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Illinois Law Protects Commercial Loan Lenders
When creating a loan agreement in Illinois, there is a big difference between personal loans and commercial loans. Individuals or spouses take out personal loans in order to pay for family or household expenses – the most common example being home mortgages. Commercial loans are credit agreements made with business owners for the purpose of starting or expanding a business. In Illinois, commercial loans are more favorable to lenders than personal loans because of the Illinois Credit Agreements Act. Thus, making sure to classify a loan as a credit agreement could save you from a lengthy legal battle.
Commercial Loan Rules
The Illinois Credit Agreements Act states that a credit agreement or any revisions to an agreement is valid only if the agreement is in writing and signed by both parties. The law defines credit agreements as not including credit cards or loans for personal, household, or family purposes. The lender and the commercial debtor cannot create an agreement by:
When You Can Foreclose on a Reverse Mortgage
Older homeowners can use a reverse mortgage as a source of income or credit. While borrowers qualify for regular mortgages based on their income, a reverse mortgage is based on the borrower’s equity in their home. People age 62 and older are eligible to take out a reverse mortgage on their principal residence as long as they own it outright or have enough equity in it. The mortgage balance is not due until a qualifying event occurs. If the borrower or their heirs do not repay the mortgage, the lender may foreclose on the property.
When Can a Reverse Mortgage Become Due?
According to Illinois’ Reverse Mortgage Act, there are five ways that the balance on a reverse mortgage can become due:
Differences Between Debt Consolidation and Debt Restructuring
When a client is unable to pay a debt, it sometimes makes sense to offer to modify the loan. Though you may lose some money after the modification, it would be less of a loss than if the client filed for bankruptcy and discharged the debt. The modification may also allow you to maintain your relationship with the client. Two forms of modification are debt consolidation and debt restructuring. Though they have some similarities, they are each best suited for certain debtor situations.
Debt Consolidation
With debt consolidation, the debtor enters a new loan agreement that pays for multiple, smaller loans over a longer period of time. Debt consolidation can be attractive to the debtor because:
Illinois Reducing Interest Rate, Revival Deadline on Consumer Debt Judgments
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign a bill that will change the rules for collecting consumer debt after a debt judgment. The bill, which has passed both the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives, would reduce the interest rate charged to outstanding consumer debts. More significantly, the bill would cut by 10 years the amount of time that a creditor has to revive a judgment that has become dormant. Sponsors of the law tout it as a way to protect low-income Illinois consumers from cumbersome debts. Creditors of Illinois debtors may need to work faster to collect on court-ordered debt judgments.
Qualifications
There are two important caveats of the law as it applies to debtors. The changes affect debt judgments only if:
Supreme Court Sets Civil Contempt Standard for Creditors in Bankruptcy Cases
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling established that creditors can be held in civil contempt for violating a bankruptcy discharge order unless there is “fair ground of doubt” as to the violation. A chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge will clear a debtor from having to repay most of their debts incurred before filing for bankruptcy. A discharge does not apply to certain debts, such as student loans or debts incurred due to fraud. Otherwise, a creditor is not allowed to ask a debtor to repay debts from before the discharge order and could be punished for knowingly violating the order. While not a landmark Supreme Court decision, lower courts will likely cite the ruling during disputes between debtors and creditors after a bankruptcy discharge.
What Voluntary Repossession Means for Auto Lenders
Repossession is often the last resort for auto lenders when dealing with debtors who are behind on their loan payments. You are more likely to retrieve full value on the loan if the debtor continues to make payments than if you repossess the vehicle and resell it. There is also the hassle of notifying the debtor of your intention to repossess and hiring someone to tow the vehicle for you. However, the process can be simpler if the debtor voluntarily turns the vehicle over for repossession. In most cases, the debtor will be the one to suggest voluntary repossession.
How It Works
The result of voluntary repossession is the same as involuntary repossession. You will regain possession of the vehicle and sell it to recuperate the money owed on the loan. The debtor will be liable for any deficiency between what you receive in the sale and what remains from the loan. The difference is that the debtor agrees to surrender the vehicle and will deliver it to you at a time and place of your choosing. The debtor’s compliance means that you will not be fighting over whether you have the right to repossess the vehicle or using a towing service to retrieve the vehicle.
Can You Retrieve Debt From a Retirement Plan?
When you receive a court judgment against a debtor, you are looking for any of the debtor’s available money or assets that you can claim. Retirement accounts can be one of the most lucrative assets that a debtor owns if he or she has had time to contribute to it. However, many retirement accounts are protected from creditors, whether after a successful lawsuit or after the debtor has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Creditors need to understand what type of retirement account the debtor has to know whether they can try to collect from it.
Federal Laws
Both federal and state laws address which types of retirement accounts are exempt from creditors. Federal law protects debtor retirement plans if they are:
Illinois Court Rejects Interest Added to Charged-Off Debt
A creditor will usually charge off a delinquent debt if the debtor has gone six months without paying. By charging off the debt, the creditor is classifying it as a bad debt and will typically:
- Write off the debt as an asset on its books;
- Stop sending notices to the debtor; and
- Stop charging interest on the debt.
Efforts to collect the debt will often continue after it is charged off by either hiring a collection agency or selling it to a debt buyer. Many debt collectors would like to charge interest on a charged-off debt, but courts in Illinois have recently ruled against collectors who do so. If you have purchased a charged-off debt, you risk violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act if you charge interest on the debt without authorization.
Four Ways to Prevent Excuses for Missed Payments
As a finance company, you are familiar with the common excuses that clients give when they miss a payment. They may admit to their mistake and say that they forgot or did not have the money to make the payment that month. Other clients may blame your billing process or circumstances that were beyond their control. Rather than tolerate the excuses, you can create a billing and payment process that prevents them. This way, clients can blame only themselves when they miss a payment. Here are four fixes to common excuses for missed payments:
- Multiple Ways to View the Bill: Clients may claim that they could not find the bill, whether it was losing a mail copy or accidentally deleting an email. This is a flimsy excuse because the client could have asked you for another copy of the bill. There is even less of an excuse if you allow clients to pay bills through an online account. Encourage clients to register on your site, where they can always view their bills and make easy payments.
Collecting Workers' Compensation Claims After Bankruptcy
When can a creditor claim a workers’ compensation award from a debtor who has filed for bankruptcy in Illinois? That question is at the heart of a recent case that is heading to the Illinois Supreme Court. In the case of In re Elena Hernandez, the debtor filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Among her debts were more than $100,000 that she owed to healthcare providers for treating a work-related injury. She claimed a bankruptcy exemption for her $31,000 workers’ compensation settlement. The healthcare creditors contested the exemption, stating that it unreasonably undermines their ability to collect on the debt. Both the bankruptcy court and a circuit court agreed with the creditors, but the appellate court saw enough evidence on both sides of the argument to ask Illinois’ highest court to make a definitive ruling.
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