WHY DO I HAVE TO PROVIDE A NOTARIZED POWER OF ATTORNEY AND FINANCIAL/ HARDSHIP INFORMATION?
The Limited Power of Attorney Amerilit has asked you to sign in front of a notary and return to our intake department is necessary for Amerilit’s staff to assist the attorney who will represent you. Without a notarized Power of Attorney, Amerilit cannot effectively represent you in this case and assist with the filing of answers to the lawsuit, negotiations, settlement documentation and other administrative tasks required in litigation. Lawsuits can proceed very quickly, and it is urgent that the Plaintiff is contacted early in the litigation process.
Likewise, your hardship/ financial questionnaire is critical to ensure you receive the best result in your lawsuit. Without this information, often the law firms representing the creditor will not consider any type of settlement. Your financial and hardship information is necessary to negotiate the best settlement and payment terms. Creditors request information about the amount of your monthly income as well as your monthly living expenses. It is very important you provide as much detail about your hardship as you can and provide specific dates about your hardships. Examples of hardships include but are not limited to your or your spouse’s loss of job, decrease in income, unemployment, medical conditions that have impacted the ability to work, disability, unexpected large expenses, out-of-pocket medical expenses, caring for a family member or death of a family member or divorce. The actual financial hardship statement document you provide to Amerilit will not be provided to the Plaintiff. In the process of negotiations, Amerilit will only provide the Plaintiff’s law firm with a Amerilit with a general summary of the information.
A frequent question Amerilit receives is “[W]hy do I have to provide my spouse’s, family member or partner’s income when the credit card was only in my name?” It is correct that your spouse is not generally liable for your debts, if your spouse, partner, adult family member or other household member contributes to payment of any of the monthly expenses, their income is required for Amerilit to evaluate your total income and expenses. If your spouse, partner, adult family member are not employed or are disabled and you are the main or sole provider, please indicate this. While your income is not listed on credit reports, credit card companies have methods to estimate your total monthly income of both you and your spouse, partner using a variety of factors such as the income stated on your credit card application and the amount of your mortgage and car loan payments. When Amerilit is working on resolving your lawsuit, the Plaintiff will typically be aware of your marital status and already have an estimate of your total household income.[i]
[i] Document created by Mary S. Bruehl on 5-11-23; revised 6-14-24. Copyright © 2023 American Litigation Law Group, PLLC (“Amerilit”) All Rights Reserved; Use of the information contained in this letter may not be used or disseminated without permission of Amerilit.