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Chair: Donna Bernstein
Senior Attorney Advocate: Louise Carwell
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Obamacare Exchanges Are Doing OK Despite Withdrawls of Some Insurance Companies
The high profile withdrawals of a few national insurers from Obamacare exchanges have some experts wondering whether the exchanges are entering a death spiral. The companies’ reports of large losses have led to speculation that the exchanges are unsustainable... Despite the losses suffered by some insurance companies, many others are turning a profit according to a recent report by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
Trustees Report on the Social Security Trust Funds
On June 5, 2018 the Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. Social Security is NOT going bankrupt.
The OASI Trust Fund (retirement and survivors’ benefits) is projected to become depleted in late 2034, as compared to last year’s estimate of early 2035, with 77 percent of benefits payable at that time. The DI Trust Fund (disability benefits) will become depleted in 2032, extended from last year’s estimate of 2028, with 96 percent of benefits still payable.
With no action from Congress, Social Security can continue to provide 100% of the retirement benefits people are owed until 2034. After that, even if absolutely no changes were made, beneficiaries would still receive 77% of their benefits. People receiving disability benefits will get their full benefit check until 2032 and, if Congress makes no changes, they will receive 96% of their benefits thereafter.
You can read the entire report by clicking here.
MVLS Tax Controversy Training for Attorneys, Law Students, CPAs and EAs
TAX CONTROVERSY TRAINING FOR ATTORNEYS, LAW STUDENTS, CPAs and EAs
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
9am - 1pm
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service Office
201 N. Charles Street, #1400
Baltimore, MD 21201
Note: This training is also available for remote viewing by webinar
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service invites interested attorneys, law students, CPAs and EAs to attend a free training session on handling IRS and Maryland tax controversy cases for low-income taxpayers on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 from 9am to 1pm, at MVLS' office at 201 N. Charles Street, #1400. This class will also be available for viewing by webinar at the same time.
The course will be taught by experienced tax attorneys, Gerald Kelly and Cheri Wendt-Taczak; IRS Local Taxpayer Advocate, James Leith; and Assistant Director, Compliance Division, Comptroller of Maryland, Jay Maschas. While the training will cover handling tax cases generally, the focus of this session will be on the mechancics of advocating for the taxpayer who is battling with tax collection issues.
There is no fee to attend but each participant will be asked to accept one tax controversy case over the next six months. Please register at jshih@mvlslaw.org or contact Janice Shih at 443-451-4061 or jshih@mvlslaw.org for more information.
Continental breakfast will be served.
Nuts & Bolts of Collections: IRS and MD
Nuts & Bolts of Collections: IRS and MD
February 21 5:30pm-7:30pm
Hosted by the Annapolis Office of Frost & Associates
888 Bestgate Road, Suite 400
Annapolis, MD 21401
Foreclosure Mediation Brief Advice Clinic-Anne Arundel
Your client brings in a letter from the IRS or the Maryland Comptroller threatening collection. What do you do?
Join Rebecca Sheppard, Esq. of Frost and Associates and Cheri Wendt-Taczak, Esq. of the Annapolis-based Law Office of Cheri Wendt-Taczak, LLC, as they discuss the different approaches to collection problems and how to choose the best one for your client.
there is no fee for this training but all participants will b asked to take a Tax Collections case within the next six months. Please contact Janice Shih at 443-451-4061 or jshih@mvlslaw.org for more information.
A light dinner will be served.
MVLS TAX CONTROVERSY TRAINING FOR ATTORNEYS, LAW STUDENTS, CPAs and EAs
World Elder Abuse Awreness Day - Randallstown Community Center
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MVLS Celebrate Pro Bono Volunteer Recognition Event
Join Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) on Wednesday October 4th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore. We will Celebrate Pro Bono by honoring volunteer lawyers, donors and friends at our annual recognition reception.
Guests will enjoy a cocktail hour, seated dinner and awards ceremony honoring those who have made noteworthy contributions to the delivery of pro bono legal services over the past year. The reception also kicks off Maryland’s participation in the American Bar Association’s National Celebrate Pro Bono Week (October 22-28).
There is a suggested $35 donation to attend Celebrate Pro Bono. and RSVP is required. Registration will open in June. please check back soon for further details!
Event Sponsorship
We invite sponsors to partner with us to recognize our amazing volunteers by underwriting the cost of this great event. Sponsorship’s start at $500 and sponsors are publicly acknowledged for their generosity. Click here for a full list of sponsorship levels and benefits.
Tax Controversy Training for Attorneys
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service invites interested attorneys to attend a free training session on handling IRS and Maryland tax controversy cases for low-income taxpayers on Wednesday, June 21, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at MVLS’ office at 201 N. Charles St., Suite 1400, Baltimore, MD 21201. This case will also available for viewing by webinar.
The course will be taught by experienced tax attorneys, Gerald Kelly and Cheri Wendt-Taczak; IRS Local Taxpayer Advocate, James Leith; and Assistant Director, Compliance Division, Comptroller of Maryland, Jay Maschas. While the training will cover handling tax cases generally, the focus of this session will be on the mechanics of advocating for the taxpayer who is battling with tax collection issues.
There is no fee to attend but each participant will be asked to accept one tax controversy case over the next six months. Please contact Janice Shih at 443-451-4061 or jshih@mvlslaw.org for more information.
Continental breakfast will be served.
Affordable Care Act Still in Place Despite House Actions
From the Center on Budge tand Policy Priorities:
"It is important to emphasize that, at this time, the ACA is still law and its provisions are still in place. People’s coverage hasn’t changed, and open enrollment is on schedule for November."
On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care
Act (AHCA). The bill now moves to the Senate, where the bill will likely
change and then to a conference committee or a vote on the Senate bill in
the House.
This process will take time, and we have no way of knowing now what
provisions, if any, will be enacted and signed into law. We do know that
many people who gained coverage due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are
confused and worried about what is going to happen to their coverage. It
is important to emphasize that, at this time, the ACA is still law and
its provisions are still in place. People’s coverage hasn’t changed, and
open enrollment is on schedule for November.
As passed by the House, the AHCA would dramatically
reverse the gains in coverage that we’ve made since the
passage of the ACA. For an in-depth look at the key provisions in the
AHCA, please see a summary of
the AHCA from our friends at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
We will continue to follow the progress of this bill, and will keep you
informed of any updates as it proceeds through the Senate. The
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities website at www.cbpp.org
includes numerous papers and resources on the AHCA and is updated on an
almost daily basis with new material.
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Maryland Tax Controversy Training & Discussion for Attorneys, Enrolled Agents and CPAs
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service invites interested attorneys, enrolled agents, and CPAs to attend a free training and discussion session on handling Maryland tax controversy cases for low-income taxpayers.
The training will be taught by Assistant Director, Compliance Division, Comptroller of Maryland, Jay Maschas and experienced tax attorney, Cheri Wendt-Taczak, so these issues will be approached from both sides. The focus of this session will be on the mechanics of advocating for the taxpayer who is battling with tax collection issues.
There is no fee to attend but each participant is asked to register. Please contact Janice Shih at 443-451-4061 or jshih@mvlslaw.org to register. This training will be held on Wednesday, February 22, 2017 from 9am - 11am at the MVLS Conference Room, 201 N. Charles Street, #1400, Baltimore, MD 21201.
A continental breakfast will be served.
MVLS' Tax Controversy Training for Attorneys
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) is offering an exciting training for attorneys of all backgrounds to attend and make a difference for low-income Marylanders in need of tax help. Tax controversy is an area of law that any attorney can support with and typically requires limited time, but has a big impact for our clients in need. Much of it is rules-based and involves gathering the right information to complete a form, and can be easily done in short bursts of time.
MVLS invites all interested attorneys to attend a FREE training session on handling IRS and Maryland tax controversy cases for low-income taxpayers. This course is meant for all attorneys who are new to tax controversy or need a refresher. The training will cover handling tax controversy cases generally, the focus of this session will be on the mechanics of advocating for the taxpayer who is struggling with tax collection issues. Participants will be asked to take one (1) MVLS tax controversy case over the next six months. Continental Breakfast will be served.
To register please contact MVLS LITC Attorney Janice Shih, jshih@mvlslaw.org or 443-451-4061
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service's Celebrate Pro Bono/35th Anniversary Celebration
Join Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service on October 5, 2016 to Celebrate Pro Bono as we honor volunteers, law firms and supporters who have made noteworthy contributions to the delivery of pro bono legal services over the past year. This annual recognition and awards reception, kicks off MVLS’ participation in the American Bar Association’s national Celebrate Pro Bono Week (October 23-29). MVLS will also celebrate our 35th anniversary of providing quality pro bono legal services to Marylanders.
Celebrate Pro Bono is free but this will be a seated event
with a served dinner and registration is REQUIRED to attend. Please visit www.mvlslaw.org/cpb2016
to register online or contact Kim Lennon at 443-451-4065 or klennon@mvlslaw.org to reserve your seat
today.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau turns five years old
Here's what it has been doing: http://connpirg.org/blogs/blog/wip/consumers-count-five-years-cfpb-standing-consumers
How Debt Settlement Companies Work
and things they don't tell consumers. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-debt-settlement-companies-wont-tell-you-2016-07-19
Minimum Wage Rises in Maryland
The statewide minimum wage in Maryland rose to $8.75 per hour on July 1, 2016. The minimum wage in Montgomery County rose to $10.75/hour. The minimum wage in Prince George's County will also rise to $10.75/hour on October 1, 2016.
However the minimum wage under Maryland law does not apply to some workers. See https://www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/wages/wagehrfacts.shtml for a lsit of the exceptions. Please note that the federal minimum wage, set by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) may apply to some of those exempted by the Maryland statute. FLSA sets the national minimum wage at $7.25 per hour.
Discharge of Student Loans Made Easier for Certain Social Security Disability Recipients
By law, anyone with a severe disability is eligible to have the government discharge their federal student loans. The Department of Education is now taking it upon itself to identify eligible borrowers and guide them through the steps to discharge their loans. The department has been identifying borrowers receiving disability payments and have the specific designation of “Medical Improvement Not Expected,” which indicates they are eligible for the discharge.
Borrowers identified in the match will receive a letter from the government explaining the steps needed to receive a discharge. They will not be required to submit documentation of their eligibility, unlike disabled borrowers who apply for the discharge on their own.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/04/12/obama-to-f...
http://www.justiceinaging.org/forgive-student-loan-debt-for-people-with-...
Plan for ALL Direct Student Loan Borrowers Goes Online Next Month
REPAYE: New 10% Plan for ALL Direct Student Loan Borrowers Goes
Online Next Month
The U.S. Department of Education has issued
final regulations creating a new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. Called
Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), it improves on existing plans in key ways.
When REPAYE becomes available in mid-December, all
borrowers with federal Direct student loans will be able to cap their monthly
payments at 10% of their discretionary income, regardless of when they borrowed
or their debt-to-income ratio. REPAYE also limits interest
accrual for borrowers with low income relative to their debt, treats married
borrowers more equitably, and better targets benefits so that higher income
borrowers pay the same share of their income as lower income borrowers.
Borrowers with only undergraduate debt will become eligible for forgiveness after 20 years of payments, but REPAYE requires those with any graduate school debt to pay for 25 years on all their loans. Many of you joined TICAS and more than 2,400 concerned individuals and organizations
in urging that payments be limited to 20 years for all borrowers. There’s bipartisan interest in streamlining multiple IDR plans, and this time-limit is something Congress can and should fix when it creates one improved plan.
View our simple summary chart of the 5 income-driven
repayment plans, including REPAYE
Read our press release on REPAYE
Our 10th Annual Report on Debt at Gradation Released at “A
Decade of Student Debt”
Check out Student Debt and the
Class of 2014, our tenth report on debt at graduation, issued
as we celebrate TICAS’ tenth year! The report has new national, state-by-state,
and college-level findings about recent bachelors’ degree recipients and a
first-time look at 10-year trends. Released on October 27, it’s already been
featured in news stories around the country, including in more than 25
states. National toplines:
- At public and nonprofit colleges in 2014, seven in 10 graduating seniors had loans, and their average debt was $28,950.
- From 2004 to 2014, average debt for new graduates grew more than twice as fast as inflation.
The release event in Washington, D.C. , called “A Decade of Student Debt,” also featured a dynamic panel discussion about what’s changed over the past 10 years and the implications for policy, moderated by Inside Higher Ed’s Doug Lederman. We’re grateful to our expert panelists: Rohit Chopra (Center for American Progress), Tamara Draut (Dēmos), Max Espinoza (Scholarship America), and Kevin James (American Enterprise Institute).
Read Student Debt and the Class of 2014
View the interactive
state map
Read the press
release
Caregiver Conference
The Howard County Office on Aging is hosting a conference for people caring for aging loved ones on Saturday, November 14th from 8am-3pm at the North Laurel Community Center in Laurel, MD. Details and registration are here: www.howardcountyaging/org/caregiver and in the attached flier.
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Survey About Mediation in Circuit Court Non-Family Cases
*CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY: http://circuitcourtmediation.questionpro.com*
The Salisbury University Bosserman Center for Conflict Resolution is working with the Maryland Judiciary on a survey research project about attorney experience in Circuit Court Mediation Programs for Civil Non-Family Cases. The survey takes on average 7 minutes to complete and any attorney in Maryland that practices in the circuit court is eligible. The purpose is to examine the rate of use and explore issues and concerns that attorneys say enhances or limits the use of mediation.
CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY: http://circuitcourtmediation.questionpro.com
This survey research is being overseen by the Maryland Judiciary’s Mediation and Conflict Resolution. The results will be disseminated by MACRO at the conclusion of the project and will be used to improve the use of mediation, when appropriate, in civil non-family cases.
Questions regarding the research can be directed to Brian Polkinghorn, Ph.D., Executive Director, Bosserman Center for Conflict Resolution at bdpolkinghorn@salisbury.edu.
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