills, and they are therefore dischargeable in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy in most cases, short of any finding of fraudulence in the acceptance of the payment by the recipient. In other words, so long as you did not accept the payments knowing that you were not entitled to it—or knowing that you were about to file for bankruptcy—the overpayment amount can be discharged in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Simply because the claim for the debt is held by a governmental agency does not mean that the debt cannot be discharged. Even IRS or Michigan state or other state tax debts can be discharged in bankruptcy, under certain, very specific circumstances. Bankruptcy is itself a function of Federal law and, therfore, the mere fact that a debt originates with a Federal agency does not tell the tale. All

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Stopping a Tax Offset for a Defaulted Federal Student Loan

Federal student loans are guaranteed by the US government and administered by the Department of Education. When a borrower defaults on the loan, the Department of Education may refer the loan to the Department of the Treasury for collection. The Treasury issues your tax refund check, which can be offset to pay your defaulted student loans. The Treasury will offset your entire refund, even if it includes money owed to your non-obligated spouse or an earned income tax credit.

So what can you do to stop this nightmare?

First, the Department of Education is required to send you notice of the offset. You are entitled to a hearing and an opportunity to present evidence when challenging the debt. If you make a timely request for a hearing, the collection process must stop. So it is in your best interest to review the loan documentation and request a hearing if there are mistakes.

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A look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of hosting a major sporting event.

Hosting a major sporting event can give many economic, social and cultural benefits. However, the costs of hosting the event can also be quite high. What determines whether the benefits outweigh the costs?

Advantages of Hosting a Major Event

Raise profile of city / country.

Raising the profile of a city can lead to lasting economic benefits. For example, cities which host the Olympics can be assured of a persistent increase in recognition and tourism. Barcelona, Sydney, Beijing have all seen this from hosting the Olympics. For a country like China with a controversial human rights record, hosting a major sporting event can be a way to gain greater international acceptance. When South Africa hosted the Rugby World Cup and later the Football World Cup, it was a defining moment in highlighting the new post-apartheid South Africa.

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Some stocks tend to cycle in value between a high and a low. When this cycle establishes itself the price range between the high and the low is a trading range. The top of the range is a resistance price or resistance zone. The bottom of the trading range is the support price or support zone. Many cyclical stocks have businesses very closed tied to the economy. Traders attempt to buy stocks at the bottom of the range and sell at the top. Likewise traders will short a stock at the top of the range and buy at the bottom. The nightmare of stock trading is that stock will break out of the range, up or down, just as he or she has made the trade. Good management of investment risk comes into play at this point to cut losses.

Trading between support zones is called range trading. In its purest form range trading assumes that a stock will always stay within its trading range. This is not always the case. Often a stock will be trending up but still display a cyclical pattern. Full article…

Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) was recently named by us as a stock which is one of thirteen stocks unlikely to survive 2012 in its current form.  A very low share price, a board in disarray and full of departures, more bankruptcy rumors than you can easily count, and a share price of well under $1.00.

Now comes news after the close that the company is facing a potential delisting from the New York Stock Exchange after having received a “continued listing standards notice” from the NYSE because the average closing price of its common stock has remained under $1,00 per share for more than 30 consecutive trading days.

Eastman Kodak noted that it has six months after the receipt of this notification to regain compliance with the minimum share price requirement, assuming that no other listing standards arise and remain.  It regains compliance if the closing share price of at least $1.00 on the last trading day of any calendar month during the period and also has an average closing share price of at least $1.00 over the 30 trading-day period ending on the last trading day of that month or on the last day of the cure period.

All that has to happen is for Kodak to see a 50% gain in its share price from the $0.65 close.  With Antonio Perez’ great track record it is not major feat to question whether or not he will be able to easily accomplish that.  Perez may elect for a reverse stock split, but he should be reminded that reverse splits at troubled companies generally only allow short sellers to short sell more shares betting against a company.

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The Occupy movement started strong and faded quickly after police and city officials began taking a stance against protesters and seeking to remove them.

But at the core of the message, the young people who slept in parks, chanted sayings, held signs and sought change wanted a better shot at success. They wanted to live the American dream. This movement didn’t come when the country was at its most prosperous, it came years after the Great Recession when unemployment is high, the real estate market is dying and the country is mired in debt.

It’s about finances.

Many young people have come out of college with tens of thousands of dollars in debt and they have few job prospects. They can’t find work, living expenses are high and life is tough. But bankruptcy in Chicago can help.

Chicago bankruptcy lawyers have been able to help numerous clients who are looking for answers. For many, bills are mounting, income is low and there seems to be few options.

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People with bad credit history know how hard it is to receive not only an auto financing loan but any other loan as well.  The best news is that you are still able to get a good auto finance loan even with a bad credit history. The best way to ensure that you will get a good loan is by:

First checking your credit score, if your credit score is not good, it does not mean that you are a bad creditor. If you have a higher score that you will be eligible for auto financing from a good institution. If you have something lower than 680, make sure that you find a way of making it higher that that. Yu can only do this by paying out what you owe first.

The second thing that you should do is to compare the online companies that are willing to offer auto financing even to people with bad credit history in order for them to purchase cars.

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