Please note that our phone and fax numbers have changed, to:

Phone: (702) 222-FIRM (3476)
Fax: (702) 252-FIRM (3476)

If you are required to maintain an SR-22 filing as a condition of your license reinstatement, it must be maintained for 3 years from the date you reinstate your driver license.

If at anytime during the three-year period you fail to maintain the SR-22, your driving privilege will be suspended. This may result in starting the three-year requirement again.  There is no statute of limitations on the SR-22 requirement. The continuous three-year requirement begins from the date you reinstate your driver’s license regardless of how long you have been in suspension or when you purchased the coverage.

The DMV does not notify drivers of when they are eligible to remove the SR-22 filing. If you are unsure of the date, please contact the DMV.  If you do not maintain coverage continuously during the required period, your insurance company will notify the DMV by sending a Form SR-26. The DMV will suspend your license and send notification of this to you by certified mail. The required period of coverage will begin over again.

• the intake consultation with attorney Ryan Alexander;
• preparation of the Bankruptcy Petition;
• a comprehensive credit report with FICO score projection;
• letters to creditors as necessary (to stop calls, foreclosure or garnishments immediately);
• Trustee packet preparation and delivery;
• representation at the “341″ Creditor Hearing;
• one vehicle reaffirmation agreement and
• representation through the discharge of the bankruptcy.

For a free bankruptcy consultation, call the The Firm, P.C. at (702) 222-FIRM (3476).

* Credit counseling is not included, you can complete credit counseling on your own or use our preferred service www.MyBKNow.com at a total cost of $55 for 2 sessions. This offer price does not include business filings. Additionally, if your creditors contest your bankruptcy petition, you may incur additional charges.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Part 1

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Part 2

More questions? To schedule a free bankruptcy consultation with Ryan call (702) 868-3311 right now.

What to Bring to Your Consultation

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Overview

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a repayment plan of your debts, rather than eliminating unsecured debts. It requires customized financial planning with your attorney and the Trustee who has to make sure you can make the scheduled payments.

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Basics

Interviews with Las Vegas Real Estate Agent Todd Miller

Ryan discusses bankruptcy options for real estate owners with broker/agent Todd Miller. Click here to watch more of Todd’s videos and learn about short sales.

“Warning! Do not remove fixtures from a home before foreclosure” Las Vegas Real Estate agent Todd Miller talks with attorney Ryan Alexander and discusses what can happen to someone who intentionally removes property from a home just prior to foreclosure. Click here to watch more of Todd’s videos and learn about short sales.

“How short sale or bankruptcy can help you.” Las Vegas Real Estate agent Todd Miller talks with attorney Ryan Alexander and discusses how bankruptcy can affect a foreclosure as well as the benefits to a short sale. Specifically with relationship to what impact these actions have on a homeowner and how they can be helped by an attorney. Click here to watch more of Todd’s videos and learn about short sales.

“Great advice for investment property owners.” Las Vegas Real Estate agents Todd Miller talks with attorney Ryan Alexander and discusses what options investors have in regards to foreclosure, Chapters 13 and Chapter 11. Specifically with relationship to what impact these actions have on a homeowner and how they can be helped by an attorney. Click here to watch more of Todd’s videos and learn about short sales.

En español

Call (702) 222-3476 for more information and take care of your DUI today.

What are the main issues in a typical DUI case?

When reviewing your case and explaining your potential defenses, some key areas are examined:

1. Did the officer have a legal reason to stop your vehicle?

Referred to as “probable cause,” there has to be a legitimate reason to pull you over.  Usually this is for a minor traffic infraction like changing lanes without signaling,not having your headlights on after dusk, having a burnt out tail light, going at least a mile an hour over the speed limit, making a U-turn in a “no u-turn” zone, etc.  However, driving slowly, movement within your lane, sleeping in your vehicle and other behaviors may not be sufficient probable cause, and those will become parts of your defense.

2. Did the officer have a reason to have you exit the vehicle, and to perform Field Sobriety Tests?

Once you are stopped, there has to be a reason that the officer suspects you are under the influence of alcohol to have you perform Field Sobriety Tests.  These are the tests where he moves a finger in front of your face, you walk heel-to-toe, or stand on one leg.  Usually, these tests are given because the driver admits to drinking.  And pretty much everyone stopped says, “two beers,” or, “a couple of beers.” (Never say you have been drinking because it gives the police the reason to test you – you will not get lenience for honesty at this point of a traffic stop!).  The officer will indicate on his report that you had red cheeks, glassy or red eyes, slurred speech, clumsy movement, etc. and you may have medical conditions, contact lenses or other issues that cause such appearance or behavior.

3.  Were the Field Sobriety Tests performed properly?

The physical tests that lead to the decision to arrest for DUI are varied, but must be administered according to specific guidelines from traffic police manuals.  Where they are performed – lighting, surface conditions and angles, weather – and how they are administered needs to be reviewed.  Further, whether they used a portable breathalyzer and its reading will be examined, even though the results of the hand-held breathalyzer cannot be admitted in court as they are not accurate enough.

4. Were the breath or blood tests taken at the police station or jail performed properly?

After a person is arrested for a DUI, they are taken to a police station or jail for ‘booking’ and to have further testing of their blood alcohol level (“BAC”).  Operating a vehicle on a public accessible road with a BAC of 0.08 or more is illegal, although charges can arise with lower BAC if you are still considered “impaired.”  The two tests are either breath tested on a larger breathalyzer machine, or blood drawn by a nurse who sends it to a lab for testing.  We review the evidence provided to see if the proper procedure is followed, the machines used were calibrated, the tester was qualified, and that the person performing the tests is to be a witness.  Again, medical conditions, dentures, certain medications and other situations can distort your results and needs to be brought up in your defense.

What happens with the DMV when I’m charged with a DUI?  Will I lose my license?

My job as your attorney is to help you keep your license if it is possible. The DMV proceeding is not a criminal procedure and their standards are much broader (making it more likely that your license will be suspended).  I will tell you based on your facts the likelihood of victory and advise you accordingly.  I do not charge you for DMV defense proceedings unless it is needed.  How the process works is different depending on which test you take at the police station: breath or blood.

Breathalyzer - if the breathalyzer returns a reading of 0.08 or higher, the Nevada DMV will automatically  suspend your license for 90 days, and your license will be considered suspended immediately.  The police will give you a sheet of paper advising you of this with instructions (it’s usually pink in color).  From this date, you have 10 days to request a hearing at the DMV, which I will handle if you meet with me early enough.  The DMV will set the hearing one month after they get a request.  During that time you are waiting for the hearing, your license will be valid.  You can get a restricted license to travel to work, shopping and church after 45 days of suspension.

Blood test - blood test results will take several months to be returned to the police and sent to the DMV. You should check in with the DMV occasionally to make sure that they have not sent a notice already, and you need to be absolutely certain that they have your current address on file, or you may not get the notice at all.  If the blood lab returns a reading of 0.08 or higher, the Nevada DMV will suspend your license for 90 days, and your license will be considered suspended from the date that they send you a notice.   From the date that you receive the notice by mail, you have 10 days to request a hearing at the DMV, which I will handle if you meet with me early enough.  The DMV will set the hearing one month after they get a request.  During that time you are waiting for the hearing, your license will be valid.  You can get a restricted license to travel to work, shopping and church after 45 days of suspension.

Things to bring to your DUI consultation:

• The original ticket or citation issued to you by the police;
• Any papers you received if you were detained, arrested or held in jail;
• Any papers sent to you or given to you by a court;
• Anything with important dates on it; and
• Your Driver’s License.

What does this mean for people considering bankruptcy?  In my opinion, it is further evidence that house prices aren’t moving upwards in Nevada anytime soon – there are still thousands of homes that are going to be sold or auctioned at losses for the next few years.  It also shows that people are falling behind in significant numbers, and that the delinquency rate follows some estimates of the actual, on-the-ground unemployment rate in Nevada (and not just the artificially low government statistic).

If you are behind on your mortgage and looking for financial solutions, call me – attorney Ryan Alexander – at (702) 222-3476 and set up a free consultation where I will personally review your situation with you.

There are many “debt consolidation” companies and those that advertise heavily about “Do you have $10,000 in debt or more?  Then you may qualify for our SECRET/government approved program…”  There’s no secret.  What they do is take your exempt and protected retirement money and have you cash it out to settle out accounts with your creditors, and usually charge several times the fees of a bankruptcy attorney to do so.

It’s heartbreaking to meet with people who have cashed out their entire retirement to try and prevent foreclosure on a home or property, and I see it all the time.  If you’re considering using 401K money to save your home then stop! Don’t touch your retirement.  Keep it.  Consider bankruptcy and wipe out your unsecured debts like credit cards or medical debts. If your house is hopelessly behind in payments, or only worth half of what you owe, then surrender it in bankruptcy and eliminate the debt of the house.  You’ll have a few months in the house after filing to save up a deposit on a rental.  Your credit score will recover, and you can look again at property within a few years, but you’ll never get those retirement savings back if you through it all onto your bonfire of debt.

If you’re considering bankruptcy, chances are your credit is already suffering.  As this article explains, being 60-90 days late on an account often causes as much of a credit score drop as filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy does.  Within one year of receiving their discharge, most filers should be in the low-to-mid-600s for their FICO score, based on the assumption they have no new negative credit, and open and maintain a $500 “secured limit” credit account with their bank.  This is the type of account that you have a deposit securing the credit transactions, and usually have low limits.  Using that account with timely payments will help you rebuild your credit faster.  Our software projects clients’ scores post-discharge and we give everyone a copy to review with their credit report, and it is common to see 75-150 point increases because of the bankruptcy filing.

So, if your concern over filing bankruptcy in Southern Nevada is because you want to buy another home at the new, lower market prices, don’t worry about that.  Given the lack of growth and the HUGE oversupply, home prices in Nevada aren’t going anywhere soon; prices are projected by most forecasters to be flat for several more years.  For wage earners who want to get another home as soon as possible after getting rid of all of their debt, it makes sense to file sooner rather than later, and shoot for a late 2012 home purchase.

To schedule a free consultation with Attorney Ryan Alexander, call (702) 222-3476.

For some clients, there is a strong emotional connection to the home and they want to retain it at all costs.  I will certainly do everything possible for our clients to maintain the home if they wish.  However, for many clients there is a more objective decision making process at work, and I will talk clients through some common questions I ask in evaluating this.  They include:

• What is the total of your current mortgages?  What is the current value of your home? I recommend using www.CyberHomes.com rather than Zillow.com, which is much slower to respond to market prices.  Clients often haven’t checked in a while and are often surprised to see how little their home is worth in today’s market.
• After you determine the actual, up-to-date price of your home, is it worth less than you owe? How much less as a percentage? How much less in total dollars?  How does that deficiency compare to your annual income?
• How many years of disposable income (meaning your leftover money after monthly expenses) would it take to pay off the deficiency?