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News from Around the State |
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 Consumer
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Actions Taken by Debt Collection Agencies are Limited by Law in Oklahoma
Seniors, beware. If you're being harassed by calls from debt collectors, don't be bullied into paying anything before knowing the law. In Oklahoma, the statute of limitations on most debt is three years and if you pay even as little as $5 on an old debt, you'll reset the clock.
As reported in a story Sunday, more and more seniors today are being guilted by debt collectors to tap their fixed assets to pay credit card, store, hospital and other accounts. Frequently, collectors are junk debt buyers who've paid pennies on the dollar for debt that long may have been written off.
Although federal and state laws prevent creditors from garnishing Social Security and other assets, it's the responsibility of seniors to be aware of and raise exemptions.
"Many times people's first response to a lawsuit, or even a collection letter, is to panic," said Richard Goralewicz, an attorney with the senior division of the Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma Inc., "and panic is never a good response to anything.
"Very often people who are sued on a debt, even if it was at one time a legitimate debt, have defenses," he said. "In many cases, especially for people on fixed income, that income is exempt. So for Social Security, pension benefits or other federal benefits, a private creditor will not be allowed to garnish your accounts, even if they get a judgment."
In most cases, a consumer's home, one vehicle and household furnishings also will be exempt from collection or attachment.
Meanwhile, bankruptcies among seniors are growing at an alarming rate, according to a report released recently by AARP's Public Policy Institute.
Americans age 55 and older ? likely due to medical bills ? accounted for 22.3 percent of bankruptcy filings in 2007, up sharply from 8.2 percent in 1991. Filings by those age 65 or older grew 125 percent over the same 16-year period, while the rate for seniors 75 to 84 jumped a stunning 433.3 percent.
In Oklahoma, bankruptcy, which costs roughly $400 to file, won't gain seniors more protection than they already have, Goralewicz said.
Still, some seniors, he said, file bankruptcy to stop the constant calls and letters from creditors and debt collection agencies.
An alternative is to send a certified letter to creditors, explaining exemptions and requesting a stop to further collection attempts, experts say. Continued harassment violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and may result in a statutory penalty of $1,000 per occurrence.
Legal Aid among other things provides form letters for such correspondence.
Its attorneys offer free advice and counsel to Oklahoma and Canadian county residents who are 60 or older and U.S. citizens, and free legal representation, excluding filing and court fees, to those suffering from severe health problems or poverty. Legal Aid has 20 local offices across Oklahoma, and makes house calls to homebound or nursing homebound seniors.
For more information, call 557-0014 or (800) 421-1641.
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By: The Oklahoman - 08/18/2010 |
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Accidents Happen: Get Your Affairs in Order
By Jason Alderman, Huffington PostRecently, a man stepping off a curb near my office was struck and killed by a passing bus. Only 49, he clearly had m...
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By: Huffington Post - 07/29/2010 |
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IRS Warns Oklahoma Residents of Tax Refund Scam
by Sonya ColbergMarch 9, 2010Nothing is certain but death, taxes and, now, fake IRS refund notices.
An e-mail scam going around shows a copy of the real Internal Revenue Service logo and contains official-sounding language. But odd wording and misspellings suggest something's awry.
The subject line says: "Notificantion to you about tax refund 2010."
E-mail scams often contain clues, Oklahoma-based IRS spokesman David Stell said.
"Always a tip-off to those fake e-mails: the perfect spelling and grammar," Stell said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.
One version of the e-mail continues: "Please note now you can get your tax refund, after the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $314.79. Please take few minutes to fill your form attached to this message."
The IRS impersonation e-mail is a half-step up in sophistication from the common e-mails purportedly from an old Nigerian dictator who has chosen to bequeath the reader with his millions, said Peter Terranova, a certified public accountant based in Oklahoma City.
Some of Terranova's clients have received the fake IRS refund e-mail. One client clicked on it and landed on a page that looks just like an IRS page, he said.
"It was utterly convincing," he said. "These guys are that good."
Scammers may try to convince people to send them money. Many scammers try to trick victims into revealing personal and financial information. They're after credit card numbers and passwords, bank account numbers and passwords, Social Security numbers and more. They sometimes use e-mail or a Web site to introduce a virus to gain the information.
Once they get the information, identity thieves try to steal the person's financial accounts, run up credit card charges, apply for new loans, file fraudulent tax returns and similar efforts, according to the IRS.
Oklahomans lodged 2,696 complaints of identity theft in 2008, according to Identity Theft Consumer Complaint Data by the Federal Trade Commission. Those were among the nation's nearly 314,000 complaints, ranging from credit card fraud to government documents fraud to bank fraud, lodged that year, the latest year for which figures are available.
The timing is perfect for opportunistic thieves wielding computer keyboards, said Jane Haskin, CPA and president and chief executive officer of First Bethany Bank and Trust.
Especially in a difficult economy, people having financial problems may be lured by an e-mail indicating they simply need to fill out a form to receive several hundred dollars, she said.
Though FBI Special Agent Gary Johnson hasn't received the fake IRS refund e-mail, he has received numerous "notices" stating the FBI is aware of purported transactions he made with somebody in Nigeria and these are legitimate transactions. He said he's also gotten notices of winning some international lotteries, which he's never entered.
"There's an inherent human nature for people to want something for nothing. That's what individuals involved in these types of schemes are preying upon," Johnson said.
When people fall for these e-mail scams, the money generally ends up overseas, often in countries that are not law enforcement friendly countries, he said.
The best policy is for would-be victims to hit the delete button when a suspicious e-mail pops up, Johnson said.
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By: NewsOK - 03/09/2010 |
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Extortion Scam Alert:
Oklahomans need to be aware of a telephone scam currently targeting cell phone users in which a caller from an unidentified number demands that you mu...
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By: Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc. - Oklahoma City Law Office - 11/09/2009 |
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More Consumer News |
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 Disability
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NSCLC Announces Settlement
Important Information for Advocates Working with Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Recipients.A settlement agreement which will end the...
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By: NSCLC - 10/06/2009 |
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 Family
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Oklahoma Supreme Court Strikes Down Court Fees
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ? The Oklahoma Supreme Court Tuesday struck down three civil court filing fees state residents pay when they file lawsuits, ruling the fees are unconstitutional because they support non-court related activities.
In a 6-2 decision, the state's highest court ruled the fees helped pay for social welfare programs operated by the government's executive branch and that it was improper for the Legislature to require court clerks to collect them.
"The courts may not be a tax collector for the executive branch of government," the 21-page decision states.
The ruling is a victory for Oklahoma City attorney Jerry Fent, who challenged the fees' legality in a lawsuit alleging they amounted to an illegal tax on litigants and violated the open access to the courts and due process provisions of the state Constitution.
"I'm very satisfied, happy with the opinion," Fent said.
Aside from striking down the three fees, the ruling jeopardizes other civil court filing fees he did not challenge that also fund non-court related activities, Fent said.
The high court said the ruling will go into effect and the fees will no longer be collected once the time for seeking a rehearing has passed.
Fent challenged a $20 fee collected in adoption cases that supported voluntary adoption registries and a $10 fee that was deposited with a child abuse multidisciplinary account. A third $3 fee supported the Attorney General's Office's Victim Services Unit.
Fent said he had no problem with the programs the fees helped support but that the Legislature must find another way to pay for them.
"If those DHS subjects were that valid, then they need to fund it constitutionally," Fent said. "It appears the Legislature is going to have to fund these out of the general fund. And that could be a problem."
Last month, state officials certified a revenue estimate for next year that is $1.3 billion less than the current state budget and declared a revenue shortfall of more than $729 million due to the sluggish economy and low energy prices.
In a statement, Attorney General Drew Edmondson said funds generated by the court fee that goes to his office's Victim Services Unit are used statewide to provide services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
"These funds undoubtedly help overworked and understaffed shelters save lives," Edmondson said.
Edmondson said the shelters will be able to keep the money they already have collected.
"However, this will be small consolation when these already struggling organizations lose roughly $1 million in annual funding," he said. "This is on top of the state-imposed budget cuts that have already impacted their ability to serve Oklahomans in need."
In a three-page dissent, Justices Jim Winchester of Chickasha and John Reif of Skiatook said they would not have allowed the Supreme Court to assume original jurisdiction in the case.
Instead, they said the case should have been first litigated in district court where the affected agencies could present evidence on whether the fees are court-related, the justices said.
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By: The Express-Star - 01/21/2010 |
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 Health
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Judge Allows Healthcare Lawsuit to Move Forward
A federal judge in Virginia has declined to dismiss a challenge to President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, writing that each side should have an opportunity to make its case fully.
U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson of the Eastern District of Virginia issued the 32-page ruling today. His opinion denies a motion by U.S. Justice Department lawyers to toss the lawsuit, which was brought in March by Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli II (R).
"While this case raises a host of complex constitutional issues, all seem to distill to the single question of whether or not Congress has the power to regulate ? and tax ? a citizen's decision not to participate in interstate commerce. Neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor any circuit court of appeals has squarely addressed this issue," Hudson wrote. He added that each side has "some authority" behind its position.
Cuccinelli's case is one of two federal legal challenges to the healthcare overhaul and its requirement that individuals buy insurance or face a penalty. The other, brought by a group of other state attorneys general, is pending in the Northern District of Florida.
The Virginia case has attracted a substantial amount of amicus attention. Angela France of the Alexandria office of PCT Law Group is representing a coalition of supporters of the law, including the National Women's Law Center and the Center for American Progress. Mayer Brown partner Andrew Nicely authored a brief on behalf of a group of law professors supporting the law. Colby May, senior counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice, is representing Republican congressmen opposed to the law.
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By: Legal Times - 08/03/2010 |
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 Life Planning
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Native American Wills Clinic Begins Operation
The Jodi Marquette American Indian Wills Clinic at OCU LAW will begin accepting clients for estate planning services later this month. Through this new clinic, OCU LAW students working under the supervision of a licensed attorney will provide wills drafting services to American Indians who own an interest in Indian land in Oklahoma. These services will be provided free of charge, thanks to a generous anonymous donation of $250,000 to further the work of the Native American Legal Resource Center's Wills Services Project, which received its initial funding from the Oklahoma Bar Foundation.
"The Wills Clinic will not only provide a needed service to tribal communities in Oklahoma, it also will provide OCU LAW students the opportunity to learn this complex area of the law while gaining experience in the practical skills of lawyering," said Casey Ross-Petherick, deputy director of OCU LAW's Native American Legal Resource Center.
The American Indian Wills Clinic first began in January 2009 as part of the NALRC's Native American Externship Program - with $20,000 in seed funds provided by the Oklahoma Bar Foundation. The program offers practical experience for students at OCU LAW who, under supervision of a licensed attorney, provide needed legal services while receiving instruction and training in client relations, as well as the complex area of American Indian estate planning.
For more information on the clinic, or to apply for the services, contact the Native American Legal Resource Center at OCU LAW at (405) 208-5017. For information on Indian land in Oklahoma, contact the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians Beneficiary Call Center at (888) 678-6836.
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By: OCU LAW - 01/12/2010 |
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 Public Benefits
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Summer Cooling Assistance Available Soon for Low-Income Households
July 6, 2009 For Media Inquiries, Contact:
QUESTIONS OR TO APPLY:CONTACT THE OKDHS COUNTYOFFICE IN YOUR AREASummer Cooling Assistance Availa...
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By: Oklahoma Department of Human Services - 07/07/2010 |
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 Seniors
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Creditors Unlawfully Prey on Seniors' Social Security Benefits
by Paula Burkes, The OklahomanSee Video featuring Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma's Richard Goralewicz: http://oklaw.org/link.cfm?3137Although...
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By: The Oklahoman - 08/16/2010 |
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Native American Wills Clinic Begins Operation
The Jodi Marquette American Indian Wills Clinic at OCU LAW will begin accepting clients for estate planning services later this month. Through this new clinic, OCU LAW students working under the supervision of a licensed attorney will provide wills drafting services to American Indians who own an interest in Indian land in Oklahoma. These services will be provided free of charge, thanks to a generous anonymous donation of $250,000 to further the work of the Native American Legal Resource Center's Wills Services Project, which received its initial funding from the Oklahoma Bar Foundation.
"The Wills Clinic will not only provide a needed service to tribal communities in Oklahoma, it also will provide OCU LAW students the opportunity to learn this complex area of the law while gaining experience in the practical skills of lawyering," said Casey Ross-Petherick, deputy director of OCU LAW's Native American Legal Resource Center.
The American Indian Wills Clinic first began in January 2009 as part of the NALRC's Native American Externship Program - with $20,000 in seed funds provided by the Oklahoma Bar Foundation. The program offers practical experience for students at OCU LAW who, under supervision of a licensed attorney, provide needed legal services while receiving instruction and training in client relations, as well as the complex area of American Indian estate planning.
For more information on the clinic, or to apply for the services, contact the Native American Legal Resource Center at OCU LAW at (405) 208-5017. For information on Indian land in Oklahoma, contact the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians Beneficiary Call Center at (888) 678-6836.
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By: OCU LAW - 01/12/2010 |
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Elder Abuse Warning Signs and Where to Go for Help in Oklahoma
According to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Caregiver's Resource List, one out of every 3 persons will find themselves caring for an elderl...
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By: Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc.. - 01/11/2010 |
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NSCLC Announces Settlement
Important Information for Advocates Working with Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Recipients.A settlement agreement which will end the...
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By: NSCLC - 10/06/2009 |
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More Seniors News |
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 Veterans & Military
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Review of Denial of Vets' Benefits for PTSD
Do you know that if you are a veteran and were diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) you may be entitled to benefits that you were deni...
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By: Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - 06/30/2010 |
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GI Benefits for Widows
The Department of Defense is committed to caring for the loved ones of servicemembers who lost their lives while performing their military duties. A casualty assistance officer is assigned to provide guidance and support to ensure that survivors receive monetary, quality-of-life and community support benefits they will need to sustain them.Department of Defense - Monetary BenefitsMonetary support is an integral part of the support that a surviving spouse will need. Within 72 hours of notification, the Department of Defense releases a lump sum death gratuity payment. As of October 2009, the death gratuity amount is $100,000.
A surviving spouse may be entitled to Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity payments. The payments are 55 percent of what a servicemember would have received if he had been designated as a 100-percent disabled retiree. The casualty assistance officer will work with the spouse to claim SBP annuity payments and any outstanding pay and allowances that the servicemember was entitled to received.Department of Veterans Affairs - Monetary BenefitsDependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payments are paid to the surviving spouse of service members who died during a qualified service-related event. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) determines eligibility and administers the payments. The amount is adjusted each year to keep pace with the cost of living. The 2009 DIC payment to spouses is $1,154 per month. Additional amounts are paid for the care and support of dependent children.
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) is a policy with a $400,000 maximum. If the service member elected coverage, the casualty assistance officer will assist the spouse with completing the necessary claim forms. The spouse may also be eligible for a Traumatic Injury Protection Under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) disbursement. The deceased servicemember's unused educational assistance contributions will also be refunded.Quality of Life BenefitsDeath brings an abrupt end to the educational, career and financial dreams that a military couple may have envisioned. The VA attempts to minimize the impact by transferring benefits to the surviving spouse. This includes eligibility for a VA home loan, educational benefits and health benefits.
If the deceased had purchased Family Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (FSGLI) coverage for his spouse, the policy can be converted to the spouse and continued as a commercial policy. SGLI, FSGLI and TSGLI beneficiaries are eligible to receive free financial counseling for up to two years.Community SupportAs of May 14, 2009, dependents are allowed to continue their elementary and secondary education with the Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools system. Other community support continuations include exchange and commissary privileges and government housing.
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By: eHow.com - 03/18/2010 |
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 Work
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Commission offers employment resources for women
Tulsa Business Staff2/23/2010 The City of Tulsa Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women is partnering with The Tulsa Women's Foundation to present an Employment Resource Fair for women from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. March 9 at OSU-Tulsa, 700 N. Greenwood Ave. The free, public event is part of the Commission's new initiative, "LEAD: Lifting, Encouraging and Directing ? Women in Transition."
The purpose of the Employment Resource Fair is to offer information to women who have been impacted by poor economic conditions, suffered loss of employment or are experiencing forced re-entry into the work force due to loss of employment by a provider, as well as women who desire to start a business or feel the need to improve their skills to maintain current employment in light of layoffs.
Numerous area organizations and agencies will be on hand providing information to address these needs. Topics include career counseling, education, job searching, networking, business startups, health and child care.
Two hourlong sessions will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Room 150. OSU Career Counseling and local nonprofit Dress for Success will present from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., Jean Kelley, author and owner of Jean Kelley Leadership Consulting, will present. Kelley is former owner of Jean Kelley Personnel with 35 years of experience in the areas of job placement and leadership training. Workshops will address self improvement in the areas of resume building, interviewing, business etiquette and image.
There is no cost associated with these sessions, but registration is requested. To register, contact Darlene Hall at 918-596-2461 or e-mail dhall@cityoftulsa.org.
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By: Tulsa Business Journal - 02/23/2010 |
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Oklahoma Bill Would Help Part-Time Workers
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ? A state senator has filed legislation that would allow part-time employees to receive unemployment insurance payments.
Sen. Jim Wilson of Tahlequah said Monday his bill would authorize the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission to create a voluntary Shared Work Unemployment Compensation Program.
Wilson says the bill would allow employers to cut back hours without laying people off. Those whose hours have been reduced would be able to supplement their income with unemployment payments.
He says fewer people would lose their jobs under the plan and wages would be kept up at a level higher than a part-time salary.
Employers would have to submit written shared work plans to the commission to participate. They would also have to agree to furnish reports on the plan's operation.
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By: NewsOK - 01/13/2010 |
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Oklahoma jobless compensation extended by new law
About 7,000 Oklahomans whose jobless benefits have ended are expected to be eligible for extended unemployment compensation under federal legislation that went into effect Sunday.
The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 changes the maximum number of weeks that a person can collect Emergency Unemployment Compensation Tier 2 benefits from 13 weeks to 14 weeks, and creates Tier 3 benefits for those who use up Tier 2 claims.
"This is really good news for a lot of people," said Oklahoma Employment Security Commission spokesman John Carpenter.
The commission will mail all current and former Tier 2 claimants a determination informing them of eligibility and instructions for filing. Someone who has been paid the final week of Tier 2 benefits will then be able to apply for Tier 3, Carpenter said.
All Tier 3 claims will be backdated so that those eligible will receive benefits for all weeks in which they were entitled, said Jerry Pectol, the commission's director of unemployment insurance. Filing instructions will be mailed to addresses on record, so it's critical for those filing to make sure the agency has a current address, he said.
"This extension will help quite a few Oklahomans," Pectol said.
"We ask that our claimants be patient as we implement these changes. We want to assure them that everyone will receive all of the benefits for which they are eligible."
The state has been paying out record amounts of benefits this year, Carpenter said, and while the number of new applicants has dropped a bit in the past couple of months, there has been a rise in those receiving extended benefits.
"That number just keeps going up and up," indicating that more and more people are going through the system "and are not able to find a job," he said. "It's brutal out there."
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By: The Daily Oklahoman - 11/16/2009 |
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