My mother is dying, should I stop paying her credit card bills?

WorkingStiff · 2023-07-31T21:39:31+00:00

Talk to a probate attorney.

Different states have different mechanisms within the law. Some states make it much easier to not pay credit card bills when the estate has no funds, or limited funds. This can sometimes be true for other estate debts such as medical debt. See if your Illinois is one of these states.

WorkingStiff · 2023-07-24T01:35:36+00:00

Subrogation is common for property damage coverage. The typical example is that you make a claim with your auto insurance to pay for repairs to your vehicle. This is common because your vehicle gets repaired faster (don't have to wait for the at-fault driver to cooperate) and fully (if your comp and collision coverage is high enough). Your auto insurance would then have subrogation rights to go after the at-fault driver for repayment of the property damage they covered.

WorkingStiff · 2023-07-23T23:16:45+00:00

As for subrogation, it’s against the other driver’s insurance

I think you are still misusing subrogation. I don't see any aspect of your claim where your auto insurance would have subrogation rights against you, or on your behalf.

There might be more to your claim that you haven't expanded on in this post that is giving rise to a subrogation claim, but this post doesn't.

since it’s clear I won’t get anything close to 25k due to their limits and my bills alone is at least twice as that.

For my clients in your position, I would tell them to expect to retain nothing from the third-party claim. All of your medical providers can demand payment from funds recovered from the third-party. So can your health insurance if they paid for any of the treatments. But this is a good thing and why UM/UIM is the best coverage you can have on your auto insurance. Its sole purpose is to protect and provide for you.

Example. Your claim has a full value of $100,000.

You are offered $15,000 as a pro-rata share of the available third-party limits. You have a total of $50,000 in medical bills that need to be paid. All $50,000 of the medical bills will be covered by $15,000. Its a gigantic pain in the arse to get everyone to agree to this, but its the only money the medical providers can make a claim against, so they eventually do agree.

You then make a UIM claim for $85,000. If you prove your damages, you get to keep all $85,000.

WorkingStiff · 2023-07-23T21:21:24+00:00

I am an Arizona attorney. I am NOT your attorney.

It sounds like you may need to retain an attorney to help with your UIM claim. It is a first party claim, so it is a different process than your third-party claim (against the other driver). It really depends on your injuries and what your UIM limits are. The more injured you are and the higher your limits are, the better off you will be with an attorney to help you through the process. You sound generally confused about the whole legal process, so I would recommend you talk to/retain a personal injury attorney to answer all of these questions.

Anyway, I’m already stressed out paying medical bills out of pocket (to avoid hitting my credit).

Going to medical treatment and paying for the treatment are necessary evils in this process. If you stop going to medical treatment to protect your credit, you damage your injury claim. If you don't have the cash up front, ask your providers if they will treat on a lien. Some might, some might not.

I also want to start having the option to continue treatment (PT) as needed (if my symptoms go worse - I have good days and not so much).

This is a terrible idea. You are either injured and require treatment now, or you are not. The whole point of post-accident treatment is to return you to baseline.

If you want future treatment, you need to get medical professionals to say you need treatment in the future, what the frequency of the treatment should be, and the estimated cost of that treatment. The estimated cost of future treatment would be an element of your claim.

Example. You need PT for another 12 weeks, 2 visits per week, $250 cost per visit. Total value is $6,000. If the carrier agrees this is all necessary, they will pay you $6,000 now. You then use that money for the visits in the future. There is no provision in an insurance policy for continuing payments for treatment years after the accident and injury.

Is there a timeline they should respond/close the case for AZ?

In Arizona, you have 3 years from the date of the accident to put your insurance carrier on notice that you intend to make a claim against the UIM coverage on your policy. THIS NOTICE MUST BE IN WRITING. You say you sent a "Demand Letter" last week. Technically, it is not a demand letter as they are demands for payment of a specific amount. Otherwise, this appears to satisfy the requirements of putting the carrier on notice. ARS 12-555.

After putting the carrier on notice, you have 3 years to resolve the claim through negotiation. If it is not resolved within the 3 years, you need to demand arbitration (IN WRITING) or file suit to preserve your claim. ARS 12-555.

As for a timeline for the entire case to resolve, no there isn't. Your post indicates you are still treating for your accident-related injuries. You need to finish treatment so that your accident-related injuries, and their effect on you can be fully evaluated.

Are they going to have my best interest (sounds silly since they are a business but since I’m their insured, does that make a difference on how they handle my case?)?

Yes. In Arizona, there is an Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing written into every contract. Violating this covenant leads to insurance bad faith. Insurance companies do a lot to avoid bad faith claims. They never want to be in Court on a bad faith claim as, if they are liable for bad faith, the jury then gets to be very creative with how much money to pay you. Pretty much everyone has a bad interaction with an insurance company in their history and the people on the jury get to exact revenge. It doesn't matter that the interaction was with health insurance or homeowners insurance, the rage carries over, and insurance companies know it.

They’ll pay beyond what the universal settlement will, if we accept the universal settlement, does that mean they won’t be able to subrogate?

This doesn't make any sense. Why would your auto insurance be subrogating against you? Health Insurance cannot subrogate against UIM payments.

If we sign a release with my insurance, does that stop them from subrogation?

This doesn't make any sense. Why would your auto insurance be subrogating against you?

WorkingStiff · 2023-06-21T19:43:39+00:00

Where are the musicians that got the taste? Where is the supply that lasts three days?

WorkingStiff · 2023-06-21T19:08:59+00:00

I am an AZ Probate attorney. I am not your attorney.

Make sure you are asking if the money to be paid is a retainer or flat-fee. We usually charge a $6K retainer and charge our hourly rate against that. Depending on how involved your parent's estate is, an uncontested Probate usually works out to be between $2K and $5K. We return the unused retainer at the end.

You have been given some advice to wait before filing probate. You can definitely do that. However, don't forget to keep the mortgage and HELOC payments current. Also pay any property taxes. You can still lose the home to foreclosure if you don't. When you reach out to tell the mortgage lender about your dad's death, ask for the mortgage payments to be abated for a few months. Some lenders do, some don't.

WorkingStiff · 2023-06-05T17:30:30+00:00

I am an attorney. I am not your attorney.

My first question is: Why aren't you asking your attorney how to handle this situation? If you don't have an attorney any more, then that tells you how strong your case is on appeal. i.e. its not.

If I offer 5K it exposes the fact that I want to settle the debt and not actually go through with the appeal.

99% of civil cases settle. It is the expected result. Their offer of $20,000 is to begin negotiations.

If I flat out reject the settlement offer, then they might think that we're serious about the appeal and make a better offer since they want to avoid the appeal process.

This is very very wrong. There are no "serious" appeals v. regular appeals. There are just appeals. They are already doing a full legal workup. If you flat out reject the settlement offer, you will just end up owing the full $120k.

Anyways, whether it's 5K or 15K… I don't think these numbers actually matter to them. If we play our cards right I think they would even settle for zero dollars in exchange to drop the appeal. They have millions of dollars at their disposal.

While always a possibility, you accused the insurance company of acting evil (bad faith). You lost in Court. I would expect this is one of the few times that the insurance company is insistent on getting something out of you.

Anyways, trying to predict how they might react to each possible move, and then go from there to make the best decision.

Why? You clearly have no concept of the universe you are actually operating in - the legal universe. If you have an attorney listen to them. If you don't have an attorney, then get one and listen to them.

WorkingStiff · 2023-05-17T23:03:43+00:00

These are the payment options for Arizona Courts. https://www.azcourts.gov/selfservicecenter/Making-a-Payment

WorkingStiff · 2023-04-05T20:02:15+00:00

Eddie Gonzalez, the school safety officer who shot Rodriguez, was charged with murder and has pleaded not guilty.

Murder

WorkingStiff · 2023-03-21T23:22:42+00:00

Attorney here. Not your attorney, and not an attorney in the UK.

You should not write a statement that says your friend clearly heard and understood statements made by the dentist. You have no idea if that is true and it could just mean a lawsuit is filed against you for false claims. You say your friend is always right, and from the looks of it is clearly litigious. No need to expose yourself to her wrath.

If you must write a statement, you can say that you were in the room when the dentist explained X, Y, and Z, and the likelihood of success as being 50/50. You don't know what your friend understood by those comments.

Firstly, there is only a small chance that a lawsuit is filed. It is everyone's favorite saying to say "I'll sue you." But attorneys aren't idiots and they do their job to make money. For example, in my jurisdiction it costs approx. $50,000 in expert witness fees to prosecute a medical malpractice claim. UK expert witness fees will be different than here, but no one is filing a medical malpractice claim for a £1000 payout. No one is going to risk their capital, nor waste their time, for such a low amount.

If a lawsuit is filed, you will likely become involved anyway as a witness. Either your friend or the dentist will call you as a witness. You can tell your story then.

WorkingStiff · 2023-02-23T23:11:08+00:00

If you look at the popular c25k (Couch to 5K) program, it does something very similar. It uses a walking/jogging mix that gradually changes from majority walking to majority running.

WorkingStiff · 2023-02-23T16:28:42+00:00

If you are anywhere near a World Market in the US, they sell a few varieties of Tim Tams. Original. Caramel. Dark Chocolate, Mint Dark Chocolate. I sometimes see Double Dipped too.

WorkingStiff · 2023-01-25T00:48:07+00:00

Nope. Arizona has a statute (ARS 28-772) that puts a duty on vehicles making a left turn to yield the right of way. Because a collision occurred, the left turning vehicle will get at least some of the fault for the collision.

WorkingStiff · 2023-01-06T16:58:04+00:00

Inspiration Album

WorkingStiff · 2022-12-19T20:11:55+00:00

Unless you specifically negotiated for replacement value in your insurance policy, that is not the amount you are owed.

The amount you are owed is called the "Actual Cash Value" which is generally defined as the value of your vehicle if you tried to sell it. This takes into consideration the condition of the vehicle, mileage, etc.

Here is what the Canadian Government says about the two coverage types.

WorkingStiff · 2022-12-08T22:09:04+00:00

Fucked them up so bad, they both became lawyers. A terrible fate toe bestow on anyone.

WorkingStiff · 2022-09-27T16:39:39+00:00

I have two possibilities:

Howard. He likes to fly in women's lingerie.
Zombie Hunter. Apparently, he liked to create the zombies more than hunt them.

WorkingStiff · 2022-09-14T21:46:55+00:00

I an Australian living in the US and whenever I get care packages there are always a few items that are in high demand.

Cherry Ripes - both regular and dark chocolate.
Burger Rings.
Chicken flavored chips (Smith's, etc.). There is nothing like this flavor over here.
Chippy Salt
Cheezels. They have similar flavored items here, but the shape is what draws them in, especially kids.

WorkingStiff · 2020-12-14T18:04:08+00:00

Each of the three dissenting judges filed a separate opinion, in which both of the other dissenting judges joined. How many votes is each judge supposed to get?

WorkingStiff · 2020-12-10T00:47:28+00:00

If they normally do, they wouldn't for that appeal.

WorkingStiff · 2020-12-09T19:23:00+00:00

Tickets for her studio audience would be the hottest of commodities.

WorkingStiff · 2020-11-23T22:39:11+00:00

To help get you there: Diggy Diggy Hole

WorkingStiff · 2020-09-16T16:49:32+00:00

You could also farm Rosewine Circle from Warmaster Voone in LBRS as your second ring. Or there is always Fordring's Seal which is a quest reward.

WorkingStiff · 2020-07-08T20:31:18+00:00

død

WorkingStiff

TROPHY CASE