Homeowners Beware

These so-called “foreclosure rescue companies”; claim they will help save your home, but in reality are out to make a profit — at your expense. If you are at risk of or in foreclosure, you should be on the lookout for foreclosure scams.
Red Flags for Foreclosure Rescue Scams
Asks for money upfront before providing any service
Instructs you not to contact your lender, lawyer, housing counselor, family, friends or others.
Asks for mortgage payments to be made directly to his or her company or a bank account set up by that person, rather than your lender.
Requires payment only in the form of cash, […]

By |Misc, Property Transfers|
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California Takes Steps to Equalizing Access to the Justice System

AB 590 became law on October 11, 2009 which will appoint free attorneys to represent low income parties in civil cases concerning matters of basic human needs. Now over 2/3 of low income litigants do not receive any type of free legal service. Our civil courts are overburdened by more people who do not know how the courts work or how cases are handled. Giving better access means that cases will be resolved faster, reducing costs and everyone’s frustration level.
Judge’s decisions will be made with all the needed information. Funding will come from court fees, which have already been increased […]

By |Misc|
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So You’re A Landlord, Really?

The bad economy gave birth to many accidental landlords; people who couldn’t sell their properties and were forced to rent them out instead. I see many terrible situations caused by desperate landlords. Remember, it’s a lot harder to get rid of bad tenants than it is to find a good ones. Follow these rules and you’ll greatly reduce the chances of being in the same horrible situations I see over & over.
1. ALWAYS Verify all information on the application and check references. Make sure you call their jobs to verify employment & the previous landlords to see if they paid […]

By |Misc|
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Who Are You?

You’d be surprised at the implications of writing anything other than your legal name on a document. Using a nick-name, a middle name as a first name, using the last name of your step-parent or disregarding the fact that you’re a senior or junior will cause confusion that many times leads to a complete halt in the middle of a very important event. Many of the legal name changes we prepare in our office are done to untangle a mess caused by the negligent use of someone’s name. Most recently, a client of mine is having the receipt of his […]

By |Misc|
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For Us Who Strive For Equality in the Legal System – We Just Lost a Great Friend

In my present sadness I write this to let you know that attorney Stephen Elias passed away on Thursday December 29, 2011. For those of you who have come to us for help with your bankruptcy filings, you might only know him as the attorney who counseled you so that you could stand up on your own in a system that presumed you were abusing your right to due process, but were only trying to survive a hardship with your dignity intact.
But as for me, he was played a very important part in my desire to help people who can’t […]

By |Misc|
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