THE TALE OF 3 SENIORS WHO ALL NEED BANKRUPTCY RELIEF; WHITE HOUSE WILL HIRE 1,000 MORE EMPLOYEES TO IMPLEMENT OBAMA AMNESTY

THE 3 SENIORS WHO NEED BANKRUPTCY RELIEF

This must have been my pre valentine seniors’ week for bankruptcy relief. The first senior who comes to see me only owes $15,000 of credit card debt. She is a widow and 75 years old. She retired 10 years ago. Since then, her income consists only of $700 of social security. Her rent alone is $1,050. Fortunately, she has two sons who live with her. One son is unable to work due to mental disability. The other son has gainfully employed and takes care of the rent. So, our God provides for her. Even with $700 of social security, she has a loving son who takes care of her, and she doesn’t live alone by herself. She has food, shelter and clothing and the warmth of family. She is still in good health. What else can you ask for in this life? Her only problem, it appears, is that she owes $20,000 of credit card debt. That requires a minimum payment of $700 a month, which wipes out her social security income completely. Besides, she’s been paying that for the last ten years. So, she’s paid a total of $84,000 but she still owes the very same $20,000 of credit card debt. She could pay the minimum before when she was still employed, and her husband was still alive and working. But with social security of $700 a month, $20,000 of credit card debt is simply unbearable. Her Chapter 7 petition will wipe out all of credit card debt so that she can save her social security of $700 monthly for whatever she wants to spend it on, or if she wants she can save that amount. In one year, she can save at least $8,000. That will give her a better sense of security, as she gets older.

The second senior is a Vietnam veteran. He divorced 6 years ago, and owes $25,000 of credit card debt. He is now 72 years old with social security of $1,400. He rents a room for $300 and stays near his mom, who is 92 years old, a wonderful woman. I met her last week and she still looks young, believe it or not. She looks like she’s 68. Skin still tight with just some wrinkles. Her mind is perfectly clear and she still drives! She gave me firsthand recollection of how life was before the 2^nd world war, during the 2^nd world war, and right after the 2^nd world war. This woman is self-sufficient even at 92! I wish I had her genes. With $25K of credit cards, client needs at least $850 of minimum payments to keep all the cards current every month. Where will he get that amount now that his only income is $1,400 from social security? His Chapter 7 petition will wipe out all of the $25K of credit card debt. He will then be able to save $850 a month. His credit score will improve yearly. By year 3, his credit score will be about 650, which is higher than his current score of 550. By year 7, his credit score will be over 730. By year 10, there will be no record of his bankruptcy and his score will be over 800. With his mother’s genes, he should live to a hundred with savings of $285K. If well invested, he could have $500K by age 100. He can donate that to his favorite charity. He won’t be able to bring that money with him anyway to the next life. In the next life, he will want for nothing with our Lord, Jesus Christ!

The third senior is 70 years old. He has a house with $150K of equity. He can keep that house even in bankruptcy because he can exempt $175K of equity since he is over 65. He owes $60K of credit cards, which he used to invest in a business, which failed. His current pension with social security is $2,500. His wife’s social security is $100 monthly because she never really worked. So with $2600 hundred of retirement income monthly, and a mortgage payment of $2,100, where will he get $1,900 a month to make minimum payments on $60K of credit card debt. With Chapter 7, he frees himself of all credit card debt at the age of 70. He should have done this earlier, at least 10 years ago. If he did that, he would have saved $1,900 a month for 10 years. He would have $228K saved up now giving him extra income of $950 a month based on 5% dividend income on investments.

WHITE HOUSE TO HIRE 1,000 MORE EMPLOYEES FOR OBAMA AMNESTY

The OBAMA AMNESTY which allows people who are here without legal status provided they have a qualifying child who is an American citizen or legal permanent resident, to get a work permit valid for 3 years and renewable for periods of 3 years per renewal is getting into higher gear because the USCIS was directed to start accepting applications by February 19, 2015. People who entered as minors and who graduated from a US high school or obtained a GED also qualify. Applications will be decided by the USCIS on a case-by-case basis. Documented entries with passports and I-94’s, or undocumented entries through the border, or otherwise undocumented, it doesn’t matter as long as AMNESTY requirements are met. I urge you to see me now. Now is the time to apply. The White House has just announced that it intends to hire 1,000 more USCIS employees to implement OBAMA AMNESTY. It doesn’t want the same fiasco with OBAMA CARE when people who wanted to register could not because of systems breakdown.

Although the executive order directs the USCIS to start accepting applications on February 19, 2015, it appears at this time, that applications will actually be processed starting May 2015 when the 1,000 new USCIS employees are in place. The USCIS will have to spell out specific guidelines to implement the AMNESTY by May. Although nobody can predict the number of applications that will be filed, the USCIS has stated that they forecast that at least 1.2 M applications would be filed starting May 2015. Since stricter guidelines will be forthcoming, potential applicants are advised to gather more documentary evidence to support their applications. The more documents, the better. Remember, applications are decided on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, documentary and other admissible evidence are the keys to having applications approved. The evidence submitted must clearly show that the applicant qualifies under the stated guidelines.

There are still many grey areas on who can qualify. For instance, can a stepfather or stepmother qualify for AMNESTY? Or, can same sex spouses qualify if they adopted an American citizen child? These are all legitimate matters for the USCIS to consider in implementing the executive order. After all, the order just states that the applicant must have a U.S. citizen child. It does not require the child to be a natural born child of the applicant parent.

If you think you qualify, come and talk to me now. It is the right time to prepare your application.

“JESUS LOOKED AT THEM AND SAID TO THEM, “WITH MEN THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE, BUT WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.”  - MATTHEW 19:26.

Lawrence Bautista Yang is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and has been in law practice for thirty years.  He specializes in bankruptcy, business and civil litigation and has handled more than five thousand successful bankruptcy cases in California.  He speaks Mandarin and Fujien and looks forward to discussing your case with you personally.  Please call (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S Fremont Ave, MAILSTOP 58, Building A-1 SUITE 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803 OR at 20274 Carrey Road, Walnut, CA 91789.