Parties to a Minnesota lawsuit must have a Rule 26 discovery conference, which is often done by phone, to discuss how they will handle the discovery and evidence in their lawsuit. The requirements for this are found in Rule 26.06 of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure. When must a Rule 26 discovery conference be…
Winning a court case and being awarded damages against a party does not necessarily mean that the court battle is over. Unless the losing party is willing to pay you on the judgment, you will have the obligation to collect it yourself. There are legal tools to help with the process, but there is no…
Debt collection can be messy. However, at some point every business owner will need to deal with unpaid accounts. Fortunately, certain steps can be taken that may help such collection run smoothly. There are both passive and formal ways of attempting to collect debt, as well as preventive action that can be taken to help…
In the recent real estate collapse, many homeowners entered into contracts with companies, called “equity purchasers,” who told them they could save their home from foreclosure. In these types of transactions, the foreclosed homeowner would deed their home to the equity purchaser, who would redeem the foreclosed property, and then enter into some sort of…
Minnesota Court of Appeals Published Decision: Unclean Hands Not Complete Bar to Receiving Equitable Relief On February 17, 2015, the Court of Appeals held in a published decision that “[a] district court does not abuse its discretion by granting equitable relief to a party with unclean hands if the party has purged herself of her…
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or “FDCPA” was established as legal protection for consumers against abusive debt collection practices. The statutes’ purpose is to eliminate abusive practices in the collection of consumer debts, promote fair debt collection, and provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to…
US Supreme Court Rules that Inherited IRA Funds are Not Exempt from Claims of Creditors in Bankruptcy Cases On June 12, 2014, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of Clark v. Rameker that inherited individual retirement account (IRA) funds are not “retirement funds” for purposes of the exemption of certain assets from…
This article discusses the basics of Minnesota foreclosures. This part addresses the impact a foreclosure of a first mortgage has on a second mortgage (home equity loans). This is part five of a series on Minnesota foreclosures. Minnesota Foreclosure Law Basics Foreclosure by Advertisement Foreclosure by Action Deficiency Judgments Foreclosure of a 2nd Mortgage Second…
Many believe that creditors can’t touch their retirement savings. But in many states—including Minnesota—that’s frequently not true. If you have an ERISA-qualified 401(k) or pension plan, your savings are probably safe from creditors. In such plans, your money generally has complete protection under federal law from garnishment, attachment, and other creditor remedies, so long as…
The FDCA It is very common for people who fall behind on their bills to have trouble with collection agencies. While collection agencies have a number of options when it comes to collecting debts, the law sets some limits on their conduct. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal law which regulates the…
When a debtor does not voluntarily pay a debt, enforced collection action is used by the Minnesota Department of Revenue in an attempt to collect the debt. A levy (also referred to as Levy and Distraint) is an administrative collection tool. It gives a collector with delegated authority the power to take property and the…
In this video, you get answers to these questions: What is the cancellation of debt income when debt is forgiven? How does the IRS consider this debt? What are the exceptions? When is the money not subject to income tax? What are some examples? Introduction Many people who are unable to pay their credit card…
Bankruptcy is not the only option. The alternatives will depend on the type of debt, your financial situation, and circumstances surrounding the debt. If you are dealing with a significant amount of business debt, we would be happy to meet with you to discuss your legal options.
It is important for an attorney to counsel a client about the transfer of assets leading up to bankruptcy. A client needs to understand the sooner an attorney knows about a transfer the less likely it will cause harm to the client. It is important to understand the exemptions allowed to be taken under state…
A potential fraudulent transfer problem will arise on a regular basis in a bankruptcy proceeding. A typical transfer that may come under scrutiny would be gifts to family members that occurred recently. This could take the form of a parent purchasing a car for their child, which is put in the child’s name. Or paying…
Minnesota has had several major cases involving fraudulent transfers. One case close to point deals with the drastic implications of attempting to take advantage of a bankruptcy proceeding. In Tveten, the debtor had 19 million dollars of debt owed to creditors. On the eve of bankruptcy, he transferred his remaining $700,000 from non-exempt to exempt…
These cases generally result in voidance of a transfer. The debtor will want to be careful in a transfer that may be questionable. In order to receive bankruptcy relief a debtor must act in good faith. If a transfer or transfers are particularly egregious, a judge may find the debtor lacks good faith and has…
Minnesota’s Uniform Voidable Transactions Act was formerly known as the Minnesota Uniform Transfer Act (MUFTA). MUFTA was Minnesota’s adoption of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (UFTA). MUFTA was codified in Minnesota Statute’s § 513.41 – 513.51. When the Minnesota Legislature adopted MUFTA, it was nearly identical to the Uniform Act itself. While the first version…
What is the Minnesota Uniform Transfer Act? MUFTA is codified in Minnesota Statute’s §513.41 – §513.51. MUFTA is Minnesota’s adoption of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (UFTA). When the legislature adopted the Act it was nearly identical to the Uniform Act itself. While the first version of UFTA came into existence in 1918, the law…
Minnesota collection attorney Aaron Hall describes the debt collection process and explains how you can collect debts owed to you. Transcript We frequently receive calls from people who are owed money. They want to know what are their rights, what are their legal options, how do they get the money that is owed to them….
I. INTRODUCTION: Pay Your Bills! As a general rule, it is always a good idea to pay your bills. It is particularly important to pay your legal bills. And I’m not just saying that because I work in the legal field. While it is true that the costs of legal services can be quite high,…
By Michael P. Carlson I. Introduction If you have ever taken out a loan from a bank, received a mortgage, or have purchased a new car, you are most likely at least slightly aware of the law of liens. A lien is a creditor’s interest in property held by a debtor to ensure that the…
Obtaining financing is a crucial part of most companies’ growth and success, and many lenders advance money in hopes of it being repaid at a profit. Even with financing, however, businesses often fail, making it difficult for lenders to get their money back. Most creditors’ rights are contractual, but Minnesota law provides a few other…
If someone owes you a debt but refuses to pay, there are things you can do to collect that debt. If you know that the debtor has a steady income, you can garnish the debtor’s wages. If you don’t know if the debtor is employed, you can follow legal procedures for debt collection and obtain…
With certain exceptions, often involving fraud or deceit of the debtor, a creditor may not garnish assets of a debtor without first obtaining a judgment against the debtor. There are many other steps a debtor must take before garnishment, including docketing the judgment. A creditor also must find out where there are assets or finances…
Discovering a Debtor’s Hidden Assets Just because you are legally owed money, doesn’t mean it is easy to get that money. You have probably heard the saying, “you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip.” If the debtor has no money and no assets it will be difficult to get your money. On the other hand,…
If you have a judgment you are trying to collect, and the debtor has funds at a bank or other financial institution, you may garnish the debtor’s account. Obtaining the judgment and finding out where the debtor has assets is probably the most difficult and expensive part of debt collection. In order to garnish…
When payers fail to complete disclosure forms or send payments, they are not in compliance with our levy. After the payer is warned and subsequently assessed personally liable for the debt, a 25 percent penalty is added to the original debt. Minn. Stat. §270C.70 provides for assessment against businesses, officers or other individuals responsible for…
Any financial obligation from a third party to the debtor can be levied. Instead of the third party paying the debtor, they send the payment to the Department of Revenue, and it is applied to the debtor’s unpaid debt. This is a one-time levy and requires the third party to send 100 percent of any…
A levy on securities is a legal action used to take non-exempt publicly traded securities owned by the debtor. The Minnesota Department of Revenue uses the Third Party Levy on Securities letter to notify an investment company and the debtor. The letter also instructs the investment company and the debtor how to proceed once the…
